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Hey everyone, I am home safe and sound! I have decided to post my final papers for everyone to read if they so choose, they are long...so I won't be offended if you don't read them. I will try to post some pictures soon!

HIV/AIDS in Botswana: an Organizational Analysis

The Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) was started in 1966, the same year Botswana gained independence. The Council was initially made up of four churches: the Anglican Church, the London Missionary Society, the Methodist Church, and the United Free Church of Scotland. Currently the BCC has 22 member churches and Christian organizations, and is still continuing to grow. The purpose of the BCC is to bring different churches and organizations together in order to work to solve problem among the Batswana. The Council focuses on a verity of areas that concern the Christian people, the citizens of Botswana as well as the entire African population.
Over the years the BCC has done work in different areas, managing several independent projects as well as supporting projects run by individual churches. Some of the programs that the BCC have worked on include: clean water projects, human rights programs, educational projects, as well as working with HIV/AIDS. Currently the largest program that the BCC is running is the Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Program (ASRH). The BCC is running advocacy campaigns, training sessions and workshops in order to educate parents, religious leaders and members of the community in issues concerning ASRH.
In addition to the ASRH program, the BCC supports several other church programs that deal with HIV/AIDS. Some of the other programs supported include: Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Care, Home-Based Care, and HIV/AIDS Education. In these areas, there is a wide verity of work being done. The programs offer psychological support, food, medical assistance, transportation, clothing, prevention education, religious support and education, daycare, as well as HIV/AIDS testing. While the projects are run my Christian organizations, most of the services provided are offered to anyone in need of assistance.
In the three weeks that we worked with the BCC, we were able to talk with many different churches and Christian organizations to gain information about various programs dealing with HIV/AIDS. In addition to talking with churches and organizations, we were also able to work hand in hand with programs linked either directly or indirectly to the BCC. For my time with the BCC, I was able to work with the Roman Catholic Church in their Home-Based care program as well as their Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) daycare program.
The first few days with the BCC as well as the last week with the Council was spent on the road visiting and conversing with different BCC supported programs, as well as organizations that work side by side with the BCC. In the days spent interviewing different people, much information was gathered regarding the work of the church in the area of HIV/AIDS. As is always the case, there were both programs that seemed to be effective, and those that were unimpressive. While we did not get into in-depth look of many programs, in most cases, it was evident which programs were more successful than others.
One of the best programs we visited was the Hope Alive HIV/AIDS Training Program put on by Kgolagano College. Kgolagano College is a theological college that offers education by extension in the whole of Botswana. Educational programs are offered both in English as well as in Setswana. While the College is not yet accredited, the Hope Alive program can be described as a truly innovative and progressive HIV/AIDS education program.
The Hope Alive Program was created in 2003 in order to mainstream HIV/AIDS into the lives of everyone at Kgolagano College. The Hope Alive HIV/AIDS Training Program does not focus on educating entire communities, but rather small groups of leaders’ with-in community churches. The idea of Hope Alive is to train the church leaders to go back to their home congregations and teach positive behavior change and Bible interpretation in the modern HIV/AIDS era. Along with training leaders how to educate, they are also taught pastoral counseling as well as how to lead discussions on sexuality. The goal of the Hope Alive Program is to teach leaders how to incorporate HIV/AIDS into every area of the church and the surrounding community.
The Hope Alive Program is different from many of the other programs we were introduced to in several ways. Firstly, is in regard to the communities that Kgolagano College works with. Instead of focusing on just a few communities or cities, the Hope Alive Program is taken all around Botswana, even to the most remote areas. Two different training sessions are ran in each community in order to reach a larger number of people. After training sessions are completed, Kgolagano College makes sure to follow up with each community in order keep track of progress and make sure no additional assistance is needed.
The other positive aspects of the Hope Alive project include working to fight against stigma, self-esteem and sexuality training starting at a young age, as well as a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention education program. Working with Christian communities can be a challenge when dealing with the above issues, but Kgolagano College recognizes the importance of these areas in fighting against HIV/AIDS. The successes of the Hope Alive Program include getting more and more people to participate in HIV/AIDS testing, getting more churches to start HIV/AIDS programs (i.e. OVC programs and Home-Based Care programs), as well as bringing church leaders together.
