On race ...

I was in South Africa shortly after Nelson Mandela passed away, I have to say, his passing in Botswana went without fanfare. It was on the news, however, in my observation people weren’t affected by it. Batswana would say things to the effect of “he was a good man” “a hard worker” etc etc.  South Africa was a different story. Everywhere you looked there was a memorial of some sort. Here are some photos from Cape Town. 

Being a white female in Botswana comes with an interesting set of privileges. Often, I find they are uncomfortable privileges. Botswana is a largely black country, whites are in Maun and Gaborone. In rural Botswana where I live, being white is a “novelty” there is a common thought that all white people are amazing at everything. Its uncomfortable. Traveling in South Africa….was interesting. I think that many Americans are overly sensitive to racal issues. White guilt? I am not sure…

As a white American watching interactions between whites and blacks in South Africa (and even in places in Botswana) is frankly uncomfortable. The slums outside Cape Town are literally fenced off. I saw an advertisement to  “visit the other South Africa” which was a slum. Because you should take a slum tour? Like people who are forced to live in substandard abject poverty are animals in the zoo? 

I don’t mean to diminish the racial divide that is in America either…however I have never been so aware of my whiteness before. Perhaps I was just living in an mainly ignorant filled bubble in America. Or a bubble filled with little to no diversity...

Squash gone wild….

 A little garden update…..

 harvesting basil….

 loooook at that beauty.

 so.much.squash.

 squash!!! 

lil onions! 

Going on 17...

Someone has always has it worse. As much as I complain, wallow in self pity and feel sorry for myself. Someone always has it worse. That's the painful lesson I learned the other day. 

A week or so ago I helped a form 2 girl at school go to the clinic. Blood donation came and when she tried to donate she was told she has "low blood." She came to me to ask me what it was. I had no idea. People either die from low blood or high blood. That's what they always say. As I sent her on the 2 kilometer walk to the clinic I told her. Let me know and I can help you research what's wrong with you.  

The other Friday I was walking my walk to school. It's 3 kilometers so usually I have time to think. This particular day I was wallowing in self pity, feeling depressed and had general existential angst. It was just one of those days. 

I ran into this girl from school. So I asked her how her clinic visit went. I mean what exactly is low blood?! She looked at me and said. I am HIV positive. It was like a slap in the face. 17 years old and HIV positive. She goes on to tell me that yes, she has slept with some of the male students at school. 

The nurse told her that she needs to increase her nutrition and eat lots of fruits and veggies. The boarding master says that's not possible due to budgets. As I type this right now there is no food at school to feed the students. 

She is getting blood work done to evaluate her CD-4 count and viral load. As of right now the government of Botswana will provide her with free ARVs if her CD-4 count is under 300. Until then she waits. 

Someone always has it worse. 

It's supposed to feel like Christmas right?

If everything was easy this wouldn't be the Peace Corps....

All Ashley and I wanted to do was maid Christmad cookies...at times I feel like that was too much to ask. Hours before my arrival for Christmas cooking extravaganza was to start, Ashley's gas can runs dry....

After using two different ovens in a 15-kilometer radius and jimming an oven so it didn't smoke black smoke we finally got to baking! About 6 dozen cookies and a bunch of popcorn balls later...we were finished! 

Also, when you don't have a table you have to ice cookies on the floor...or mix them outside because the kitchen is a 3 foot X 12 foot no space to move in room...

Return to Sender...

Growing up my Granny wrote letters on a weekly basis, it was her weekly ritual-and extra long morning tea and letter writing. Who doesn't love getting a real letter? In this day an age email is the way to go, emails are nice...but snail mail can make anyone's week.

When I came to the Peace Corps, I thought to myself this would be a prime time get my letter writing grove on. I pledged to myself that I would write ever Saturday....I was doing really good for a while! Now, my letter writing is a little bit more sporadic.

The sporadic letter writing is not entirely my fault. A little jaunt to your local postal service isn't like back in the mother land....Going to the postal service takes good mental health readiness and a strong constitution.

The post office is a one stop shop for a lot of things: electricity, air time, all your postal needs, accessing your safe deposit box, wiring money and the Grannies of the village picking up their pension checks. Long story short, a lot is going on with one postal worker behind the counter.

I use the post office for buying stamps and picking up packages. Stamp buying is a feat to its self. The price of sending an average size letter to "The rest of the world" aka America is P8.00, if you want to send a letter to "Southern Africa" it is a different price,if you want to send to "other African countries" it is a different price...I am sure you get the picture. Needless to say, they have many different stamping options: You can get P4.90, P0.40, P1.00, P7.90....etc etc etc..

More often than not, I go to the post office and ask for "P8.00 worth of stamps" the postal worker shakes his head and says we don't have P8.00 stamps and then sighs a little and pulls our the stamp book to try and piece together P8,00 worth of stamps....

