Interim blog post

Jason — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:35:40 +0000

I am now close to completing my coop work term, I have learned a great deal since I first arrived and I have gained the experiences that I was seeking in coming to Botswana to fill a position with Students Without Borders.
Adjusting to living in Africa was difficult at first. I am living in a small village that is approximately 400 KM away from any city that provides full services. Shakawe is located in the North East corner of Botswana and is about 10 KM away from the Namibian border. The Shakawe way of life here is very relaxed. I appreciate the no stress attitudes of the people that I work with and the many other friendly people I have met around the village. They have taught me how not to worry about different challenges, and how one can easily survive in life with very little. A few examples of what I am talking about may help to describe what things I am referring to.
Almost every other week I have been journeying across the Okavango River on a 4 car ferry to the villages and communities that are involved with my project. The ferry is not always working; sometimes the ferry operators are not on time for work, other times it delays in being fuelled. In all of these cases no one in the line up to board the ferry becomes aggravated or annoyed; there is no need to become upset for being held up an extra hour or so, on any journey. In some cases the people in the line up have been required to wait over night for the ferry to catch up with the demand. It has been a nice break from the ordinary road rage and blown tempers over something so insignificant. Several times I have been travelling in a vehicle that breaks down, in each case things have always worked out. Whether we get by catching a lift with someone else or else waiting a while for someone to come and help us we always manage.
I have also enjoyed working on my project for the summer. I have been working with 5 communities in the Okavango sub-district that are populated by indigenous people. The Interactive Hiking Trail is designed to create employment for the people in these communities; the people are currently dependent on government aid for survival and have become highly marginalized since their way of life has changed so drastically. I have been going to the villages with my colleagues to negotiate the terms for tourist groups to visit their villages and for the villagers to perform traditional dances and other traditional activities for the visitors. Every participant in the project receives payment for their work; the visitors are treated to authentic and real cultural experiences; the villagers are also given a chance to preserve their culture. My responsibilities have been mainly focused on making preparations for the four trial groups that will be coming on the trail and for building a management plan and tourism license application for the cultural hiking trail. The tourism license will be held by the Teemeshane Community Development Trust that represents the villages.
July 1 – 2 was our first chance to host a group on the trail. WUSC volunteers based in Gaborone came on an abbreviated version of the trail. We also invited some representatives from the Department of Tourism to join us as they were sampling the trail as a tourism product as well. All of the careful planning and preparations that we made paid off in the end. The group hiked from Kaputura to Xakao, rode on a donkey cart from Xakao to Sekondomboro, enjoyed some traditional dancing, music and food in Sekondomboro and spent the night ther. The next morning they went on a Mokoro trip from Sekondomboro to Ngarange. The feedback from the group was quite positive and the villagers all followed through on their commitments. All preliminary indications show that this project can work and has the potential to become a competitive tourism product in Botswana.
I am enjoying my work term in Shakawe, I look forward to having the official full trial group come in the next week. The project has been going very well and I am glad to be a part of it.

Volunteering with TOCaDI in Shakawe, Botswana

Jason — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:25:47 +0000

My name is Jason Lee, I was born in Calgary, Alberta and I am the youngest of 4 kids. My older brothers and sister have now married and started their own families so there are now 9 nieces and nephews in total. I grew up in a good family, and I thank them for anything good I have achieved in my life. I love playing all sports, particularly, basketball, rugby, Frisbee, and soccer. I am interested in all kinds of things and I try to take advantage of every opportunity that I am presented with. Although I have many hobbies and interests I am most interested in people; I love learning about people, who they are and what they do. I love trying new things, most recently I started taking kick boxing classes and guitar lessons, not at the same time of course. I lived in Peru from 2004 to 2006 where I served a mission for my church. Although a missionary has a teaching role I was the one who learned the most through my associations with the sincere and humble Peruvian people. I live in Lethbridge Alberta where I attend the University of Lethbridge studying international management and political science in a combined degree program. I am in my third year of University and I am enjoying school very much.
I decided to apply for a position with World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Students Without Borders (SWB) because I wanted a meaningful adventure for a summer coop term. My research showed that WUSC/SWB has continually designed coop positions for students like me that want to contribute to global development in a small way. I’m grateful that as I prepare to go to a new country and experience new cultures that WUSC/SWB will be there to help me adjust to my new surroundings. I’m also grateful to the University of Lethbridge Coop program that promotes such positions as the one I am taking. I wouldn’t be able to go if it weren’t for the program and its resources that have been extended to me. My posting will involve developing a business and marketing plan for a cultural hiking trail along the Okavango River. I am very excited for the summer and I will be putting forth my best efforts to execute a successful summer coop. I am looking forward to the summer and the experience that awaits me.

Students Without Borders » Jason

Interim blog post

Volunteering with TOCaDI in Shakawe, Botswana