Two-thousand eleven has been a roller coaster. Nothing can compare to the experiences working here and the amazing friends and connections I’ve made, but saying that alone might paint the picture too perfectly. For me, security became an issue. The nation endured a work strike, which only affected me tangentially but left many unemployed. People have disagreed with me but I believe this caused an increase in crime around Francistown. Between May and November my neighborhood endured a consistent string of attempted night-time break-ins, and a couple of attempts were made on my house. No one managed to get into my house, and thanks to the Botswana Government and Peace Corps I have burglar bars and a motion alarm system with excellent security to give me some peace of mind. But, as a precautionary measure, Peace Corps and the DAC office paid to have vulnerable areas of my house reinforced with extra strong, lead, flat burglar bars.

Finishing the extra burglar bar installation in my bedroom

The neighborhood crime gave me frequent bouts of insomnia since I would head to bed every night and wonder if my house would get struck next. I would wake up repeatedly to the slightest sound, and often I found it difficult to get back to sleep. I experienced additional petty and somewhat serious crime in Francistown, and witnessed a purse snatching in Gaborone. Sometimes living alone can be difficult, but it can also be awesome, and I find my experience in Francistown and in Botswana too rewarding to quit or relocate. I also realize things like this happen all over the world – especially in the States.  I certainly feel lucky. The lessons learned from going through all of this are invaluable, and have made me a generally more responsive and vigilant person (while trying to avoid characteristics of paranoia).

Awesome billboard located in Gaborone. Even Gabs can't get enough of FTown

And after a year and a half of living in Francistown I’ve kind of fallen in love with it. The Ghetto, as it’s commonly called, is a place I enjoy calling home. In the past year and a half I’ve befriended store clerks, street cleaners, gardeners, bartenders, government and NGO workers, postal workers, doctors, kids, very very old people, taxi drivers, restaurant and hotel owners, my own neighbors, and even a few expats. Its a great feeling to walk around a city almost every day and run into someone I’ve met. It also, in a way, feels like any small, contained population in the sense that many of us frequently recognize one another, and then varying degrees of familiarity determine how friendly we are.  But then again, strangers still exchange hellos.

The city is also a hub for cultural exchange and influence, which adds to my interest and attachment. It’s occupied by an eclectic population of youngsters and old people. Expats from far and neighboring countries who swore they would only stay a year have settled here – some for 30+ years. My neighborhood is inhabited by Batswana, Pakistanis, Indians, Zambians, Zimbabweans and a slew of other ethnic backgrounds I’m not even clear on (though I am positive I am the ONLY American). People regularly buy inexpensive clothing and housewares at the plethora of China Shops. To clarify, these are shops owned by Chinese immigrants – they often give their stores names that accentuate their Chinese origin, names like “China Shop A,” which, in my opinion, legitimizes referring to them as “China Shops.”  Every day except Sunday, the main street, Blue Jacket, and the large bus rank downtown, bubble with music and people shopping and other people selling vegetables, phone air time, earrings, CDs, cowbells, locks and pumice stones. Though racial tensions certainly exist, the fact that Francistown is a huge center for cultural exchange seems to challenge these tensions in subtle ways. I guess my love for it really boils down to the potential it has to positively effect the rest of Botswana with regards to this cultural exchange, but also with their health services, education, visual art, fashion, music, and tolerance. I would say it is a relatively progressive mini-city.

Peace Corps Botswana Volunteer Placements

Peace Corps celebrated its 50th Anniversary this year, and to commemorate this the Peace Corps Botswana office threw a party for all of the PCVs in October. Located in Gaborone at a recreation center near the American Embassy, the event included a fantastic meal, grassy patches for playing volleyball and frisbee, a cash bar, raffle, and great dance music.  Volunteers sold crafts made by village locals to help bring  local businesses some profit. The weather was perfect, and the gathering was really the first time Botswana PCVs from all intakes and all locations were able to come together. It also included RPCVs who remained in Botswana after ending their service. Many of these RPCVs have been here for decades, and one had just received his Botswana Citizenship (which is significant because Botswana makes you renounce any other citizenship in order to be accepted).  It was great to see PC staff relaxed and out of the office, and it was also great to catch up with PCV friends who are placed on the other side of the country. The event reminded me how spread out we are all over this Texas-sized country (refer to above photo), and so I suggested to a staff member that we try to do this gathering at least once every two years.

