one year anniversary of our arrival in Namibia,
time is flying by.
In the picture you are looking at what was, the
biggest elephant I've ever seen. In my little book
on the wildlife of the Okavango region it states that
a male can grow to 4 meters tall or a little over 12ft.
and weigh up to 6,000 kg or 13,000 lbs. This one
had to be pretty close to those numbers. It looked
like an old male and must have been a tough life for
this guy, if the tusks are any indication.
I took this picture as part of an excursion we had
with the winners of the Miss Valentine's day contest
that the youth leadership group facilitated. It was the
group's first attempt at any form of activity. I am
giving them an -A. They had some difficulties but we
sat together and worked them out. It wasn't perfect
but it was the proverbial 'great learning experience'.
It is about empowering the youth and prepare them
to lead when their time comes.
Part of the prize for winning was a trip to the game park.
There were four winners and five from the youth group
leadership board, me and one of the Romanian guys.
We took the Romanian's microbus and off we went.
We were incredibly lucky because as soon as we entered
we came across the huge male elephant, zebras, impala,
vultures and what I think is a Tawny Eagle.
And that was it, not another animal in sight. Of course we
went at about the worst time of the day due to having to
wait for the girls to arrive. But all was not lost because I
brought my little camera and we took a total of 119 pictures.
With about 10 of them with animals in them and the rest ...
well ... best described ... they loved hamming it up for
the camera. But it was a good, reason being, they had
fun.
I am thinking that for all of them, it was the first time at
the game park, so. It was a new experience for them.
On the movie scene, we are in the process of hashing out
a new story line about teenage pregnancy. It is going
a little slow but I am actually happy with the process.
It is going slow because we are still discussing the
way the message, in it's best form, can be delivered through
the drama. I am feeling that with the daily discussions
and the 'think tank' ten minutes, that they are
learning to not just rush anything out there but to think
about what is the goal of actually making these movies.
And that is to deliver a convincing message that will
in the end, alter behavior for the good.
Tomorrow we are going to have a little bread making
workshop. When the military was here they had this
huge traditional oven and it has been just sitting there
for quite a while. The oven was used by a bread
making group but went the typical way that the groups
seem to always arrive to ... out of business. Standard
cookie cutter reason, too much credit, too much
eating the goods and last but not least, too many
hands in the profit jar.
So, the Romanian girl is a fantastic cook and she decided
to try the workshop. Truth be told on this one, if a few
come, then, it will be a success. Also, the goal of this
one isn't for income generating. It is for the attainment
of knowledge and hopefully, baking of bread for their
families. It seems that all the time a workshop or
something similar is talked of, it is always, how much
money can be made. I think that this one is better
if it is ... how much bread can you eat.
Later, if they are interested in going into a business, then
they will have the skill to venture out on their own and
it is in their hands. The old teach a man how to fish thing.
But only this time ... teach a person how to make bread.
We are not even concerned about if it will be a success
through a tremendous turnout. Worst thing that happens,
we eat nice hot bread for lunch. To me if that happens,
heck, I'll give it the big thumbs up seal of approval.
The young San cultural group is really improving. They
need some props like, a traditional bow and arrow,
some type of mask and skin to emulate a lion or an
animal for their hunting song. A few little axes and
things like that. So we are working on acquiring
some of those items. I am donating on this one, those
kids are really into it, they enjoy it and again, are
pretty good. I feel they deserve a little support.
The guys were actually playing soccer and it is a good
thing for them and the village. The work is to try and
waken up the place, get a better energetic life style
going and in the end, it fits in the goal of changing
the behavior from one of alcohol as a first option
in the fight against boredom.
It has been a steady week or so since the last blog
entry. Despite the fact that I may be a little delusional
about the next statement ... we are making some
progress ... there is a long way to go.
All we can do is keep at it.
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