It’s only four more weeks to go before my placement ends. Time really has gone by fast! I have been feeling homesick but I am having an incredible time and am fortunate enough to have this opportunity to come, learn and experience so much. I am also super lucky to continue travelling once my placement ends. Since my plane flies through Paris, Kenny and I will meet there and we’ll spend a few days together sitting in cafes drinking coffee and wine, eating pastries and cheese and wandering the streets and galleries. Then we head off to Berlin to stay with his friends for Christmas. Kenny lived in Berlin for a year before I met him and has always fondly talked about the city so I’m really looking forward to finally experiencing it and meeting his friends. I asked him to pack my winter coat and boots in his suitcase!

It has been very busy since my last report. General elections were held in Botswana on October 16th. Besides complaints of long waits in voting lines, the elections were peaceful and people celebrated all weekend long with fireworks and parties. It was the 10th general elections held since Botswana’s independence in 1966. Botswana’s parliament has 61 seats, of which there are 57 constituencies, each electing a single MP. Unfortunately only two women were elected. A few weeks ago SADC Ministers Responsible for Gender Affairs approved the Regional Strategy of 50/50 representation in political and decision-making positions by 2015. Botswana still has a long way to go before achieving this target. President Ian Khama of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was re-elected. The BDP has won every election in Botswana since independence. His father, Sir Seretse Khama, was the country’s first President from 1966 to 1980. I am reading a really interesting book called the Colour Bar by Susan Williams about Seretse Khama’s relationship with his wife, Ruth Williams. It details the racism and conflicts that erupted from their inter-racial marriage and the difficulties they had to overcome. It’s a remarkable love story.

As most of you are aware, the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My roommate, Julia, has her volunteer placement at the Cancer Association of Botswana (CAB). October was a very busy month for her as every weekend she had events, talks and fundraisers to organize. It was great to attend some of these events where I had the privilege of showing my support by volunteering and helping out. One was a Stiletto Walk (I did not wear stilettos!) and the other was a Fundraiser with singers from Botswana. One singer, Ona Gabasiane (stage name Punah), is also a WUSC (World University Service of Canada) staff person and is known as Botswana’s biggest and best loved jazz singer. It was fun to see her perform jazz standards and traditional Setswana songs with all her backup singers and dancers. It was also great because a significant amount of money was raised for CAB. A critical issue in Botswana is that many people are not diagnosed until the late stages of cancer. Early detection is paramount yet many people are not diagnosed until stages three and four since clinics in rural areas do not have the proper facilities or equipment and health workers do not have the proper training. Julia is working on a project proposal that will train nurses in health clinics in early detection and treatment.

At the end of October the SADC Gender Unit organized its Annual Ministerial Meetings for Ministers Responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a lot of hard work and long hours. The Gender Unit administrator, Patricia, another administrator from SADC who came to help, Pricilla and I did a lot of work organizing behind the scenes to prepare, update and finalize documents as the meeting was in progress. But I was also able to sit in on a lot of the proceedings and it was interesting to witness. Senior delegates met on October 27 and 28th to review and finalize Strategies and Tools, and then Ministers arrived on the 29th to review and approve the documents. The meeting was attended by Ministers and representatives from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was also attended by partners from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC). It was officially opened by Minister Marie Ange Lukiana Mufwankolo, Ministre de la condition féminine, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After her remarks the DRC delegates handed out colourful fabric as gifts and we called out ululations (sounds made by moving the tongue rapidly from left to right in the mouth) to thank them.

During the meeting the Ministers approved the Regional Strategy for Achieving the 50/50 Target of Women Representation in Politics and Decision Making Positions by 2015. They supported the Ten year Regional Strategic Plan of Action on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Ministers also approved the Draft Monitoring Tool for the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development for use by SADC Member States in tracking the implementation of the Protocol. During the meeting the Ministers congratulated Malawi on signing the Protocol on Gender and Development on the 19th October 2009 and thanked Namibia and Zimbabwe for ratifying this SADC Protocol on the 7th October 2009 and 22nd October 2009. To date, Botswana and Mauritius are the only SADC countries remaining to sign the Protocol and they were urged by other Member States to sign as a matter of urgency to ensure that the instrument enters into force.

