There are definitely as many bright stars on the horizon of Seronga as there are in the African sky, it seems it’s just a matter of finding them!!! An astronomer I will become!!!
Several of the nurses I work with appear to be lit up by the fire of my enthusiasm, and seem to be genuine in their willingness to engage my banter of change and hope. They have been to additional schooling and have developed some great critical thinking skills, and generally speak pretty good English- which makes it easier for me. They are usually foreigners in this land themselves (often medical professionals in Botswana are from neighboring Zambia or Zimbabwe, or if they are Motswana, they are usually not living in their home village, so while they can give some insight into the culture, there are often cultural/village particulars that are difficult to pick up on or begin to understand directly.) and thus have been very understanding about my various bouts of homesickness (and there’s no people I’d rather be surrounded by than medical professionals for some of the physical sickness as well.) This “stranger in a strange land” condition effortlessly leads to a little bit of the “these people” mentality that is so dangerous, yet so easy to adopt when working with people, (and is extremely easy for me to fall into myself). I often have to employ those wonderful woodland hills redirect skills I developed when working with kids (I swear sometimes I could turn verbal water into wine….) When I can catch myself and them “these people-ing” I try to point out that no matter what, “these people” are human beings who deserve to live outside of the shadow that this HIV crisis, and appeal to their pride as Africans, it’s generally when the conversation can keep moving forward.
Standing on the shoulders of giants as I am in the Peace Corps who have come before me, sometimes I question if there is very much more I can do in the Seronga clinic, and the nurses and staff have expressed that they wholeheartedly support me in whatever community project I want to undertake. This is huge, in that sometimes the relationship between Community Capacity Builders and their clinics can be quite precarious, as the role is so broad that everyone is often left wondering what the PCV is doing (including, it may seem the PCV themselves).
In addition to the wonderful, dedicated people at the clinic here’s also the woman who lives on my “family” compound. The first day she stopped by my house with a “ko-ko” (rhymes with yo-yo, what you say when you enter someone’s fence or compound, even though they’ve already heard you approach, there are no doorbells where there are no doors….) and informed me of an event at the Kgotla, which is the governmental center of the village. She is my age and has no children, which in this country is generally a sign of some sort of self awareness, and really self value when you consider that engaging in the sexual politics and practices that come in this culture can mean a death sentence in the HIV roulette. She is very active in the community and although I’m not sure what precisely she’s saying about local politics in Setswana, the kind of passion she exhibits when she talks about the VDC (village development committee) needs no translation. She sings every night with the community choir that will be performing at some sort of competition in July-(now rescheduled to August) I go to the practices some evenings, there’s something so heartwarming and amazing about a culture in which no one is tone deaf and everyone has rhythm and can dance. They’ve written the music themselves in 4 and occasionally five part harmonies, and get very adamant about which movements should go with which lyrics. The choir is men and women of an impressive age range, and they all seem to listen and respect each other’s opinions, or at least don’t display the kind of “type a” pissing contests and inability to function that was a hallmark of my Peace Corps pre service training (love you CCB’s). Details and pictures and maybe, if I ever figure it out, video! to follow.
The captain of my Peace Corps Dream Team was drafted the other day, when I finally met the man whose name literally means help, and helpful he is! Thuso was born and raised in Seronga, and has a lot of big plans for his village. He’s a teacher and an internet man, he’s the one trying to get Seronga wired, and for that alone I should kiss the ground beneath his feet, as right now I make a minimum 3 hour one way trip over land and sea to get internet every other week in Gumare… He did some schooling in the states and Canada and thus speaks amazing English. He’s inspired and has organized a chess club and various other activities to keep the youth of the village busy or at least safe and occupied. He wants to start a pond near the school to bring specimens of the local fish and plants for the children to identify with the English names, the scientific names and the Setswana names. He has dreams of starting his own internet business, and with the government struggling to achieve a better balance between private sector and public assistance, this is a very real and exciting possibility. Meeting him completely revitalized my energy and focus, and I added finding him under successes on the huge piece of flip chart paper I keep up for exactly that purpose.
As I discover these people, who want to change the face of their community, I then search for the people who have the potential to benefit, both now and in years to come. There are tons of bright young children, and teenage girls, who look at me as I pass them in the roads and smile shyly, or better yet boldly, with confidence and maybe a little defiance, which I love. I can tell they have what they need to succeed and become the generation to change the course of their nation’s story, if given the proper tools and outlets.
It is for these people, and this potential for change and good that I can see that help me put up with the somewhat difficult hand I’ve been dealt. The challenge lies in reminding myself of this each and every blinking day….
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