Dec 2011 - The Francistown Delegation at National World AIDS Day in Moshupa, Botswana

My work in 2011 crossed through several different arenas. Mostly spent with the District AIDS Office helping to implement the HIV/AIDS district activity plan, I also managed to dabble in NGO consulting, the creation of an NGO forum to unify the HIV/AIDS organizations and help give them one voice, HIV/AIDS district budget assessment, journalism both in Botswana and American publications, participating in the Francistown safe-male circumcision task force, technological progression within the office and with other HIV/AIDS organizations around the city, collaborating with other PCVs to put together a young girls leadership camp, and of course, a focus on cultural exchange.  I hope to get involved more in the planning side of Francistown – I want to help map out the NGOs and the schools and locations they work with. I want it to be publicly known what all of the HIV organizations are doing and where they are concentrated, both for community benefit and so that we don’t overlap our HIV efforts while leaving other communities out.

But there’s so little time left!

Two-thousand twelve seems bright, shiny, and new. It’s the kind of year where I feel like the lessons learned in 2011 will be carried out the correct way this time. It seems very promising.  My plans are not set, but I know I’ve got a lot to do between now and June.

Until then I’m going on vacation. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

More photos!

Today I began what I believe is that contribution, and I’m joined by several other PCVs in Botswana also putting together some larger-scale projects. My friend and Bots 9 PCV Jen Murphy, for instance, assessed that her community needed a space for children to grow and play safely, so she got her community together and is in the process of completing a huge playground. Other Bots 9 PCV friends, Sydney Lambson, Lucie Kuhlmann and Salewa Oroyelaran, are working together to include even more PCVs (i’m involved – facilitating and designing T-shirts!) to bring 40 young girls aged 13-15 to a four-day GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) camp in Nata, Botswana – a huge initiative that will teach young girls how to respect their bodies and lead healthy, strong lives.

My contribution has to do with unifying and organizing the Francistown HIV/AIDS related Civil-Society Organizations (CSOs). Over the past year and a half it’s come to my attention that Francistown has over twenty CSOs spread out all over town. These CSOs provide varied services including counseling, youth and sports, theater, and those that are faith-based. They are, however, all pooled together to receive a limited (and shrinking) amount of government and donor funds with which they use to implement their activities. Problems arise when they don’t know which organizations are working on what and where.

As a result, CSOs create redundant and overlapping programming, which wastes time and money and has a negative impact on HIV efforts within the community. In addition, many CSOs don’t know this but are set back from the same lack of skill sets.

Other districts have CSO Meetings where they attempt to address these issues, but with Francistown being a relatively large city in Botswana, bringing this meeting together here would pose a challenge and require focusing on the city’s distinctive needs. I became interested to see what could be done.

I wanted to create a quarterly CSO Unification forum that would focus on the following goals:

• Unify the organizations so that each one knows which is working on what and where (via a mapping exercise)
• Receive feedback from organizations on what skill sets they’re lacking so that we may conduct one-on-one or group trainings
• Bring in members of the community (i.e. doctors to educate on HIV, entrepreneurs to advertise potential relevant business opportunities, government department representatives such as The Department of Youth, etc.) to explain how the CSOs might best work with them
• Allow the CSO members to learn from each others’ experiences through open feedback
• Collectively provide feedback from the CSO committee to the higher level of programming in the District

So in May I traveled to Selibi-Phikwe, a large village about 1.5 bus-hours South of Francistown, to benchmark their CSO Forum. About 15 members from varying CSOs throughout the village sat together in a conference room, all with their laptops, and took turns reading aloud their quarterly reports. I loved how freely members gave feedback and how they all seemed open to collaboration. They acted like one big team.

This benchmark meeting made me determined to bring it to Francistown, and after throwing the idea around to different CSO members, everyone independently said it would be a much needed contribution that would really benefit the district.

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Bringing people together for such a new kind of gathering wasn’t exactly easy. Due to colliding and hectic schedules we had to reschedule a few times. Putting it off initially seemed detrimental, but surprisingly made people excited and anxious for the meeting to happen. With much support from the DAC office, I finally held the first meeting this morning in a hard-to-find but pretty swank conference room within our huge office building.

I wanted to be over-the-top prepared for this first meeting to show the attendants that the endeavor is serious and essential.  I prepared an agenda, a PowerPoint presentation introducing this type of gathering and explaining why it’s so important, developed and presented a reporting tool for them to fill out each time they attended the meeting, created a survey of technical knowledge questions and opportunities to give ideas and suggestions, and, of course, had tea and biscuits served at the end of the meeting.