As with most NGO programs in Botswana and in the world, the Hope Alive Program does have its challenges. The biggest challenge to the Hope Alive Program is also a challenge of every other HIV/AIDS prevention program in Botswana and that is the issue of harmful cultural practices. The examples of the harmful traditional practices given were polygamy and traditional medical practices. Since Hope Alive works in more remote areas than other programs, they are faced with these issues more often. The other challenges include reluctant leadership within many churches as well as low program attendance. Surprisingly enough funding was not an issue as it is with most other programs in Botswana.
I was very impressed with the Hope Alive Program, because I think they recognize the biggest issues in fighting HIV/AIDS and they work to correct these issues. I think that many churches let their personal religious philosophy stand in the way of effective HIV/AIDS prevention teaching, and the Hope Alive Program is a good example of a program that has the peoples’ best interest at heart. Like every program Hope Alive does have its areas that could use improvement, such as offering more than six workshops a year, but as time goes on, I am fairly certain Hope Alive will only continue to improve and grow.
The Hope Alive program was not the only program that I was impressed with, as there were several other programs we visited that do important work in different HIV/AIDS areas. Of the programs that I found to be efficient and successful were the: ASRH program at the M. Joan Cousin Women and Youth Empowerment Center in Lobatse, the Tsholofelong street kids program at Old Naladie, and the Kamogelo Orphans and Vulnerable Project in Mogoditshane. Several of these programs only work with HIV/AIDS minimally, but the work being done is still very important in HIV/AIDS prevention.
The Tsholofelong project was one of the first programs we visited with the BCC, and the only program run directly by the BCC that we were able to visit. The Tsholofelong project is found in one of the most impoverished areas of Gaborone, and works with at-risk youth from a wide verity of backgrounds. Many of the youth found in the program are orphans, social orphans, full-time street kids, part-time street kids, and kids who formally profited from the streets. Many of the students found in the program live in provided housing, while many of the students live in the surrounding area and come for the various programs offered.
The Tsholofelong project helps children in many different areas. For the children that are still attending regular schools, after school programs (i.e. football and aerobics) and housing are offered if needed. For the students who have been out of school for an extended period of time, vocational training is provided. For all students counseling and life-skills training is provided. The children are fed three meals a day depending on their need, and school uniforms are provided to those still attending school. The students are instructed in traditional dance, and performances are arranged in order to help the kids raise money.
The Tsholofelong project uses a unique program model in order to best help each individual child who attends the program. The model starts off with entry point and ends with students finding their own identity, employment and/or being re-united with their family. In between the entry point and “graduation” from the program, there is a lot of work being done including: education assessment, home-visits, psycho-therapy, remedial education for slow learners, health education, and religious instruction. The goal of the program is to get at-risk youth off the streets, and help them to become fruitful members of the society.
At first this program may not appear to have much to do with HIV/AIDS work, but in reality this project is very important to HIV/AIDS prevention. Not only is HIV/AIDS prevention taught to the students, but the students are also being given love and support. For at-risk youth, love and support is crucial in helping youth to make educated decisions that lead to healthy living. If a young person loves themselves, they will be more likely to use the HIV/AIDS education they are given which therefore leads to the reduction of HIV/AIDS. The population of those being assisted may be small, but every youth helped could be a life saved.
The Tsholofelong project is very important to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana, but unfortunately it faces several challenges. The largest obstacle the project face is the issue of funding. Funding is the biggest issue that most NGO’s face in Botswana, because of the recent declaration that Botswana is a middle income country. There are few international donors that give to the Tsholofelong project and government and local funding is minimal. If the program is to continue giving assistance to all the youth that need assistance, additional funding will need to be found.
There are several organizations that work with vulnerable youth, and another successful program that we visited is the ASRH program found at the M. Joan Cousin Women and Youth Empowerment (MJCWYE) Center in Lobatse. The program is run by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and it does a lot of positive work with youth. The ASRH program at the MJCWYE Center was started in 1999 with funds from the Women Missionary Society. Today the center only offers programs for youth, as the funding is limited. Currently the center has 65 children in its after-school program with 35 females and 30 males.
The ASRH program used at the Center is quite comprehensive and works with children in every stage of development. The youth are broken up into different age groups according to different stages of life. The groups are divided into Pre-puberty (under the age of ten), Early Adolescence (ages ten to fourteen), Middle Adolescence (ages fifteen to nineteen) and Young Adulthood ages twenty to twenty-four). The youth are then given ASRH education according to their needs. The children are taught about the on-set of puberty, the recognition of sexual abuse (as well as prevention techniques and how to report sexual violence) and in-depth comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Health Education is not the only focus of the shelter. After-school activities are also offered for the youth. Scouting, quilting, bead work, music, games, drama, bible study and nutritional meals are also offered. The center is also equipped with a snooker table and a T.V. to keep the older youth out of the bars. These after school programs are important in the same way the Tsholofelong program is important, because it keeps at risk youth off the street. Self-esteem education and counseling is also offered to everyone in the program. Weekly visits to the parents and care-givers of the children are also conducted, to address any issues that the families may have.
