We developed a Calendar of Events for all activities happening at the center for both adults and children. We thought this would not only benefit the center but also help future volunteers so they would be informed about the areas we have worked on and activities that regularly happen. Not all the recreational equipment has been received yet that the other intern ordered but we are hoping to have it all in the next couple weeks. The recreational equipment is important because presently there are few activities for the children and play is a vital piece of child development

          Meetings I regularly attend are the Wellness Committee, prayer meeting and house mother meetings. I like to participate as much as possible because there are always new learning opportunities that arise. It’s also a way to build relationships with the house mothers. This past week we did some team building exercises with the staff and house mothers after the Prayer meeting. Overall, the activities went well but next time we will choose activities with basic English because the language barrier played a part in the deliverability of the activities. It was pleasurable to observe everyone laughing with one another in a relaxed manner.

I went to my first Full Town Council meeting last week where the mayor, deputy mayor and all councillors meet to discuss municipal issues. The meeting was similar to court in Canada. There was a bang at the door and this was the cue for everyone to stand up for the mayor’s entrance. The mayor wore a long, thick gold chain and the deputy mayor followed wearing a thinner version of the mayor’s chain. The mayor mostly spoke in English while the councillors spoke in Setswana. Social services seemed to be brushed over, as well as, health services. One of the areas that interested me was the expected population increase in Jwaneng because of more mining jobs becoming available. There is concern about getting more ARVs because it is expected the rate of HIV will increase because of the population increase. I wasn’t clear on whether the mayor was saying that because of the expected population increase it is expected HIV will increase, or whether because of the population increase more ARVs will need to be available for those already infected with HIV. Whatever the case I think this is an example of the poor band aid solutions that have been made in regard to HIV. More money could be put towards prevention with people becoming accountable for themselves.

          Something we finally started this week was study time in the library. Many of the children could be doing better in school and need extra support. Approximately 20-30 children came for study time and it was time well spent. I am hoping that this will assist in building relationships with the children because I seem to be doing mostly administrative duties. For the rest of my time here I am going to try spending my afternoons with the house mothers and children. The challenge is that the children are not home until later in the afternoon and our work day ends at 4:30. We have stayed until 6:00 pm some nights but do not want to bank up our hours. I am hoping to start coming in a bit later some days so I can work later in order to work more with the children. It is difficult to build relationships with the younger children because of the language barrier. With the older children it is difficult to build relationships because they stay later for sports and study after school, as well as, the language barrier. I would recommend future students to focus on spending time with the children and not to get caught up in some of the administrative duties.

          A woman has started donating birthday cakes at the end of each month. Last month was the first time this happened and almost every child was able to attend the birthday celebration. Birthdays are seldom celebrated so this was exciting for many of the children, especially the young ones. I was astonished by the patience of the children who sat patiently while one house mother cut pieces of cake for each person (approximately 60 people). I think these gatherings are positive for the center because it brings everyone in the center together.

          WUSC had funds available for students to submit proposals for their host placement. I submitted a proposal for funds for art supplies for the center. I mainly wanted to do this so that the children can have the opportunity to engage in play therapy. Like the recreational equipment, there are no art supplies for the children, not even crayons. The proposal was approved so I am very excited to purchase the supplies and start different activities with the children. I think the art supplies will assist future students in building relationships with especially the smaller children.

          A couple weekends ago a bunch of the WUSC volunteers travelled to Chobe and Victoria Falls for the weekend. The weekend was short but absolutely amazing. I particularly enjoyed Victoria Falls. We travelled on the overnight bus to Kasane and camped in Chobe with two guides. It was a weird feeling knowing you were sleeping with all the animals! The second week in March is WUSC’s Learning Day for all the volunteers. We are travelling to Ghanzi, D’kar and Maun so I am anticipating the trip. It’ll be great to see everyone again and hear about everyone’s placements. I am so happy WUSC made the decision to travel to the chosen locations because I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go there on my own. Anyways, bye for now!

Well, half of my time interning with the Canadian Cooperation Services Support Unit is over. Time has moved too quickly as usual but I am happy to report that so many incredible things have happened during this time.

My work here is mainly in monitoring and supporting USACC administered (and CIDA funded) development projects. I am working with and learning from a team of 12 employees who are all dedicated and enthusiastic experts in the field. I have enjoyed all of my work thus far but there are definitely 3 highlights to report:

- Visiting programs in the El Agustino district in Lima and the town of Cineguilla which is just outside the city of Lima. One program was for youth in the legal system and the other for abandoned youth.

- A monitoring visit to the Centre for Adolescent Mothers. We met with personnel and mothers who are working to improve their futures through training and counseling.

- Financial monitoring of a variety of USACC programs.