Wrapping up and enjoying tea at the conclusion of the 1st Francistown CSO Forum

My plan was to chair the first meeting and get it off the ground, and then at the meeting have the group select a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary to work with a DAC Office member in preparing for the next one. This is a quarterly meeting, so the next meeting won’t be until January. I’m leaving in June so I only have a few quarters to ensure they won’t rely on me to keep it going. Though the attendance just barely reached a quorum, the group did elect a committee. After the meeting the new Chair assured us that once the news went around about how great this meeting was then those who were absent would make sure to attend next time.

And it really did feel great. The feedback given about the importance of this meeting was reassuring. One member of a youth counseling organization said, “if we are not united then we are able to be exploited at the end of the day,” and went on to say, “if we speak as one district like this we will win this battle.” In addition to praise, members already started to feel comfortable exchanging feedback about how to shape the committee and make it work best. This is what I wanted, and I could tell that it would not be difficult to ensure the Francistown CSO Forum’s sustainability. I reiterated during my PowerPoint that the CSO Forum was theirs to take hold of and make their own, and that the more effort put into it (with the surveys and reporting, etc) the more they would collectively and individually receive back.

So, for now I’ll serve on the committee as sort of a dormant official, meeting with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary to help steer them in the right direction. I will most likely do this with another DAC Office member, since a DAC Office member will hold this particular spot on the committee indefinitely.

More later as it progresses…

I live in a city, not a village, so my survey answers might not sound like the typical “Peace Corps” living situation most back home might expect. Before you read on though, I’d like to note that in my opinion a Peace Corps service is not justified by harsh living conditions as much as it is by the cultural exchanges and adaptations that occur. It’s about the process of figuring out how best to live, work productively, and adapt to an unfamiliar culture.

In other words, this survey might make it seem like I have it easy, but believe me, living in a city in Africa brings on a whole slew of new and interesting challenges that might not surface in a smaller village community. Perhaps I’ll elaborate on that in a future post.

All this being said, I realize I got pretty lucky with the housing placement, and I relish every warm shower!

Program HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Project Component: District Community Liaison (my program name)

1. Do you have electricity in your house? In your village? Is it reliable?
Yes. Yes. Yes, though we’ll have power outages during the rainy season and occasionally during planned energy saving periods.

2. Where do you get your water? Is it reliable?
I get my water from the tap. I’ve never been without water.

3. Do you have a refrigerator? Gas powered?
I have an electrical powered refrigerator.

4. Do you have a stove and oven? Gas or electric?
I have a both a stove and an oven. They are both electric.

5. Do you have cell phone coverage?  What networks are available at your site?
Yes. All of them.

6. Do you have internet access at your site?  How do you access it?
Yes. In many locations we have wireless, but I only access internet through work and home land lines.

7. Do you pay for a dongle (a USB internet provider through a cell phone carrier) or any other type of internet connection?  If yes, which provider do you use?
I split the payment for DSL in my house. I pay for half and my parents pay for the other half. I use Botswana Telecom Corporation (BTC). (This way I can video skype with my parents back home, and it actually cuts the cost for them on phonecards. Also, DSL is 512 kb/s). 

The Simple, Durable, Functional Nokia 1280

8. Does your workplace have internet? If yes, is it a school, NGO, clinic, dist. Office, etc,?
Yes, though we do have occasional outages. It’s in the District AIDS  Office.

9. Do you have a computer?
Yes, both at work and at home (computer at home is an EEE PC netbook)

10. Do you have a smart phone?
I consider my phone smart because it has a flashlight. Other than that, no.

11. Are there stores in your village? Are they chain stores and do you do the majority of your shopping there?  How far do you travel to get to major grocery stores and how often do you make the trip?
There are many stores in Francistown. Many are chain stores but we also have several locally owned businesses. I do the majority of my shopping in the central Francistown shops, like on Blue Jacket Square and in Galo Mall. I can walk 10 minutes to get to a large grocery store.

Shppers at Galo Mall

12. Is your village accessible by public transportation? If not, how far are you from the nearest public transport?
Yes. We have a large bus rank, and there are taxis all over town. The bus rank is about 15 minutes walking from my house.

Francistown Bus and Taxi Rank

13. How far are you from the nearest PCV?  How often do you see other PCVs?

I am about 10 minutes walking from the nearest PCV. I see PCVs about once a week.

14. Have you or do you plan to make a trip home to the US?
No.

15. How many visitors have you had or will you have (best estimate) from the US, family, friends, or otherwise?
None so far, but I am planning to have between 1-3 in early 2012.

