Saved by the Storm

The storm saved me.
It is the 17th of March. Usually, there is nothing that can distract me from my cultural obligation to this holiday. Last year, my nearest volunteer and I skipped school and headed to our nearest shopping town for pap (South Africa’s maize meal, staple food) and Amarula (similar to our Bailey’s Irish crème), both of which we colored green with our own food coloring.
This year, I canceled our date because of work commitments. There couldn’t have been a better message than that of the hovering storm clouds beckoning me home, to put me in check and remind me of my little remaining time here in South Africa and need to slow my pace, blog and celebrate this holiday(even if it doesn’t include a green beverage).
To makeup for my lack of documenting, I will try to provide a short reflection of the past month’s highlights rather than detail my mother’s clean scent when I first hugged her at the airport terminal, or tell you about the youthful smile spread across my father’s face as we laughed about his misfortunes in traveling this side. I will instead give you some small features in my life that have me remaining grateful for this experience and opportunity to continue learning about myself and EVERYTHING.
You should know that my sound track for this message writing is Freshlyground, ‘Nomvla (After The Rain)’. Since my PC friends and I attended a concert last year November, I have been obsessed with the traditional sounds of this radical racially diverse South African group. The bands lead singer, Zo jumps and jives around the stage to the unique beats, summoning all it’s listeners to hit the sway, clap, and sung Xhosa click in rhythm. The girls and I had a memorable time out, having all worn our summer sun dresses, we spent the whole night dancing and enjoying each others company in the big city of Pretoria.


Around this same time, I also had the amazing opportunity to meet and visit with recently appointed Peace Corps Director Williams. Previously, the South African Mission Director for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a Dominican Republic Peace Corps Volunteer, Director Williams welcomed our discussions about the eminent challenges accompanying living in South Africa and acting as a volunteer. Children screamed in excitement as we and Director William’s 10 person entourage circled the school and village. I felt great pride introducing my community family and friends to this American.


In celebration of World AIDS Day, I worked with our newly formed group the Healthy Living Project to provide a testing drive, entertainment and education event for our Gemsbok community. On December 4th, we successfully tested and educated over 200 community members and felt great satisfaction in the work we had completed sans funds. Elders of the community donated their time to cook a hot meal for our volunteer high school student entertainers. Local vegetables were collected and a generator was given when last minute, the electricity failed. Our work together has continued and we have recently received $2k in U.S. President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds, with the completion and approval of our VAST grant (requiring the community to contribute at least 25% of need for AIDS awareness project).




Funds have arrived and are currently being put toward our Human Right’s AIDS Testing Event this Friday, 19March. Once again we are having several entertainment groups and local officials giving their support for HIV understanding. Our community group has been busy preparing advertisements, crafting AIDS ribbon pins, and learning about Tuberculosis (TB), proper condom use, caring for people with HIV, and proper nutrition.

When I leave our afternoon meetings, I am always reminded why I enjoy this work. These teenagers, just like those in the states are able to communicate with me about their interests and questions and our dialog is always relaxed and informative for all.

Just next, my parents visited and we vacationed in Southern Africa. As I left for the airport to pick them, I received notice via email that my father would not be arriving with my mother; he had been detained in the U.S. for his lack of visa papers and would arrive the following day. Once Dad arrived we visited with my village schools, community members, and families. Standing with interested friends, mom shed tears at the clinic, just as I had 17 months prior. We then sought after our adventures across diverse South Africa. In Coffee Bay, we dodged pot holes left and right to get to Coffee Shack, but greatly admired the scenery of green pastures and brightly painted roundaval homes. Our driving schedule was stressful, but stay spots and small adventures along the way made even the backseat driver comments worthwhile. Cape Town and the wine lands each had their unique beauty and European flair that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Whether picnicking at Cape of Good Hope or wine tasting by horse back, my parents and I enjoyed exceptional moment’s animal sighting and labyrinth walking. My mother and I later briefly visited Botswana’s Salt Pans to see the Zebra and Wildebeast migration.












