I can now say that I have seen a bit more of Namibia than just the
training center in Okahandja. For the past two weeks, I have been up
north, visiting my permanent site in the Caprivi Strip and shadowing a
current health volunteer in the Kavango region. The Caprivi Strip can
be found in the far northeastern section of the country; this narrow
finger pokes its way in between Zambia and Botswana, touching Zimbabwe
and Angola as well. The region is pretty distinct from the rest of
Namibia, namely as a result of two rivers that sandwich the region,
making it a lush, fertile area. Well, other reasons set it apart too.
Nutshell history lesson: Namibia was colonized by the Germans, who at
the Berlin Conference (where much of the continent was carved up like
pieces of cake for the taking) were vying for a route inland to try to
connect what is now Namibia to another of their territories, Tanganika
(they weren't successful), which explains why this funny stretch is
actually a part of Namibia and not one of the neighboring countries.
So, the borders were rather falsely drawn and much conflict has
simmered over the years (the area was active in the freedom fight;
Angolan civil war and has had a separatist movement). As a result,
Peace Corps volunteers have not been in the region since 1999, so I am
part of the first group to back into the region and the first health
volunteer in the region (before there were only teachers). It's quite
safe there now, so no one should worry.
My village is called Mubiza (the b is pronounced like a Spanish b,
cross between a "b" and an "v"), which is located 25 km outside of
Katima Mulilo. The best way I can think to describe it is to say that
it's the stereotypical African village. Yes, that means I am living in
a mud hut, pulling water from a bore-hole, bucket bathing, cooking
over a propane burner/fire and using a pit latrine! It's quite
beautiful – behind my house is a field of mopani trees and cows come
to my window and stick their head in when I cook dinner! Lots of stray
dogs camp outside my stoop and the main gathering point in the cluster
of huts surrounding me is under a big tree where everyone cooks, eats
and rests during the heat of the day. There is another volunteer in
the same village, Griffin, who will be teaching at the school. It's
been nice to have someone who speaks English to process with, but
everyone thinks that we are a couple and is quite surprised to see him
do his share of cooking and other tasks that only women do here.
My assignment is to work with the Junior Farmers Field and Life Skills
Program (JFFLS). It is a trial program through FAO (Farming and
Agriculture Organization, part of the United Nations) and has four
sites in the region, each with a Peace Corps volunteer. Basically, the
idea is to teach gardening, as a way to transfer knowledge about
farming, life skills, HIV/AIDS and have a way to generate income. Our
program has 30 OVCS (orphans and vulnerable children), which is only a
small fraction of the orphans at the school – the school is made up of
over 85% orphans – it's rather mind-boggling. Hopefully, the program
will be expanded, so as not to further stigmatize the kids in the
program. Anyways, I will be training the facilitators, developing
curriculum, teaching book-keeping skills, computers and teaching
life-skills to 5-7 graders, in addition to gardening. Many projects
are in the works, including a fish pond to raise fish, bee hives,
poultry barn, orchard (to grow bananas, guava, papaya and mangos!) and
butcher business. They plan to see the garden produce in the
community, as well as to the grocery store in Katima and local lodges.
The garden has yet to be harvested, even though it was started in
2005, so all of these projects need quite a bit of coordination before
anything will actually come to fruition. There is no clinic or
health facilities in the village of about 2,000 people, so they have
to hitch hike into Katima for any medical care. The region has the
highest rate of HIV/AIDS and TB in the country (over 42% We came
across satellite villages that have an 80% infection rate).
I've already been asked to open a clinic and treat people, which is
probably a natural misunderstanding when they hear that they are
getting a health volunteer! There are a lot of misconceptions in the
area as to how HIV is spread. One of the prevalent beliefs is that it
can be contracted if someone comes to you in a dream while you are
asleep and has sex with you. The traditional healers advocate this as
a way the disease is "witched" on people, and there are even court
cases at the traditional court where people are convicted of infecting
others with HIV in dreams. Craziness. The women I spoke to in my
village, seemed very unsure of whether this was possible or not – and
they were the facilitators teaching the kids about AIDS!
People have been extremely welcoming; adults have been sending kids to
my hut to make sure that I'm never lonely! The white, mukuwa, is a
source of endless fascination for many who make excuses to check in on
me at all times of the day. My hut was built by the community when
they heard that they were getting a volunteer. My visit was mainly for
me to meet and greet as many people in the village – headmen, village
court, JFFLS management committee, religious leaders, traditional
healers and the kids. I am looking forward to going back in January
and settling in to my new home.
We went to Botswana (a mere 30 minute drive from the village!) and
even got to see an elephant – a perk of being surrounded by game
parks. While shadowing current volunteers, they took us to a game park
where we saw lions, hippos, buffalos, giraffes, 2,000 year old trees,
huge lizards, crocodiles, and many more animals. It's pretty
awe-inspiring to see these animals in their natural habitat, meters
away from you. On my hike up the nearby mountains before dinner this
evening I saw a pack of baboons! I have yet to see any snakes, despite
numerous stories of snakes being killed in the village, and that's the
way I hope it remains!
I feel like I have learned more in the past two weeks while having
navigate all sorts of new forms of transport – hitch hiking with
truckers, riding in crammed combies, in the back of pick up trucks
with chickens and with my own two legs – just by having to do it.
Transportation is a huge problem here since the country is expansive,
yet sparsely populated in many parts, making it difficult to get
around with no formal transportation system. I am much less worried
about having to hitch hike than I initially was and won't have to do
it alone, so it's worked out fine so far. The key is to be assertive
and speak up if you get in an uncomfortable situation.
I'm sorry this is so long. I haven't had access to the internet in
three weeks and wanted to share with you the news about my placement.
Any news from the states is greatly appreciated, despite my lack of
responding up until this point (I have every intention of replying as
soon as I have access).
My body is still on village time – going to bed when it gets dark and
waking up with the roosters at 4:45 am! I have never seen so many
sunrises in my life! I'm a little red from being outside all morning
for World AIDS Day events, and a little sore from hauling manure and
planting in the garden, but I will get used to the manual labor and am
happier than I've ever been. This is my life.
For the next month, I am be living in Grootfontein with a host family
for more language training and technical training. I am one month away
from officially being sworn in a PCV!
Thanks to all who have emailed, i am responding but having trouble
accessing the internet. you can send me messages though on facebook
and \i can check using my cell phone. technology!
love to all,
thea
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