16. Is there anything that I’ve left off that you want to add or any additional comments about your site? 
Francistown is pretty awesome.

I had been to the prison once before – it was for a similar “Month of..” event – I want to say it was “Month of Youth Against AIDS.” The experience visiting and being a guest at an FTown prison is something I only wish I could capture with stills or a video, but along with cellphones, cameras are strictly prohibited.

So I’d like to paint a verbal picture of what I saw.

The prison is basically a small compound of single story, narrow hallway buildings, surrounding a dusty courtyard with a large and burgeoning mango tree. White walls, dark green rooftops, and sandy dirt. One of the buildings was marked “Leather and Upholstery Workshop,” and though I haven’t been inside I would assume the prisoners make and sell items to collect money for the prison for things like uniforms. I’ve also heard of prisoners carving and selling wooden frames, and that day I was surprised to see a few artistic metal sculptures stacked up in a corner of the courtyard.

We first entered the main building to sit in the Commander’s office and chat while we waited for the event to get started. The Commander is a tall man with high cheekbones, a constant smile, narrow eyes, and sort of reminded me of my friend Edward from back home. His uniform was simple brown and green with a few decorations. On his bookshelf he had a few plaques and oxidized trophies, photographs, flags, and several copies of the Bible.

Mma Habangana and I sat in the room with pastors and other guests of honor, and about an hour after the launch was supposed to begin we were escorted out to the courtyard with the mango tree.

Here’s where it gets interesting. I left the building and stepped out into the courtyard, only to see the entire group of around 250+ prisoners sitting on the ground with their backs to me. They were facing the large tent we were headed toward, but they had no restraints, no guards at their sides, and no barriers to keep them from us. Some of these men are alleged rapists and murderers. A petite female usher walked us through the group, but no one made any lewd comments or tried to make any physical contact. They seemed excited about the upcoming event, and it dawned on me that, compared to prisoners in the States, they are treated more like school children at camp.

That’s not to say the guards are probably not hard on them, but the inmates are obviously allowed, at least during events like this, to somewhat go about their business within the prison walls. On these occasions they also wear what they want – most wore a combination of half uniform half ratted t-shirts or pants, and many had their own accessories like rasta hats and funky sunglasses.

Out of all the prisoners, five were women. These women sat separated from the males on chairs off to the side, next to a female guard. It seemed as if they are never allowed to mingle with the men. Two of the women had babies in their laps, and one started breastfeeding during the show.

So at the start of the event the guests of honor sat under the large tent along a table decorated with a lace tablecloth, jugs of water, and plants. We watched as a choir made up entirely of inmates and a couple of guards marched out to perform beautiful baritone hymns. They were all very talented, and seemed truly dedicated to putting on a remarkable performance. The choir looked like a hired group – wearing ironed lime green collared shirts, matching ties, and dark pants. One choir inmate personalized his outfit – wearing dark aviator sunglasses and suspenders that pulled his pants up comically high and exposed his pointy-toed tan leather boots.

Another inmate was clearly mentally disturbed. He would interrupt speeches and wander about unpredictably. He wore big, Run DMC style glasses, and made the tongues of his sneakers flop over the tops of his feet. He stood up during the Commander’s welcoming remarks, and started on a loud rant about how the honored guests had come to release them from prison. Instead of using force to get the inmate to calm down, a female guard walked over and held his hand for a few seconds, and he quickly sat down and got quiet.

It seems there is more of an effort to truly rehabilitate the inmates here. Though they don’t have access to the best educational or medical resources, they are sometimes sent to workshops where they can learn to become pastors, carpenters, gardeners, skilled in upholstery, and even knitting . During the previous event, another group of inmates put on a drama and the rest of the inmates had a chance to enjoy watching their peers speak out about HIV/AIDS through a funny sketch.

The morning wrapped up with a sermon from an Anglican pastor who for 10 years had also served time in prison.  He spoke about how the guards are there to protect the prisoners from the dangerous outside world, and that it was God’s intent to make them the chosen few so that they could have the opportunity to receive these messages about Month of Prayer. The inmates loved it, and from then on wanted nothing to do with their choir. They started yelling  for an encore from the pastor (“Re bata moruti!” or “We want the Pastor!”), and when the choir came out instead, many got up and left to go about their business.