We road the Okavango Delta on a mokoro (dugout canoe) and walked Zimbabwe and Zambia’s boarder to wade in Victoria Falls and it’s daring Devil’s pool. With a goodbye that lasted a few days longer than expected, I was able to really touch ground with my mother and recognize how much I miss caring for my family and friends stateside.

Afterward, I went on to see Namibia’s diverse lands with traveling companions that care for a slightly different travel routine. Planning to camp just outside Fish River Canyon (the second largest canyon in the world) my PC friends and I stocked up on petrol and beverages at the border and made our way into the desert. At Shark Island we endured windy conditions in our tiny tents held down by stone and string, to wake on the water, witness dolphins swimming in the frigid waters, sail boat and oyster taste. Our last stretch of travel was out to the Namib Desert to see the miraculous dunes at sunrise. Day dune surfing and late night and early morning drives were halted by a two hour walk out to sit with the dunes and admire the greatness of this natural wonder. A must in Southern Africa travels, for sure!

After holiday and back at site, I have been busy with projects. Reading intervention with grade 4 and 5 learners has taken on several new routines and the students are making small improvements that are meaningful to them and their school educators. Educator projects have included changing of the timetable to supplement the newly reinvented school classrooms. EkuJabuleni educators have been trained on the preparing learner librarians and Bawokuhle primary is organizing library room materials. Gemsbok’s Toilet Project proposal has been listed online through the Peace Corps Partnership Program in great thanks to community completion of proposal plans and we are looking forward to completing the project once we receive your donations. I’ve been recently requested to train educators from neighboring schools in classroom management, creation of school wide discipline plans, and reviewing a document I created named, ‘Understanding Special Needs’. I am putting finishing touches on projects to prepare my work and site for an incoming volunteer and overall community sustainability. And as the state’s school year enters its 2nd semester, I am busy preparing for my anticipated August arrival back to Ohio. I am spending every hour outside of work out in the village, online job applying. Let me know if you would like to help.
Next week, I am once again participating in the half-marathon at Longtom Pass in Sabie. PC South Africa Volunteers run for the KLM foundation created by previous volunteers and gather funds for a scholarship to send deserving, underprivileged South African children to school.


The World Cup is beginning in June and I will be attending a game. I hear you will be able to catch a few of the soccer matches on ESPN and I hope you will tune in for the historical profiles about South Africa. My friend Jo and I will be hosting girls’ soccer camps for our villagers as the nation’s schools are closing to ease visitor transport.
There isn’t a week that goes by that doesn’t still include me questioning my capabilities and interest in being here. However, the brightness that arrives in each day’s trouble is inspiring and pleasant beyond belief. Miss everyone and will be seeing you soon. xo

Giving to my community of Gemsbokspruit

Hello friends and family,

I am rounding the corner of my Peace Corps service in South Africa and heading back to the states in August, after living for two years in the village of Gemsbokspruit. Having learned from village members about community life and real pain, I am grateful for this experience and what it has taught me, I have the capability to give of myself whether it is with a smile or only a few minutes to listen and welcome possibility. My assignments in this community have required that I identify community needs and motivated individuals to plan for the future. I would like to introduce you to our toilet project and invite you to contribute to this worthy cause. I am overseeing the toilet project completion for the remainder of my service and am confident in counterparts and their proposed plans.


I understand that financially everyone in the states is suffering, however this project and your pennies can help eliminate the spread of disease and most importantly teach the skills required to live an informed healthy life. With better hygiene we are creating a more conducive learning environment that will highly influence how the learners acquire skills on keeping good health and what the children will learn and take with them for a lifetime. The small children this project directly services are at an influential age and this project will help them to learn skills appropriate for cleanliness.

The Bawokuhle primary school community wishes to educate it's members about proper sanitation with the use of proper facilities, as currently the learners are relieving themselves in the bush in front of their peers and the community. With a water center, the learners will be able to wash their hands properly and effective education will allow this to be a learning experience that benefits learners and the community for lifetimes, as the children will have less illness. Wellness is important for everyone in the world and providing information and facilities that promote healthy living helps us to create an environment with a foundation for developing motivated individuals ready to set out to do great things.

