Mpule Kwelagobe Children’s Centre in Jwaneng, Botswana

Posted by Nicole Bachynski on March 8th, 2010

It’s hard to believe I have just over a month left in Botswana. I have kept busy here in Jwaneng at Mpule Kwelagobe doing a variety of activities. Something that I started doing when I arrived was preparing educational workshops for the house mothers and staff of the center. We’ve presented to the house mothers and staff about emotional abuse, bereavement in children, autism, and self care/stress management  (when I say ‘we’ I am referring to the other intern and myself). We did a group with the children about puberty and bullying. I will be discussing the transitioning stage of adolescence with those 13 years and up this coming weekend. I have been assisting my supervisor with the preparation of a 2 week workshop about Psychosocial Support. I am also currently creating a presentation about gender equality/violence against women/women’s rights for the house mothers and staff at the center. We have arranged for Ditshwanelo to come and discuss their parenting tool kit for the house mothers. A couple employees from the Baylor Clinic are hopefully coming to spend a few days with the center. These educational opportunities are important, especially because there of the limited resources available in Jwaneng.

          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!

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