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Former Levine Academy student meets her future — and Michelle Obama — in the Peace Corps

Posted on 21 July 2011 by admin

By Alexis Kanter

Alexis Kanter (left) speaks with Michelle Obama at a recent event in Gaborone, Botswana. Kanter is serving a two-year term in the U.S. Peace Corps. | Photo: Caitlin Anzalone/U.S. Peace Corps

If you had asked me three years ago if I’d be interested in joining the Peace Corps, I would have chuckled and said, “no thanks.” Already three years out of college, the thought of running off to serve a two-year stint in the Peace Corps seemed like an escape from developing a stable career at home. But after realizing the opportunities Peace Corps service can provide, I look back on the past year and know it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 having majored in history and anthropology. During my college career, I wrote for the university’s newspaper, then later worked in politics on a gubernatorial campaign and at a lobby firm, and had a private-sector job with an architecture firm. Through these activities I developed a passion for the way policy and culture influence the well-being of communities. The decision to finally apply was mostly based on the desire to challenge myself to live in a culturally new environment, and commit to a long-term goal that would enable me to grow personally and professionally. My uncle, who served in Peace Corps Peru during the early 1960s, became an inspiration to me when considering Peace Corps service. His enthusiasm for the program stoked my curiosity, and the more I looked into the benefits, the more I liked the idea of being able to work closely with locals on a local income level.

Following a year-long application process, I arrived in Botswana in April 2010, and was assigned to spend my service in Francistown, the second largest city in Botswana, and home to a vibrant population of over 100,000 people representing all levels of the wealth spectrum. It has a wonderful, distinct flavor that incorporates both traditional and modern Setswana culture. I work with smart, passionate men and women in the District AIDS Office, which is the government office that oversees all HIV/AIDS organizations and programming in the district. Part of my job entails introducing fresh ideas to help improve the way the office functions. I also help connect the District AIDS Office with the community at large, mostly through involvement in HIV/AIDS related campaigns and helping the HIV/AIDS organizations address challenges and improve their skills so they can better serve their community.

Volunteers and locals work together toward promoting positive behavior change, and as a Peace Corps volunteer, my primary focus always centers on making sure the change I bring will be sustainable after I leave. Peace Corps volunteers work not to save the world, but rather strive for incremental improvements that will last after service is complete.

Along with fulfilling my initial goals, new experiences I encounter daily continue to bring a wealth of knowledge I couldn’t acquire in any other setting. For instance, the cramped, long-hour bus rides between cities taught me an etiquette to maintaining order on a bus with almost zero personal space. I’ve seen elephants and lions roam their native habitat, attended a huge wedding celebration in the tiny village of Mapoka, been awakened to beautiful traditional dance and music, and feel as if I’ve become a part of real life here.

More significantly, I’ve worked on a campaign where teenage boys in Francistown signed up by the hundreds to voluntarily get circumcised in order to increase protection from contracting HIV. Never before had I seen such an immense sense of personal responsibility displayed at such a young age.

My work here is fulfilling, and I’m fortunate to have made lasting friendships with volunteers and locals. But service is not easy. I can’t say that I haven’t had some trying days, but that’s where personal growth comes in. Once out of your comfort zone you may begin to answer questions about yourself you never thought to ask before. And then out of the blue, things beyond your wildest expectations push you forward, and answering those questions becomes a little easier.

Recently, Botswana Peace Corps volunteers attended an event held at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in the capital, Gaborone. We were given the rare opportunity to shake hands with First Lady Michelle Obama during her visit to Southern Africa.

It was a fleeting yet incredible experience that reminded me how great things can happen when risks are taken. It’s not every day one gets to shake hands with someone who is essentially living history, and it made me proud to be where I am and do what I’m doing. I try to take nothing here for granted, and so for the rest of my service (and beyond), I intend to live up to that handshake.

Ann & Nate Levine Academy alumna, Alexis Kanter (’96) is the daughter of Nancy and Jay Kanter. She is in the middle of a two-year term of duty with the U.S. Peace Corps. For more on her meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama and her life in Botswana, check out Alexis’ blog at http://www.alexiskanter.wordpress.com

Q&A with new Peace Corps country director, Tim Hartman ‘86 | Stanford Daily.  – SOURCE

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Q&A with new Peace Corps country director, Tim Hartman ‘86

Tim Hartman ’86 was sworn in as Peace Corps country director in Botswana on June 29.

Hartman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon from 1986 to 1989, immediately after graduating from Stanford. The Peace Corps program in Botswana focuses on improving health and promoting HIV/AIDS prevention. Hartman has worked on HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Africa and on international development projects in multiple areas. He graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy of science and received his MBA from the Yale School of Management.

