Last minute project

I have only two months left here in Namibia.
It was originally supposed to be three but due
to a visa issue I have to leave a month earlier.
Even though it is only a change of a month it
makes things a little more intense. It is always
the way that when you leave, people are just at
the point of getting animated. Right now I am
pretty busy doing all the little things. Just kind of
taking care of all the details.

In the picture you can see a sketch that David,
the leader of the Young San Cultural Group made.
It is a traditional San (Khwe) homestead. It is
called a dwjara (don't know how to write it but it
is pronounced that way). We started making one
about a year or so ago but it didn't get to be what
you see in the picture.

We always talked about making a cultural center
and the original idea was kind of like a brick type
building as the center. Instead we decided to make
the dwjara as the cultural center. kind of makes sense
and if it goes well, visitors will be able to spend the
night sleeping in a traditional hut.
I am hoping that it can be completed before I have to
leave. It would be a great thing for me to be part
of it and see what a real one looks like.
It would be just like the period at the end of a sentence
... it would end my time here the right way.

Mid-March update

It has been a bit since I last posted. So, there
are a few things that have happened since.

The village health clinic where I work has been
the recipient of a very quality solar system. I like
the workmanship that the company's employees
did.
It really changes things a bit and now we can show
our movies/dramas on health and social issues
daily. It also makes it a lot easier for the nurses
when they have emergencies at night and it eliminates
having to deliver babies in the dark with only
candle light.

The cultural group is still going along with activities
to keep the kids busy and out of trouble. Yesterday
we loaded them all up into a small pickup truck and
then headed out to Katima Mulilo, a decent sized
city about 250 km from the village.
Out of the 15 kids we brought only two have ever
been there so, that was a new experience for them.
There were a lot of firsts for the group but also for us,
the adults (there was four of us).
Let me see ... the first first for the kids other than
arriving in the new city was ... get this ... ice cream.
Yeah there were kids about 8 or 9 that have never
had the chance to eat ice cream.
It was funny as one of the kids about 8 years old, tasted
his ice cream and said that he didn't want to eat it
because it was too cold (even though it was about 35 c
or 95 F) and it was going to make his body cold.
David the group leader just laughed and
said it was just like the 'The god must be crazy"
movie.
I am leaving in three months so this was kind of like
a going away activity at the same time. So I was
able to give each kid N$20 or about US$2.50 so
they could go to one of the China shops to buy
something.
Man, the kids did shop and it was really surprising
to me what they bought with just the N$20. Again,
for about 10 of the kids it was a first of having
their own money to buy something in a store.
Then we went to the nice open air market and
had a lunch of pap (porridge) and fish. The lady
was pretty happy as she sold 19 plates at one
time and probably made a normal day's pay
in about an hour. Again, this time first for all the
kids.

In Katima is a mission/project that takes in some
underprivileged kids and gives them a solid base.
They live at a small complex that is situated right
on the Zambesi river.
A few of the kids come from our village so we
thought that a decent thing to do would be to go
visit them while we were in the neighborhood.
There are two people running it at the moment
and they are from the States. They do a great
job and are very sincere and caring people.
When we contacted them about visiting we
mentioned that we were a cultural group. We
brought a drum and the skins (traditional clothes).
In the picture above you can see the kids from
our group dancing along with the kids from
the mission/project.
It was really a great time and it was a new
experience for both our kids and the ones living
there.
Again, this was another first.

Then we headed from the Zambesi to the center
of town. We set up a tour at the NBC (Namibia
Broadcast) studio.
We arrived about 4 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon
and the people working there were really nice
to give us the tour. Normally the tours are during
the week only.
The man who gave the tour was just the greatest
and had patience with the kids and with 26 years
of experience at his job, knew everything and was
willing to share it.
He showed the kids the studios and the equipment
and even let the kids sing a song that he saved on
the memory drive.
So, if someone wants to request their song, then
in minutes after doing a search on the server, the
song can be played.
The kids were kind of happy and impressed with that.
Also, the goal in bringing them there was to show
that by going to school and studying they may be
able to work in a studio too.
The guide told them what kind of education they
need and we hope that it was a planting the seed visit.
We pray that in one of the kids, it will grow.
Again, this was another first.

Then we headed towards the border post between
Namibia and Zambia. We couldn't go across and
the border closes at 6 p.m.
We got there at about 5:30 so even if we wanted to
walk out a bit to see the bridge over the Zambesi,
it was too late.
But the kids did get a chance to look at Zambia.
Not a big first, but a first nonetheless.

We then headed home and the kids were full of
food and tired. It was a good day.

