Kupi ku kunakyenda? Kunakuyenda ku Katima? This weekend for the first time in my life, I saw TWO elephants...and it was not in a zoo or a circus :). They were just there hanging on the side of the road when we on our way to Katima which is a town about 2-3 hours from me in the Caprivi region. I went there to hang out with my PC peeps and def had a good time, just laughing at nothings and helping another PCV with her yard sale which by the way was my first yard sale experience. To end my fun weekend, we got a great hike from a Namibian UF Gator Grad, my first time meeting a Namibian that has been to FL and Gainesville as a matter of fact. It was pretty cool reminiscing about G-ville, gator nights and those African Student Union friday meetings :) so YAY for a weekend of firsts :).
I like to try and test myself by writing in thimbukushu on here without using my book/notes/ or flash cards. Its unfortunate that I dint get any training on this language from Peace Corps. Its really hard sometimes to just try and remember sentences when I don't even know what i am saying. Like is this word a noun, pronoun or verb idk sigh...I think I am going to start sitting in the thimbukushu classes at the nearby school, one day I am hoping I will understand at least one sentence people tell me when I am walking around in the village lol.
My life these days... just busy with work. Back and forth between the school, the VCT (volunteer testing center) and the youth center. I love that I consistently have something to do. As a health volunteer, consistency is often what we lack of in our work. However, being involve with the school helps me have something to do consistently. That way I know everyday when I wake up, I have a purpose.
This week I was able to finally have a meeting with all the members of the support group. wow....thats was an eye opener. In the sense that, I had heard a lot from other people about the group but being in that meeting made me realize that there are soooooo much challenges to overcome with the group as a whole. Things that seem so obvious to me is not seen by them at all. To me, it should not be a challenge just to do some things. I just kept asking myself why does it seem like this group has forgotten how to use what they have to try and make things work. A big thing that came about is some of the smaller groups were explaining that they need a fence for there garden because animals often come in and destroy there crops. I totally understand that and I totally agree. My concern is that the group do not have no money to build a big and fancy fence for all the gardens so why not just build a traditional wood/stick fence until we are able to generate money for something better. The reality here in countries like Namibia is that A LOT of funding is being cut. Therefore grants that were probably available years ago are scarce now. AND....the grants that are offered now...are soooo difficult to get. Donors are very specific on what type of projects that they will fund. There are soooo many guidelines and requirements. For a project like in my village who has already received a big grant in the past years, it becomes really hard to: 1 explain to them that they will not easily get another grant and 2 help them understand that they have to start generating more money. Thankfully, the chair person and others in charge of the group understands where I am coming from and are consistently working diligently for the success of the support group. So we agreed to just start working asap on the garden here around the hospital, that way we can start generating funds from there. The dedication is there, so I know with time and hard work things will get better.
In other news, the health club at the school has officially started as of yesterday. Imagine that since 2009 when I first came to Namibia, I had a vision to gather selected students from a school to come together to learn about leadership, to discuss health problems in there community, and to learn health related skills (first aid, CPR) and yesterday we were finally able to put the words into action. I can not begin to explain to you how excited I am. What is even better is how great it was to see how the students were already taking charge, leadership and ownership into there health club :). That really made my heart smile. In a matter of an hour and a half we were able to discuss our purpose, our expectations and THEY elected an eboard :). Ladies and gents, where there is a will there is a way. Do not give a child a fish but instead teach him how to fish. Give kids responsibilities, let there voices be heard, give them the opportunity to talk, to express themselves. Create an environment that fosters who they are, an environment that will help them use there mind to think and put there dreams into actions.
My purpose here is not to save lives. I know that when I leave everybody will not stop being infected with HIV, what I do know is that I will try my hardest to teach and to help people (especially kids) realize that there is another world where you can be a nurse, pilot or a teacher. That they have the power to make decisions that will help them accomplish there goals Yes, it will be hard and yes it will take time but you HAVE to try and you have to work hard...if you don't try how will you ever know what you can become.
Kare po thiwana!
Matumero for reading :)...until next time...wear your seat belt, & don't text and drive !