The Stanford Daily spoke with Hartman, who is currently in Gabarone, Botswana, about his new position

The Stanford Daily (TSD): Why did you choose to accept this position?

Tim Hartman (TH): It’s an incredible job and an incredible opportunity to be able to return to the Peace Corps and serve the volunteers of the Peace Corps and the people of Botswana in addressing important challenges and goals. Peace Corps gets in your blood, and it’s difficult to get out.

TSD: Could you talk about your experiences with the companies you previously worked for? Did they influence your decision to take this position?

TH: The country director position is a very broad one. It requires experiences and skills in many arenas: leadership, management and administrative skills, human resources, international development, cross-cultural skills…It takes a while to gain competency in all of those different areas, and I think all of my prior positions contributed to my ability to serve as Peace Corps country director.

TSD: What are the challenges the initiative for HIV/AIDS prevention in Botswana is currently facing?

TH: Those challenges, to some degree, are the same world over. Prevention requires behavior change…and that’s hard for people the world over. Knowledge is different than effective behavior change, so I think the challenges really are global. The other [challenge] is that there’s a very high prevalence rate here, unfortunately, of people already with HIV. Obviously, it’s all that much easier for the disease to spread, so that makes the prevention challenges even greater.

TSD: What ways do you go about promoting human behavior changes to prevent HIV/AIDS?

TH: First you have to raise awareness. People have to get tested and know their status. They have to know that there are things that they can do if they are HIV positive…We work in Botswana with youth, helping them with life skills and learning to make good decisions, and hopefully a number of those decisions are around sexual partners and how they can lead safer lives.

TSD: How did your Stanford experience — including your degree in philosophy — prepare you for this experience?

TH: I think the education at Stanford that I received helped me in critical thinking and making good decisions…Philosophy in general is all-around critical thinking, problem solving, looking from many angles, thinking through challenging issues, good writing and logical thinking. Those skills are just so useful in life.

TSD: How did your Stanford experience — including your degree in philosophy — prepare you for this experience?

TH: I think the education at Stanford that I received helped me in critical thinking and making good decisions…Philosophy in general is all-around critical thinking, problem solving, looking from many angles, thinking through challenging issues, good writing and logical thinking. Those skills are just so useful in life.

TSD: How has your experience in Botswana been so far?

TH: It is phenomenal. I’ve only been on the job three days now, and just on the first day of work I had a most enjoyable lively exchange with the Peace Corps staff…I was invited to a dinner with one of the former presidents of Botswana, Festus Mogae, by a previous country director, and I mean, what an honor…It’s just a wonderful country. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be here.

Mid-Service Training

Getting a chance to reunite with the other ~45 volunteers was refreshing. Aside from all the catching up and partying, it was great to exchange experiences and be reassured that the problems or concerns I sometimes have at site are shared by most of us.  The actual training part was somewhat lacking, and the sessions I thought could use a little more planning and attention, but just getting out of the routine in Francistown was beneficial in itself.

Other highlights included eating several different kinds of pizza, celebrating a birthday, sipping wine around a hotel mini-bonfire, and coming home with a lot less money in my Peace Corps bank account (still worth it).

During training, the acting Country Director made several announcements regarding the possibility of the volunteers attending an event where we would have the chance to meet the First Lady during her last stop to Gaborone. It became a week-long suspenseful fiasco, because we were told we could go but were repeatedly reminded that at any moment it could fall through.  Luckily it didn’t.

Meeting Mma Obama

The Beautiful and Freezing Cold Venue

That Saturday morning of the event,  US Embassy staff,  PCVs and PCV staff met outside the residence of the US Ambassador to Botswana, and we waited for a good hour in freezing temperatures before being allowed on the premises. We were never allowed into the house, but the spacious backyard garden provided hot tea and heaters. Walking through the gate to the backyard felt like entering an airport – we passed through metal detectors, and a team of secret service inspected our clothes, bags, cameras, phones, and especially passports. We all had to turn in our social security numbers ahead of time so security could run background checks.

After another forty-five minutes of chatting around heaters with our tea, all of the volunteers and staff gathered to a fence near the podium where the First Lady would speak. We all settled and readied ourselves for the speech,  strategically positioning our cameras between the heads of those in front of us. Like the sound check guy at a concert, the events coordinator walked up to the podium and received wild applause. She introduced herself, roused the crowd in preparation for Michelle Obama’s arrival, and then announced that Peace Corps was assigned to a separate roped off area and that we would have to move. So, somewhat begrudgingly,  our large herd of volunteers slowly peeled out from the tight cluster of Embassy staff, relocated to our newly designated area and repositioned our multitude of cameras. I guess our presence was a slight distraction from the event, because we were then publicly informed by the events coordinator that we’d be “more difficult to handle than the children.”

