All Volunteer Conference 2006

Because HIV/AIDS is such a humungous problem in Namibia, Peace Corps brought all of us together to focus specifically on making it part of everything that we do. This means that Health volunteers are not the only ones working on HIV/AIDS issues, but all of us whether we are Education, Teacher Resource Centre, or Information Technology. I was happy to see that I am already doing that through my work with Window of Hope and that there are several other volunteers working with the same program at their schools through out Namibia. The benefit of having all the volunteers together is that there is an incredible amount of ideas shared and gained! I have many new ideas to bring back to my work at the Mariental TRC relating to HIV/AIDS and teacher training!

This is most of Peace Corps Namibia and two volunteers from Swaziland who joined us to present at the conference.

Girls Club at Danie Joubert

Last term my fellow PCV, Dani, and I started up a girls club at Danie Joubert. There have been 35 girls impacted by this club, but about 15 who participate regularly. These are some fabulous ladies who are committed to this girls club and have come up with the following topics to discuss: future/goals, role models, HIV/AIDS, preventing STIs, peer pressure, self-esteem, nutrition, sports, fashion, relationships, boyfriends, etc.

These photos are from the Danie Joubert 10K Pretloop (Fun Walk) that we did with them and Dani teaching them to "go bananas" on a Friday afternoon at girls club.

Six of these girls will represent the group at the Southern Girls Conference that will be held in Mariental 15-18 June. The conference aims to build leadership, self-esteem, empowerment, goal-setting skills, and knowledge of women's health. The representatives who attend will them bring what they have learned back to share with the others. Dani and I are also working on planning and facilitating this workshop with other PCVs and Namibian counterparts. Look for an update and photos from the conference in the future!

Shout Outs

There are several people that I would like to give SHOUT OUTs to:

* Pastor Chris & friends at Blackhawk Church for prayer support
* Jane & Rod Hempel & Jr. High Youth Group for Easter letters
* Auntie Brenda & Mckays for the Easter care package
* Karen Moberg for the books & letter
* Linda Israel & gr. 7-8 Sunday School for Easter basket & candy
* Miss Jones and the JASA ladies for their prayers & encouragement

My Peace Corps experience has truly been blessed thus far and I know
that is not by any coincidence or luck. I feel the power of prayers
from caring people paving my way for a smooth first six months of
service in Namibia. THANK YOU all whole are reading my blog and
praying for my experience. I've never felt unsafe or gotten
dangerously sick. I have hot, running water in my house. I've met
people who invite me over to use their washing machines to do
laundry. My supervisor at work is very flexible and open to new
ideas that I bring to the TRC. Life really is good and I honestly
have extremely little that I can complain about! I know this is
right where I need to be. Thank you for joining me in this journey.
Just remember that I am here for another year and a half :-)

back from holiday & back to work

My holiday tour of Namibia was absolutely fabulous!  Check your map of Namibia to follow the path that I took.  I left Mariental and headed north to Rehoboth's Oanob Dam.  From there I went to Gross Barmen hot springs near Okahandja and then up to Omaruru to visit my host family.  These photos are just a small sample of the 500+ that I took on the adventure. The next stop was Swakopmund which reminded me a lot of Florida.  I did not see Brangelina even though they are staying near there.  From there I went into the desert on a gravel road which felt like I was driving to the ends of the Earth!  I stayed on a gorgeous private farm called Oase about 30k from Solitaire.  If I had known how welcoming and fabulous this place was, then I would have planned to stay longer.  The last stop on my tour was Sesriem which is near Sossusvlei, an area of the desert with beautiful red dunes that Namibia is famous for.  I did climb Elim Dune while I was there.  I was quite pleasantly surprised by the amount of light green grasses covering the dunes. The longest stretch of the drive was from Sesriem back through Maltahoe and on to Mariental.  This trip allowed me to rest, relax, soak in some of the beauty of Namibia, and get rejuvenated for Term 2 of school/work to begin!

Two days after returning from holiday, Heidie and I began another Window of Hope facilitators training workshop.  We had 18 teachers from in and around Mariental who came to receive training on the Senior Windows of Hope program for grades 6-7.  Some teachers barely knew each other or knew what WOH was and others have been leading the Junior WOH clubs at their schools.  By the end of the week we had a team of 18 equipped, empowered, and bonded teachers who were ready to go back to their schools, start their Senior WOH clubs and share what they gained with their colleagues!  I also ended the week feeling much more equipped to lead future WOH workshops AND feeling that I had broadened my network of teachers and schools to support/work with in the future.  The Window of Hope training was an excellent way to kick off the week!

By Friday I was quite tired, but not yet finished with the week.  I had girls club at Danie Joubert (local school)!  From the first day of school on Tuesday the girls where asking Dani about when we would have girls club that week!  Dani met with them on Wednesday and then I was able to join them Friday afternoon after closing the WOH workshop.  We did many team building activities with the girls and allowed some time at the end for reflection/journaling.  I was refreshed by their energy, enthusiasm, and excitement to be there on a Friday afternoon!  These are some committed and exceptional ladies!  Seven of them have applied to attend the Southern Girls Conference and we will be able to take all seven!!!  

Saturday afternoon was the Pretloop (Fun Walk) at Danie Joubert, so I bundled up and did the 10k walk with some of the girls from girls club.  Ah, if only it was a 10k run!  However, it was fun to walk and talk with the girls.  We did jog the last few kilometers back to school at the end :-)  

Now, after being away for nearly a month, I am back at the TRC!  This week will hopefully allow me to go through all of my notes & materials from the Peace Corps Reconnect conference and flesh out a game plan for this second term. 

