Karate Kid Comes to the Village

The other week, my friend Paddy, a volunteer for the Ministry of Youth in Luderitz, came to facilitate a three day self-defense workshop for the older girls at school. Leading up to the workshop I was nervous: in theory, I thought that knowing how to protect yourself is an empowering and important thing for girls to learn, but I was nervous that it would come across as “fighting lessons,” which I didn’t want to encourage. The kids fight a lot, often times just because they are bored and have nothing else to do. In an effort to prevent this from happening, I asked my friend Mpambo to come and toloka – translate. She readily agreed and was still enthusiastic about the upcoming workshop when I saw her at church on Sunday. Come Tuesday, though, no Mpambo in sight. This happens all the time, you set something up, follow-up, think everything is in place and ready to go and then when the time comes, it falls through at the last minute. Fortunately, we are used to improvising and a few of the older girls with good English translated for the other girls whenever a new concept was introduced.

The workshop ran after school for three hours each day. On the first day, we went over what self-defense is and the difference between protecting yourself and attacking. Little scenarios go a long way to get a point across! Avoiding dangerous situations, saying “no,” running away to safety and using the buddy system were underscored throughout the workshop. One thing I really liked about the workshop was that it was really hands-on. The girls were taught how to get out of wrist-grabs, chokes and practiced their newly learned maneuvers in pairs. Paddy and Brooke supervised the pairs, so things never got out of hand and to ensure that everyone understood how to do each move. The transformation in the girls over the three days was apparent in their confidence. Women here are conditioned to be reserved and submissive, so it was fun to see them speak up for themselves. On the last day, after a discussion on healthy relationships, each girl had to do a practical test. Without telling the girl what maneuver she’d have to do, they would do one of the moves and she’d have to get out of it. The girls proved to be quick learners and had no difficulties. Each girl received a certificate at the end and a hand-out with all the moves they had learned.

It was fun to have Paddy and Brooke stay with me for a few days to experience “village life.” Living in Luderitz, a coastal city in the south, is a far cry from how we live in the village, so I think they enjoyed pretending they were “real volunteers” by carrying water on their head and playing with my millions of brothers and sisters. I bought extra maize meal, fish, beans and veggies at the market, which Chaze outdid herself preparing traditional food for us to eat. On their last night in the village, I pulled out a bag of marshmallows as a treat and we taught kids how to roast marshmallows. The temptation to eat them raw prevented many marshmallows from being roasted. In an effort to curb this pattern, I told the kids they must sing to their marshmallows. I wish I had a recording of us, bellowing in all keys and cadences, “MAAAAARRSHMALLLLOOOW” over and over. It was so cute. Even the adults got into it.