The ASRH program in Lobatse is very well organized and is run by very competent and able women, but there are a few issues with the program. The ABC’s of prevention are taught to the youth, but a heavy emphasis is put on abstinence. While abstinence is an important component of HIV/AIDS prevention, with young people sex is a natural part of life. Telling people to resist their sexual urges until marriage is not always practical, and there fore focusing more on condom use could make the program more successful.
As stated above, the Center has a snooker table to keep the older kids out of the bars, but the Center is only open daily until five. The snooker table may keep the older youth out of the bars during the day, but to be more effective in keeping the youth out of the bars it would make more sense for the Center to open during the evenings and during the weekends. When popular football matches and rugby matches are being shown on T.V., the center does open for the youth, but that is only on special occasions. Despite these obstacles however, the program is one of the better ones I have seen.
The last successful youth program I will talk about is the Kamogelo Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project ran by the Roman Catholic Church. This is the program that I spent the most time with, and therefore I have unique relationship with this project. Kamogelo is located outside of Gaborone in the small village of Mogoditshane. Kamogelo is a project that works mainly with the local OVC population, but also with the families and caregivers of the OVC. Kamogelo runs both a daycare center for young children (aged 2 to 6) in Mogoditshane as well as an after school for children attending secondary school. Kamogelo has 150 children in the daycare program, and 280 children in the after school program.
The Kamogelo program is one of the most efficiently run programs that I have seen in Botswana. Sister Margaret, the woman who is in charge of the program is a remarkable woman. Sister Margaret makes sure that all of the children have warm clothes, two hot meals a day plus a solid preschool education. When the children are first brought into the daycare center, Sister Margaret urges the caregivers and parents to allow for their children to be tested for HIV/AIDS. So far most caregivers and parents have allowed testing, and have even come to the daycare to be tested themselves. Currently 17 of the children at the center are HIV positive. The HIV positive children are given extra counseling, and when needed extra nutritional food to keep them healthy. Their status however, is kept a secret from the other children.
When we were at the center, Sister Margaret held the monthly meeting for the caregivers and parents. Most of the children at the center are being raised by caregivers, therefore monthly meetings are scheduled to help educate the caregivers on how to best care for the children they are in charge of. The meeting dealt with issues the caregivers were facing, as well as the issue of fundraising for Kamogelo. These meetings I feel are of the utmost importance to ensure the wellbeing of the OVC. The other teachers and volunteers told us that there is always noticeable improvement in the health and happiness in the students after a few months attending Kamogelo. Working with the children, I would have to say Kamogelo is a success, as all of them seemed well cared for.
Kamogelo like many of the other programs has faced its share of issues. Funding has been a major issue in the past, but recently it has received funds from outside sources. While we were there, there was a ceremony for a Motswana bishop, because he had donated a large sum of money. There is also funding coming in from Candada that has been given to pay for the salaries of the teachers. Before a few years ago, the teachers had been working for no pay. Another challenge of Kamogelo is the location of the center. The center was only built recently, but it was built some miles away from the original location. This means the after school program is still being held in the old location, because the new center is too far for the students to go. Kamogelo hopes to expand its center facilities and buy a new bus for transport in order to move the after school program in order to offer more services to the secondary school age children.
The Roman Catholic Church does not just support the Kamogelo project; it also works with other OVC programs as well as many Home-Based Care programs. As we were partnered with the Catholic Church for a week and a half, we were also able to see several of the Home-Based Care projects that are currently in operation. The Home-Based Care programs are situated in different Catholic Churches or even homes in different communities. The people from the surrounding community who are either affected or infected with HIV/AIDS gather at the Church or Home during the day one day per week. Those who are unable to attend the gathering are taken a hot meal, and are prayed for by the volunteers.
The Home-Based Care program is very important for several reasons. The program offers a hot nutritious meal, healing exercises, a support system as well as prayer. While I am not sure if prayer helps everyone, the support, food and exercise has been very important in keeping those suffering from HIV/AIDS healthy. We were told that before the program started, there were many people unable to leave their beds and many people were dying. Now everyone’s health is much improved, and the survival rate is higher. When many people think of HIV/AIDS work, they think only of the prevention side, but the care-giving side is also important. While I don’t always agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church, I do believe this is a good program.