For the closing of the Meeting, the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities and the Department of International Relations of South Africa hosted a book launch, dinner and dance. The two books launched were SADC Gender Monitor and Wheels of Change. The SADC Gender Monitor is a biennial production by SADC Gender Unit and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC). This book indicates the efforts made to improve the status of women as well as the challenges and opportunities to achieving gender equality in SADC Member States. The second book, Wheels of Change, profiles a number of men and women in the SADC region who are tirelessly promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. The evening was also a great opportunity to spend some time with my boss, Magdeline and co-worker, Elizabeth on a social level. I even learned some new dance moves! Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to see much of Johannesburg but I would like to come back one day and explore it more. Besides being the crime capital of the world and its turbulent history regarding apartheid, there is a rich culture that I would like to learn more about.

On the weekend I returned from Johannesburg, Julia, Kadimo, Farida, Eric, Kate, Katie (some friends and WUSC volunteers) and I went hiking around a gorge called the Mmamotshwane Gorge. We drove crammed in the back of a pick-up truck (this is quite a common mode of transportation here) to a village. We were greeted by Israel, the gentleman who would be our guide and a whole group of kids wearing party hats. The gorge is the largest of seven in the area. It has a rare species of ferns (or Bofitlha trees as they are locally known). Bahurutshe settled in the area in the 1850s and they have continually used the gorge as a permanent supply of water for domestic use and for their animals. Traditional doctors and herbalists also harvest medicinal plants from the gorge. The area around the gorge is beautiful and lush and is known as a spiritual place. We were asked to be gone by 4:00pm so the Ancestors would not get angry. As we walked we saw scattered pots and kettles left by people who wanted to give offerings. There are many spiritual myths about places in Botswana. Some hills no one goes to because it is believed that if you go up you will never return. These myths are deep rooted in the Botswana culture and people that don’t even really believe them still don’t take their chances. Around the gorge were a number of trees we were instructed not to touch because your skin would become extremely itchy. If we did touch one, we were supposed to say “Stwa stwa” to prevent the itching. On our way down from the gorge we saw people up in trees picking marula, a fruit that is commonly sold at markets and they shared some with us. It’s the size of a cherry but orange and the texture is pulpy but not a lot of flavour.

This past weekend we went on another hike up Kgale Hill. This hill is right on the edge of the city and you can see all of Gaborone from the top. We had to get up at 5:00am so we could finish the hike before it got too hot (most days now get up to 40 degrees celsius). It’s a ritual for many people to hike it every weekend and we met one man on the way up who climbs it every day. I was a little nervous to go because baboons like to hang out on the hill but fortunately I didn’t see any!
In Botswana there are many arts and crafts. This country is most well known for making the most beautiful baskets in all of Africa. The baskets are made from palm, which are cut and boiled in natural earth-tone colours. The lemao (in Setswana) is the main instrument used to make the baskets. This is a sharpened piece of thick wire, which is used to pierce the tight coil and insert and then wrap the palm. Many traditional basket designs are representations of animals and nature. Traditionally, baskets had many practical uses, such as storing seeds, grains and transporting food. The shapes of the baskets vary according to its function.
I plan to attend an art show at the Botswana Craft Market next weekend where a group of women are showing their quilts, most reflecting African daily life. I’m also hoping to go to the African Mall downtown to pick up some traditional fabrics that many women make clothing out of so I can make my own quilt when I come back to Canada. The San (indigenous peoples of Africa) create amazing work. They make jewellery made from ostrich shells. The colours of the shells are stark white and look quite stunning. There are also various San groups around Botswana that make contemporary paintings which remind me of folk art and contemporary aboriginal art from Canada. It is very colourful and beautiful (Kenny and I are buying a print from a Kuru artist).

