First Congregational UCC - Platteville

Dear Friends and Family,

After less than a year at my Peace Corps site, I somehow have the connections and understanding of “how things work here” to have set in motion events of this past weekend. What I mean is, the Zebras 4 Life, Test 4 Life football tournament that I have been anticipating (and stressing about, really) was unbelievably successful. Perhaps my idea of success has changed since I came. Or the rest of life has become so much more comfortable that the frustrations with “work” (things that could have gone better during the event) are easier to bear. Regardless, I feel blessed.

Monica hiked to Kole on Friday to be with me throughout the event. She was the official photographer of the event (I will post her amazing pictures on facebook soon). She also helped me with logistics and reminded me of additions to the event which made it even more successful (condoms and condom demonstration, for example . . . 400 condoms were distributed to the mostly male crowd at the football tournament). Over 100 villagers tested. All 72 players tested, about half of whom had never tested before. The games were closely matched and exciting. The teams were presented with modest prize money and team pictures as thank you’s for participating. It’s a good thing Lesedi (Monica) was there. She was the one who insisted that testing be mandatory. I was ready to give in to the few players who were protesting that testing can’t be forced on people (it can’t). Monica took a stand. No, I am not forcing you to test. I am simply saying you can’t play in the tournament unless you do because that it is what you were invited here to do. Test and play in the tournament. So, do both or do neither. She was right. One young man who had been reluctant was delighted to find out he was negative. He was grinning and showing his Tebelopele Passport to Life to everyone (which is passed out to everyone who tests with a stamp of “positive” or “negative” and where the testee writes a pledge to staying negative or to a zero transmission lifestyle if he/she is positive).

This morning, a women’s team from Ncojane was transported to Kole as a favor by the BDF (Botswana Defense Force) boys to me. I don’t know why they always seem to be so willing to do things for me, give me lifts to Charleshill or Ghanzi, come play in a football tournament I sponsor, transport the ladies the next day . . . I guess being “montle” (cute/beautiful), according to them, has its advantages even though I get sick of their propositions. J The Kole ladies with whom I practice played the Ncojane team. I didn’t play since I was the organizer of the event and they had plenty of players, I wanted it to be their game. They won! I was so proud. Women’s football is very new here and it still resembles 2nd graders in the U.S., following the ball around the field in a clump, if left to its own devices. But the Kole ladies are starting to respond to the encouragement from their coaches (and me) when we say – “Bulago!” In Sekgalagadi, “Open up!” (Space out). The best part of this whole thing, I think, was seeing how proud the village women were of their daughters and nieces today. One of the catering ladies, Marea Ramoswaana, had to be directed off the field a few times by the referee when she got overly excited about a goal or near misses of goals from the Ncojane team. A venue where people are publicly praising young women for something positive is hard to come by. In fact, today was the first time I have seen it.

I guess I have to balance out every success and heart-lifting story with a little bit of the stark truth. I saw a young woman from Ncojane leave the Tebelopele tent where they “confidentially” test people and give them their results red eyed and sniffling. She spent the game with her head in her hands. I was asked to go find Panado (tylenol) for her. I wanted everyone to know their status. I didn’t think about the consequences of watching someone find out they were positive. It’s unbelievably frustrating and sad.

On Saturday morning, I was prepared to wait for hours for all the teams to show up and be able to start testing and playing games. I walked over to the field at the school at 8am (when I had told people to be there) and, to my amazement, there were two truckloads of young men, sitting in the back of their pick ups and doing sporadic warm ups with the balls they had brought (I had forgotten that detail, along with referees, which they also organized for themselves, I can hardly take credit for this event, I hope it doesn’t sound like I am bragging at all). They were from Charleshill. That means that after a night of drinking, these men got themselves out of bed, without alarm clocks (no such thing here) and organized their own transport, spending their own money on petrol, to arrive in Kole by 8am. It is at least an hour drive from Charleshill, depending on the condition of the road, the condition of the driver, and the condition of the vehicle. The BDF drove in with two Ncojane teams shortly after and the Kole team also materialized. We ended up waiting on Tebelopele to set up and get ready to test people. They arrived late the night before, bathed at my house, and went to camp out in the store room at the health post which I had cleaned out for them earlier in the day on Friday.

The Charleshill team ended up being the champions of the tournament, much to Monica’s delight. I am biased, of course, but I think the Kole players are actually the most talented. The thing is, these guys don’t practice together. Ever. They organized practices for the last week and a half or so, in preparation, but the same group of people was never there, depending on who had been called by their uncle or father to the cattle post. They are just so naturally talented and there is a deep understanding of the game and unbelievable field sense.

Although I had help during the event (I just sort of watched it all happen, to be honest), the preparation was largely done by me. This was a VMSAC event, hence the funds are coming from DMSAC at Charleshill Sub-District level. But (sh, don’t tell), VMSAC has not met in Kole in quite some time. I tried to have three meetings in order to plan for this event. Then I went to Gabs/South Africa. When I came back, I called an “emergency meeting” to no avail. So, I just did what needed to be done, writing letters and following up in Charleshill and Ncojane with the boys who I had asked to invite their teams. Mma Marambe, the school head, and my friend Katlego were instrumental in letting me use the school grounds for the games and testing site. The school kitchen was used by the catering ladies to cook lunch. The school chairs were set around the field for spectators. I also felt supported because Mma Marambe and Katlego were upset on my behalf that I didn’t seem to have much help from VMSAC members. I tried to tell them that I should be the one who was upset and that I was just glad it was happening and grateful for their support. “Ga ba go thusa, Thapelo!” (They don’t help you, Thapelo), they insisted on defending me. It makes me roll my eyes, though. I feel like people who are helping me do positive things insist on being negative to some extent, especially them. I think it comes from a society which is used to being critical. The traditional way of making any sort of decision concerning the community (the kgotla tradition) involves long discussions that often focus on “what’s going wrong?” and, it seems, less on, “what do we do to create positive change?”

My nurse, Twenty, also helped. Friday night, we borrowed speakers from the councillor from Kole (an elected local government official) and drove around the village, announcing the details of the event. This used to happen often in Moshupa. I remember thinking at first that there was a town crier, “Nine o’clock and all’s well!” But really, it’s just a common way of advertising community events. So, Twenty practiced her announcing skills, which are impressive, (I told her she had a new calling), and told everyone, “Bagaetsho, tsamaya ko sekolo sa lona, tsa pasa ya botshelo jwa gago, itse seemo sa gago! Re nale motshameko wa football! Go lebelela football le go itlhatlhobela mogare wa HIV, go botlhokotlhoko go itse seemo sa lona . . .” (and so on). “Ladies and gentlemen, go to the school and take your life in your hands, know your status. We have a football match! Watch football and test for HIV, it’s very important to know your status . . .”

The new group of volunteers is shadowing the “experienced volunteers” (that’s us! Yikes!) this week. I will have two people to escort on the transport adventure from Ghanzi to Kole on Wednesday and back to Charleshill where they will take the bus from Windhoek, Namibia that goes to Gabs on Sundays. The week after that, Natalie, the volunteer in Karakubis, 80 kilometers north of Charleshill, is having a going away gathering. It will be bittersweet. I have learned a lot from her. Her easy going, Georgia peach way is well-received by the Batswana and (it’s not easy to do this) she has won over the Bakgalagadi. The week after that, I will go to Gabs to help with some training sessions for the new volunteers. Before I know it, it will be June and then the end of June and then I will be on the way home for Rachel’s wedding! :)

I love and miss you. Keep sending news from home. Thank you for the letters and packages. They are precious to me.

From Botswana,

Leah