"Protocol observed!"

While these are common phrases used in meetings, these come to have much larger implications on the work that I do here, as though anything I do is not legitimized unless I follow protocol and every rule to get it done (it’s so hard for a rebel without a cause…where rule breaking is part of the creative process of my life, at least in regards to the petty ones). I feel like I’m in grade school being trained on discipline and obedience as pillars of my character and evidence of my ability to perform as a member of society. Here, no one seems to understand WHY we do these things and why there is such a regiment and strict (and unnecessarily lengthy) methodology for anything you do. It’s just what you do and things aren’t documented well anyway, so it’s not even a systematic things. It alllllll plays into the ego. Your words aren’t recognized either because you’re female or you’re too young or you don’t have an esteemed position. So I teeter between respecting a culture and noting a time and place to implement change…or even just to pose a question: Why?

I’m so tired. I am tired of trying to rationalize why the system is as such, and I can find no justifiable reason other than the security in conformity and the confirmation the comes with following protocol as a measure of success. That’s not what it’s about.

I am attempting to prepare to have this camp at the senior secondary school in a few weeks, only to discover that the hostel facilities that house the boarding students don’t have doors or they have bad plumbing in the bathrooms with standing water on the floors. When I approached the subject with the administration I get the typical, “Ahh, Peo, you know there is no money.” Yes, I know this. There is never any money and it’s always someone else’s responsibility to address things that need to be resolved, fixed, or done. When I mention these issues as concerns for safety and security, it’s just a matter of someone in the Ministry of Education not bothering to address or prioritize this particular issue in this particular village being that I’m sure there are a plethora of maintenance requests backed up on some computer in Gaborone. Being that everything is so government central, things just pile up and a few people have the reigns to address what they wish or deem valid.  Knowing this, it’s also easier to begin to understand why there is a lack of initiative with programs, organizations, tasks in general here…because you have to be willing to jump through all the hoops of getting stamps and paperwork and stroke numerous egos to get anything done, not a system I’m well suited for.

 In combination with the camp, I am trying to have the nationwide-renowned radio announcer, Jazzelle, come to speak to the girls about setting goals and the importance of education in her life. In addition, I have asked Unity Dow, the first female High Court Judge in Botswana to speak to them as well. Unity is also one of the few published authors of Botswana. Saturday is for Funerals is a succinct and informative observation on the current status of HIV/AIDS in Botswana. She gives the book a social focus, supplemented with valuable (and accessible) statistical information. I read it before I came to Botswana, and it was a perfect crash course in beginning to understand Botswana’s problems with HIV. Unity has even hosted a GLOW Camp in her very house, so she is informed on the premise and value of this camp. I am thrilled at the prospect! My point in divulging this information is partially to celebrate but also to note that it wasn’t until I disclosed that these “high profile” people will be in attendance that the school administration bothered to change their tune about the problem with the doors and bathrooms of the hostels. The headmaster acted as though he could then make a move and leverage this information to get maintenance people out to the school in order to prevent embarrassment. Does it really take putting one’s reputation at stake to get people to do their job?! Isn’t the need to repair these kinds of things self evident?!

My rationale is that if you cannot prioritize the comfort and wellbeing of these students you are employed to educate and tend to, then what ARE your priorities. When I think of my time here in that perspective, I wonder why the hell I am here.

Right now America is my dream. I think of how everything makes sense in America and we’ve really got the system for things down. I only have to read a few news articles online to prove otherwise, but I have this illusionary perception of the States. It is my home, but in some ways I perceive America as this distant fantastical dream in the same way that the Batswana do when they ask me if I know Rhianna. No, I don’t know Rhianna, but we do have electronic ticket transactions, high-speed internet, skim milk, price competition, and the list goes one. (One thing I have enjoyed here is that it is not cost effective to buy in bulk here. Imagine how that would change that way you stocked your house with goods and products. I love it; I’m practically a minimalist!)

This event will happen, come hell or high water. It’s just a matter of how many people I go through and how many revisions of requests and statements and invitations I have to print and edit before it happens. Thanks to all of you that contributed to the project. If you didn’t already know, it has been fully funded and the money has been transferred over so that we can begin purchasing supplies! Will try to keep you posted on the progress made within the next few weeks, trying not to dwell too much on the obstacles and daily defeats, but to harp on the small triumphs and daily developments with the planning.

To end on a good note: I held interviews with the Standard 7 classes at Mosielele Primary School last Friday and selected the participants over the weekend. When I informed the five girls from the school that would be attending the GLOW Camp, their exuberant response was so gratifying, that they felt accomplished to have been chosen and excited at the opportunity to do something different over a holiday weekend. That’s the kind of stuff that keeps me going.

Until next time,

A couple of weekends back, we had a holiday on Monday and Tuesday. Instead of planning a vacation, a couple Volunteers and I planned to travel around the area to see what we could find in the way of souvenirs. While I complain often that the tourist industry isn’t much developed in the Southern part of Botswana, I did manage to find a couple of places worth noting. Firstly, we ventured to Thamaga, the closest village to me. They have a large pottery facility there (with a discount shelf). Of course I’m drawn to the flawed works for both their price and their idiosyncrasies. The woman working mentioned how they didn’t have much business at all. That wasn’t hard to imagine seeing as though we perused the shop for a good 20 minutes before anyone bothered to notice. That’s how I like to shop anyway: unattended.  There is no advertising that would draw tourists to these parts of Botswana. If you bother to travel to Botswana you stop in Gabs only to catch a flight north to Maun or Kasane, the land of the expats and world-renowned safaris.