The First Lady spoke for about five minutes, then took the time to spend a moment with each of us. She shook everyone’s hand and really circulated around the event. I was excited to meet her but also felt relaxed. Whenever I have the opportunity to meet or see someone well known, I tend to appreciate the accomplishments of that person in relation to their physicality, and oddly enough I also think about the degrees of separation the person closes between myself and a world of distinguishable people and events. Someone like, say, Nelson Mandela, whom Michelle Obama met just days prior.  I also appreciate that she is essentially living history, and nonetheless history I’m proud of. So all in all meeting her was a pretty incredible experience.

Click on the photo below for an album of the event, and below that is a video of the short speech Mma Obama gave. Hope you all enjoy!

Meeting Michelle Obama Photo Album

Related articles

• Michelle Obama to visit southern Africa (cnn.com)
• US First Lady Michelle Obama in Gaborone (gabzfmnews.wordpress.com)
• Michelle Obama embarks on Africa visit (alternet.org)

Relative to many African countries, it’s my opinion that Botswana is on the progressive side of homosexual tolerance. Not being gay I can’t speak from personal experience, but I’ve observed an interesting aspect to Botswana culture that crosses over from the urban to the rural communities. It appears that though heavy religious influence leaves many in Botswana totally averse to the idea that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle (look at any internet comment thread on the subject in this country and this aversion becomes clear), I still think that with this culture in particular, tolerance is possible once people are given the opportunity to understand more of what being gay is, where it comes from, who is gay, and why. I feel fortunate to have been able to elaborate on this to a small group of people living and working just outside of central Francistown.

My co-worker and I attended one of the monthly ward multi-sectoral AIDS committee meetings,  which is a gathering of people from different sectors of society (religious, medical, schools, etc.) who meet to discuss matters arising surrounding HIV/AIDS. This meeting included people coming from an area that’s mostly impoverished, somewhat uneducated, and highly religious. During the meeting, one woman brought up increased delinquency and “homosexual tendencies” among students in her middle school, and wanted to know how to put it to rest. The parents were starting to worry that their kids were going to become gay if they were around other kids expressing homosexual behavior.

Now, I’m thinking that in middle school if a child is “acting gay” it probably means either he or she is going through a phase of sexual or emotional exploration without much meaning behind it, or the child is in fact, gay. Either way, some parents were sure that if their child became friends with these “delinquents” then they, too, would “get the gay.”

The coworker I was with and I have discussed homosexuality before, and she knows me to be pro-gay rights. She’s previously told me that as she learns more she’s becoming increasingly confident that intolerance towards homosexuals is an important human rights issue.  Given the chance to share the knowledge she’s learned, she asked me to address the meeting and give them my understanding of whether people are born gay, or if they can become gay by observing such behavior at a young age.

Nervous, I stood up thinking that the best way to explain it would be to put it in a blatantly clear and understandable way. So I compared sexual orientation with the other big controversial biological issue: race. I said, “It’s of my personal knowledge that choosing to be straight or gay is like choosing to be black or white. It’s how we are born, and it’s something we cannot change. I could paint my skin black every day, but at the end of the day I will always be white.”

An immediate sense of pride took over me, followed by a small dose of fear. It was the first time I had expressed my thoughts to a group of Batswana on such a sensitive topic (I usually keep it all to myself to keep the peace) and had no idea what people would say to that. They could have yelled at me, told me I was wrong, and that I would be punished in hell for such thoughts. But instead I got initial looks of shock but then quiet nods of understanding. I further explained that if the child acts gay it might be that he or she was actually born gay, and if he or she had not expressed that before it could be due to commonly understood societal pressures against homosexuality. I clarified that if the child was not born gay then he or she will not become gay by befriending someone who is.

The “painting skin” element to my comparison was particularly important, because these societal pressures don’t stop at adolescence - many Batswana grow up knowing they’re gay, but paint themselves to look straight every single day of their lives. Some get married, have children, and essentially live a lie to keep from being outed. I’ve occasionally asked people to think about it with the tables turned – to think of a world where they had to marry someone of the same sex in order to please everyone else. Looking shocked and disgusted, I think they tend to get the idea this way.