This position is highly rewarding due to the opportunity to see first-hand the results of Canadian-Peruvian cooperation which is innovative, far reaching and successful.

It just so happens that this wonderful work experience is taking place in the beautiful and diverse coastal city of Lima. I’ve also had the privilege of travel and adventure outside of Lima, including, sliding head-first on a sand board down a sand dune at 80km/hour in the desert of Ica, rafting the river rapids in Lunahuaná, body slamming into meter high waves on the beach of Cerro Azul and next weekend we will fly over the Nazca lines.

This is surely shaping up to be a life-changing journey – professional and personally.

For anyone interested in exploring any of the above 3 mentioned highlights the following links would be of interest:

http://www.encuentroscj.org/index.php

http://www.cimahope.org/

http://www.cedetep.org/

http://www.livinginperu.com/features-1198-general-alleged-irregularities-found-34-percent-audited-ngos-peru

 Thanks so much WUSC and USACC!

Here for you a second round of fresh updates from Gaborone, Botswana. But, before going any further, let me thank you all for your supportive comments and your interest in this adventure. I appreciate that you are taking the time to write and really enjoy reading your lines.

I have now been living in Gaborone for almost 2 months, and my internship at DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights continues to be a significant experience. Lately, I have spent my time both in the office and out in the field with children. Let me present to you one of the projects to which I am currently participating, and which addresses the hardships of the children from Zimbabwe.

Before gaining its independence, Zimbabwe formed the ancient Rhodesia. Geographically, it is sharing a segment of its Southern border with Botswana. Zimbabwe has been under the presidency of Mugabe’s government since the 80s, which is currently accused of violating the Zimbabwean population’s human rights. Since 2000, DITSHWANELO has actively promoted the defence of human rights in Zimbabwe. For instance, the Organization has offered debriefing seminars addressed to the Zimbabwean Diaspora and to the people of Botswana. DITSHWANELO also works at influencing Botswana’s government views and actions towards the political situation of its neighbour. Currently, DITSHWANELO assists the Zimbabwean people living in Botswana so that they can participate in the Constitutional Review Process in their country.
In order to escape political instability and persecutions, adults and children of Zimbabwe have taken refuge in bordering countries such as Botswana and South Africa. For instance, many Zimbabwean children ran away to South Africa and found shelter at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. DITSHWANELO has produced in partnership a Children’s Rights Exhibition honouring these refugee-children. Indeed, some members of the Organization have travelled to South Africa in order to interview them and record their stories.

The Children’s Rights Exhibition is mostly hosted in schools and aims at educating young people about their rights, and at raising their empathy towards the hardships of Zimbabwean children. During the last few weeks, DITSHWANELO has presented the Exhibition in Secondary Schools located in and around Gaborone. The students were invited to first visit the Exhibition during which they could listen to the interviews recorded on mp3 players, and could write their thoughts and hopes in little note books which will be later given back to the interviewees. Photographs of Amnesty International taken in Zimbabwe were also presented. Then students were invited to participate to group discussions in order to talk about their rights and to share emotions, concerns, and views about the situation of the children in Zimbabwe. Finally, a Theatre Workshop was also offered for students to experience the suffering of the Zimbabwean refugee-children. The whole event was a great success as it was inspiring to assist more privileged kids at raising their awareness and at developing a sincere will to support disadvantaged ones.

In terms of leisure (because it is not all about work), I have also started to travel a bit around the country. A couple of friends and I flew up to Kasane which is a town close to the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Like most of my WUSC colleagues, we went to Chobe Reserve and experienced a short safari: absolutely amazing! You would have once told me that I would see female lions at less than four meters, herds of wild buffalos, hippos and elephants, baby baboons climbing the trees, gigantic flying scarabs, 2 meters long crocodiles, and dozens of bird species all at once, I would have laughed of incredulity. But now, both my mind and laptop are full of incredible images. I do love nature and simply find it magical.

The bad news is that I am still struggling to resize my pictures so I am still not able to share them with you. I guess that if I can not make it before I come back, I will need to invite you all at a big “ Brai “ and organize a slide show. A “Brai “in Setswana is a BBQ. Usually, when you invite people to a Brai you cover all their food, mostly meat, and also welcome all the friends they bring over. It seems costly I agree. But Botswana is an important beef producer so that you can buy good quality red meat for a very reasonable price.

Alright everyone, enough said and congratulations if you have made it till the end! I will give you more fresh news in about a month or so. Until then, all the best!

Gosiame.