Some friends, Kadimo and Farida, treated us to an evening of a traditional Botswana food (vegetarian style) and it was delicious. We had a variety of bean and spinach dishes, pap and roasted nuts. For dessert we ate watermelon, which just came into season. Many of the vendors by the side of the road are selling watermelon from the back of their trucks. The meal was also supposed to include mopani (worms) but they are not in season until December when it’s rainy season. We’ll have to see if I’m brave enough to try them before I go!

Most houses in Botswana don’t have washing machines and dryers are not needed because everyone hangs their clothing outside. The heat of the sun can dry clothes in a couple of hours. I haven’t seen any laundry mats so since I’ve been here I have had to wash my clothes by hand in the kitchen sink. This has been a weekly chore that keeps me humble. It is common for people to have live-in housekeepers to do their cooking, cleaning, errands and caring for their children. As part of the living arrangements, WUSC has hired a housekeeper, Rita, to clean our house twice a week, which I still think is a treat but at the same time rather extravagant.

While being in Botswana I have seen many incredible animals and I have loved the experience of seeing them in their natural habitat. But one thing I am having a very difficult time with is the overall treatment of dogs. Dogs are not really pets for most people – only guard dogs used to protect their property. There is a problem with break-ins here in the capital city which is why most people have dogs to guard their houses (At our house there is a big concrete fence with electrical wire on top and the house also has an alarm system). There are many stray dogs wandering the streets and many of them are mangy and underfed. I’ve seen a woman throwing rocks at a dog that was in her garden. There was also one dead dog on the street that was hit by a car. I’ve had to walk by it for over a week and by now it is badly decomposed because of the sun, and from birds and other animals picking at it. This is one part of my experience that I’ve had an extremely difficult time dealing with.

Walking through the city I’m always surprised by the amount of litter and broken glass on the ground. My other roommate, Eric, is working at an environmental organization and a huge challenge for them is to implement recycling and stop littering in Gaborone. Based on a research study most people feel that littering is in fact a positive thing because it creates jobs for people who can pick it up. Some people just smash their beer bottles on the ground when they’re done drinking. There is no incentive to recycle the bottles because there is no bottle refund. A greater issue in Botswana is drunk driving. I was told that more people die from drunk driving in Botswana than HIV/AIDS. The government has tried to implement ways to prevent drinking and driving, like raising the price of booze and closing bars earlier. Many people avoid driving altogether on the weekend after pay day when drunk driving is at its worst.

It took me a couple of months but I no longer feel intimidated walking through the Bus Rank. I’ve actually come to enjoy the liveliness of it – they stare at me but I’m also doing my people watching! You see all different types of people; they’re coming to and from work and school, women carrying bags and buckets on their heads full of food and goods, the other day I saw a man carrying a 21 inch TV on his head. There are so many stalls selling newspapers, music, shoes, candies, cell phone parts, beans and vegetables. Men are getting their hair cut and women are sitting in shady places getting their hair plaited (braided) all the while combis are zooming all around. I’ve enjoyed eating various foods from the vendors and some of the things the vendors yell out to entice you to buy from them, like “beautiful women eat cabbage!” I’ve bought a couple of CDs from a gentleman’s stand since I wanted to remember the sounds of my daily walks through the bus rank.

While walking and taking combis, I love seeing babies on the back of their mothers snuggled in beautiful fabrics. Interestingly, the way most white mothers and black mothers carry their babies is how black and white rhinos got their name. It actually had nothing to do with the rhino’s colour, since the black rhinos and white rhinos are actually grey and look almost identical, except for the shape of their snouts. The colour designation comes from the fact that white mothers carry their babies in the front, hence the name white rhino since the rhino kids walk in front of their mothers. Black mothers carry their babies on their backs so black rhinos were named because their kids follow closely behind their mothers.

With only a few weeks left it will be busy trying to do everything I’d like to do before I go. I’ll send another update soon!

Miss you all!