While I have talked a lot about several of the successful programs that we have worked with the past several weeks, there are also many programs that I found very poorly operated or very poorly designed. There were usually two reasons that led to the programs being unsuccessful, and that is the mismanagement of funds/lack of funds or the philosophy of the church. Three programs come to mind when I think of the unsuccessful programs we visited, and they include: the program ran by the Bible Society of Botswana, the program by the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana as well as the Samaritan Kitchen program ran by the Methodist Church.
The HIV/AIDS program that is operated by the Bible Society of Botswana (BSB) is a relatively new program, only developed in the last few years. The BSB focuses on the Christian perspective of HIV/AIDS work, and has programs for stigma reduction, Home-Based Care, OVC and youth abstinence. On the surface the BSB sounds much like the other programs described above, but there the BSB educational programs are quite different. First of all most of the literature is only offered in English, which is a problem for those who predominantly speak Setswana. The BSB would like to purchase more literature in Setswana, but the funds are not available.
The second problem with the BSB education program is also with the literature in addition to the other materials used, they are too outdated. In order to keep people engaged and involved it is important to offer the information you are trying to relay in an interesting manner. With the problem of message fatigue in this society, keeping people entertained is especially important. Condom use is also not taught, which I find to be terribly behind the times, especially when you are talking about the difference between life and death. HIV/AIDS is a life or death issue; therefore personal philosophies should not stand in the way of using successful teaching methods. The other programs ran by the BSB may be more effective, but unfortunately I was only able to see the educational materials. From the surface the other programs sounds good, but unless seen in action it is really hard to accurately critique a program.
Another program that looked good on the surface was the Samaritan Kitchen operated by the Methodist Church. While talking to the woman in charge of the program, everyone in our group was very impressed. The program takes care of thirty individuals from the surrounding area, in addition to one entire family. The Samaritan Kitchen gives them a monthly food basket that is supposed to be used for the entire month. When asked of the challenges of the program, the woman in charge did mention a small problem with the lack of food, but she seemed to be very pleased with the overall results of the program.
When we went to the storeroom that housed all the food for the thirty plus individuals, there was not enough food to feed one family for a month. Individuals would only get enough food to feed themselves for a week, and that’s if they are lucky. The program could be quite successful if the proper funds were available, but as of now the program is spreading itself to thin. The U.S. embassy as well as members of the congregation are the only people giving donations, and the program organizers have little hope for more funding anytime soon. Individuals in need however, are still being accepted into already failing program.
The final program that I found to be quite unsuccessful is the program operated within the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB). The program, which is also fairly recent, has many major failings. The first issue with the organization also has to do with funding. Before starting an HIV/AIDS program, research was conducted with 100 church communities in order to see what their biggest area of need was regarding HIV/AIDS work. The program was initially planned to set up one of four programs in every one of the 100 churches, depending on the findings of the research. The programs included at Home-Based Care Program, an OVC program, a prevention program or a counseling program. After the research was completed however, it come to light that the only funding available was from PEPFAR. All of the 100 churches were forced to adopt only a prevention program, despite what their initial need was.
Having prevention programs is an important aspect to fighting HIV/AIDS, but that is only if the program is successful. From what I have heard of the program offered by the EFB however, I would have to say their program is quite a disappointment. The stance of the EFB in regards to HIV/AIDS prevention is that it is 100 percent possible for everyone to abstain from sex until marriage. And once a person is married, it is 100 percent possible to remain faithful to his or her spouse. The idea of a spouse cheating on their partner, or the idea of a person having premarital sex is not discussed. Not having comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention education is ridiculous in this day in age, especially in Botswana. As stated before, this is an issue of life and death, and therefore it is of the utmost importance to do everything in one’s power to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Working for the BCC proved to be very interesting, and allowed me to explore a variety of organizations and programs. I feel that I learned a great deal about HIV/AIDS in Botswana, including the struggles that the people of Botswana are continuing to face. Several of the organizations, while not perfect, did a very good job in working with HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS prevention, but many organizations still have a long way to go.


