Coming Home

Well, after 2 years, 4 months and 20 days out of the country, I got back home to the US on Saturday morning. It is at the same time totally normal, and exceptionally mindblowing, to be here.

Why yes, my first meal back DID include Watsonville strawberries! And yes, I did take a picture of it…

There are people everywhere, I swear my plane from Joburg to Atlanta could have held half my village. (My feet also didn’t reach the floor, which probably made me more grumpy about that experience than I could have been…) I barely exchanged 3 words with my neighbor, which seemed different, since in Namibia it would be impossible to sit next to someone for 16 hours and not get to know them.

But, people are also generally nicer than I remember! I always categorize Africans as being friendly and helpful, while Americans are in too much of a rush, etc. But everyone in the airport was kind, jumping out of their way to let the passengers about to miss their connections through. When I was baffled by the new passport-checking, customs machines in Atlanta (yes, there are MACHINES at customs instead of real people, and yes, I couldn’t figure out how to use them) there was immediately a really nice guy who came to help me. And he only laughed a little at my despair. And, although it turned out I had the wrong number in my phone (!), my neighbor on the flight to Tampa (who happened to be the PILOT from the Joburg flight! small world) let me borrow his phone to try to call Aunt Pamela to let her know our plane had landed. We also found an exceptionally kind and helpful guy at the AT&T store who did his best to help me figure out how to make it work in both the US and Namibia, and got it set up in just a few minutes.

There is too much traffic. I can’t remember seeing so many traffic lights, ever, and I have to say that I am so grateful to my family (thanks Aunt Pamela!) for taking care of me and driving me places! Between the traffic itself, and the cars on the ‘wrong side’ of the road, and the HUGE highways, I don’t think I’d survive on my own.

Running on the beach in Tampa

So far, in the last 2 days, we have gone to the beach, some shops, Quaker meeting (really awesome!), gone birdwatching, and done some projects at the house. It is busier than Namibian life, even though we are on holiday. But most importantly, I have enjoyed spending time with my family and am so excited that more of them will be coming in to FL in just a few days, and then that I will see the other side of the family in about a week! If anything, I think that Namibia, and being away from home for 2 years, has taught me that it is about the people =)

Help Please!

Next week I am going to Keetmans to work with 2 other volunteers for the whole week, planning a remedial English curriculum for next year.

Basically we are making up our own job descriptions. My plan is to spend most of my time working with the kids who are really behind (which is a lot of them), mostly doing English reading and comp but maybe also some basic math? Then I’d also like to have at least one “gifted” class per week to take the kids who are actually ON grade level and do some more advanced work with them. A lot of our smart kids get bored and give up in school. I’ll also be moving over to the science lab to try (again!) to get it up and running.

Here are my questions.

Do you focus on quantity or quality?

If I try to reach the most learners, I can have bigger classes. I can meet with more classes per week, and give each group only one 40-minute period per week. But obviously this will impact the effectiveness of the program.

But if I focus on ‘quality’ (say, classes of only 5 learners which meet 2-3 times per week), then I would work with fewer learners. If that is the case, do I choose the very severe cases who are in grade 9 but on a grade 6 reading level? Or do I take the learners who are only a little bit behind but need an extra push to get them where they need to be?

Is it more sensible to spend more time with the remedial kids who really need help, or try to push the ones who can be successful and need some extra attention?

Help! Anyone who knows anything about these things… advice???

Here are some totally unrelated photos for you! Some of my pen pal kids came in on Sunday to do a project... they mde maps of the US and Indiana and a venn diagram comparing the US and Namibia. (top priorities... president, date of independence, unemployment rate, birth/death rates.)

work in progress

Our Pen Pal Project

learners at St. Therese typing letters to their pen pals

Peace Corps recently matched me up with a school in Indiana (shoutout to Elwood High students!), via the WorldWise Schools program. They pair volunteers with US schools to start a pen pal program and try to reach those 1st and 2nd PC goals - informing Americans about our host countries, and informing our host countries about Americans.

I was reluctant to get started because, let's be honest, it sounds like lots of work. I was afraid I would be chasing my learners all the time and it would be a huge nightmare.

Instead, it's been totally fantastic. I feel so productive. I have never been asked so many questions about Namibia by Americans, nor so many questions about America by Namibians. My learners have come several times a day begging me to check my email to see if their new friends have written, and to open up the computer lab so that they can reply.

2 of my grade 8s working in the lab

In addition, I'm pretty psyched about the consequences of this project. My learners are practicing their English reading/writing - by choice! They ask me to edit their papers (although I don't always have time to check 20 letters) because they want to sound good when their new American pen pals read them. It's the most reading I've ever seen them do. We're also practicing geography (climate, time zones, seasons and map-reading were all on the recent geography examinations and we have worked on all of them already). Although I am only able to take the kids after school hours, it is actually convenient because it is roughly the same time our friends in Indiana have class.

