Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007 - (Page 26)

from ﬁve days to six weeks. Beneﬁts: airfare, travel-related expenses, comprehensive per diem. www.iesc.org. International Medical Corps Disaster response doctors and nurses are needed to administer emergency health services in crisis areas–most commonly in Africa and Central Asia. Volunteers, who must deploy rapidly for two to eight weeks, receive food, lodging and insurance. Non-medical international volunteers can contribute other humanitarian support year-round for a minimum of two months; they receive a per diem, housing and insurance with the possibility of airfare and a stipend. www.imcworldwide.org. i-to-i Over 500 projects on ﬁve continents offer a wide range of activities. Volunteers serve two to 24 weeks supporting community development, conservation, teaching and building. Program fee includes lodging, meals, security, project orientation. www.i-to-i.com. The John Ogonowski Farmer-to-Farmer Program Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development but administered through partner organizations, this program provides technical assistance to farmers and agribusinesses around the world. Volunteers, who usually spend 20 to 30 days overseas, typically have domestic farming experience. Partners include ACDI/VOCA, CNFA, Land O’Lakes, OIC International, Partners of the Americas, Winrock International and two landgrant universities. Beneﬁts vary. www.usaid.gov/our_ work/agriculture/farmer_to_ farmer.htm. Land O’Lakes International Development This agribusiness works in several global regions to boost agricultural productivity & competitiveness; food processing & quality assurance; marketing & distribution; enterprise & association development; and food security & asset creation. Opportunities last two to six weeks. Beneﬁts: travel, lodging, meals, workrelated expenses. www.idd. landolakes.com. Medical Teams International (formerly R Botswana’s National Strategic Framework AIDS Plan. I facilitate district plans for HIV/AIDS programs; document district HIV/AIDS programming and its impacts; and promote partnerships with traditional leaders, government, and non-government organizations. During my ﬁrst six months on the job, if I wasn’t facilitating village events, I weas compiling and ﬁling the district’s quarterly reports with the ministry, which for reasons I don’t think are my business, had not been done. eality bites when a village kgosi believes that I am the one to bring anti-retroviral therapy for AIDS to his community that will make it possible for his people to live quality lives. Holding back welled-up tears, I promised his concerns were heard and committed to advocate for his cause. It’s upsetting when training is scheduled months in advance for administrative personnel in the district administration oﬃce and the facilitator cancels two days before the scheduled event for no given reason. Or, I’m facilitating a meeting on evidence-based planning to heads of departments and stakeholders, preparing folders with fact sheets only to discover there’s no toner for the copier or no paper to be found. Or, a meeting will be scheduled in Shakawe and I’m unable to attend because there’s no petrol in Gumare to fuel the vehicle and it’s too late to catch the bus. And yet, while walking home from work, a group of young children calls me by name, oﬀering up their best afternoon greetings in English and I respond in my best Setswana. en we all laugh, bringing me back. e challenges that come with living in any foreign country have not changed since my arrival one year ago. ere is the struggle with Setswana, a beautiful tonal language that renders my mind incapable of retaining even the simplest phrases. e pronunciation is relatively easy, with its seven basic vowels and 28 consonants. Much more diﬃcult for me are the clicks (Xakao), and the tlh and ts words tlou (elephant) as in bottle, or tshila (dirt) as in chip. Alas, the pitch in my voice is too high to adequately articulate the tones, so I’m not easily understood beyond basic greetings and thank yous. People always smile when I make an eﬀort and assure me that I will learn. e people who work directly with me are beginning to understand that I will not do things for them, that kindness is a virtue, and I that cooperation is a powerful resource. But my greatest diﬃculty is knowing the answer but allowing the people I work with to ﬁnd their own answers. Superiority wrapped with white skin privilege is a dance I tango daily. And, when I get lost in wondering if I’m making a diﬀerence, someone will show up to remind me otherwise with a greeting, a story, or a smile. Or, I simply have to look at the photographs of children taken at recent events published in the district newsletters stacked on my desk. love the life I am living, and there’s no question that my life has been touched in ways that far outweigh the challenges. I work with many good people. Pepuki Makambe is the District Oﬃcer who, without fear or favor, has taught me the Botswana way about everything from writing savingrams, which are memos, to extending invitations to political leaders. He reviews my reports and tells others how the value of my accomplishments contributes to the people we both serve. I sometimes work with fabulous, young, and passionate Peace Corps volunteers scattered throughout the district whose assignments dramatically diﬀer from mine, although our jobs, skills, and personalities complement each other. It’s important to know that my assignment is not the typical Peace Corps volunteer experience of living in depravity and roughing it. I live in a secure, furnished two-bedroom government house with windows and furniture. I have a fabulous front porch, the perfect place to enjoy tea with friends, read a book, or watch the moon rise as its brilliant glow permeates the dazzling starry sky. I have enough yard space to grow a garden of delectable vegetables and a clothesline for my hand-washed laundry. I have indoor plumbing and running water at least four sporadic days out of the week, electricity more often than not, and a hot water geyser for steamy bubble baths. Nearby, I also have my own oﬃce, a virus-free computer with Internet access at least ten days out of the month, air conditioning for those scorching summer days, and the privilege of a Botswana email address. When I arrived in Gumare, I did not imagine ATM access, a computer in my oﬃce, or cell phone coverage in my village. I did not expect access to the internet and my family with e-mail. ere is also my website, which I update once a month in Maun, 250 kilometers away at my favorite Postnet wireless café while I sip a hot delicious cappuccino. 26 Fall 2007 http://www.iesc.org http://www.imcworldwide.org http://www.i-to-i.com http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/agriculture/farmer_to_farmer.htm http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/agriculture/farmer_to_farmer.htm http://www.idd.landolakes.com http://www.idd.landolakes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007

Worldview - Fall 2007 Contents Presiden'ts Note Lafayette Park Introduction Interview Commentary Editor's Note Letter from Rumbek, Sudan Listings Letter from Yekaterinburg, Russia Letter from Codaesti, Romania Letter from Catia La Mar, Venezuela Letter from Gumare, Botswana Letter from Ridder, Kazakhstan Letter from Rincon, Cape Verde Letter from Port Au Prince Another Country Community News Giving Back Opinion

Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007

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