The travelling has also been a real highlight. I went to Ninh Binh my first weekend here, that was fantastic! I also went to Hai Phong with WUSC staff, it was a cold day but I still had fun. I’ve also been to Sapa and Ha Long Bay both trips were amazing and a great adventure. I also came back from Ninh Binh again this past weekend with WUSC staff and saw the biggest Buddha in South East Asia and some beautiful temples, I was very impressed.

The food here is also incredible! I love eating Banh My which is fried egg in a French bun or you can get it with kebab. I also love the Vietnamese coffee it’s very strong and sweet. They also have amazing fruit drinks here you can get avocado smoothies or even apple custard. The fish here is really tasty, I don’t normally like fish but I get it here every chance I can. I also like the way people eat here, it is very common to eat family style and share everything and have a bowl of rice with it. There’s a lot of new food to try, but the best is the cheap food that you get on the street. Someone once told me the lower the chairs the lower the prices, I think that’s pretty accurate.

The Vietnamese people I have met so far have all been wonderful and friendly. They are always willing to give me advice or teach me something I didn’t know. I was invited over to a work colleague’s house over Tet (the Chinese New Year). It was fun to see how they celebrated, a lot of eating and drinking and talking. I’ve met a few expats while I have been here they are also fun to hang out with because they too will have similar frustrations.

I find the culture here very fascinating from what people value to their day to day lives. I think that the Vietnamese people are very hard working. They have family values that are very important to them and I think that the majority seem happy in this chaotic city life. Although the city seems chaotic it’s fun and has its’ own charm.

I’m looking forward to the rest of my time in Vietnam, especially mid March when I will go down South to Ho Chi Minh City and get some sun!

I am well into my posting here in Hanoi, Vietnam. The weather has finally started to warm up today. It was surprisingly cold for the last few weeks, although we did have some heat just before Tet. Tet is the Lunar New Year and it is a major event for the Vietnamese. Hanoi basically shut down for 10 days. And I mean shut down! Being that it isn’t a multi-cultural society like Canada, there are no other cultures to consider during this traditional holiday period. You don’t even find the odd corner store open, at least not for the first few days.

The daily traffic in Hanoi is pretty much solid motorcycles. We’re talking six lanes to eight lanes of them, going whatever way works best. And, of course, there is always the sidewalk if the road is too crowded. I have been loaned a pedal bike to get back and forth to work and I am very grateful for it, even though my life is in danger for about an hour and a half every day, at least I don’t have to take a bus.

Hanoi and Vietnam feel like a big teenager, not quite fitting into their new body yet. It has developed so fast. You see farmers working with water buffalo in fields beneath billboards for computers and airlines and cell phones.

The college I am working at, Hanoi Community College, is very progressive and eager to move forward. They have myself and another WUSC volunteer, Arlene Whitter, working with them and they treat us like gold. I have developed a workshop for the English teachers and I will be presenting it in Hai Binh, Hanoi, Saigon and another place down in the south (can’t remember the name). Arlene will be presenting also. We are very fortunate to get so many side trips.

Vietnam still has a way to go. I feel a sense of desperation from the college that support like WUSC won’t stick around long enough; won’t wait until they can stand on their own two feet before they let go. I wish I could reassure them that this would never happen. But who am I to make promises like that?

Work at the Predator Conservation Trust is going well, we’re starting to get busy preparing for the annual football (soccer) camp that occurs in July.  It available to all the primary schools in town, and last year over 600 kids participated.  Coaches from the US come over to run the camps.  The main goal of the camp is to use sport as a vehicle to teach the kids about environmental conservation, as well as promotion of self esteem and HIV awareness. 

I’m watching a lot of football at home with my housemate, he is a huge fan.  Finished the Africa Cup of Nations and watched Egypt take home the title.  It was pretty cool to see.  Maun is getting busier and busier with tourists…it’s a bit earlier than usual, but I’m hearing the influx is due to the upcoming Fifa World Cup in S. Africa.

The group of us went to Chobe National Park a few weeks ago, and it was amazing.  We did a few game drives and cruises, and saw all sorts of wildlife, like herds and herds of elephants, and lion cubs.  The highlight of the trip was going to Victoria Falls, which are one of the ‘Wonders of the World.’  It was stunning, all my pictures looks I was photoshopped in.  We went up through the Zimbabwe side, which is supposed to have the best views. 

Anyways, time to get back to work.  Can’t believe how fast the time is flying by!

I have been in Botswana for just over a month now and things have been great! I was in Gaborone for two weeks (instead of one due to flight delays in London with some of the rest of the short term WUSC volunteers) and then headed up to Maun where I am currently in my placement!