4 of my absolute favourite grade 10s (who unfortunately/fortunately have finished at our school! grade 10s left in late October after they wrote national exams)

more learners, by our school's St. Theresa statue

Networking, Namibian Style

Due (I think) to some really great begging done on my side, I managed to wrangle an invitation to last weeks Namibian Energy Policy Forum. It was hosted by NCCI and GIZ ("The first renewable energy conference organized by NCCI...and GIZ! German taxpayer money sponsored the event!" says one of my colleagues - wonder how the Germans feel about that??)

IT WAS SO COOL.

Those of you who know me know that renewable energy is basically what I want to do with my life. This forum was attended by the Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy, Minister of Trade and Industry, GM of NamPower (Namibian energy monopoly), CEO of NCCI, Minister of Finance and about 50 other private and public businessowners, policymakers etc. It was absolutely the coolest thing. And more impressive than anything (to me) was the fact that we managed, while remaining polite, to overstep some of the bureaucratic nonsense that takes up half of most meetings here, and really discuss some of the issues among key players.

For any of you who are interested, here are a few of the highlights from the conference.

1. The conference was opened by noting the relationship between energy capacity and employment and wealth in a country (especially as a country is still developing industrial capacity, as in Namibia). Although this seems obvious, I thought it astute of the keynote speaker to bring it up immediately as a concern. Another minister addressed energy needs for the "socio-economic upliftment of the people" - kind of just using words, but a good point nonetheless.

2. We went through some shocking statistics. Namibia has the HIGHEST solar irradiation in the world. Yet we pay the third highest amount for electricity in SADC (Southern African Development Community), while South Africa (whom we buy energy from) pays the lowest. We also pay about 3 times more than the US per kWh. Clearly a country like Namibia will struggle to industrialize while in such a position.

3. The maximum energy demand from Namibia is around 500 MW (excluding some of the big mines). This is a country of 2 million. PECO (the electric company for the Philadelphia area) has almost 4,500 MW to serve the same population. But our electricity is still not local - we import from Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, etc. And, even though Namibia is arguably more developed than our neighboring countries, we still don't seem to be planning for energy independence.

4. Namibia is talkign about the Market as a means to find efficiency. It's wonderful. Right now NamPower is a politically appointed monopoly in terms of electricity, but people are still talking about ways around that.

5. Smaller ideas emerged as well. The government is currently pursuing a mass housing project; why not include solar hot water heaters on all houses? (I didn't know that all ministry houses now are required to be built with solar heaters. How cool is that?!)

I am proud to start getting involved in this field. It is becoming, more than ever, apparent how much we will struggle to incorporate renewable technologies into every field of life; however it is also apparent how hard some people are working to accomplish just that. I made a few connections of my own and am hoping to be able to work with a few Namibian organizations to pursue these things in the next year while I am here!

A New Look

Most of you probably know that my two new gap year volunteers came to Tses a few months ago. They are 18 year old boys from Wales and Holland, but they're staying with me in the same house. I always think it is interesting to help them through their first few months around, as they are learning everything for the first time. Language, culture, places, everything. The first experiences of hitchhiking and learning a new language are usually kind of hard, but after that they catch on fast!

We had another few firsts this weekend that were pretty fantastic. I took the boys to their first "potjie" (A dinner using a 3 legged black pot, which is basically Stone Soup. Everyone brings whatever is in the house and we cook together and have a few drinks.) We were together with one of my favourite teachers (and my Peace Corps counterpart) and a few other guys from the village.

Then yesterday afternoon we went to go see "The Waterfall" on the Fish River! The Fish is only about 15-20 km away from Tses, but it is difficult to get there since you need your own car. But my principal took us on the way to the farm, so we walked around and enjoyed the amazing scenery there. The river has carved out huge channels through the surrounding rock, which is impressive given the fact that it is currently dry! There are only a few puddles remaining here and there, due to the fact that most of the water is held back by a dam up in Mariental.

The water next to "The Waterfall"

My principal and current Mom-Away-From-Home, Ms. Pauline. (I am actually shocked how close we have gotten in the last year or so. It's great.)

Driving home with the sun setting in the distance and the dust from the bakkie kicking up behind us

Our Role

What is our role as Peace Corps volunteers? I am in Windhoek for a meeting with the HIV Committee, and a conversation with another volunteer got me thinking.

What is our duty towards Peace Corps, and what is Peace Corps’ duty towards us? One older volunteer a few weeks ago commented

to me that Peace Corps does much less than… basically any other employer, in terms of personal development. Most companies send you for trainings, ensure that you develop skills, and assist you with whatever training or development you think is really necessary to improve at your job. These skills are then transferrable if you end up moving to a new company or position – you are a more qualified person by the time you move on.

