effort of working with the cultural group.
We are trying to do varied activities
with them. It is part of the strategy to
show them options and give them ex-
periences that kids with resources have
access to.
We are limited with what we have to work
with and to get things done is a struggle
and a lot of finagling but sometimes a
little luck helps.
The planned activity was to take the kids
to the Mahango section of the Bwabwata
National Park. That section is dedicated
strictly for game drives. There was only
a single member of the group who had been
on one before, so it was a first time experience
for 15 of the kids.
We were fortunate to get the assistant principal
to supply transport (as he is the most reliable
option around).
We left the village about 7:30 a.m. and it might
have been a little late to get to the park to see
the animals.
There is a road that is about 4 or 5 km long
and is specifically for two wheel drive vehicles.
The assistant principal's pickup truck (called
bakkie here) is a two wheel drive so we took
that route.
The first pass was pretty uneventful as there
weren't many animals and the main animals
out were the Impalas. They were a lot of them,
more than I've ever seen at this park.
The park borders Botswana so we headed to
look at the border post. The kids never saw
one. It is a simple thing but they now know
a little about what it is about.
On the way back the kids wanted to go back
through the same road in the park and they
made the right decision.
There were a lot more animals but no giraffes,
elephants or buffaloes but there were a few
others types instead.
There were a lot of kudus, baboons/monkeys,
iguana and there was even a hippo with a
small baby out of the water. It made up for
the first pass.
Near the entrance of the Mahango section is
a fisheries institute that works with fish farming
throughout the region.
It is really an incredible place and even though
it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was
officially closed, they opened it up and gave the
kids a tremendous tour.
In the picture you can see a few of the kids with
the assistant principle inside one of the
institute's building. In those tanks are the fish
species that the institute works with.
These are the only kids in the whole school of
310 students that have ever seen anything like
this before.
They were really great and even the guide said
that they were one of the best mannered and
interested groups that he's guided.
That is one of the things about development,
the thought is to work with the difficult but also
I think it is ok to keep the good ones occupied
so that they don't go to the other side (as in
alcohol abuse at a young age).
We also got them plenty of food and those 16
kids can eat so it was a little pricey but it the
end ... worth every cent.
So now we have to come up with another activity
for them to do. The idea is to have them do kind
of a cultural concert / performance specifically
for the elders. After watching the kids dance at
the school building's inaugural event the elders
are asking to see more of the group perform.
So, as it goes, it was a great Saturday in the
life of this Peace Corps volunteer.
1 comments:
Good morning how are you?
My name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Namibia? I understand perfectly that you think that your e-mail is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Namibia in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and a original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com, where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
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