Hugs,
Gayle

Time has gone by quickly since my last report. I can’t believe that I have been here over a month. There are many times when I really miss home, especially Kenny, our kittens, family and friends. I also miss other things I took for granted like feeling safe to walk alone at night, eating a wider variety of fresh foods, reading New Yorkers and having a great cup of coffee! But I am very much enjoying my time. I am discovering and taking pleasure in many things. I’ve come to love the smell of jasmine trees, especially fragrant in the evenings, ladies sweeping their dirt yards clean, the lovely sound people make when they yes in Setswana to women (Ema!) and yes to men (Era!) with strong rolled Rs and the crazy variety of music combi (small 16 seater buses) drivers play, especially one morning when one of them blared Dolly Parton’s ‘Coat of Many Colours.’ I am also surviving well as a vegetarian in a place that loves its meat, since Botswana’s second biggest industry after diamonds is cattle. I’ve been eating spinach (grown in most people’s backyards), a variety of squashes and pumpkins, and pap (a traditional porridge made from a grain, usually ground maize; a staple food here). I have also been drinking lots and lots of Rooibos tea, the popular redbush tea in Southern Africa.

I have been keeping busy at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender Unit and really enjoying working with Magdeline, Elizabeth and Patricia. I love being greeted by Magdeline each morning with, “How are you my sister?” and Elizabeth has kindly invited me a couple of times to her house for lunch to eat traditional Botswana meals (pap, cooked spinach and cabbage salad). Although the work is at a different pace and things are often delayed due to institutional processes that activities need to go through to reach approval, I have been keeping busy and learning more about the day to day operations of the Gender Unit and SADC as a whole. The activities I have been working on are finalizing the edits of the Gender Mainstreaming Resource Toolkit and the Gender Workplace Policy. These will go to print next week (hopefully!). As the three official languages of SADC are English, French and Portuguese, the Tool Kit will be translated and printed in these languages. In December we will launch the SADC Gender Mainstreaming Tool Kit as well as the SADC Workplace Gender Policy. The Gender Mainstreaming Resource Tool Kit will be an important document to train all of the staff at SADC on gender issues and particularly related to their units and how they will be able to implement gender equality into all aspects of their work. The SADC Workplace Gender Policy is another crucial document that will require SADC to have gender equality as part of its structure, including hiring practices, working conditions, sexual harassment and implementing gender equality into their planning, programming and resource allocations.

Last week the Gender Unit held a Quarterly Meeting of the Gender Committee. A representative from each unit called a Gender Focal Person, attends. They have been trained as gender experts, meet regularly and work closely with the Gender Unit to make sure gender is implemented in each of their units. As part of the process of implementing gender aspects into all of SADC’s programming, projects and policies, the Gender Unit is conducting workshops this fall for each unit. I am working to organize the training of SADC managers and staff on gender mainstreaming for these workshops.

I also have the responsibility and privilege to write and publish a bi-monthly newsletter. This newsletter will include recent events in the Gender Unit and gender equality information about various SADC countries. The newsletter is circulated throughout SADC in order to inform other units of the work the Gender Unit is conducting and to help sensitize them to gender issues and understand its importance.

Right now my main responsibility is helping to organize the SADC Secretariat Ministerial Meetings for Ministers Responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs, including all 15 southern African Member State countries (Angola, Botswana, Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The meetings will be held in Johannesburg from October 26-29. I will also be present at these meetings and I am really looking forward to meet delegates and hear them discuss strategies. Some of the issues on the agenda are working towards 50/50 men and women in political and decision-making positions, women’s economic empowerment, reducing gender-based violence and human trafficking. I will provide you details of the meeting in my next report!

Although work has been busy, my room mates, Eric and Julia, and I try to get out and explore as much as we can. A few weeks ago we went to visit two other volunteers (Kate and Katie) working at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve and attended a star gazing event. It was the first time I saw the night sky from the southern hemisphere. Even though it was weird not seeing the North Star and big dipper it was wonderful to learn about various constellations and see some of the zodiac signs. It was a clear warm evening and fun to have a Namibian beer and watch the night sky.