Peace Corps, on the other hand, tends to do very little of this. But at the same time, most of us do not go into a Peace Corps experience expecting it. I was actually arguing with another volunteer this morning that it is our duty in fact to spend our two years helping with “on the ground” development – and by way of volunteering with Peace Corps, we have also given up our ‘right’ to personal professional development. Is that right? I probably have too idealistic of an outlook on this – we are people too, and we also need to develop skills and be qualified for jobs when we get back home. Additionally, many people use Peace Corps as a turning point in their careers – a way to stop what they are doing and change directions – and if they can use their experience to gain skills that will help them do so, why the heck not? Some volunteers want to use Peace Corps to find positions that will help them personally - for instance, work with an NGO on behalf of Peace Corps, or work within the Peace Corps offices to develop 'management' skills. Is it wrong to desire the formal training that we received in our first 2 months of service, throughout our service??

ON THE OTHER HAND. Maybe I’ll just blame my family for my idealism (thanks Mom and Dad). But It seems to me that if you are willing to give up two years of your home, family, job, income, and friends, you should really invest in what you are doing. Which is helping people on the ground. Not working with big organizations, not networking for the sake of networking (although of course, it happens sometimes), but really doing what you can for the small number of people who you can work with, in person, frequently, individually. Wasn’t that the original purpose of Peace Corps? Can't we get some amount of training and development from our Namibian counterparts?

Or from our day-to-day work and jobs?

Or, have we already left the ‘original purpose’ and, with global development and economic development around the world, are we in a new position to help on a bigger scale. Is there a right or wrong for something like volunteerism? It seems like you can’t blame someone for wanting to take something for themselves at the same time as offering their services to a community, but it also seems a shame to give up the maximum benefit you can deliver to that community for your own self-interests.

Introductions

Catherine this is mostly for you and your school, I meant to get more but shit hit the fan at school. I'm working on it.
Quality is probably crap, but here is an idea of some of my better English speakers and some scenes from the hostel yard. (Also, just so everyone knows, I have no idea how to edit videos and did not even have time to attempt it here. These are just random clips from around our hostel!)

kids being kids while shut in our hostel for the weekend

One of my 'daughters' in the hostel talking in front of my house- Agnes is one of our older grade 9s, but she has turned over a new leaf this year and is working hard and I think she will probably pass! She's also one of my soccer captains and clearly one of the more outgoing kids...

And, one of my 'sons' - our best soccer goalkeeper, also a very outgoing grade 10 who may help us improve our pass rate this year!!

Ups and Downs

This week has been... illuminating. I guess?

To start out with, I have been talking with an ex-learner of a former Peace Corps volunteer (she served maybe 8 or 10 years ago in Namibia?). I am meeting this weekend with hime and a group of his colleagues, who are trying to start a Trust to help with development, motivation etc. of Namibian children in an effort to better care for and prepare our vulnerable children to be the future leaders of the country. It is so cool 1) to see a former learner of a PCV really working to try to improve his country, as well as taking initiative to do something brand new, on his own and 2) to be consulted like I actually know something! It is also terrifying to be "consulted" because this group of Youth (essentially my age) seem to be assuming that I KNOW how to start a business, run a business, do everything. Totally bonkers. But it is simultaneously really cool to work through it with them.

Then the bad news of this week...
Our Catholic Brothers have continued with their aggressive/disrespectful treatment of learners. Not that they have significantly injured anyone or anything, but they demean and talk down to learners to the extent that I hear about 10 times per day, "Miss I hate him." This all came to a head this week, when in two separate-but-related incidents, our learners tried to stone/stab 2 of the Brothers. Injured one successfully with stones, but not the one they really wanted so they have continued plotting.

Now, we have had 4ish hours/day of study for our grade 10 learners for the last month or so, trying to help them prepare for their national exam series. I have gone to almost all of them, helped to supervise learners, helped to control learners, tutored them in maths/physics. I have also taken some of our more 'rebellious' kids into my class, because they seem to do better with less attention from the brothers (if you don't continuously antagonize them, they can sit and do work) and a more controlled, supervised environment. They have submitted to this willingly. Now, the Brothers say that I have been plotting with the learners against them (because I have been with the 'troublemakers') and my "study help" is in fact a threat to all of the teachers. I promise that I did apologize, but honestly I swear I have been trying to help! These boys have been threatening me for the whole year that they want to attack the brothers, and I have been trying to hold them at bay by having many, many talks with them, trying to counsel them as best as I know how, etc. What else was I supposed to do????? Gah!

Violence is a thing of the.. Present

I started writing this post almost a month ago, but I have a new story now to add to the mix.

Last term, two hours before rugby practice, one of my most well-behaved learners brought me a note. It said, “Mis I cant attend the practise today. My aunt was steped [stabbed] by my uncle i have to go.” Obviously, I thought “JESUS what is going on?!” and said, “Of course honey, I hope everything is ok at your house.” The next day, he came in and told me, “Miss, my uncle stabbed my aunt seven times.” Concerned, I asked if she was ok (although how ok could you really be after something like that?) He responded, “Yes she is fine, but she is no longer with us.”