The Gemsbokspruit community includes many enthusiastic and motivated individuals that are interested in working with this proposed project. Many Gemsbokspruit community members are often people that are unemployed and parents and sisters and brothers that are unable to afford paying the school's needs or learner fees that fund school regular maintenance. Our community also includes several adults and children infected with HIV/AIDS and many more family and friends are affected and emotionally suffering in this small rural village. Gemsbok children are growing up in these vulnerable homes and are most likely coming to school unclean and uneducated about the proper techniques for cleaning and caring for themselves because they are orphans. The members of the School Governing Body hold a well respected position in Gemsbokspruit and are motivated to assist in this project, so that the community of Bawokuhle can effectively care for themselves. The SGB and school staff are committed leaders that are helping our school to be a more successful environment.

Please visit the below website and give to a good cause,or send it to a friend that might be interested. We of Gemsbokspruit and Bawokuhle Primary School appreciate your help!

Health and Hygiene


xo

sebenza;work

some recent and exceptional New York Times articles about South Africa:

Eager Students Fall Prey to Apartheid’s Legacy

South African Children Push for Better Schools

South Africa Is Seen to Lag in H.I.V. Fight

Teaching grade 4 English to learners identified by educators as holding a special need or delay in reading has been very fulfilling. Each of our classes are a mere 45 minutes long but offer varying levels of energized learning experiences that create a relaxed and fun learning environment welcoming all to contribute. Fortunately with the implementation of several class routines and learner leadership roles, our classes move smoothly and are seen by educators as the best behaved despite language barriers that restrict lesson content, disciplining, and expectation setting. With the assistance of some school educators, I have been able to bring a greater theme to our class learning of grammar with guest story book readings translated into Ndebele. I believe the greatest lessons learned by the children are that of consideration and respect. A Bell-work session in ‘Picture Talk’ asks learners to present to their peers and acknowledges the abilities of group writer and reader. Class leaders distribute, collect, and count materials to ensure that all learners succeed in class and that those with a tendency to misplace writing utensils are not overlooked. In considering the grand scale of abilities in this unique classroom, learners hand motion as they finish an assignment which in turn gains a response communicating permission to place their assignment in the designated area for finished work. Students are then free to select an appropriately leveled story book or activity which can be worked on by themselves or with a group. After the initial mini lesson learning I am found individually assessing learners in their reading and checking learner’s assignment understanding and attending to learners with questions. Closing we gather in a grand comfortable circle to review our day’s learning. There is nothing greater than the smiles spread while our class tosses a world globe inviting learners to practice speaking their new vocabulary and phrase for the day.

At the primary school, working one-on-one with educators, month sessions act to improve specific areas of need. Although an incredibly challenging progression, observed improvements are extravagant and the educator’s concluding response is very positive, making it well worth the month’s disputes. Primary school educators are working together on writing and publishing their own appropriately leveled grade 1 Ndebele story books that reinforce followed vocabulary lists.

Intermediate school Technology and Library committees are working towards great things that are presently making a lasting impact on learners. Monthly workshops for educators are inviting educators to consider each learner’s unique abilities and alternatives to corporal punishment. Educators are introduced to practical pedagogy methods with each lesson’s learning.

Girls club members meditating

A counterpart and I are working toward a project that educates members of the community about healthy living. Focusing on personal and environmental wellness, the community group will facilitate learning sessions and provide practical experiences to further understanding. Our kick-off event will take place on World AIDS Day, the first week in December with a testing drive and two day educational session.

In other news, my hair is growing and the rains have arrived! By far my favorite season, I adore the pitter-patter on my tin roof. Today, I showed my Gogo my tattoo. I have a serious obsession for anything ginger flavored, especially Stoney-Ginger beer, which isn't a beer at all but a cold drink (pop). Mom and Dad visit in December, I can't wait!

