Waterloo to Gaborone Botswana

Posted by Kathryn T on August 18th, 2008

Hey there! My name is Kathryn Tippett and I am a 4th year student at the University of Waterloo studying Therapeutic Recreation and Business Management. I am going to be living in Gaborone Botswana for about 4 months, volunteering with the Botswana Cancer Association in Recreation Therapy and the field of Social Work. Throughout my years at Waterloo, I have completed 4 coop terms within Ontario. My first placement was with the MS Society of Canada, working as a Fundraising Coordinator for the MS WALK’s in Southwestern Ontario. I then moved to Ottawa to complete my 2nd placement with the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group in the Schizophrenia program. Finally, I moved back to Toronto to work with WWII Veterans at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Recreation Therapy for two terms. Overall, my coop experiences have been phenomenal opportunities that have taught me so much outside of the classroom and showed me that hands on experience is where it’s at. These placements have helped me better understand what I want to do in the future.

As a 4th year student, I knew I wanted to complete my last coop placement abroad, doing something completely different from what I have been doing here in Ontario. As I start to get ready for my adventure ahead to the lands of Botswana I look forward to experiencing a new culture, new people, a new lifestyle, and most importantly how Recreation Therapy is implemented half way around the world. What I really want from this experience besides the life experience is to be able to implement what I have been taught here at the University of Waterloo, add to what I have learned throughout my 4 years, and bring back a collaborative approach of care for future employment opportunities.

I’ve chosen to volunteer my time with Students Without Borders because I care about helping people help themselves. My friends back home laugh when I say it’s all about the process, not the outcome. It truly is about what we do to get to where we want to get that turns out to be the most rewarding experience. This is exactly why I am going to spend my four months abroad in an unfamiliar environment and soak up all that I can from those who will teach me about myself and allow me to help them defeat the challenges they face everyday. That’s all I’ve got for today.

Ciao for now.

Posted in Botswana, Pre-departure