The last few nights at evening study, where we have the hostel learners return to school for an hour and a half of homework time, we've had some 'incidents.' There are three grade 8 boys who are really independent/aggressive/maybe potheads, and they don't respond well to very firm teachers who talk down to them and give them no freedom. The brothers being some of these teachers. They were scolded for something and chased out of study for the rest of the term by one brother, last week. Then they returned Monday night and were sitting quietly, but asked to leave again because they had been told not to attend. Rather than leaving quietly, they fought one brother, left the school, then started throwing stones at another brother and injured him! For this they were suspended from the school yesterday... but since they didn't leave until the evening train, they came BACK to study with knives and rocks and tried again.

Finally, About a month ago, one woman from Tses was out at the club late at night. An acquaintance escorted her from the club, raped her, murdered her, and left the body laying in a field. Although this particular man seemed to be a pretty stupid criminal (he left one of his shoes and one of her shoes at the scene of the crime… and brought home one of her shoes and one of his shoes) and was apprehended within 24 hours, this type of story is not uncommon in our area of Namibia.

Obviously this kind of violence (or worse) is also frequent in some parts of the US. First of all, it’s interesting to note that, with respect to geographical location, socioeconomic groupings are basically flipped here from how you would expect them to be. There are no “inner cities” in Namibia. Instead, the center of cities/towns tend to be very upscale and expensive, while the poor reside on the periphery. In many senses, this helps to keep the poor poorer, since these individuals frequently walk for hours or struggle just to afford transport in and out from the city.

It is also funny though, that “sleepy” villages like Tses (and in fact most small villages in the south) suffer from extreme violence. Even learners fight and stab during class, and fights and serious stabbings are extremely common in the clubs at night. As with basically every significant problem we see here, we tend to chalk it up to culture, general acceptance of the behaviour and poverty… but that still doesn’t help address the issue.

Community at Work

People in Namibia are friendly and supportive of each other. That is the aspect of my life here that I will miss the most when I return to the States.

For instance, I missed school last week because I got some flu from the learners. Out of ten teachers, two stopped bye the house, three called/SMSed me to check in, and another two asked my new housemates if I was all right. Granted, I felt and looked like shit and all I wanted to do was sit in bed and ignore the world… but still, you can’t even begin to suggest that they aren’t looking after me. A ton of learners also stopped by to check in, and this weekend they all greeted me super enthusiastically, asked after my health and told me how much they missed me! It’s enough to make you feel loved.

Then today, I asked for the help of one boy. ONE! Dad brought me an audio recorder and I was hoping he could sing one of the local songs for me to remember. When he really understood the project, he returned with a posse of eight. Half an hour later, there were about 20 other faces pressed against my windows, singing along.

People here aren’t isolated. They talk too much, anything. But the thing is, they make the best of it and there is always someone there if you need to shout for help.

Learners, teachers and community members working together to prepare food for the school 'culture day' in Term II

One of the recordings my learners made... I hope this link works?

my kids are awesome

Last weekend, my kids got banned from playing soccer in the hostel yard and they were bored out of their minds. One of them came asking me for something to do and I convinced him to write an essay (it was "fun" because he got to do it on the computer, never mind that it took him 2 hours to type a few paragraphs)... here's a look into his head.

What is the meaning of life?

Life is a journey, a trip no one will ever dream of coming to an end .Life is full of obstacles which of some can be very devastating at times .At times as a person you can have a thought of giving up life not that life is being unfair to you ,but because of what people that are your own kind are wishing for you .But if you consider your life as a gift from God you will live it to it ,s full potential. Life is like a race if you are eager to win you will make a success out of it .And the life span of your success will be long and enjoyable ,if you consider it the most precious reward towards your hard work.

In life we make mistakes and if you are a wise warrior you will learn from them, but a fool will never noticed making the same mistake over and over .Life is not about who you are ,but who you are certainly going to be .If you think you can go on and impress others with what you have or  what you can do life will be awkward for you .My advise will be like use what you have or what you can do to give success a room in your life ,and in the end your rewards will be  huge .Wishing and hoping will be your key drive aspects in life if you are a visionary person .

Live life as if it is going to end tomorrow ‘’REGRET FOR YESTERDAY, LIFE FOR TODAY AND WISH FOR TOMMORROW’’, we are just human beings never were we perfect and never will we be perfect, but try to be the best in what ever you do. We’ve choices in life, which we are not certain of being right or wrong, but lets try exploring our choices and we would be sure that one will be well in advance for our thoughts. We can compare life with a math sum, you ain, t got a clue of what the turn out of it will be like but in the end you will either be thank full or disappointed that ,s the reality of life.

An Ancient Community

One cool thing about the trip to Epupa Falls was that we hired a local guy to drive us. Since it’s about a 3 hour drive each way, we got to spend a lot of time talking with him in the car. He was very friendly and interested in sharing his knowledge of local cultures with us. We learned some really interesting things about the traditional cultures, especially the Himba, and Mariah got into a great conversation that I’d like to share.