Final Impressions: Botswana

When I look back at the last six weeks, I have a lot of mixed feelings. On the one hand I feel like I have had a valuable learning experience, but on the other hand I just feel frustration. I have had a great deal of conflicting thoughts about the experiences I have had. I will try to keep my paper organized and concise, but as my emotions are mixed, a long rambling paper would be a more accurate reflection of my current state.
I will start by writing on the people of Botswana. The people I have worked with, the people I have interacted with and the people I have lived with have been a huge part of my experience. As in any society, the Botswana people are all very different and my interactions with them have all been very different. During my time in Botswana I have made several friends, but most of the friends I have made I have met through the program (i.e. Lerox, Thabo and B.K.). I have met other friendly people, but mostly it didn’t seem like people were interested in getting to know me or even talking to me. I felt like most of the time it was an inconvenience for me to be here. In Botswana, it is hard not to feel like an outsider.
I think much of the unfriendliness I have experienced has a lot to do with the culture. The culture of Botswana is very different from the culture of anywhere else I have traveled to. Having a unique culture is a good thing usually, but aspects of the Botswana culture are difficult to deal with. The Botswana people are so proud, and they act like they don’t need anyone else, but yet they adopt a great deal of the culture from elsewhere. Western influences as well as influences from South Africa are seen everywhere. The western influence that is here is a negative influence I feel, and doesn’t accurately represent the western culture. People here do not seem to care about how their actions affect other people. In regards to politeness, timeliness, and customer service, the Botswana people are lacking.
The HIV/AIDS issue is also important to take note of. In everyday life, it is sometimes very easy to see why HIV/AIDS is so prevalent. Living is such a patriarchal society; I could see how sex would be very important to many people. Just from my own observation, had I lived in this culture I would find it difficult to be assertive and demand a condom when the time came. The issue of message fatigue is also a big part of the problem. Sadly the message that is out there isn’t a very informed or comprehensive message and there is still much misinformation in the society.
Sex is a huge part of life, but yet here it is not talked about within families. When sex is talked about it is only talked about in a round about way. Many people are trying to make sex less of a taboo, but it seems like there is still a long way to go. Young people seemed to be more informed than the older generation, so it will be interesting to see if the HIV/AIDS trend continues in the same way, or if there is an improvement. Unfortunately it will be several years before it will be evident if current HIV/AIDS prevention efforts are working.

June 27th thru July 8th (really long, sorry)

The Wednesday (June 27th) after I heard of my grandfathers death was a rough day. Even though I had been told that I could take a few days off if I needed to, I decided that going to work and keeping busy was the best thing I could do. The day started off by everyone going to the BCC office so that we could all be dropped off at our different programs. Allie, Satoko and I were all dropped off at the Roman Catholic Church and introduced to Sister Angela, the woman we were told we would be working with. Sister Angela greeted us and then we all quickly set off for the small village outside of Gaborone we would be working in. The drive to the village took only about 20 minutes, but it seemed worlds away from where we were living. It was the first time any of us had been able to see anything close to a rural area.

Sister Angela introduced us to some of the other volunteers as the church that served as the care center, and then she informed us that she would not be staying with us. She also informed us that she would be unable to provide any more transport for us and that we would need to take public transport the remainder of the week. None of us really knew where we were, so we were a little worried and a little annoyed at the whole situation. We were left with several women who really had no idea what to do with us, so for almost an hour we just sat around waiting for something to happen.

Eventually another Sister (her name slips my mind) arrived at the church and sort of took charge of us. At first she was not very friendly or very welcoming, but eventually she started to warm up to us. She offered to let us come along with her when she went to go pick up some of the patients who were either too sick or lived to far to walk to the care center. All of us were interested to see where the patients came from, so we were all excited by the prospect of tagging along. After we told the Sister that we were indeed interested, she then said that the combi was too small, and that maybe only one or two of us could go. At that, we all just kind of looked at each other, and we spoke up and asked if all of us could go. None of us wanted to stay behind, so we offered to all squeeze together. She agreed that all of us could go, but she seemed kind of annoyed with us.

Going to go pick up the patients was interesting. We were exposed for the first time to an area of Botswana that had no running water or electricity. As the patients we were picking up were infected with HIV, and are in need of a lot of assistance, this is a little problematic. Before the Home Based Care program started, many of these people were really left to fend for themselves, and as we learned a few days later the death rates were much higher only a few years before. Now that the patients had at least one well balanced meal a week, as well as moral support and did some exercises, they are much healthier.