So, with 3 months left here for me, it is winding
down time. I am happy that we had a good day
like yesterday and I am not sure that there will
be any more chances for trips like this.
If there isn't, we went out in style.

Keeping up with the Super Bowl ...

Seeing as the Patriots (my team) is in the
Super Bowl, there is a need to be informed.
I am from Massachusetts and during my time
in the Peace Corps the Patriots have been
to four Super Bowls and today they are heading
into their fifth.
The first time I was in Leon, Nicaragua and
that was a great atmosphere. The second
and third I was at Kounkane and Kolda,
Senegal respectively.
Number four was at Nadlac, Romania and
the fifth (today) will be 70 km out in the bush
in north eastern Namibia.
The first three I was able to watch it on TV. The
fourth was through an internet live update feed.
To stay updated on this Pats Super Bowl quest,
I am going to be using what you see in the
picture above ... my cellphone with and internet
connection.
I have downloaded an ESPN app that will post
the plays.
I will refresh every minute or so and though it isn't
like watching it on the tube, it will still be exciting
... especially if they win.
It will require waking up at about 4 a.m. here. It's
ok, it's worth it.

I am really lucky that I can keep up with the game
out here. It can always be worse.

One of the aspects of life that living in the Peace
Corps reminds one of, almost daily.

It's back to the village ...

Tomorrow morning bright and early it's out the
door and time to head back to the village.
It has been about 10 days out of site and
it's been a quick ten days but it was a good
little break. I actually had a chance to watch TV,
go for breakfast a few times and catch up on
the soapies (soap operas / telenovelas) that
they show here in Namibia.

I've stayed in contact with some of the people
I work with in the village and there are a few things
lined up so it will be some things to do upon return.

I was able to do a little more playing around with
my netbook computer since here there is 24/7
electricity. So, I converted another one of the
Young San Cultural Group's songs.

This one I really like and the name of the song is
... people from the oil tree.

It isn't exactly a traditional song but it is one that the
kids put together themselves.

To listen to it and if you want or download just

click here 

when you arrive at the page you will see the player
and to the right an option to download.

Send me a comment if you like the song.

Time to go start packing my things for the 11 hour
journey back.

What I like about ...

Africa is that at any time, any where, you may see something that you've never seen before. Despite having almost 6 years of living on the continent, there is still a good chance that something unique will appear out of the blue. This morning I walked into town ( I am spending a few days in Okahandja. A city. ) as you can see there is water jetting out of somewhere due to some work mishap. You can also see a car under the water flow. The great thing is the guy drove through then stopped, backed up and basically washed his car in the middle of the street. Can't say I've seen that before and maybe others have but this was a first for me. I just love things like this. Freedom to just do these things without worrying about what people think. Things like this I'll miss when my time is up in 6 months. But it ain't over yet.

A new view ...

I am out of the village at this moment and
took a few days to visit the host family that
I stayed with in Okahandja.

I had been in the village almost full time
since returning from my 1 month vacation
at the end of June. I didn't have to stay there
all the time but I did because there always
seemed something going on that I didn't
want to miss being a part of.

But I feel that I was due to just relax a bit. Here
I can catch up on some of the things that I
wanted to work on. In the village the electricity
was basically limited to 1 hour a day and when
they fixed the big generator and it was on for
about 9 hours per, I ran out of airtime for going
on the internet to look up information.
With the 3G connection we have it costs about
1 USD for 7 megabytes of download/upload.
So by being in the city I can get access to buying
airtime by just going to the center of town. In
the village it is hit or miss with airtime so there
are limitations.

In the title it says 'A new view' which basically means
that I am in another place. In the picture is a
part of the new view. On the left is Helvy and on
the right is Helena. They are a part of the host
family that I stayed with during my first three months in
Namibia. It is part of the Peace Corps' program
to have trainees live with host families at the
beginning. It is actually a very good thing as it
gives one a chance to get immersed while making
the transition.

This family in particular has been very good to me
during training and ever since. I visit them every
so often when I get a chance to pass by this side
of the country.

Back to Helvy and Helena ... Helvy is in her last year
at the University of Namibia and she is finishing
her studies in economy. Also she is from the Ovambo
people, one of the many different peoples/tribes in
Namibia. In her language to say hello to
anyone who visits this blog one would say
... ongeipi ... which means 'how are you'.
the reply if things are going well is ... nawa.
Helena is still in high school and will be entering
the 11th grade.
They are both good girls and I am sure that they
will do well with their lives.

Now it is time to end this blog entry and take
advantage of the electricity. Maybe we'll watch a
movie or listen to the radio and even crazier, watch
TV.