After Thamaga, it was on to Gabs to catch a bus to Oodi. Oodi is a village about 20 km outside of Gaborone. I’d call it a suburb, but that might be a stretch being that it doesn’t conjure up images of picket fences and pristine houses. Instead, it is actually relatively less developed in the way of styled housing and there is no grocery shop or china shop selling even your most basic household items. There is, however, an amazing weaving facility in this small village. Oodi Weavers is a women’s cooperative started by a group of European folks in 1973, at which time they taught several Batswana women the craft of weaving, including spinning, dying, and weaving their own wool.  Since that time, the facility has become a self-sustaining one. The weavings are often tapestry-like images of village life with traditional housing and intricately woven landscapes. In the nature of the craft, the figures are a bit angular…think Clementine Hunter got back on the boat to Africa, dropped the paintbrush and decided to pick up weaving amongst her repertoire of skills…and that’s what these weavings look like.  

There are still several places I intend to visit here in Botswana before I go. For one, there is a facility for disabled adults, Camphill, in Otse (Southern Botswana), which includes a plant nursery and sells items like hand-knit hats and scarves. All of the items sold are made from the Camphill participants and proceeds go back into their organization.

http://www.camphill.org.bw/index_files/Page361.html

Also, Alexander McCall Smith’s novel series was made into a TV series and the town center where the show was set it preserved for viewing just outside of Gaborone. While I only read one of the books and watched an episode just before packing my bags and boarding a plane to Botswana, I feel like it might be an interesting little excursion for an afternoon in Gabs. Although like most everything else, it would be much easier with a car.

Being 16 months into my service, I have hit somewhat of slump. It doesn’t feel quite as a confusing or devastating slump (as it was earlier on) as much as it is one of boredom if not a bit of laziness, just wanting to live the day to day and embrace the kind of complacency I have accomplished since being here. I know what effort and motivation it takes to start a new project and what all that entails. Sometimes I don’t want something so committal, as terrible as that sounds. Using an analogy a former Volunteer shared with me, working on projects is like putting a bunch of pots on the stove and you just stir the ones that boil. Right now, I’m stirring one big pot (GLOW Camp), pouring some water into a smaller pot, cleaning a used pot, and contemplating putting it back over the fire once more.         

Earlier on, I was so intent on having a schedule and some form of regularity to my lifestyle, and now I recognize that it’s better to embrace the slow pace of life and learn to operate like the locals do, taking it as it comes. Sometimes the mentality is “why rush?” other times it feels like “why bother?” Again I’m balancing my ambition with my reality. In effort to spruce things up, I agreed to work on another world map project with a friend in her village, Khakhea. Khakhea is a relatively rural and remote village with only about 2,500 people occupying the area. My friend, Britt, volunteers at the Khakhea Youth Centre in the village and has been working hard to get youth to attend and partake to use the center to its full potential. What’s particularly difficult is that 1. Youth in Botswana include ages 15-35 2. With such high unemployment, older “youth” don’t see the value of volunteering and contributing to a community cause without any monetary incentive. When asked if they would partake in preparing the wall and painting the mural, they refused, demanding that they be paid to do that.  Needless to say, we are working with a group of about 7 younger girls on this project. It’s still so amazing to me to see these girls improve their drawing and painting skills in the course of a project and build a new kind of confidence in the process. I also enjoy spending my day being outside and letting my mind wonder while my hands are occupied with painting. It’s rejuvenating and relaxing and I get to do it in the company of the community around me. The map is going to be a part of the launch of the Kids’ Club program, which brings more kids to the center for various after school opportunities. In this village there is little else to do and Britt has the benefit of working with a couple of golden Batswana that are motivated, energetic, and good intentioned, which really makes much of the work she does there a little bit easier and enjoyable.

I have loved being in Khakhea and experiencing another pace of life (if that’s even imaginable). There is one reliable bus that passes through and maybe two, depending on the day, the weather, what have you. There are few cars here and no façade of the urban hustle and bustle you get in Moshupa, where I feel like there is some unspoken competition with Gaborone.  Here, most ride on donkey carts or horseback to get around to even the further outlying villages surrounding Khakhea. I enjoy the pace of life and the general feeling of slowness in the village. It doesn’t aspire for the chaos that an urban environment entails. There are more traditional houses here and if you sit long enough watching people come and go through the day (realizing there is only a bar, small convenient store, and a post office to even bother visiting) you can see the directional flow of the village throughout the course of the day. This is the kind of setting I imagined living in, but maybe it just makes me appreciate it all the more having only the opportunity to visit for a short time.

Amongst the other self-explanatory photos, these are a couple of photos from one of the general dealers (small convenient store) in Khakhea. While the selection of goods is clearly limited, it has most basic essentials. Britt grocery shops in Jwaneng each week, traveling and hour and twenty minutes each way to get things like cheese or yogurt. You can also get NOVELTY food items like couscous! A diet of maize meal and cabbage and potatoes can get old FAST.

ALSO, don’t forget to click the GLOW CAMP link above and donate to the project if you can!