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!