First Congregational UCC - Platteville

Hello, hello, hello,

I apologize in advance if this gets scattered or abstract or if I sound flustered . . . this past week has been a whirlwind of activity (who would have thought, in a small African village).

I spent the weekend in Charles Hill after a grocery shopping trip in Ganzi (which is a big deal . . . iceberg lettuce never looked so beautiful and fresh and green). There was a farewell gathering for Andrew, the DAC (District AIDS Coordinator) volunteer in Charles Hill. He is going home a year early to be with the love of his life and sail his boat down the coast of Maine. He is 60 years old and has done 8 years of Peace Corps service, as a volunteer and staff member. I could hardly wish anything different than for him to go home early. His office hosted a lovely party, and had really nice things to say to him and going away presents that they bought for him and his significant other who they met when she visited. It was an emotional day. The previous group of volunteers is half-way through their service, so they were on the way to their Mid-Service Re-connect in Gaborone. Susie, the volunteer in Ncojane arrived during the party and was in tears because she had just called to put in her notice, as well . . . so, we were saying goodbye to Andrew, and trying to support Susie in her decision (which she is still wavering about . . . we will hear a final, final answer about whether or not she is leaving or staying later this week).

There is a PMTCT drama competition in Ganzi on Aug. 4th. Every village is supposed to have a drama team. The theme is “Safe Preparation of Infant Formula” . . . Kole is in the process of forming their team (yikes! We are way behind schedule). I am on the catering committee for the event, besides making signs to advertise the event in Kole, and try to get potential drama team members to come to a meeting at the clinic (our 2pm meeting time yesterday was ineffective). I am also on the catering committee for a Crime Prevention workshop next week in Kole . . . Crime Prevention is a gov’t dept. that deals with cattle and goat theft. I was at a meeting at the kgotla, which was all in Setswana, and at the end they asked me what committee I wanted to be on . . . I thought I should probably be involved in whatever it was so I said, “ke batla go apaya (I want to cook).” And there, you have it, I’m on the catering committee for the Crime Prevention workshop. Stock theft is the primary concern of my kgosi and village headmen.

Since Andrew left, I am left in charge of forming our Village Multi-Sectorial AIDS Committee. This is an extension of the national program response to HIV/AIDS. There are District Multi-Sector AIDS Committees, but it seems they don’t reach the village level, where HIV work is most needed. So, the District AIDS Coordinators are supposed to form VMSACS . . . Andrew came to Kole a couple of weeks ago and we set a date for a training session where the whole village is invited and the DAC will explain what VMSAC is and who should be on the committee. (I apologize for all the acronyms, Botswana is FULL of them and it quickly becomes part of one’s vocabulary). So, I heard on Monday morning that the date we set wouldn’t work because the DAC (Theresa, Andrew’s counterpart) couldn’t attend. She was supposed to lead the training so we had to pick a different date. After the meeting about the crime prevention workshop, we had a two-hour meeting (in Setswana) picking a new date for the VMSAC training. Every once in awhile they would ask for my input, but I’m afraid they understand as much of my english as I do of their setswana at this point because I had to explain the same thing each time. They wanted to know: “What is VMSAC?” I said, “That’s what the training is for: to explain what VMSAC is and who should be on the committee.” They said, “Okay” and then a little while later would say: “Who is supposed to be on the committee?” Eish, it took forever and I felt confused and frustrated at the end of it all, realizing I was in a position of go-between . . . I have arbitrarily become the connection between the village heads of Kole and the DAC office in Charles Hill and those two things are worlds apart. The kgosi was upset that the nurse wasn’t at the meeting because this was an AIDS-related thing. One of the reasons for starting a “MULTI-SECTORIAL” committee is to help villages realize that AIDS is much more than a health issue. It affects all facets of life (and therefore all sectors of the village).

After picking the date, I called Theresa in Charles Hill, head spinning, asking for some advice about how to present VMSAC in a way that would make it more than a health care staff driven committee. She informed me that the old date we had would work after all and the new one wouldn’t, she would be at a conference in Gaborone. Deep breaths . . . I told the kgosi we would reschedule the training yet again sometime in August (or maybe September . . . it’s up to Theresa now).

The idea behind VMSAC is brilliant: churches, pastors, health care workers, members of local gov’t, school teachers, community members, traditional healers, NGO’s, etc would choose representatives to form an AIDS committee that would: 1. identify needs of the committee, 2. form a plan to respond to HIV/AIDS, 3. Mobilize resources, 4. report results to the district level in order to further address the needs of the community. This is the sort of thing that looks great in writing and I saw first-hand this week why it is hard to implement using a top-down approach. And I also am feeling rather desperate about needing to learn Setswana . . .

Besides that, there is a funeral of a prominent community member of Kole. This is a week-long event. Every evening at 5pm, we gather at the family’s home and there is singing, praying, and preaching by various kgosana’s (headmen). The man who died was the headmaster at the school in Karakubis, a neighboring village, for the past 8 years and he died unexpectedly of complications of appendicitis. So, we have lots of people from out of town staying in the village. After the half-hour service, food is served to anyone who needs it. Apparently, not every family would be expected to feed the attenders of the funeral events, but since this is a prominent family, everyone knows food will be there. I am seeing the Basarwa or San people (you know them as Bushmen, but that is considered a deragatory term) for the first time. They are tiny and light-skinned and they understand Setswana, but tend not to speak it so have the appearance of being mute. On Saturday, goats and cows will be slaughtered and on Sunday morning (around 5am) we will have the burial.

Tatlego, the female teacher at the school, has been telling me what to go to and how to dress and what my duties are “as a woman in the village of Kole,” she says, “You must help cook and serve food at the funeral one night. We will go tomorrow,” she informed me yesterday. I am so grateful for her direction. The nurse at the clinic also is there, helping me. I had them over for tea on Monday evening after the first funeral event. And I am invited to watch a movie with them on Friday . . . there is a strange mix of ancient customs and modern influences every day . . .

I am almost out of internet time. To be continued . . .

I love hearing from you! I will try to come to Ncojane almost weekly, so feel free to email updates about your lives.

Take care! XOXO

love, leah