Yea for money!

The American Embassy finally called. They awarded us US$3400. I think we can do a lot with that here. If you don't recall, this was the grant we wrote back in May. I'm not as excited as I thought I would be. For one thing, the Embassy told me I'd hear something by the end of June. I tried repeatedly to contact them in July and August. I got only one response from a lady who said she couldn't tell me anything. I basically gave up on them. This money is to go toward sewing and gardening projects for our HIV support group. The support group is non-existent at the moment. I really hope we can get people interested. Pray for us.

Also, the Male Engagement workshop went well. My colleague, and friend, Udi and I will have an opportunity to share the info with some local SWAPO government leaders here in Tsumeb. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I think we will be speaking to some very conservative, traditional men. We will be presenting them with ideas about gender equality, and asking them how they think we can 'get outside the box' with local gender norms (i.e. Men don't cook or clean, women's sexual rights inside marriage). It should be interesting.

That's all for now.

Let's Get Physical

I’m back in Tsumeb after yet another detour. I spent the last two weeks in Windhoek for physio-therapy (British English). Nothing is really wrong with me. I just have some irritation in my right leg that I thought I’d get checked out. Why not? I have full medical coverage. I didn’t learn much. They say I have a bit of an abnormal separation in my lower spine. It’s something I was born with and it may be causing the problem. They recommended physio-therapy which is why I had to spend so much time in Windhoek. I’m doing stretches and exercises now that are supposed to help. The truth is I probably should’ve listened to my Mom last year when she evaluated me. She’s also a physical therapist and basically gave me the same plan.

I got a nice surprise when I got home. The squash plants are thriving! They were coming around before I left, but now they’re really kicking. Were they happy I was gone? Maybe my bad attitude was stunting their growth... could be a lesson to all of us who are parenting young species. We also started seeds in our planters a couple weeks ago. We planted green peppers, cabbage, spinach and tomatoes. Hopefully we’ll have something to put into the ground in a few more weeks. The ‘My Future is My Choice’ kids promised to help me with it. Here's a picture of them.

I’m looking forward to a Male Engagement Training next week. I’ll be going to Otjiwarango (2 hours south of Tsumeb) to be trained to give Male Engagement Workshops in Tsumeb. A Namibian colleague from Tsumeb will join me and help facilitate the workshops back here. I’ll let you know how it goes.

What a week!

I promised I’d report on the community meeting and self-defence classes. I didn’t plan on being all that excited to do it.

We held a community meeting on Saturday morning at Omatara (Oshiwambo word meaning open market). Community meetings in Tsumeb are notorious for poor turnouts, but this one was well attended. It helped that Omatara is naturally a busy place but we thought getting their attention and cooperation was going to be a heavy task. We requested ahead of time that all shops close during our meeting. They didn’t seem all that willing to do so but when Councillor Tobias went around with a megaphone they complied. Then about 250 of them pulled up benches and listened attentively throughout the meeting. We had a speaker from the Ministry of Health, and a demonstration by TCE (Total Control of the Epidemic) but the highlight was definitely Tate Luanda Ndemweda’s speech. He is an HIV positive man living in Oshivelo, about an hour north of Tsumeb. We invited him to speak at our meeting because we are having a difficult time finding anyone in Tsumeb willing to speak out publicly about their HIV status. Word got out that we would have an HIV positive speaker. That may have also helped with the turnout. When Tate Ndemweda finished he was given a large round of applause and words of encouragement. A couple shop owners even gave him bags of tomatoes and onions.

We also held self-defence classes at Meameno Centre over the weekend. My friend, and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Paddy, taught the classes along with his partner Brooke. The two of them are trained in Karate and Tae Kwon Do. The classes were only for girls. We had 12 who completed the all three classes and received certificates. I was really impressed with the teachers and the girls. Paddy and Brooke spent a lot of one-on-one time making sure the girls learned all the techniques. I was amazed at what they were able to do after just three days. It was fun to see some of the really shy ones perform with so much energy. It seems so many young girls in Namibia have a hard time standing up for themselves and defending their rights. I think these classes gave them a real boost. I want to send special thanks to Paddy and Brooke who brought these classes to girls all over Namibia.

I know I complain a lot about being ineffective and not getting things done. Most of the time that’s how I feel. So believe me when I say this: I played a big part in making these events a success, and I’m proud of it.

Time to go to work

I suppose I’m due for a work update. I’ve been avoiding this a little due to the lack of production on my end. At least I have excuses. In May, June and July I was gone from Tsumeb for about 10-15 days per month. So I didn’t get a lot done. I shouldn’t have many reasons to leave site in the next few months, and I hope they are much more productive.