Going without those things isn't a real problem and
when I get the chance to use these every so often, it
really is a treat. I really like how this experience helps
keep life into a perspective. I am hoping and am
almost sure that from here on in, I will never take
any of these things for granted.

What a way to enjoy all the things life has to offer ...
but it starts by learning to never take them for granted.

New Year's Eve '12' - reflections

At this time of the year I have made it a
habit to take a few moments to reflect.
I like to reflect back but also forward.
The picture is the view from my back
window. I like just looking out it and
thinking about things every so often. So
I did before I wrote this blog post.

It has been a good year all and all. There
are always things and situations that could
have panned out better but ... as it goes it
goes and that's how it's meant to be.

To say that the world was changed here in
the village in front of our eyes wouldn't be
accurate. But, there has been progress and
that's all one can ask.

The last year's activities were really targeted
towards behavior change and that's really a
tall task if one wants to see 'instant gratification'.
We slogged along and every opportunity that
arose, we took. If it was with sports or culture
groups or just sitting in the middle of the village
and talking one on one, we did it.
The probable biggest success was with the
cultural group. What started out slow and difficult
ended in a bang with the activities of the last
few months.
It was really heartening to hear the mother of
two of the group thank David (group organizer/
leader) by saying that if she had money to give
him she would. She said that her two older kids
give her trouble but the two that are with the
group are good kids that don't give any problems.
She can't thank him enough for what he's done
for her kids.
It was the goal of the group work to help produce
good kids. Hopefully we helped to change their
future, time will tell.
The sports went well but in spurts. If they have a
tournament where there is money, they practice
like heck. If not, no action at all. We tried to
motivate them for the love of the games ... it
improved some but it needs more effort.
The movies we made at the health in 2010
continued to get mileage. They went to a hospital
in the region and the actors from the village got
a lot of text messages from their friends who
saw their work. They are low level celebrities.
Problem, is that we need to make more or at
least one with a good message about alcohol
abuse. It is the leading source of our community's
problems.
One of the smallest yet ' more bang for the buck '
activity we did was with the Youth Office. The
youth (18 to 35) were in a huge need of CV's
or resumes. We worked out a good solid one
that the secretary at the Youth Office put in his
computer. With his support to complete the CVs
at least 15 youth were able to join either the
Namibia Defense Force (NDF), police or
vocational workshops and courses. It was the
largest amount of youth being able to participate
in the above mentioned at any one calendar year.
That was a definitely good surprise to see.

There were also a lot of the small things like helping
out anyone that needed it. I always felt that no
matter how big or small, it adds up. Of course
it does, no revelation there.

Then there is the upcoming year. I have until June
here so the time is getting short and then there
is the sense of urgency setting in. The work here
with the San is really a slow process, the slowest
than in the other countries I've been in. It is the
nature of the beast. So there is a realization that
it is most certain that all things desired will not be
able to be completed.
One real last activity we'd like to accomplish is
to take the Cultural Group to Etosha National Park.
For me it would be a fantastic climax to the work
we did with that group. Of course there are the
normal struggles of resources (funds) and logistics.
But we will try, all we can do.
As mentioned above, one more movie about alcohol
abuse. If we make it, people will watch it over and
over. They've done it with the other movies so
maybe by repetition (on their own choice) something
will sink in. Even if I'm not here.
Electricity is coming so I hope that it is in place long
enough to be able to help a few kids learn a bit
about computing. It is a matter of timing, we hope
it will be in our favor.

I guess that's all for the year end reflections. It was
a good year and hopefully the next half year will
be equally as good.

We'll see if that will be possible ... starting tomorrow.

Xmas Eve

It is another Christmas time and being in a
warm weather climate (it is summer in the
southern hemisphere) gives it a different
feeling.

In the picture you can see my Christmas present.
I've been basically just staying in the village all
the time. Except for going out with the cultural
group on their excursions, being here is about it.
So this is a real treat.

A girl from the village named Mildred came back
for Christmas to visit her family. She brought what
you see in the picture above. Happy Lion is kind
of a Kentucky Fried Chicken place that's in the
big towns.

Mildred had some problems at the beginning of
the year while she was living in the capital. I met
her when I was there and I gave her a little help
and some advice.

With that help she got a job in Katima Mulilo and
is doing very well at the moment.

The other day she SMS / texted me to tell me that
she was bringing the Hungry Lion. She said that
when she had nothing I was there to help her so
she wanted to do this.

Christmas presents are in many shapes and forms.
It is about being happy which is really the best
present of all.The Hungry Lion worked well
... I can tell you that but the present that makes me
happiest of all (this may sound corny) is to see
that she is doing well.