After we went to go pick up the patients, we came back to the church to join the rest of the patients who gathered. Most of them were well enough and lived close enough to walk on their own. First we sat through a bible study, which was all in Setswana, but it was interesting enough. Next everyone partnered up and we did some healing and relaxation exercises. It was definitely a learning experience, and the first time we really did any sort of hands on activity with people infected or affected by HIV.

After the exercises, Allie, Satoko and I helped serve everyone lunch. When everyone had their fill, we were also offered food. We took a small amount, we didn’t want to refuse the food but we also didn’t want to take it from someone who may have needed it more. When lunch was over, some young priests in training offered to give us a ride home. At this point we had been talking amongst ourselves all day about how we would get home, so we gladly accepted.

Unfortunately when the young men offered us a ride, they were not really the ones with the transport. They were being driven by an older priest, who didn’t really know where anything in Gaborone was, so he just ended up driving us to a random bus station and dropped us. We were told which Combi to take to get home, but the experience was still very stressful and frustrating. It took us quite some time to find the right Combi, because we were actually dropped off at the main buss station, so there were hundreds of busses and Combi’s all around. While we were walking around trying to find the right Combi I was so frustrated and strung out that I was near tears. We did find the right Combi home, but by that time I was not a happy camper. In retrospect it was an interesting experience that allowed us to explore a little more of the city, but at the time it was no fun.

When we got home it was very clear to me that I needed to take a little time off. The other two students I worked with were not nearly as stressed out by the events of the day as I had been, most likely because they were not also dealing with other problems. I ended up taking Thursday off work to sleep and relax, and it did me a world of good. I was able to talk to my family, which is what I really needed. By Friday even though I was still mourning for my Grandpa, I was at least able to go back to work with a more positive attitude.

Friday (June 29th) was a much better day. It started off much the same way as Wednesday, except this time we were dropped at a different location. When we arrived at this new church, once again no one really knew what to do with us, so we ended up cooking. The women who were volunteering just led us into the kitchen and left us to our own devices. At first we were at a loss, as we had never really cooked Botswana food before, but eventually we got the hang of it. The women figured out that we were clueless, so they gave us a little bit of direction. The food we prepared ended up being really good, so we felt pretty accomplished at the end of the day.

After we finished preparing the food we joined a priest named Father Tony and went to deliver some of the food to several immobile patients as well as go to another group meeting at another location. (The food had to be prepared at a separate church because the group meeting was held where there were no facilities to cook a proper meal.)
One of the immobile patients we met had a very sad story. She was a very sweet young woman of 19, and Father Tony informed us that her step-mother has been beating her for some time. The young woman is in a wheel chair, and is not able to care for herself or to control some of her bodily functions. The step-mother is impatient with her, and has been violent. One of the Sisters has gone to talk to the step-mother, so hopefully something will be done to improve the situation. We gave her a warm meal, and prayed for her when we left. She seemed to be happy despite her situation, but it was still depressing. It seems abuse is something more accepted here which is something to be noted even if I can’t do anything to change that aspect of the society.

When we arrived at the location of the group meeting, we once again helped serve food. The group meeting was held in a more remote location, and none of the patients really spoke any English. We were able to help serve the food, but we were not able to really interact with anyone. We mostly talked to Father Tony about the Home Based Care project as well as his experience in Botswana. Father Tony also explained the name of the town, which had a fascinating yet very disturbing translation. The name of the town literally means, “lift up your skirts”. The town was given the name because a man who used to live in the area would make all the women lift up their skirts so he could rape them. When the area was made into a town, the town kept the name, because everyone knew the area by that description.

After serving the food we were once again left to find our own way home. By this time though we knew where we had to go, so it wasn’t such a big deal. In fact we were able to explore the main bus station, which actually had a lot of cool little shops and food venders. We were still a little annoyed that we had to find and pay for our own way home, but that is just a quirk that can be noted for possible improvement.

The weekend ended up being quite interesting. On Saturday (June 30th) two other students and I went to a local soccer tournament. The tournament was a charity cup that had several games played by local teams. We had to buy tickets off the street which was an experience, as you had to be very careful who you bought from. I was actually a little nervous for part of the game, because I had never been to a soccer game before, which I guess are quite lively. It didn’t help that Tim (another student) and I were the ONLY white people there. We got quite a bit of attention, that I could have lived without. We had a good time though, and managed to stay very safe. We left before the final game ended, just in case things got rowdy.