For the September 30th independence day, we wanted to take advantage of the time we got off work since it was a two day holiday and we were able to take Friday off too. So we headed up to Kasane, a twelve hour bus ride from Gaborone. Kasane is in the northern part of Botswana and is close to the Chobe Natural Reserve, Victoria Falls and where four counties meet; Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Our adventure began as soon as we got to the bus terminal. Although we were told to just show up to get a seat – even reassured that a second bus would leave if the first was full, this was not the case. The bus was fully booked and there was no second bus. The women behind the desk in a tiny little room of the bus company told us that if we wanted to catch the bus to Kazangula (close to Kasane) we would have to sit in the aisle on stools. Not wanting to miss our opportunity to travel we said yes. When we got on, the bus was already jammed packed. Each row sat five across in very narrow seats with an even narrower aisle. We had to squeeze the stools in between the seats to fit. We were also joined by about five other people that had to sit in the aisle. This made it impossible to move anywhere – even if there was a bathroom on the bus no one could have reached it. Luckily, there were four seats booked from Francistown to Kazangula so we were able to sit in these seats until we reached Francistown, about five hours away (the second largest city in Botswana). Before we pulled out of the bus terminal a passenger gave a prayer for a safe journey. I was glad for it. We were stuffed in like sardines, the bus driver blared music the whole twelve hours, it was stuffy and the gentleman who sat beside us had some body odour issues. Twice the bus erupted into arguments and the driver had to pull over. People were angry that the bus was overbooked and were unhappy with the poor service. The person collecting money on the bus had to try to calm everyone down. At Francistown another argument broke out because a seat was sold twice. The tiny bits of sleep I did get were interrupted by the bus swerving to avoid potholes or elephants crossing the road. From Francistown to Kasane I was hunched over with my head against the back of a seat beside me. A mother and her baby sat in front of me. Amazingly, the baby slept through the whole thing and didn’t make one peep! It was the craziest bus ride I’ve ever been on. When we got to the Lodge we were warned that the water was not safe to drink so we had to boil it or buy bottled water. We also knew we were in the Malaria zone so we had to be careful of mosquitoes. But I was so thankful to have a shower and sleep in a bed.

The next morning we woke up at 5am to go on a game drive in Chobe National Park.
I was informed that this is Botswana’s first national park, has one of the largest game concentrations on the African continent and is the most diverse. We saw large herds of animals, many grazing for their breakfast. Some of the animals we saw were zebras, water buffalos and impalas. We also got a rare treat and saw a leopard napping in a tree with an impala dangling from an opposite branch for his lunch later on.
The Chobe National Park is best known for its enormous elephant population; about 50,000, the highest concentration in Africa and the largest continuous surviving elephant population on earth. We saw, very close-up, groups of elephants including babies, saunter slowly by. They are such amazing beings. I have fallen in love with them! There are so many fascinating things about them. They use their trunk as a hand to pick up food – they also use it as a nose, extra foot, signalling device and for sipping water and digging. Elephants can be right or left-tusked, using their preferred tusk more often, which gets shortened from constant wear. They are governed by a matriarchy, with the top female herder as the leader. The group usually consists of about three older females and their offspring, with the mother training and protecting its young. Males usually travel solo and only join the group to mate (gestation period is 22 months!). The group even stays together when they are with large migratory herds. Within family groups the leaders are usually sisters and maintain their relationships for life, which is highly unusual for mammals. They can live up to 70 years. Also, elephants have no enemies except humans. If a human harms an elephant and then comes back two years later, the elephant will remember and charge that person, so it is true that elephants never forget!
Later in the afternoon we went on a boat cruise along the Namibia border. It is currently dry season so we were hoping to see lots of animals along the shore getting a drink of water. We saw crocodiles, an enormous herd of water buffalos and another old boys club of water buffalos that naturally split off from the rest of the group so they can travel at their own slower pace. We saw more elephants, this time crossing the river and also to cool themselves down. A school of hippos were hanging out in the water and we just saw their heads popping up. They keep close to the shore in shallow parts of the water as they are not strong swimmers and stay immersed in the water during the day in order to stay cool. Only when the sunsets and before it rises do they come out. We witnessed this when we saw a hippo the previous evening at sunset come up onto the lawn in front of the Lodge. It was only a few feet away from us. The ‘Beware of Hippo’ sign by the Lodge was no joke!