I am also happy that she took the help and made
something with it.

Just helping one person may not save the world
but it will make it a better place, for sure. In the
life of a Peace Corps volunteer it may be 1 or 2
or hundreds that are affected, a lot of times we
never see any results. It happens after we're gone.

But I can say this, seeing Mildred doing well gave
me the best Christmas present ... happiness.

This is the view ...

The village is experiencing a let down after
the last weekend's tournament. It was really
hopping and people are saying that it was
the best one ever held here. In a place like
this that has no working radio or TV reception,
events like this are the main source of en-
tertainment.

But after the curtains have closed what is there
to do? Especially in this holiday season. A lot
of people have left, a few others are coming
back this upcoming weekend.

So, in between there isn't much to do (here
is where the picture comes in) but sit in the
middle of the village and 'look stupid'.
There is actually a story that goes with this. One
of the goals of a Peace Corps volunteer is to
share our culture with the people we are living
with.
When there is nothing to do I usually go to the
center of the village where there are normally
a few people hanging around. During one of
these times I explained the sitting there looking
stupid statement.

When I was younger I played softball for a local
team called the Seagulls that was sponsored
by the owner of a bar. His name was George
(God rest his soul) and he looked almost like
a brother to Burl Ives and he had that Santa
Claus look going on. George was a great and
funny guy and he liked to drink a bit too.
One day me and my friend Ray were going to
go fishing and we happened to poke our head
in George's bar on the way to the pond. George
asked us what we were doing and he had had
a little to drink at the time. We said that we were
going fishing for a few hours and George looks
and us and says " fishing ... every time you go
by a lake or pond all you can see is these people
sitting there with fishing poles in their hands
and looking stupid".
The funny part was that on the way back we
stopped in for a drink (it has to have been over
21 years ago or more because I haven't drank
a drop in that amount of time) and there was
George, sitting in the same place on the end
of the bar.
So we said to him ... who's looking stupid now.
You're still here and also looking as stupid as a
drunken guy with a fishing pole at a pond.

Not a big deal story but while just sitting there in
the center of town exchanging I told them that
one. So now, whenever we ask one another
what we are doing that day, if it is going to hang
in the center of town, we all say we are just going
to look stupid.

Cultural exchange comes in all shapes and forms.
But one thing I do like about this life is the time
that can be taken to just sit and talk and share.
Many time it is an American, Mbukushu, Khwe,
Xong, Mayee, Silozi, Rukangwali, Subia and
Ovambos just sitting there looking stupid together
sharing stories and ideas.
This is what makes this volunteer gig really
something.

Oh yeah, the picture is the view from the place
where we sit and look stupid.

Old George's opinion stills lives on in our little
village in Africa.

The finals

So they played the finals and it was kind
of funny how they changed the strategy for
determining the winner. First it was by a
point system but in mid stream they went
to an elimination scheme.

Here's how it finally turned out. The Youngsters
beat Mutjiku 4 to 2. Then in the Finals it was
the 'Vultures' from Chetto against the home
village's Heroes.

It was the best game of the whole tourney and
the Heroes maintained and won 2 to 1.

In the picture you can see the teams making an
opening jaunt across the field and back. They
also had to dodge the puddle of water that
accumulated after the big rain.

Final results:

1. Heroes
2. Vulture
3. Youngsters
4. Mutjiku

The field that they played on was actually the first
real project that we did here. There was a prior
soccer field but it was outside the village and full
of thorns. Plus it wasn't very amendable to
spectators.

So after talking for months and getting the backing
of two of the schools better teachers (who have
left) ... we finally found a location adjacent to the
main housing area in the village.

The next problem was convincing people to come
out and work. That took another two months
and it took two more months to take out four trees.
Should have taken three days but the four other
guys kept saying that it wasn't fair that they were
the only ones working. Which was true but I told them
that one day they will see the fruits of the labor.

It took two years as this tournament was the first
one held at this field. It was really just great and
I met three of the guys that were with me doing the
work. They all agreed that it was worth it and
seemed a bit proud and happy that they did
the field.

The goal was to put the field where people would
come and watch. It worked, as at any time there
were at least 300 villagers sitting and enjoying the
action. I was really surprised to see the people I
saw watching the game.

It was about trying to build a nice little community
setting where people could hang out, relax and
enjoy without having to go to a bar and drink
until drunk and become a nuisance.

Also, the best part about this project was that the
total cost of making the field was ... absolutely
zero. Not one red cent.

I am happy because as I watched the people
just having fun, it felt good to see that one of these
projects went as designed.

Now we have to fix that hole where the puddle is.
Should be easy to get those guys out there with
me ... this time.