Himba women are empowered. Once married, they are recognized as the head of household – they control the buying and selling, they have a significant say in what the children do and who they marry, and they can basically send their husbands around to chase after stray goats, cattle, etc.

In other ways, Himba women are treated as property. Himba communities are not monogamous. Even if a woman marries a man. For instance, if a man hosts a male visitor, the husband will sleep outside for the night so that his friend can sleep with his wife. If the woman becomes pregnant, the child still becomes the “property” of the original husband-wife pair. Modern women sometimes refuse to sleep with some men, but traditionally they have not been allowed to do so.

On the one hand (here comes Tevye, watch out), this trading of husbands and wives is pretty … crazy. To us. Although our driver said that jealousy is not common in these communities, it is hard to imagine! How would you feel if your wife up and slept with someone else, and maybe ended up with his child? (And conversely, how would you feel if your husband abandoned you to his friend, regardless of your own feelings?)

On the other hand, maybe this sort of society avoids a lot of common problems. If you are not worried about cheating between husband and wife, then perhaps jealousy can be curbed. From an evolutionary standpoint, the Himba are a fairly small group of people and different Himba villages can be separated by hundreds of kilometers. Perhaps allowing visitors from far to mix their DNA into the gene pool is a way of providing “hybrid vigor,” as my dad would call it! Mixing genes creates stronger offspring, and maybe this ensured the longevity of the Himba tribe by minimizing inbreeding.

On the OTHER hand, what about STIs? HIV? Allowing sex between anyone and everyone seems like a brilliant way to spread disease and create problems for everyone…

Then again, how do you think traditional Himba would feel when comparing this sort of traditional lifestyle with “modern” values that are exhibited if they travel in to town? Apparently jealousy has increased among Himbas, and it is now common to see “traditional” Himbas in town drinking with “modern” men in bars… and following them home for the night. Totally an insane/interesting/unique situation that I have never encountered before!!!

To Opuwo

I traveled with another PC Volunteer, Mariah, to Opuwo this week. In the far northwest of the country, and far removed from most other towns and settlements, Opuwo hosts a unique mix of cultures: old, new, Namibian, Angolan, etc. Prominent cultures include Himba, Zemba, Herero, Wambo, and Damara. The Himbas are one of the most-recognized tribes of Namibia because of their adhesion to traditional ways.

While in Opuwo, Mariah and I visited a traditional Himba settlement (note the traditional/modern-dressed women all living there together).

We also visited Epupa Falls, which is a series of small waterfalls that comprise the Namibia-Angola border for something like 1.3km. They are incredibly beautiful and unlike anything I’ve seen. Scenic falls overlooked by huge baobab trees on one side of the river, juxtaposed with the normal aridity of Namibia on the other. Just incredible!

swimming in the Kunene under the falls… apparently with crocodiles! Oops!

Close to Home

The first week of August holiday, Dad, Louise, and Aunt Pamela came to visit! It was so extraordinary to see people from home, to talk about things from home, and just to have family around again.

While they were here, we traveled a bit around the Hardap Dam area, Sossusvlei, Naukluft, Walvis Bay, Usakos.. and then they traveled on and I headed back to Windhoek. I have to say, the places were beautiful, the places we stayed were fabulous, the food we ate was delicious! I felt so spoiled the entire time.

The really incredible thing, though, to me was the extreme difference in worlds I get to experience while here. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am in an extremely unique position to see “both sides” of this country. First, I stay in a small village with not much money, and get to see how life is here, how people survive, how the community really functions. THEN, I get to travel around with family and friends, stay at pretty ritzy places, try out fancy binoculars and cameras, eat the wonderful food, have someone make up my bed every day. It is a crazy juxtaposition of two totally different worlds.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many photos since Dad and Aunt Pamela have such nicer cameras… but I’ll get my hands on them at some point!

A huge THANK YOU to Dad, Pamela, and Louise for coming, and to everyone who sent "stuff" with them for me and my kids! It is so amazing to have all of the support from you guys and I can't explain how much I appreciate it.

A taste of local Culture

One of the best things about living in Namibia is the huge variety of local cultures. I'm uploading a series of videos to give you an idea of some of the great songs, dances and skits that I've gotten to see in the last few months! Blogger won't let me put extremely high quality videos, but it can give you a sense.

My school choir is absolutely phenomenal. The acoustics are a bit funny here, but it gives you an idea of the enthusiasm they have for singing, and the raw talent some of them have (they don't practice often at all!)

Every year, schools host a Culture Day where learners are able to perform traditional dances from various cultures. Here is one of mine: the Nama culture (traditional in the area where I am staying), check out some of the boys' footwork! The red facepaint is a traditional ochre of some sort. Traditionally all of the clothes would be in a specific patchwork pattern (like the girls and the one really noticeable pair of pants) but not all of the kids have it, so they're wearing school uniforms.

Down the Drain

I've decided to try to write smaller shorter posts on random stuff so I can get my blog alive again! Usually this type of decision works for me for about a month and then I fall off again... but I'll try.