The next day we arranged a drive to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. The line to cross the border was excruciatingly slow in the hot sun. Once we got to the desk we were surprised to discover that people from Canada and India have to pay the highest fee to get into the country, $100 US. Interestingly, most of the money used in Zimbabwe is American because the Zimbabwe currency is so inflated and unusable; someone described it as monopoly money. When we were by the falls, hawkers were aggressively selling crafts as well as Zimbabwe dollars bills as souvenirs; some notes were as high as 100 trillion dollars.

When we arrived, we walked across a bridge, built in 1905, to the Zambia side to get a peek of the falls. Since it was dry season there wasn’t much water in that area but if we visited during the wet season we would have been soaked. Eric decided to go bungee jumping off the bridge so we watched him plunge down into the falls. We then returned to the Zimbabwe side and went into the Victoria Falls Park. I’ve discovered that my love for elephants is equally matched by my dislike of baboons. We headed to the washrooms and were greeted by more than a dozen baboons hanging around the building. They ignored us going in but when we were leaving a bunch of baby baboons joined the group and a mother baboon didn’t like that we were so close to her babies. She started shrieking and ran towards us. I was so startled I dropped my camera and ran back into the bathroom with Eric and Julia close at my heels. The mamma baboon actually took a swipe at Julia and left a big red welt on her leg! Julia was brave enough to run outside and grab my camera before the baboons stole it; I’ve heard stories of monkeys stealing cameras before. Fortunately the baboons eventually lost interest in us and left. Unfortunately, my camera is broken, which greatly upsets me because it is the camera that Kenny gave me as an engagement present. However, I’m sure when I get back to Canada I can get it fixed and Eric and Julia promised to take lots of pictures to share with me.

Victoria Falls was absolutely stunning! There are a whole series of falls that are really breathtaking. The falls are referred to as ‘the Smoke that Thunders’ because of the mist and roar that comes from the falls. Close to the falls it felt like a tropical rainforest and we got pretty wet from the spray, then only a few feet away it was dry savannah and we quickly dried off. It is nothing similar to the Niagara Falls, which is the only thing I could compare it to. It has been left largely in its natural setting, with little development (no casinos or light shows!), only paths and fences, yet even the fences were unobtrusive, being low and made of branches. It was worth the trip to see.

For lunch, our driver, Stan, took us to Victoria Falls Hotel. It was built the same time as the bridge connecting to Zambia and could be seen at a distance from the hotel’s veranda. The hotel is quite extraordinary but I felt as if I had gone back in time during the British Colonization in the early 1900’s. High tea was being served, a pianist was playing old American jazz standards and the waiters were wearing tuxedos. It felt a little bizarre to eat there. On our drive back we were treated to more elephants eating beside the road and crossing right in front of the car.

The next day we headed back to Gaborone. We caught a 6am bus and luckily we got seats the whole way! We transferred buses in Francistown and were surrounded by hawkers selling candy, drinks, fruit, chicken and airtime (minutes for your cellphone). They even got on the bus and went up and down the aisles trying to sell things before we drove off. It was a very long bus ride back. I felt hot, stuffy and uncomfortable, made worse because there had been no running water at the Lodge the night before or in the morning. But during the bus ride I saw a large community by the side of the road living in tent-like structures with grain bushels as fences. I really didn’t have anything to complain about because I would be going back to a house with hot running water and electricity.