Beth's Namlish Top Ten List

Alright, so the "official" national language of Namibia is English, but some things come out a bit differently than the English that you all are familiar with in the U.S. resulting in what Peace Corps volunteers affectionately call Namlish.  For those of you who are planning to come and visit, study up because these will sound sooooo weird to you when you hear them for the first time without any previous exposure!  Speaking of visits, Mom and Ellen are landing in Windhoek on June 15!!!  Perhaps we will have to ride in a bakkie to a braai where we will have toasties, braai vleis (meat), and kooldrink!  Enjoy the Namlish!  I enjoy it daily!

1."I am coming now."/"I will see you just now." This actually means I am leaving and will be back sometime later.  It can also be used to let someone know that you are coming later.  If a Namibian tells you that he/she is coming to visit you now, it could mean anytime in the next few hours. 

2. "now now" is faster than "now".  If you are the training manager for a group of 60 new volunteers who have just arrived in Namibia and the bus breaks down on the way to the training post, you call the bus company and have them send another bus or a mechanic NOW NOW!  

3. "Make a turn" means to stop by someplace.  You can "make a turn" at a friend's house, the school, a store, etc.  Also, when sitting at a large dinner table with several other volunteers someone may ask if the salt & pepper would "make a turn" at their side of the table.

4. "Go with the stream" really means the same as "go with the flow" and was a phrase frequently used by our training manager during our pre-service training when he wanted to encourage us to be flexible with the changes in the schedule/times of meetings.

5. "Where do you stay?" means the same as "Where do you live?"  It is totally fine to wave your hand in an arbitrary direction and respond, "I stay just there" which means somewhere in this community.  

6. "braai" is essentially the same as bbq in the U.S.  You can braai meat, toasties, etc. which means to cook them on a grill.  You can also host a braai which is when friends come over and you cook delicious food on the grill.  The grill is also called a braai, so you can braai steaks on the braai at a braai!  

7. "toasties" are these amazing sandwiches that you toast on a braai!  I may never go back to grilled cheese again.  The butter is inside along with tomato, onion, spices, and cheese.  They are quite possibly my favorite thing to eat at a braai.

8. "bakkie" sounds like bah-key and is the word used for pickup trucks.  Bakkies are one of the most common vehicles on the road here.

9. "kombi" This is a Volkswagon-looking van.  They are commonly used to travel between towns however one needs to be careful to find a combination of a sober, safe driver and a sound, roadworthy kombi before climbing on board!  

10. "kooldrink" is pronounced cool-drink and refers to any kind of soda.  The favorites here are Coke, Fanta Orange, and sometimes Lemon Twist (like Squirt). 

Holiday is here!

Yes, my first real holiday (vacation) in Namibia is right around the
corner! NAM 25 has completed term 1 of the school year, settled into
their individual sites, and participated in a 10 day reconnect
conference to conclude the third phase of training! AH! It feels
good to be totally finished with all phases of training and have one
school term completed. Now, I have one day of work (Tuesday, May 2)
before my holiday leave begins for 8 days!!! For the rest of this
break I am going on a camping tour of central and southern Namibia.
Some of the stops include: Gross Barmen hot springs, Namibia's only
winery in Omaruru, a visit with my host family in Omaruru, the coast
at Swakopmund, and a couple days to explore the Namib Desert at
Sossusvlei (where Brangelina spent Easter)! This is my first real
vacation since I went to my family's cottage in Michigan last August!

Donation Opportunity for Girls Conference

Below is a description of the Southern Girls Conference that I am working on with several other volunteers in the South of Namibia.  It's an amazing conference that has proven to be incredibly impacting in the past!  Some of you have indicated an interest in sponsoring kids or programs that I am working on.  Well, here is your chance!  Thank you for your interest in the work that I am doing here in Namibia!

Blessings!

Dear Friends:

As volunteers from the U.S. Peace Corps Southern Girls Conference Committee (SGC), we are writing to request your support.  We are currently planning to hold our annual two-day leadership and empowerment conference for 2006.  The conference will focus on empowering secondary school girls throughout the south of Namibia to become agents of change in Namibia.  We will invite sixty girls from nine communities.  Our goal is to encourage the girls’ leadership skills through self-esteem building, the development of good decision-making skills, and promotion of goal-setting and career aspirations.  As Namibia becomes a developed country, the aspects of the old ways are still extremely visible, especially in the form of a male dominant society.  It is our goal to develop the empowerment of these girls through the SGC 2006.

Peace Corps volunteers, along with Namibian teachers and community workers, will facilitate activities that develop the learners' leadership and communication skills.  As most of the learners have never left their communities, the conference provides them with a unique opportunity to interact with people from diverse communities and develop a support network through the Girls Clubs they will be developing and leading as a result of the conference.  Through the activities, information sessions, and interactions with other learners and guest speakers, the workshop provides a real opportunity for learners to begin to realize their fullest potentials.  

While the conference is developed and staffed by volunteers, there remain some unmet needs. Running this workshop requires approximately US $ 7,000.00 and any funding that you could add to our fundraising efforts would be much needed and appreciated.  In exchange for your support, your involvement with these youth and community members will serve to heighten the public visibility of your organization.  

Thank you for your time and consideration.  If you would be so generous as to assist us in this endeavor, donations can be sent to Joan Treacy at 4109 Alfalfa Terrace, Olney, MD 20832.  Please make your check payable to PCV Megan Treacy.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail Dani Abrams.

Sincerely,

Dani M. Abrams

Southern Girls Conference Coordinator

DaniMariasha@yahoo.com

+264 81 2363420