It's exam time at school. Again.

More specifically, exams finished last week, and this week we have only grade 10s at school to help them prep for their upcoming JSC exam series (if they fail, they are out of school for good...). It is also marking time for all of the teachers - we have to mark all of the exams of our kids and put out progress reports by tomorrow.

There is no time like exam time to make you feel like all of your efforts are for nothing! I was mildly saddened that only 19/105 grade 8s passed my maths class this term. I made the exam a LITTLE harder than it could have been (my theory being that they would be overprepared for the November Regional exams... I think I just scared them). Still, the 27% pass rate bothers me much more than it would have 2 years ago. Settling for complacency, or something like that.

The thing that REALLY bugged me was the marks of the grade 9s. I taught them last year as grade 8s, and worked the hardest I ever have at teaching to try to help them recover some of the basic skills they were lacking and also master grade 8 material. Now, in the first term of grade 9, those kids did great. Almost 50% passed grade 9 maths. Now in term 2, only SIX passed out of the entire grade!!! I am incredibly frustrated. I know my frustration will solve nothing... BUT I WORKED SO HARD WITH THEM LAST YEAR and it seems like all that work is down the drain. They told me last year that math was becoming "less scary" and "more fun." Now, when I talk to those same kids, they tell me that they dodge class and "hate the class and the teacher." AGH. What is the point of my working hard if they only go on to continue hating/failing maths!!!

In other news, my dad and Louise and Aunt Pamela are coming to visit next week. We're going to tour around Namibia a bit - it will be nice to get out of Tses and to see some faces from home. If anyone needs anything sent with them from Nam to the US, let me know!

Moral Dilemmas II - girls and boys

Growing up in the US, I was the generation after Title IX. I spent hours in front of the TV watching Mia Hamm and the US women’s soccer team as they took on the world in the World Cup. I played on all-girls’ soccer teams, I participated in every season of sports at my school, and I did everything the boys did.

Here in Namibia, it’s a little different. I’m lucky to be working and living in the south, which is at least a bit more similar to home. Women are more accepted as equals here, and at least some of the schools have girls’ teams and support girls’ activities. But we have limited resources, just like every school in Namibia, and I have been struggling with the issue of equality lately.

Because when it comes down to it, my boys are more motivated than my girls in most areas. They practice soccer on their own, they fundraise by themselves to earn money to travel with their soccer team to have matches in other villages, they come and ask “when is practice” and run away from class to come and tell me to call the other schools to request a game this weekend. So at the end of the day, I am more likely to take the boys for practice than the girls. I am more likely to funnel funds towards the boys’ teams, because they practice more and show me that they really care.

I’m not sure this is right. I grew up in a family that was very encouraging, and I was NEVER given the impression that girls and boys should be treated differently. I think the only difference between my brother and me was that I wore dresses sometimes – and heck, I wore his clothes half the time too.

The girls here are probably less motivated for several reasons. The big #1 is that they’ve never been given these opportunities before, and they don’t really know how to train on their own! They probably don’t know what opportunities are even there, so how should they know to come and ask me to schedule games for them? They are usually kicked out of the boys’ games, or they are afraid to play because the boys are so rough and so much better already, so they have fewer opportunities to practice.

#2, girls are still expected to fulfill different roles than boys in our society. The girls in the hostel wash WAY more often than the boys, and they usually wash the boys’ clothes for them, too. They are busier, and it is harder for them to find time to practice.

So what should I do? I am the only Sport Teacher, and I want to give my attention to the kids who really want it. But at the same time, how can I be here, and be given this opportunity to do whatever I want with the sports teams (and I am a female sports teacher, which is rare!) and not take advantage of it to give girls the chance? No, my girls will probably never be great, and maybe it won’t make much difference in the end. But I think I gained a lot of confidence and grew a lot from participating in team sports and “doing everything the boys did” growing up, and my girls could use that even more.

Moral Dilemmas I - Fish vs. Fishing

How do you know how much help to give?

I could empty my savings account helping the learners at my school, and it would still not be enough.

I could spend much, much more than the 12 hours/day I ALREADY spend at my school, and it would still not be enough.

I could spend the rest of my life fundraising, applying for grants, and sending aid to my school and my village, and it would still not be enough.

But how much is enough?

No child deserves to grow up in a place without enough food, worrying about buying the next pair of school shoes because the current ones are breaking, begging for money when they want to participate in a school event like a sports team. No child. I have given kids lunch, bought school shoes, and paid for their trips when things like this happen.

But – here’s the catch – how can it be SO MANY children?

Namibia had a GDP of $13 billion (USD) in 2012 and a Gini coefficient of 0.60 in 2010, according to the World Bank. So the thing is, Namibia actually has enough money to feed all of its children. That wealth is just distributed in a really, pardon my French, fucked up way. Big companies like diamond or uranium mines are pulling in millions, if not billions, of dollars. (Excuse my lack of research, I don’t have internet access as I’m writing this.) So the problem is actually not a lack of funds with which to provide basic things to the population, it is the location and distribution of those funds.

