I can’t believe we’ve been in Shakawe for two months. We are
starting to feel settled and everyone seems to know who we are. We moved into
our house about a month ago. We have two large bedrooms, running water, a hot
water tank, satellite TV and we are a stone’s throw from the Okavango River. We
couldn’t be happier with our house. The only downsides are that a pit latrine blocks
part of our view and we have a rat/mouse problem in our attic. We were given
some furniture which we will apparently have to give back soon. Alas, most BOTS
12 volunteers have yet to get their furniture, so who knows when we will get
ours. The best part of living near the Okavango River is that we hear hippos
every night. One morning we even went to the shore and saw two hippos eating
grass. It was pretty awesome. Hippos grunt, a lot. Hearing several hippos grunt
each night is not unusual. One night however, we heard some really strange
sounds coming from the river. There were grunts, splashes, crashes, and
something that sounded like a whale. It turns out there was a fight between two
male hippos. As the winter carries on the water in the flood plain dwindles and
male hippos become pretty territorial. At times they will fight to the death.
It is a good reminder to stay away from the water at night.
We’ve been pretty busy lately. We have been working on our
community assessment, which has been a great way to get to know people and
really learn what’s going on in Shakawe. Last week we attended the Adult
Education Fair at Shakawe Primary School. It was a large regional event where
adult learners took classes, showed off their crafts and we taught sex ed. We
distributed close to 1,700 condoms, did 30 condom demonstrations and got about
15 other people to do condom demonstrations. Overall it was a pretty successful
event. We also bought some baskets finally. Baskets woven with grass and palm
leaves are an art form in this area. They are so beautiful and each one is
unique. I’m glad we were able to support some of the adult learners in the
area. I have a feeling we might be buying lots of baskets over the next two
years (true story: Bridgette may have a basket addiction).
Things are going well at Pabalelo Trust. We’ve planted some
beans and peas in a shade net structure that had some issues with nematodes
last year. Let’s hope the legumes will help out the soil. We’ve also started
beets, lettuce and herbs. There are a lot of beds and it’s been fun and
challenging to determine which crops to rotate in each of them. Matt and
Moyambo are getting along famously. They each have a huge cup of coffee at tea
time. When I say huge, I mean it. It’s a coffee mug that holds 500mL of coffee.
It is pretty entertaining.
Unfortunately, Bridgette’s primary organization has closed
indefinitely. Botshelo Trust was having some serious issues. That said it’s
probably a good thing they closed. Botshelo may open up again, but probably
with a different mission and completely new staff. We’ll see what my next steps
will be. I’d like to be just a community volunteer, not tied to any
organization, but I’m not sure Peace Corps will let me do that.
Next week we will attend a grant writing workshop at SAREP
in Maun. We will be there from Tuesday-Saturday. Afterward, we head to Gaborone
for In-Service Training (IST). We will be away from Shakawe for about 2 ½ weeks.
It should be fun to see everyone again and to stay in a hotel with fluffy
pillows and a shower.