Monday was a holiday, so we had the day off of work. Because we had the day off of work, and we wanted to get out and explore a little bit, we ended up going hiking. The hiking trip was definitely an experience. On the way to the “trail” we saw about 15 baboons, which was really cool, sadly I got no good pictures though. We ended up just kind of climbing up a random path that didn’t really turn out to be much of a trail. It was a really steep and rocky climb, but the view from the top was beautiful. I didn’t go all the way up because I don’t really like heights all that much, but I did climb high enough to see the dam. It was fun, but probably not something I would really need to do again! Monday night we all got together to eat pizza and play games. It was a nice way to end the long weekend.

On Tuesday (July 3rd) Allie, Satoko and I started working with a different program within the Roman Catholic Church. We started working with an Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) daycare center. The OVC daycare is located about 20 minutes from UB, in a smaller village, much like the villages we visited the week before. This daycare center was most certainly the most well run organization that we have visited so far. The center is run by a woman named Sister Margate, and she really seems to know what she is doing. Even though she didn’t really have much work for us to do, it was a good week.

The first day that we were at the daycare, we were able to attend a ceremony with a local Bishop. Apparently the Bishop donated a large sum of many to the daycare, and the ceremony was held to thank him for his generosity. The children sang for him, and speeches were given, all pretty standard ceremony stuff. Once again, everything was in Setswana, but we got the gist of what was going on.

After the Bishop left we all went into different classrooms to observe what the children did during the day. In the daycare there were four classes, each with one teacher and one teacher’s aid. The four classes were broken up by age, with the children ranging from 2 to 6. In all, there were 127 children. In the first classroom I observed there were almost 40 kids, all under the age of five! The teacher seemed to have a hard time getting them all to concentrate, but I think that is pretty standard for young children. The teacher first read everyone a story, and then I was asked to do an activity with them. As I was taken by surprise I ended up teaching them a song. It went pretty well, the kids were so adorable. After I taught them a song it was time for lunch, which is the last activity of the day before the children are taken home.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (July 4th thru July 6th) went much the same as Tuesday (minus the ceremony of course). On Thursday we were able to attend a meeting of the parents and caregivers of the children that is held once a month. The meeting was mainly about fundraising and the upcoming graduation of the oldest class. The meeting touched on the topic of HIV testing for the children that had yet to be tested. The Sister recommends that all the children are tested, as they often have HIV positive parents. We were told the meetings also often include advice on how to properly care for children, as many of the children come from troubled families.

Working for the OVC daycare was fun and educational. We mostly just played with the children, who were so happy for the attention we gave them. The children seemed to be very well cared for at this program, which was uplifting to see. When we were not playing with the children we tried to get as much information about the organization as possible. We were able to talk to Sister Margaret as well as the other staff members quite a bit. Most everyone was very friendly, even though sometimes we got under peoples feet.

On our last day working, we stayed outside with the children all day. There was one little girl who was particularly attached to me, and I spent most of the day with her by my side. I tried to break off a few times to play with other children, but eventually it became clear that she was going to be my little girl for the day. All of the children seemed to be very curious by us. We were not the only white people they had ever interacted with, but maybe we were just more tolerant to their curiosity. They all liked to touch our hair a lot and they all referred to us as “white person” in Setswana. I was a little heart broken when we had to leave on Friday, but if I had stayed longer I’m sure it only would have been more difficult to break away.

This weekend was pretty tame. We did all go to a Fourth of July party given by the embassy, but it was pretty lame. Those of us who enjoy hamburgers and hotdogs were thrilled however. I was not impressed; they even made us pay for our food. I ended up walking home early which was nice, because the weather was beautiful. It had been cold most of the week, but Saturday was sunny and warm.

Not much else interesting to write about. More to come as time goes on!

June 21st thru June 26th

Since it has been awhile since I have written, it will probably take several long entries to catch up! A lot has happened in the last two weeks, so forgive me if I am long winded. I will try to write in a chronological fashion to avoid confusion, but I may end up jumping around a bit…I will start off where I left off, which is the Thursday of the second week, June 21.

Thursday was an interesting day, after three days of lectures it was finally time for the organizations we could choose from to come and present. All of the organizations seemed like they would be very interesting to work with, but ultimately I decided to work for the Botswana Council of Churches (the BCC). For many of you, my working for a christian organization might seem like a strange choice, but I decided working for the BCC would give me the most flexibility to do what I want as well as some hands on experience. I was one of five (out of twelve) who ended up at the BCC, each one of us wanting focus on different programs they offer.