I know that this problem is not unique to Namibia, and many great development thinkers have been addressing it for years. But it is still something that rankles, when I stop and think about it.

Do you, in this case, give a man a fish? Or do you, as the saying goes, teach him how to fish?

It’s a poor analogy, but bear with me. If I give a man a fish, at least he will eat today. If I don’t give my kids food, or money, or whatever it is, they’re not going to get it anywhere else. Meaning that these children will suffer for the poor planning of their elders. I definitely don’t think that’s right.

On the other hand, as Tevye and my mother would say, there are also disadvantages. Giving a man a fish is not a sustainable solution. Maybe if more of us stopped feeding men for the day, they would find a way to feed themselves. Namibia needs to learn to spend its resources in a more equitable way, and to care for those who need it. Obviously the issue of scale comes into question, but for example, if I stopped helping my school to pay for transport for sport events, and to pay for copy paper that we run out of every year – if everyone did this – would more large-scale solution be reached? Or would we simply be causing more children to suffer for our laziness?

My gut is that children are children. It’s not their fault that the adults didn’t get their acts together, and they shouldn’t be the ones to suffer for it. But you have to wonder, if you looked at the whole issue from a purely utilitarian standpoint, what is the best solution? What would allow the economy and administration to develop in a way that is fair to those who are working hard, but still provides for those who need it? We can’t rely on foreign aid forever.

How Namibia is winning the development game

Anyone who’s ever taken a class in global development, or maybe even economics (not like I would know, ha), will read this post and say “duh, Sachi, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to go.” But how will anyone ever know if it goes how it’s supposed to unless they check for themselves? Here’s my confirmation that yes, development in the global world is a crazy and interesting thing.

1.     Phones. Everybody in Namibia has a cell phone. And by that, I mean everybody. There are basically no landlines, with the exceptions of governmental institutions (Village/Town Councils, schools, Ministry offices), but everybody has a phone. Many working adults have 2 or 3, and even most of my schoolchildren have their own phones. With this comes interesting consequences. The phone system here is pay-as-you-go. You can buy “credit” for your phone in amounts as small as N$5 (50 cents in the US). You can send 100 SMSes for 40c (4 cents in the US) and you are charged per minute for phone calls that you make. There are also plans you can pay for, by the week, if you know that you will make many phone calls, etc. It’s easy, accessible, and allows people to pay for/use what they can afford.

Phone access and low prices also lead to the result that everybody is online! I paid something like 50USD for my phone, and it has Facebook and Twitter apps, internet access, a qwerty keyboard, and a battery that STILL lasts for 4+ days! I noticed that Facebook relatively recently started allowing you to sign up for an account using a phone number instead of an email. Most Namibians don’t have a computer, don’t know how to use a computer, don’t have an email address. But they have Facebook, which they use from their phones as a means of communication and staying in touch with friends who stay far away. Data is also WAY cheaper here than in the US!

2.     Technology in general. Other technologies are the same! My school has a great computer lab with about 25 computers, which the learners are all learning to type on. The adults I know are also trying hard to progress with technology. Within the last 10 years, they have introduced computers to the schools. All of my teachers can type (if not well) their own tests and question papers on the computer. Even if some of the parts are still coming, it is a far cry from the handwritten test papers that our school used only 10 years ago.

Just for fun.. yes, we do still "cut and paste" in the literal way sometimes! But still, look at those nice photocopied papers.

3.     Solar/power. No, most Namibians are not aware of where their electricity comes from; and in fact, as far as I can tell, a lot of it actually comes from South Africa. In towns. Powering towns in a sustainable way is an issue all over the world, and Namibia is no different. But we do win out on small scales. In the South, most farms use solar power for their houses, bore holes (pumping water), etc. They are too far to get power from the grid, and solar is the easiest alternative. In the North, even though there are more clouds, many villages rely on solar power for things like charging cell phones. The north tends to be less “developed” in terms of infrastructure. When I visited a friend’s village, one of the only buildings with power (aside from government buildings!) was a mud hut with a solar panel, where locals could go to charge their phones or electronics.

4.     Banking. Banking is a hassle anywhere. But it really has gotten easier here… Of course, it depends on your bank. But most banks allow you to sign up for “cell phone banking”. You are SMSed anytime your account balance changes (so you know if you have been paid, or if someone steals your card). You can buy cell phone credit using your phone, if there is not a vendor nearby. You can even SEND money to someone having the same bank using your phone! In a country where towns are far apart and travel is relatively expensive, this has really allowed more universal access to basic banking.

I guess what I’m saying is that no, Namibia is not a first world country (although our GDP might indicate otherwise… stupid mines). But people here have done a great job taking existing technologies and slightly modifying them to fit our unique needs. The country is really growing and developing. And, as you will have learned from that development class, we are not starting from ground 0. Using ideas and technologies from other developed countries is really helping progress to occur rapidly and to alleviate a lot of the hassle and suffering that might otherwise exist.