After the meeting, many of us sat around talking and enjoying our tea, when the ladies started giggling and laughing. They were reflecting on a man they all used to know – they used to call him “one of the ladies,” and referred to him with the feminine prefix “Mma” before his name, as he used to shop, socialize, and talk effeminately with them. They didn’t speak negatively about him at all, in fact, they spoke fondly of how nice he was and how easy it was for them to get along with him, and they were also discussing the realization that he was probably gay. For some it was the first time they realized that they had actually known someone gay. It seemed to click that just because he might have been gay did not mean he was a bad or negatively influential person.

Witnessing this was amazing. It gave me a sense of hope that if people are simply provided more education on the subject, then they might come to understand how hard it can be for some homosexuals in Botswana. Luckily, Gaborone is already somewhat of a hub for homosexual expression and tolerance. There are dance clubs akin to gay bars, and I’ve heard from a few friends there’s even a secret “I’m also gay” handshake. Hopefully, with more education and reflection, a slow but steady acceptance will enter people’s hearts privately, and then public action against this intolerance will follow suit.

The workers fighting for a raise began to realize that they may not be receiving any paycheck at all.

A few weeks ago in Molepolole (the village where I spent pre-service training), students who were left without teachers to teach them began vandalizing schools and looting shops, demanding that the government end the strike. This caused schools to close throughout the country for about a week, and reopened only when they could be patrolled by police. Aside from a skeletal staff that was not allowed to strike, hospitals and clinics also shut down. Subsequently, government employed teachers and nurses on strike started getting fired.

Later, Ministers of Parliament held public meetings in various villages to address the issues surrounding the strike. Probably a well intended outreach, but the people only got riled up and angry and ended up physically running the ministers out while chanting and exclaiming that they would ”rather be led by President Mugabe.” (this article link is from a Botswana newspaper and is especially colorful and dramatic)

Just a week ago on Tuesday, things culminated towards what I hope was the worst of the whole ordeal. Supposedly June 7th was the day an agreement was to be finalized – a 3% increase across the board for all government employees – and the strike was to end.  A 3% increase, however, for someone making one of the the lowest pay grades of P1200/month ($185), would be a raise of P36/month ($5.54). To put it in perspective that’s about the cost of a large bag of rice.

So Tuesday the strikers returned again to the forefront, but this time with a different attitude. Instead of peaceful protesting outside Ntshe House, Ntshe House employees fled from the building when rumors surfaced that the strikers were heading there for a confrontation.  I left with my coworkers.

Though my supervisor, Mma Mathumo, was running in jest, it was because none of us were quite sure what to expect. I exited the building and could feel the air of the city change as I walked down the street. Cars honked loudly at each other, taxis sped through intersections, and people’s pacing seemed quicker and more deliberate. All of a sudden I noticed the ladies who perch at tables surrounding the perimeter of the building to sell fat-cakes, boiled eggs and candy were hastily packing up their tables.  People were hurrying to get out of the strikers’ way.

I passed through the popular nearby shopping center, Galo Mall, on the way home and came across a woman repeatedly sneezing and crying in what looked like a painful allergic reaction. Once I got to Galo I learned that the civil unrest prompted the use of tear gas, forcing the stores to close early. Strikers charged down the streets and trashed another popular shopping center down the road, setting car tires on fire.

This video was not taken by me, but by someone down the street from where I was.

That afternoon Peace Corps told me to stay home and not come back to work the next day if the civil unrest persisted. They also put a temporary travel ban on FTown for all traveling volunteers. What’s interesting about this event (and all previous related events) is that Botswana is such a peaceful country, so this feels uncomfortable for everyone. No one is used to seeing Batswana react like this, and I think it’s clear the strikers themselves don’t want this to escalate into violence. All of this drama happened and then it stopped, as if it was a mid-morning mini riot and then people broke for lunch. Afterwards Francistown became calm, and I went to work the next day.

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Update: Union leaders met with the Directorate of Public Service Management (the Government Employer) on Sunday, June 12th to agree to temporarily suspend the strike, but a portion of the strikers are refusing to go back to work. Though the decision might have caused a chasm within the striking population, it seems most agree the strike is essentially over for now. Those who lost their jobs are requested to reapply, and workers can expect a 3% increase in salary starting in September. More later…

Related articles

• Botswana: Not so perfect after all (economist.com)
• Striking workers in Gaborone barricades the roads (gabzfmnews.wordpress.com)
• The Botswana Worker’s Strike – Part 1 – The Build Up (alexiskanter.wordpress.com)
• Saleshando attacks President Ian Khama (gabzfmnews.wordpress.com)
• Botswana strike takes toll on health care (foxnews.com)