I am finding having a second spring and summer strange but wonderful. Many trees are starting to bloom and there are bougainvilleas climbing up fences all along the streets and bursting with such bright beautiful purples, pinks and reds. Birds are busy making nests, people are working on their yards and summer events and festivals are being advertised in the newspapers. This week the temperature went up to 39 degrees! I just know I will find it a shock coming from this heat to a freezing Canadian winter!

I continue to have adventures on the streets and in the combis. I’ve had to learn very quickly that vehicles always, ALWAYS, have the right of way and never stop for pedestrians. I’ve had a few close calls! This is in addition to the driving being on the opposite side of the road and traffic being quite chaotic at times, like when cars drive up on the sidewalk to pass another car. Also confusing is that the Batswana refer to traffic lights as ‘robots.’

One recent Friday after work I decided to take a different combi home to change my routine up a bit. However, I quickly discovered that the route I thought I should be on was actually a completely different one and I was soon in the slum area of Gaborone. None of the roads were paved and the combi had to drive extremely slowly over the incredibly bumpy, neglected dirt roads. Moving slowly through the area gave me the opportunity to fully absorb what I was seeing and I was experiencing two different but equally powerful emotions. Sadness at the absolute poverty surrounding me, which was only amplified by the haunting boy’s choir music the combi driver was blaring, and anxiety for being in a place I didn’t feel safe or know how to get out of. I have never seen such poverty and it was such a stark contrast to the city I had been exposed to up till then. The houses were very small, no bigger than a room, built with concrete blocks, laundry was hanging to dry, fire pits were burning and dogs and chickens wandered onto the roads. Children were everywhere, some were playing soccer and I saw others playing with sticks, empty boxes and filling buckets at the communal water pumps, many of them without shoes. We drove through a dirt field and I saw a rickety playground with a broken slide on its side. There were also groups of men gathered together around fires drinking and women working in their yards and sitting by their front door watching their kids. We drove around the area for a little over thirty minutes with passengers getting in and out. Eventually the combi made its way back to the bus terminal and I ended up taking the combi I usually take to get back home. Although it was difficult to see, it is an experience I will never forget.

Thank you so much for all of the emails you’ve been sending. I love hearing from all of you. I’ll send another update soon.

Lots and lots of Love,
Gayle (or my given Setswana name, Mpho (pronounced Mmpoh) meaning ‘a gift’)

P.S. Although I haven’t been getting my New Yorker fix, I have been reading a lot of great books about Africa. One I am reading now and highly recommend is 28 by Stephanie Nolan. It is 28 stories, one for each of the million people living with HIV-AIDS in Africa. It is very engaging and powerful.

My first impression of Gaborone is that it is quite a modern city. It has large office buildings, malls, a well established University and all the recent technology – everyone walks around with a cell phone or two in hand! Botswana is a small country, roughly the size of Texas, with a relatively small population of 1.8 million. The capital city, Gaborone, is about 300,000 but most of the country is sparsely populated and desert with a number of natural reserves for animals.

My first week was spent in orientation sessions with eight other Canadian volunteers. As part of the orientation, various people were invited to speak with us on a wide variety of topics regarding Botswana. Some of the topics included the environment, history, security, human rights, gender and development and HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is a critical issue in Botswana. 1 in every 4 people has it. Social stigma and intense discrimination prevent people from seeking treatment, which is widely available and free. Even though Botswana is relatively well developed and considered a middle income country because of its predominant diamond mining industry, the average life expectancy is only 33 years. There are many campaigns in this country to educate students and adults on HIV/AIDS and billboards around the city asking, “Do you know who is in your sexual network?” due to multiple partner transmission.