Piecing together P8.00 worth of stamps is harder than you think....I mean there are so many options when there are about 20 different postage stamp options. I say that with all honesty and frustrations--yes, you do have many options of stamps, but also sometimes the postal worker is in a hurry and wants to just give you two P4.90 stamps (and that means you are paying way way way over your stamping budget).  In Harry Potter (book 4 I believe), Ms Weasley sends muggle mail to Harry's Aunt and Uncle....its kind of like that. You never know if it is going to make it. Have you ever sent a letter with literally the entire front covered in stamps?

And if you want an envelope full of stamps...do make sure to write to me! I promise that I will write you in return!

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is December 1st of each year. It seems like every cancer, disease or profession has a “day” assigned to it. Usually, those days are passed with little notice expect those who are affected or infected by the disease or profession.  I used to get flowers when I was an administrative assistance on administrative assistant day, celebrate the nurses I worked with on nurses day, do a walk for breast cancer and so forth.

World AIDS Day had a special meaning this year.

In America, HIV/AIDS is still primarily found in certain population groups. Injection drug users, men who have sex with other men and minorities are the affected groups. In most cases, clinicians don’t discuss HIV/AIDS with the “average” patient. The average patient being a straight man or women who  may or may not have behave in risky sexual behaviors. Since about 2008, I have volunteered with nonprofits who provide testing, counseling and case management services to HIV+ individuals. I have given HIV test and had to break the news (on more occasions than I would like to think about) that an individual is HIV+. Saying those words “you are HIV+” is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to say.

HIV in Africa is a different beast. HIV in Botswana is a different beast in comparison to the rest of Africa.  In Botswana, 25% of the adult population (18 and older) is known to have HIV or AIDS. Just over 2 million people live in Botswana and of that 2 million residents---33% are under the age of 14 and an additional 22% are between 15 and 24 years of age. If you do the math, having 25% of  the adult population infected with a disease is substantial.

Last week, just before school let out, we commemorated World AIDS Day. The student body led speeches, dramas and choirs unifying the student body. I was really quiet impressed. Shocked actually by the student bodies effort and commitment to carrying out the event.

The theme for this years AIDS Day in Botswana was around “zero new infections, zero discriminations by 2016” Truthfully, I wasn’t that impressed with the theme. So I modified it. I wanted my kids to think about what they can do, how they can be accountable. So I stressed the idea that “We are the Future” If I don’t get anything into my kids during the time that I am here-I want them to take away the idea that they and they along are responsible and accountable for their actions. So having changing the them to “we are the future” seemed appropriate. Our dramas and speeches were all centered around that ice of our personal accountability.

The equivalent to the student body president quoted JFK “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” Of course, he knows little of JFKs involvement in the Peace Corps and why I am in their lives….and as Americans do in touching moments I tear up (and the kids stare at me).

Botswana is fortunate. During the height of the AIDS pandemic the president made a call for action and implemented life saving programs such as free ARVs, currently if  your CD4 count is under 250, you qualify for free ARVs. Health care is universal, there is a plethora of aid being pushed into Botswana--PEPFAR, UNSAID, UNAIDS, ACHIP,  partnership programs from Harvard, UPenn to name a few. Botswana is also a country that isn’t plagued by corruption. Botswana is blessed with huge mineral wealth. Botswana has really made an attempt to half HIV in its tracks.

But for the amount of money and effort going into HIV/AIDS in Botswana, it isn’t enough. The reality is: people are still dying, condoms aren’t being distributed because the clinics are out, HIV tests aren’t being given because the clinics are out, Doctors can’t visit rural health posts due to transport. Patients don’t come to follow ups because there is no transport to the clinics. Stigmas still exist. People whisper if you are too thin, if you sweat too much or if you have cold sores. Transactional sex happens all the time, people have concurrent partners, myths surround condom use, women aren’t empowered enough to demand condom use. At times, it seems that people are almost apathetic about it. HIV/AIDS education is infused into every curriculum in school and is constantly being discussed on the news. Dare I say, that the familiarity of HIV/AIDS has taken the fear out of it.

I am not meaning to come across negatively. It breaks my heart to see my students being raised by their grannies because their parents are “late” (dead), it pains me to see students who I suspect have HIV. I breaks my heart that an entire generation is missing their parents due to a disease. A disease that is preventable, a disease that will forever be stigmatized because it is transmitted by sex (and sex is taboo).

I encourage you all to take a moment, the next time you are at the doctor to discuss HIV. Just because you are in America, doesn’t mean that you are not at risk.

Know your status, get tested. I do, I am HIV negative.

Snaps of life

 Thank you Union Bank and Trust for my pens! 

What do you do when waiting for a hitch?  Dream job.

Salad. From my garden!!!!

 The normal temp in my house these days….

 Goshena.

 The typical sunset in the ‘Tu…

Sarah and I clean up well!!