21 Dec 12: Sarah Gives a Presentation at the Prison, Attends Workshops, and Learns ANOTHER Life Lesson

Home Sweet Home: Tshane!

Happy Holidays everybody! This post marks my nearly 5th week at site, 3.25 months in Africa, and my first Christmas in Botswana. As of the 14th, my service is 5% finished. Or maybe I should say I have 95% of my opportunity left! While people in America are boarding planes to go and visit loved ones, people here are cramming onto buses and combis to do the same thing. The larger villages and towns are clearing out as people make the trip back to their home villages. I have seen lots of new faces in my village as well as an influx of teenagers home from their boarding schools for the holiday.

I have included several pictures of houses in my village. They range from mud huts to nicer cement homes. I just thought that you would like to see what people (who are not government employees like me) live in. Keep in mind that these houses have no insulation, no central heat or air conditioning, and most don't have running water or electricity. Let's be thankful this holiday season!

When I was preparing to come to Africa, I met a lot of people who said "Peace Corps! I had a friend who joined the Peace Corps. He learned so much about himself!" I often mention something in my emails about how Peace Corps Service changes people. This week, I didn't change so much as I learned something. I learned that when it comes to this job, this life I'm living right now, the best I could do is good enough. If I did the best I could do, I don't have to sit around worrying about whether or not my audience got the message or what they thought of me. My best is good enough.

Garden for Home-Based Care Patients at the clinic

Last Sunday, I told my family "I don't really have any plans this week." HA! The universe laughs! By Monday, I was committed to a week of activities and workshops. On Tuesday, I attended a workshop at Hukuntsi Primary Hospital about the Children's Act of 2009. This act guarantees children certain rights including the right to play and recreation, the right to freedom of religion, and the right to a name. I was surprised to find out that Botswana is one of the many countries to have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, while the United States has NOT signed. What the heck?

Typical mud hut with thatched room. Windows are made
of sticks.

On Wednesday, I attended a workshop of the Child Protection Committee held in Hukuntsi. The theme of the day was the Children's Act and Child abuse. I learned about the laws that protect children, the penalties for those who violate these laws, and also about recognizing signs of abuse in children. Child abuse is often under-reported here, as it is in the US. Most abuse occurs within extended families and family members are reluctant to report one another. I am fortunate to have a social worker at my school as well as the regional social work office in the next large village. After two days of child protection workshops, I was feeling little down. But you know, I will be working with children everyday. It's important for me to know the law.
After school starts, I plan to teach some classes to the children about their rights. It is in a child's best interest to know how they should be treated and what they deserve. I think it might ruffle some feathers of those people who would choose to keep children submissive, but that's just too bad! Oh, it was also decided that I should be a member of the regional school health committee, so now I may add that title to my name!
The highlight of my week occurred yesterday, Thursday, as I was transformed from captive audience member/VIP guest to presenter and HIV/AIDS educator. Wednesday evening, my friend and officer in charge of the prison, Phiri, invited me to the Tshane Prison's World AIDS Day Commemoration. He asked me to give some kind of short presentation about HIV/AIDS. I had one whole evening to prepare so I decided to do something called the HIV Epidemic Game. It is a game that demonstrates the spread of HIV through a person's sexual network. I don't want to be the kind of educator who just talks AT people. They get enough of that already. I want to be engaging and interactive. I want to do things that keep people thinking about the topic even after I have left. And who doesn't love a game? Yesterday (Thursday) I arrived at the prison for the celebration and I was pleased to be greeted by many smiling faces. The prisoners and even the guards always welcome me warmly and they all know me by name! After waiting for the guests to arrive, the celebration began with an opening prayer, as usual. Welcome remarks were made and guests were introduced. Then it was my turn to kick off the ceremony!

Tshane Library and Pre-School

I had invited my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer and friend, Ashley, to facilitate the game with me. I was proud to see my name on the program: Drama, by Maduo and Friends. Talk about a souvenir! Anyway, I was so so so nervous for some reason. Maybe because it was my first real contribution as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Maybe because I am an expert at all things and people expect a LOT from me. With the lay counselor from my clinic translating, I had 20 prisoners (some volunteered, some peer pressured by me) form a group in the center of the room. Each man was given a small slip of paper, some of them blank, some marked with a red X, some marked with a C, and some marked with an A. I then instructed them to mingle with each other and each time they talked to some one, they should sign that person's paper. The DJ (yes, there was a DJ!) played some music and the men mingled. When the music stopped, I instructed them to return to their seats.