Boys to Men

Amasokana (boys from initiation)

According to tradition every three to four years, during the coldest winter, the Ndebele King approves the boys to prepare for manhood. This initiation referred to as Circumcision School takes place in the mountains and the boys will gain community respect once it is completed.

For four months the boys stay outside their parent’s home in an unknown rural area. Without the assistance of a nurse, there the boys are circumcised. It appears the families are aware of the risk that surrounds this procedure since it is in these early weeks that the boy’s families gather for their first thanks giving at the village’s chief, who is said to be protecting their sons. The fathers and mothers sing and dance for the chief. Unaware if their son’s have made it through these first challenging weeks, the fathers kick up dust with their grand warrior dance moves, holding spear and shield embellished with animal skin.

New research identifies that earlier circumcision reduces the risk of HIV transmission (at birth circumcision would be ideal), but it is unlikely that this will influence parents to challenge tradition which may result in a lifetime of scorn from the community. An increase in community member HIV/AIDS education has however influenced more sterile procedures performed. This year, 20 cases of death caused by infection during the mountain school were reported in a neighboring community, this number is significantly less than past years. As time advances, controversy surrounding the perpetuation of these sorts of cultural practices will increase. More recently, communities are allowing a community specialist from the clinic to join and assist the boys, although custom recommends otherwise, Health officials are strongly suggesting these alternatives.

This year’s winter months ranged from 30-50 ® Fahrenheit. Wearing animal skin on their waist, in a thatch home they have built, the boys warm to a night fire. Here daily, the boys are given lessons in life skills and learn cultural stories, dances and songs. When the boys return, the family will watch the boys perform their practiced chants and moves, in exchange for small coins. The community keeps the stories living by passing its tales verbally; the lessons have no written directions, but are systematically delivered to the boys by respected community men who come to present their specialization. Some find these teachings crucial to a young man’s development and therefore an adequate substitute for the three terms the boys are away from secondary school and living in the mountains.

Each family designates when their boy will attend Mountain school which is typically around the age of 17, but lately boys as young as 14 years have urged their parents to go away. Some people suspect that this rise in early age initiates correlates with the increase in young pregnancies. Once the boys are made men they soon tend to take on sexual relationships, sometimes in the form of rape, a sort of conclusion to their initiation.

The boy’s mothers are very concerned for their boy’s long time away in the cold. What helps the parents to cope is a weekly prayer gathering. Mothers traditionally shave their hairs and then keep their head covered for the duration of the boy’s manhood celebration. Good friends assist in the preparation for these gatherings at the home, and the parents will dress in traditional garb, the mother’s heads holding heavy traditional jewelry, ibhande, and everyone will enter the home singing and dancing and then, drink tea and eat cakes.

As the boys’ return from the mountain approaches, the males begin revealing their dances. Girls and young children playfully search out the location of their homes and go to try and sneak a look at their activity. Staying some distance away, wearing face-paint, the males perform; making sure it is difficult for those who have gathered to distinguish family.

When the men finally arrive, they have much to celebrate. They return to their family with a new name and are wearing their own set of beading and traditional outfits. First, the new men greet their home and the homes of neighbors with song and dance, later they will welcome and warn the cow they will in the afternoon slaughter. The mothers awesomely lilizela yelp in delight, communicating their happiness to once again see their family.

The elder men are found gathered with their initiation cohort reminiscing while taking traditional, sometimes pineapple flavored twala beer. The ladies are grouped separately preparing salads for the meat feast and help each other to plenty of cake and tea breaks.

In turtleneck, tights, wool coat and cap, I stroll to school. Gloves and scarf are finally optional and by lunchtime’s raised sun, I can tuck my coat into a Shoprite environmental initiative grocery bag. As I am planning for the final dry cleaning of my winter wool, I take time to reflect on this cold season’s exclusive cultural events. Cutting hair and cabbage, baking cakes in preparation and each night being serenaded by the boy’s hymns, I have gained an understanding of the beauty of this culture.