The Small Things

Reflecting on the last two months of training, and anxiously preparing my speech for our official swearing in ceremony on Tuesday, a few things occurred to me. The first, is that this has been one of the most trying seasons of my life, and the second is that a few small things make a huge difference…

 

1. Orange bags. 5kg of oranges come packaged in mesh bags that make perfect loofas- something that my desert-abused feet desperately need in order to avoid turning into rhino elbows.

 2. Candlelit baths. I sit cross-legged in a bowl and splash water up the front of me to bathe. As a result, my back got cleaned only once last month. The upside: everything seems cleaner by candlelight.

3. Loincloths and polo shirts. Yes. I have seen this style combination. It trumps Katie and Melissa’s puff painted sweat suits any day, and reminds us to laugh.

4. The rock plate. Botswana is a master destroyer of shoes, so my feet get a second mention on this list. When Manhattan Running Company asked me on what type of terrain I would run, I answered “broken beer bottles, rocks, old rebar, and man-eating thorns.” After two months of sunrise running to beat the heat- I still have great shoes and even greater running buddies. Thanks Jojo, Erika, and Dawn.

5. Papaya lunch. The ultimate food of convenience- all you need is a spoon.

 6. The sunsets. No matter how frustrating, hot, or miserable the day feels, spectacular sunsets are pretty much a guarantee at the end of the day.

A Few More Details...

What is a DHMT office?  Last week, both of our supervisors travelled up to meet us in Serowe for a two day conference.  Stompie is the head nurse overseeing several clinics in the Ramotswa District.  She will oversee Owen's work.  Ellen is Becky's supervisor at the DHMT (District Health Management Team) office, where she will help to develop the capacity of the office in Monitoring and Evaluation.  It feels like half of our recent training has been learning to negotiate the various government offices that respond to HIV/Aids, and how they relate to each other.  It is still more complex than we understand, but here is the basics of the Health side of things:

1. Hospitals, Clinics, and Mobile Health Posts operate at the client intake level.  These become more and more sub-divided to reach the most remote populations, who need testing, TB treatment, HIV care and support, access to ARVs (supplied for free at an expense of more than 75% of the Botswana government's budget), etc.

2. The DHMT coordinates each of these health facilities for each district in the areas of education, supplies, funding, and reporting.

3. The Ministry of Health collects data from each DHMT, and coordinates with the National Aids Coordinating Agency (NACA).

Since Gender-Based Violence is one of the key drivers of HIV in Botswana, we are also likely to work on gender-related research and education along with our offices.  Last year, Peace Corps Botswana won a PEPFAR (Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) grant to support this work.

Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions or advice!

The Future

 This year, Peace Corps was invited to tour the very exclusive and secretive Orapa diamond mine. We felt special :)

...And the big news: We received our site placement for Ramotswa! We will move to our new jobs and our new house on October 15th. Owen will be working for the Ramotswa clinic and Becky will be working for the District Health Office. We are so thankful to be located so close to our friends in Old Naledi and in Kumakwane, and we look forward to connecting with our new community. 

Top 5 Highlights of our Shadowing Week in Tutume

1.     We met a fantastic couple that we jive with. They hold an insightful approach to development, and have the shared goal of building relationships and living well in Botswana.

2.     We had real exposure to the clinic and to the District Health Management Office (as frustrating and slow as they might be).

3.     We weighed babies from a tree and handed out government rations at a mobile stop, for people in remote lands without clinic access.

4.     We grew an appreciation for “Kalanga land”- it’s a beautifully bubbly language: “Dumelani bana bangu!”

5.     We relaxed in a natural setting that was too remote to be covered in trash- a place shaded by beautiful Mopane trees. We hiked a dry river bed, found rock paintings, and hiked out into “the lands.”

Maramane Family Party

Our dear host mother, Matlhogonolo, just came out of mourning for her late husband this weekend, so we were privy to a joyous family celebration. The family drank a 55 gallon drum of homemade “bojalwa” (traditional beer), Owen helped slaughter a goat (by the light of cell phones), and Becky made “magwinya” (fat cakes) over the fire.

This week, we were up in “Kalanga land” in northeast Botswana, job shadowing two current Peace Corps clinic and District Health Management workers. Thank you, Dan and Leah, for giving us great insight into service- and spoiling us tremendously! Pictures are coming soon…

Perma-Gardening and Cattle-Posting

This is Oteng, our boss on the Clinic and Health Team and the drought-resistant gardening expert.

Double-Digging the garden plots, preparing to add ash and manure.  This project helped bring food-security to a local clinic.

Owen's birthday meal with JoJo, Erin, Chris, and Erika. Erin made us a delicious meal, and we enjoyed fresh papaya off the tree as dessert.

Us out at the Lands.  This is our host-mother's farm where she plants her crops.

Owen with Tshephang at the Lands.

Matlogonolo and Becky checking out the cattle post.

Owen helping place the meat in baggies.  It was ready for the freezer after a couple days on the floor in the kitchen!