Things are great in Maun and I am undeniably happy to be out of the city of Gaborone.. just because I am not a city person and Maun is just that much smaller. Just as a recap, I am working for Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and things have been going great here! I am lucky to have my placement here at a really exciting time, as I am able to contribute to and actually see change happen with the organization as I develop and implement new curriculum and watch more of the conservation centre I am working at be built up! With my past work experiences I have been able to re-create old activities into fun and relevant ones for here and have enjoyed the freedom I have been given to do so! Although this didn’t come without a slow start. Life out here took a bit of time to get going.. with the extra week in Gaborone leading to a slow start to familiarizing myself with the community of Maun and new approaches, that match my placements mandates, towards effective environmental education practices here, however I think I am making some good ground.

I am continually surprised at how developed Botswana is in so many ways and yet how traditional some of the family settings and gender roles are! The contrast is quite fascinating!

Otherwise, life with my host family is AMAZING!! This is by far the best host family experience I have ever had and I am great-full that it all worked out in the end. I ended up arriving in Maun to find out that my original home stay was no longer, and was ‘homeless’ in Maun for a week while I lived with a lovely long-term volunteer family and searched for places to live! Stumbling upon my add at the school I work at, my host mom Crunch called up my supervisor right away and offered me a place to stay! The house I am in is sooo new it has no furniture in it. I have a bed and wardrobe (because they are built into the walls here) but other than that their is no furniture in the living room/kitchen and we all enjoy sitting on the floor, which is just fine with me! The very first night I moved in the power went out and I bonded with my new family over candle light while reading a book to my host sister Ratang (who is 5 years old) before she went off to bed! I am starting to get really involved with the local community by now and am making lots of friends and spending lots of time out and about, which is nice.

Long story short, all is very well in Maun and I have been pleased with the placement so far!

Cheers!

I have good news! My Puppeteers Group in Canada, as well as my Mom and my best friend, will be sending me Puppets! We have also made one Puppet here, named Zackie, and are in the process of sewing another. We have two shows written, and will soon begin to rehearse.

I wanted to share my personal blog with those who are interested in reading about my adventures in little Léo, including pictures:

www.beckyinburkina.wordpress.com

Hope you are all doing well on your internships abroad! If anyone in Ghana wants to visitor, let me know!

Cheers!

Je me présente: je m’appelle Mia et je suis une étudiante de quatrième année en développement international à l’Université d’Ottawa. J’adore voyager et depuis mon secondaire, je m’implique dans des organismes de droits humains (tels qu’Amnistie internationale et Oxfam international). C’est pour ces raisons – purement égoïstes, je vous le concède – que j’ai choisi d’étudier en “DVM” et de faire un stage avec EUMC au Vietnam.

Mon stage se déroule avec le Gender and Community Department à Tra Vinh University (TVU), dans le delta du Mékong, à 200 km environ au sud de Ho Chi Minh-ville (aussi connu sous l’ancien nom de Saigon). Mon rôle en tant que stagiaire est, d’abord, de faire de la recherche sur les questions d’ethnicité et de sexe dans le marché du travail; en deuxième lieu, d’aider à planifier des ateliers de sensibilisation aux enjeux de sexe dans le domaine de l’éducation; et en troisième lieu, de partir un club d’anglais pour les étudiants d’origine Khmer.

Je suis au Vietnam depuis déjà un mois (ou presque). A date, je n’ai eu que de belles expériences! J’ai eu l’occasion de m’entretenir avec des professeurs et responsables de départements à TVU pour leur poser des questions sur l’équilibre des sexes. J’ai également assisté à de nombreuses célébrations pour le Nouvel an lunaire, aussi connu sous le nom de Têt (l’année du Tigre commence le 14 février). Je n’ai pas encore pu partir le club d’anglais, car les étudiants sont présentement en vacances pour le Nouvel an. Par contre, lorsqu’on revient de vacances dans 2 semaines, le club d’anglais devrait débuter et, de plus, nous aurons moins de deux semaines pour planifier notre Journée internationale des femmes (c’est une fête nationale au Vietnam).

Outre le travail, j’ai voyagé un peu (je reviens tout juste d’une fin de semaine de tourisme et de magasinage à Saigon) et je dois vous avouer que le Vietnam est un pays mille fois plus beau que je le pensais! Les gens sont super sympathiques et la nourriture est incroyable. Je crois que mon idée d’un « pays en développement» était vraiment biaisée (par exemple, pauvreté = misère atroce). Le Vietnam est un pays pauvre – par exemple, les professeurs à l’université gagent moins de 100$US par mois – mais qui se développe très rapidement. Même si c’est une société patriarcale et hiérarchisée, les femmes sont très actives au plan social et économique. Il reste toutefois des défis, surtout pour les gens provenant de minorités ethniques, qui forment – en général – la tranche la plus pauvre et la plus marginalisée de la société vietnamienne (le Vietnam a 54 différents groupes ethniques).