Before coming to Botswana, I really didn’t know which area of HIV/AIDS work I wanted to focus on. I had read the articles assigned for the trip and I had also done plenty of research on HIV/AIDS in Botswana, but it wasn’t until talking to local people and listening to the lecturers with experience in local HIV/AIDS problem that I found my interest. My interests include working with HIV/AIDS education and prevention, mainly concerning male involvement as well as the problem of “message fatigue”. (I am also interested in the LGBT community as it is affected by HIV, but the organization dealing with LGBT issues would have given me mostly office work).

(More on my current experiences with the BCC to follow later…)

Friday was a relaxed day, with most of the afternoon free. Friday evening however was very interesting, as several of us decided to go out and explore more of the Gabs night life. We ended up at a bar called Bull and Bush, which we had heard a lot about from other American students staying at UB. When we first walked into Bull and Bush we it was immediately clear that it was a very makgowa (white) establishment. (It was about half white and half black, but as Gabs is predominantly black we found the high percentage of whites a bit odd). The interesting aspect of the evening came about when another group member, Stephanie, and I got into a political discussion with a young white man from Zimbabwe. The discussion focused on racism in Botswana, Zimbabwe as well as South Africa where he studied. The perspective he gave was new to us, and we were able to learn a lot from each other.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty chill days. Saturday night we went to a music festival that was being held at UB, but we didn’t stay long as we were all tired. Sunday we went grocery shopping and prepared for our first day of work at our organizations.

Monday (June 25), was the first day at our organizations. At 7:30 we all left to be dropped off at our various destinations. The BCC turned out to be not far from UB, and we were one of the first ones dropped off. When we arrived at BCC, we were left in the waiting room for a little while, while the staff was in a meeting. After a few minutes we were led into the conference room to be introduced to the staff. Apparently every Monday morning everyone gathers for a short meeting and prayer session, after the meeting everyone scatters to work on their various projects. After the introductions and greetings, we all met with Pastor Semonie to discuss our different interests and to our expectations as well as the expectations the BCC had for us. We were given a brief history of the BCC, and we were given literature for us to take home and read.

After discussing the areas we were interested in, Pastor Semonie went to make arrangements for the rest of our time at the BCC. I had mentioned that I either wanted to work with male involvement in prevention efforts, or with the youth project in the slums. We were given two weeks to work specifically in our own areas of interest, and a then we were given a week to visit several different programs the BCC offers. Unfortunately even though we were scheduled to go visit the youth project, and the male involvement project, I was not placed in the program I was hoping for. I was placed with two other group members working with the Catholic Church, focusing on two different programs. For three days we would be working with a home-based care program, and for four days we would be working with an orphan care program. Both programs sounded interesting, even if it wasn’t in my area of initial interest.

Both Monday and Tuesday were interesting days at the BCC. After getting our placements organized we were taken to several programs and organizations in order to get a feel for what the BCC does. (Wednesday was the first day we would start working in our individual programs.) Monday afternoon we were taken to BOCONGO, which is an organization that works with most of the NGO’s in Botswana. It was interesting to talk to BOCONGO, even though most of the work they do focuses on everything but HIV/AIDS. On Tuesday we were taken to the youth project in the slums, which provided shelter to those who need it as well as vocational training to the older youth who have stopped going to school (the youth were anywhere from 12 to 26). We were also taken to the Botswana Bible society to talk about their HIV education program, which personally I found to be behind the times.

On Tuesday when we got back to UB, I was in a great mood. I was very happy with my placement and I was excited to start working with the home based care program the next day. Tuesday evening however, I was presented with some very bad news. I received an e-mail informing me that my grandfather who had been in the hospital for almost a week, passed away from pneumonia. Apparently he had died late the night before. Even though I had known he was in the hospital, his death still came as a shock to me. It has been hard dealing with his death so far away from my family, but I have been dealing with it as best I can. I wish that I had been able to tell him goodbye and that I loved him, but even if I had flown home when he started to get worse I would not have made it in time. I know my grandfather knew he was loved, so I am taking some comfort in that thought. I’m sure the real mourning and shock is still waiting for me when I return home, but for now I am trying to keep moving on and getting the most out of my experience here. I am sure that is what he would have wanted.

On that depressing note, I am going to end this entry. I will write more soon, as I still have a lot to catch up on. I hope everyone is doing well at home, and I love you and miss you all!

Quick Update

Sorry I have not updated in awhile, life has been hectic here. I don't really have time to write today, but I promise I will write a nice long post soon.

Happy 4th everyone!

P.S. I am alive and well, just in case anyone was wondering.