Also, part of our orientation were many tours and events. We toured the Botswana cultural museum, the parliament buildings, the monument of the three chiefs (men who sought protection from the British) and their downtown, which they call the main mall – they have many malls here in Gaborone! On the weekend we had the privilege of going on a game drive at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve. I saw many animals up close that I have only previously seen in zoos, such as elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos, baboons, ostriches, and some I’ve never seen before such as impalas, warthogs, hyenas and various birds. It was an amazing experience! In the evening we were treated to a Setswana cultural event as part of Botswana’s cultural awareness week (The people of Botswana are Batswana and speak Setswana). We saw beautiful traditional music and dancing and some contemporary performances too. The following day we went to the Bahurutshe Cultural Lodge. It is run by Mma Klickman and her daughter, as well as many of the grannies from their near by village. We learned about their traditional practices of marriage ceremonies, curing illnesses (stepping in warm cow dung!), grounding and sifting grains to make food and preventing snakes from entering the huts (spreading cow dung on the ground!!). In the evening we sat around a fire with the grandmothers and they told us stories while we drank their home made brew made from sogram grain. Then we slept in traditional round huts made from mud and grass (luckily no cow dung!). This was a wonderful experience and definitely a highlight of my time here so far.

This past week I started my internship with the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Gender Unit. I was surprised to find out that although SADC is made up of fifteen southern countries in Africa and its headquarters are housed in a large office tower, the Gender Unit is comprised of only three women. Magdeline is the head of the Gender Unit, Elizabeth is the Programme Officer and Patricia is the Administrator. Needless to say I have to, as Magdeline said, ‘jump on a moving train.’ So far I’ve been tasked with editing their 250 page SADC Gender Mainstreaming Resource Kit, which will be distributed throughout SADC as a training tool. The managers of each division will be required to take a course in gender mainstreaming in order to implement it effectively into their various programs, projects and policies. When Magdeline returns from a gender conference at the University of Pretoria in South Africa next week, we’ll be able to sit down and discuss more in depth what I will be doing. I will be able to inform you in greater detail of my work in next month’s update.

I must say that getting to and from work is quite the experience! I have to take a combi, Botswana’s version of a bus, but it’s really a white mini-van. There is no bus schedule and a combi will only stop if there is a space inside. Up to 16 people can fit in one and it can get really crammed. It costs 2.70 in pula (1 Canadian dollar = 6 pula). I have to say “ema stopping” to get out at the next stop. I get out at the main bus terminal (or ‘Bus Rank’ as they call it). This feels like the busiest place in all of Botswana! There are hundreds of combis, taxis, big greyhound-like buses, vendors selling anything from candy to cabbage to sunglasses or cell phone parts, and then all the people trying to get from one place to another! It felt like madness the first time I went, but I think I’m getting used to it. The one thing I’m not so used to is being stared at. A new friend from Gaborone told me that the general assumption is that if you’re white then you have money and will own a car to get around. So, so far I am the only white person I’ve seen taking combis! But I feel safe getting around on my own. We were told many times that Botswana is a very safe country. Police do not carry any guns, batons or even whistles.

Botswana will be celebrating its 43rd year of independence on September 30th and there are will be many celebrations taking place. This country is also holding its national elections on October 16th and it is expected to be peaceful. Another thing to look forward to is summer! Although I say this with some hesitation because right now it is Spring and thirty degrees, and it could go up to as high as forty!!!

A big hug to Canada!

Sala Sentle (Stay Well).

Love,
Gayle

My name is Gayle Schroeder and this past February I graduated from the Sociology and Collaborative International Development Studies (CIDS) program at the University of Guelph. I am thrilled to be going to Gaborone, Botswana to work in the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Gender Unit as a Program Assistant. I am passionate and committed to gender equality and women’s rights issues so I know this will be an incredible experience! From my theoretical knowledge, educational experience, volunteer work with CUSO as a Gender Equity Researcher, co-op placement as a Program Assistant with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) working on gender issues in the Balkans and having participated in a certified gender training course, I am eager to apply and build upon this knowledge in an international development setting by gaining hands on experience. My career aspiration is to work as a Gender Specialist for an international organization so this internship will provide me with links to professional practice and the relevant experience needed to pursue a career in this area. I am extremely honoured to be given this opportunity and to help make a positive contribution as a global citizen. I expect to be challenged, learn an enormous amount and have a lot of fun!