Another mud hut

I reminded them that this was just a representative game. I told them that each signature represented sexual contact. This was followed by laughter, which I expected given that all of the participants in the game were men. We decided to just pretend like some of them were men and some were women. I said, "If you have a red X on your paper, please stand up. Those of you with an X are HIV+. Anyone who had their paper signed by one of these people, please also stand up. All of you have been exposed to HIV." Some of the men were reluctant to participate, which I can understand, because this is the point in the game where people start to make mental connections. The lightbulb goes on, if you will. I went on to say "If you have a C on your card, Congratulations! You used a condom and you reduced your risk for contracting HIV. You may sit down." The man with the C on his card was so excited! Everyone actually clapped for him! I said "If you have an A on your card, Congratulations! You were abstinent. You do not have HIV. You may sit down."
At this point, I spent a few minutes talking about how the participants could have reduced their risk of contracting HIV in the game, i.e. only signing one person's paper (being faithful), not participating (abstinence), or by insisting to see if the person had an X on the back of their paper (testing.) I would have like to have had a real interactive discussion but time was not permissive, so Ashley and I wrapped up our presentation and took our seats. We got a hearty round of applause and I later found out that several of the speakers had said, in Setswana, that our activity was very helpful.

Mud hut

The remainder of the workshop, which lasted until about 1 o'clock, consisted of traditional dancing by the prison's cultural troupe, an inspirational message by "Miss Stigma Free," and lots and lots of singing. I don't know if I mentioned in a previous message that the people of Botswana are the most amazing singers. They have a mental bank of hundreds of songs, each person singing a certain part. At any time, someone can burst into song and everyone else just joins in. Think flash mob, but singing. They sing with such conviction that you can actually FEEL the music. They harmonize and it is really amazing.

So those were my professional accomplishments this week. I feel fortunate that people think enough of me to invite me to their meetings and workshops. I have done some serious networking and I think that I will have no problem finding people to facilitate workshops with me. In other news, after the event at the prison yesterday, Ashley and I decided to work out. We get the idea to see if we could walk from my village to hers, which is about 10 km/6 miles. Our villages are equidistant from the major road that leads to Hukuntsi. I figured that I could walk her to the main road and then turn around and head back to my village while she continued walking to hers. We set out, backpacks full of water, around 4:30. We walked and talked and walked some more. We made it to the junction of the main road and made a pact that we would walk the rest of the way, despite the temptation to catch a hitch. Several people stopped along the way offering us rides. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we are supposed to be role models. I think that by declining the rides, explaining that we were walking for exercise, we fulfilled that expectation. On my way back, I walked for a while with a herd of donkeys. I wish I had had my camera because it was amazing. I've never seen so many donkeys together. At 7:30 pm, I arrived at my house and Ashley arrived at hers. We had walked for 3 hours in the 100 degree heat that is the Kalahari desert. I was tired, achy, and thirsty (I had drained my 1.5 liter camelback a little before I arrived home.) I set up my computer in the bathroom and sat in a tub of cold water, eating ramen noodles, watching Lost. A nice end to an even nicer day.

Look at that fence! Nearly all of the houses in my village are
surrounded by this kind of fence. Talk about hard work!

Rich people housing! They even have a satellite dish!

I made a carrot cake with peanut butter frosting this week. I know that sounds like a trivial thing to mention, but here in Africa, that's a major achievement for me! My nurse friend, Florence, and I are going to have a lunch feast together on Christmas day. She is from Zambia, far from her family like me, so we can really relate to each other. She has to be at the clinic for half a day on Christmas, and then we are having lunch pot-luck style. I have never made a carrot cake before and I had to improvise on the frosting. Cream cheese is not something you can get in my neck of the woods. My trial cake was delicious so I am going to make another one on Tuesday, as well as mashed potatoes. Feeling of accomplishment + carrot cake with peanut butter frosting = happy Sarah.

After 7 hours of work, I finally finished my fancy dancy living room ceiling. My mom had sent me glow in the dark stars, which included two sheets of star stickers and a map of constellations. I chose "Summer in North America" and spent a ridiculous amount of time standing on a rickety desk putting up tiny stars according to the diagram. Now, when I turn off the lights in the evening I can look at the ceiling and it looks just like the summer night sky in Kentucky. I'm not gonna lie. I get a little weepy just typing the word "Kentucky," much less looking at a re-creation of my home sky!

New friends I made walking through the village!

When I arrived at site 5 weeks ago, I spent many sleepless nights worrying about what I was going to do here. My school was closing for the month-long holiday break. I was afraid that there would be nothing for me to do, that I wouldn't be able to help anyone. I'm proud to report that I was busy this week, even busier than I may have liked. I spent two days learning how to help children. Despite my nerves, I facilitated a presentation that I can call a success, even if it only affected one person. I sleep easy now knowing that when I come back to America after two years, I will be able to say "I am a returned Peace Corps Volunteer and I did the best I could."

Love, Peace, Joy, and Hugs and Kisses to my family and all my wonderful friends. I miss you all so much and I love you. Merry, merry Christmas!