I just finished my first ‘My Future is My Choice’ course with students at Tsumeb Secondary School. 13 kids graduated. Next month they’ll be presented their certificates in front of the whole school. I think the kids enjoyed it, and I know I did. I feel like I could be a pretty good teacher. I think the best part of the class had to be the question box. Some of the students were pretty shy, understandable for their age, but they made good use of the question box. I had to refer to my smarter Peace Corps colleagues quite a few times. Many of them actually studied medicine or health. So not only did they learn a lot, so did I. The plan is for me to conduct one course each school term. I’m already looking forward to starting my next class in September.

You may recall I started a compost pile back in March for the new garden to be planted in the spring. We were able to get two good size compost piles going thanks to the help of a local grocery store who provided us their rotting fruits and veggies. It took a while for the decomposition to get moving, but both piles look pretty healthy now. In fact, the rotten squash liked their new home so well they decided to sprout like wildfire. I spent last Saturday transplanting the new squash plants to our garden… our garden that didn’t exist. So I had to prepare the soil. Anybody ever heard of the double digging method? It’s supposed to loosen the soil down to 24 inches. It was pretty painful, but I promise you that soil is loose! I transplanted about 20 squash plants. Unfortunately they may all be dead. Did I mention I’ve never gardened before? I couldn’t keep the root balls together. The compost soil was so loose, the dirt just fell off the roots. I had Jesse come and look at it. He thinks since the compost piles were covered the squash plants got used to a warmer temperature and suffered major shock in the garden. Why didn’t I recruit him to help me? I’ve still got some more squash plants to transplant. I’m going to keep that compost pile uncovered for about a week before I move them. If anybody has suggestions please send me comments. Oh, I forgot about the mango seeds we planted. None of them sprouted. We’re going to try papaya now. Jacob assures me these will work.

I’m helping organize a community meeting and a self-defence class this month. I’ll let you know how it goes. Ta Ta.

Yesterday

Yesterday was a good day for me. For others it was not. My brother Jesse had to attend a memorial service for three of his fellow students at Otjikoto Secondary School. They were killed in a motor vehicle accident one week ago. Two of them were girls in grade 9. The other was a boy in grade 12. He was a friend to Jesse. 22 other students were fortunate enough to survive the accident, although some were seriously injured. I don't know all the details of the accident. I know the kids were in the back of a large open-bed truck. They were headed to their village, Ombili. The truck was hired by their families to bring them home for the weekend. Apparently, the back tire(s) blew and the driver lost control. The vehicle went off the road. It rolled many times throwing the children from the back. The memorial service was the fourth in Tsumeb this year to involve the death of school children.

Yesterday was a good day for me. I had good conversations, ran into people I hadn't seen in a while. My day finished with a nice dinner with Tate and Jesse at Makalani Hotel. Jesse, who was emotionally exhausted, was talking to us with his eyes closed by the end of the meal. He left early this morning for another day of mourning in Ombili.

My friend and colleague, Jacob, also had a very difficult day. He travelled up to Owamboland upon hearing news that his son was very sick. The 1 ½ year old baby remains in the hospital. It must have hit Jacob very hard when he arrived there. He sent me a message, “I don't know what to do. He's very sick.” I'm afraid his son could die, but I pray he gets better news.

Yesterday the weather was perfect, I had a good day at work. I went home to a decent book and a warm bed. I don't know how to comfort my brother or my friend. Illness and death interrupt life all to often here. And every time it does I just feel like an outsider trying to understand.

I have a problem with the phrase, "Things always happen for a reason." I disagree. I think sometimes things just happen. I don't know that Pastor Roger agrees with me, but I'm going to quote him anyway. "Sometimes evil just breaks in." I think sometimes, it's not part of God's plan.

Quick Post

Life is good. My Mom is loving Namibia. I don't have much else to report. I'll put something together later in the month to let you know how work is progressing for me. Here's a couple images. One is from the Copper Theatre Group. They are a Tsumeb theatre group. Almost all of my friends are part of this group. My Mom and I are going to see them perform tonight. The other picture is from Opawa Junior Secondary School (grades 1-10). I got to speak to them back in February.

Update/Pics

Hello everyone. I don't have much to say today, but I thought I could send some pictures of Tsumeb. It's taken me a while to collect these because I hate taking pictures in the town I live. I feel like such a tourist. I took a couple of these shots blind. I just raised the camera out of my bag for a couple seconds and snapped shots. I know it sounds pretty silly but that's me. This will give you some idea what the town looks like. The last picture is from an event last night at Otjikoto Secondary School (the one my brother goes to). It was alright. I'm getting a little fed up with 'African Time'. The event was supposed to start at 6pm. It didn't actually start til around 8pm. Some of the performers were incredible dancers. I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying so I won't judge their musical talent.

My Mom will be here 1 week!!! We're going to have a fabulous time. I'm taking her to Swakopmund (the coast), Etosha Game Park, Tsumeb and maybe Botswana. I have a hard time imagining her here. I feel quite removed from my life in the states. It's like the two worlds will finally collide when she arrives on Saturday.