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.