A Universal Language in Sports

Sorry! Tried to post this about 2 months ago, but forgot that the photos couldn't load at that time. So.. better late than never, I hope?


Due to unforeseen circumstances, this year I have become the “Sport Teacher” at St. Therese J.S.S. Although this means lots of extra work (and an unfortunate amount of time spent with kids when they are full of energy and more likely to get in trouble…), I have been loving it so far because of the amount of time I’ve gotten to spend with my learners outside of the classroom environment!

Term 1 in Namibia means athletics (track and field). However, we also took some boys for rugby got the soccer teams started, and began to train the marathon runners! (One thing many people here don’t seem to get is that procrastination with long distance running just doesn’t work well.)

One of my favourite parts about getting to coach sports is that it lets some of our less academic kids be successful at something. I have learners who are absolutely brilliant in playing games, but they can’t perform well in the classroom. It is a chance for them to succeed, and for them to show their friends and teachers that yes, they ARE skilled in something.

Athletics

Our school hosted our Zonal Trials for athletics – which meant that first, my school assisted our sister primary school to host the primary school zonals … and then we did it all over again the next weekend for the secondary schools. Luckily there are only 2 secondary schools in our zone, so it wasn’t too huge of a meet. It’s the first time I’ve had to organize something so big by myself though, so it was definitely a learning experience!

Hosting a track meet is more than just that, here… you first have to measure out a track, rake all of the thorns and rocks off of it, and lay down the lines!

I have never been so proud of my kids as when I had more than 20 qualify for our Regional Trials, which is almost unheard of. They worked hard all season and actually trained and listened to my coaching, which is a huge improvement from last year =) I’m not sure if it’s because I’m more of an established teacher now, or if it’s because they’ve seen me running so much that they decided I might actually know what I’m talking about.. but either way, we got on great this year.

At regionals, I had many kids set personal records, win races (awesome when we are coming from a small farm school and competing against all of the town kids from Luderitz and Keetmanshoop!), and really try their hardest. My distance runners won the boys Under/17 3k, boys U/19 5k, boys U/19 800, girls U/17 1500. I was pretty proud! One of the funniest things though – one girl fell out of the 1500 because she cramped up. When I got to her, basically all of her muscles were tensed up and she was having trouble getting them relaxed. Once she finished crying “Oh, Miss! Oh, Miss! Oh, MISS!!”, the first thing she said? “Miss, I always thought the boys were lying. But this hurts.” Awesome. Granted, probably wouldn’t have happened if she had come to practice every day… but still.

One of the nationals qualifiers

A grade 10 high jumper

I got coerced into working at Regionals, but the bar was consistently over my head!

Athletics ended during the last weekend of the term, when I accompanied 3 of our boys to the National Trials. I had a U/17 3000, U/19 400, and U/19 100m. A pretty good distribution. They had a pretty rough time with the level of competition at nationals, but it was a great experience for them and they were so proud just to have the opportunity to go.

Rugby

Do I look like I understand rugby? No? You’re right. But due to popular demand, I am coaching rugby again this year at our school! Luckily for me, I have a few boys who have played for years and are actually very good at rugby. I have taken them and they help me coach the others – I do my best to get them fit and make them stay on task, but they do all the technical work. I tell myself that it’s a good learning experience for them to practice coaching and teaching others, but it’s also the only way it could work with a sport that I totally don’t understand!

We went to town to participate in Zonal Trials for rugby, and one boy was selected for the Regional Trials! It’s not a great selection rate, but still a first for our school!

Soccer

The soccer season will officially start now during term 2, but we tried to get practices started last term since soccer is by far the most popular sport around here. Boys and girls alike love to play around during their free time. The worst problem that I’ve faced is that soccer kids seem to be the same the world around – we have the same problems with cliques and meanness as I remember many high school soccer teams having in the states. One fight between my boys culminated in one stabbing the other in the face with a glass shard. I’m now treading a thin line of trying to keep the kids in line (including suspending those with outstandingly poor behaviour from the team), but also giving them the opportunity to practice and play. Because we actually do have a really skilled team this year that could make a good showing!

Marathon

I have to put it in here, because I don’t know where else… Not only have all of my learners started training for the 4x10k “marathon” they run in the spring (American fall, sometime like September or October), but I have also been training for long distance races! A few of the volunteers went to Cape Town during our April holiday to compete in an5 6k ultramarathon. Called the Two Oceans, we ran between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, up two mountains, and through a lot of different suburbs and areas around Cape Town. It was the most beautiful place I have ever run, and also the farthest (and potentially slowest) I have ever run. I’m proud to have come in within the top 150 women in the 20-40 year old age bracket, since there were more than 11,000 people participating in the ultramarathon! I think my practicing (and the fact that I came home with a medal) have won me a few respect points with my kids, which is always good too ; )