WALKING THE TALK

A huge event in Joburg is a walk (running not allowed!) that attracts about 50,000.  It is a fund-raiser for charities and this year also a celebration of the 20th year of democracy, with a 20K race walk, a 20K walk, an 8K and 5K.  It was our intention to do the 20K walk, but a disconnect between the person who had our bibs (mandatory at the gate to the start line, and we were 30 seconds too late, so waited an hour to start the 8K.

It was still fun, as these two women were of good spirit and it was nice to just walk at a leisurely pace. There were 18,000 doing the 8K, but amazingly enough, it wasn't too crowded or stressful.  Afterward we went to the rooftop African market where I handed out flyers to the vendors about workshops scheduled for August at a meeting room at my church.  A great weekend!

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS IN-SERVICE TRAINING

       











I had the opportunity to once again travel with PC staff to a facility near Polokwane in the Limpopo province, this time to present to 28 volunteers and their counterparts about my NGO, in order for them to decide if they would like to use our program as a side project at their site.  I did five 90-minute presentations.  It was very fun and fulfilling.

View from my room at daybreak.





I so enjoyed seeing Gilbert again, with whom I spent about two weeks when I was doing research, and to meet many great new Volunteers and other NGO people


Also had the opportunity to observe monkeys close up and personal.  They hover around the lodge, and very bravely hop on to outside tables and take food from diner's plates!  Here's one chomping on an apple, with a rusk (kind of like biscotti) in the other hand.  Entertaining!

younger one hanging around

Six of them monkeying around in a tree near the main meeting room...

OFF TO LIMPOPO PROVINCE FOR PC TRAINING

Although this blog serves as a journal for me to read and relish in my old age  :)  I understand today's readers like more pictures, so stay tuned!

I will be going to Limpopo province today for an in-service training session for newer PCVs.  My counterpart Tshidi had a conflicting engagement in Durban, so I will take the train to a station near the Backpackers where I first stayed, then a PC driver will take several of us to the training site.

Various NGOs present (6 times in one day) to the PCVs and their counterparts, to let them know about our organizations so they might choose one to do as a side project.   I will tell them about Operation HOPE and the new adult curriculum (draft version) I have just finished.

Coming back on Saturday, then on Sunday there is a big (50,000?!) walk for charities.  I'm on a team via Tshidi and her friends, to do the 20K.

More later!  Am excited to go to a PC event, into the countryside, and do a big walk!

MANDELA DAY

As part of Mandela Day activities, the Joburg Operation HOPE staff went to a Learning Center in the township of Diepsloot and did a walk for Financial Freedom.  The learners carried these placards with numerous quotes from Mandela, as well as financial literacy pieces of information.  The kids were here for a holiday program during their 3-week winter break...just as they were at Kai's "Camp I Am" at another township school that I posted about earlier.

"Nelson Mandela International Day was launched in recognition of Nelson Mandela's birthday on July 18, 2009 via unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly.  It was inspried by a request he made a year earlier for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world's social injustices when he said that "it's in your hands now."

It is more than a celebration of Madiba's life and legacy.  It is a global movement to honor his life's work, and act to change the world for the better." (from the NMID website)

DURBAN SIGHTS

I went to Durban for the weekend to thaw out, and to spend time walking the beach and doing lots of reading.  I got a cheap airfare and stayed at a backpackers.  On Saturday I did a walking tour of the city.  A comment the guide made about religions:  Apartheid strengthened the bond/relationships among the various religions, as many Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and others worked together against it.

Here are some of the sights from my little trip:

This mosque was once the largest in the southern hemisphere

A Roman Catholic church near the mosque

Medicinal herbs, one stall of many in Victoria Market

Home-made clothing, cotton dresses/aprons

A wedding shop in Victoria Market

A large barge ship nearing the waterfront

FINANCIAL EDUCATION AT WORK

Operation HOPE was asked to participate for a day at my landlady Kai's "Camp I Am" this past week.  Jake and I were driven to the school camp site by two of Kai's friends, where we did six 30-minute rotations on Wants, Needs, and Values.  It was a great activity, where we put up photos of various items, told the 150 learners (ages ranging from 6th-11th grades) they had R1000 to spend for the month.  They had to make choices, and that was difficult for most.  They quickly realized what a trade-off meant, and how they could, in fact, get those cool red Converse high tops if they gave up spending money on other things. Also did a little discussion on how our values can drive spending decisions.

Notice nearly all are wearing coats.  Schools have no heat, so just like my cottage and many homes, you bundle up inside in the winter and it feels good to go outside in the sun!  (Just like my Moroccan winter experience)

 A very enjoyable and rewarding day!  Jake will be going back to U. S. this week and to his studies at Notre Dame.  It was fun to have him in the office.

TRAINING COMING UP!

I met this morning with the church secretary at my church to discuss the possibility of conducting the adult financial education workshops there on two consecutive Saturdays, so we've set August 16 and 23 from 11:30-4:30 as the dates/times, and will use a small room that will accommodate maximum 20 people conference style.  I am excited!  We have lots of time now to market and get the attendance and pilot the curriculum.

After the visit, I also discovered a new piece of information about my church.  Every M-W-F from 8:30-11:30 they allow homeless people (mostly all men...about 50) to come and use the shower to clean themselves and their clothes...and also give them buttered bread and tea. On Friday noons they also receive a nutritious lunch.  She told me that in the winter the electricity bill gets very high as they use the shower time to just get warm, since it gets near freezing at night as they sleep in parks or wherever.

My friend Vicky left a very generous donation for the church, which I delivered for her today.  She will be pleased to know she is supporting their outreach activities, I'm sure.

WHAT'S THE DIFF?

So what is the difference between regular Peace Corps service and being a PC Response Volunteer, numerous people have asked. I can only speak to my experience, but the differences are great and many!

As a regular PCV, I went to my country of service (Morocco) with 29 other people, and for three months we were together, learning the language and culture, and establishing friendships.  The next two months at my assigned site, I stayed with a family who helped me integrate into the community, and I started work at a women's association where there were numerous women that I worked with daily.  Then I moved into my own apartment which had electricity, running cold water, and squat toilet, and after about a year, I had access to Wi-fi!  But, no TV or heat.  I was only 12 miles from other volunteers, and met with yet other set of friends on a usually a monthly basis for a weekend in Marrakech or other towns.  Interaction with various social/work groups on a regular basis was part of my lifestyle.

As a PC Response Volunteer, I came by myself (flew over with another person who is situated far from me now), and after a few days orientation, moved into an apartment in a huge city where no other PCVs are normally even allowed to go.  There are only two people here in my NGO, but Tshidi, who I work with daily has gone above and beyond to be helpful.  I have electricity, hot water, flush toilet, and a TV.  I have chosen to not spend the money on heat that I'd use for about three months, and instead am making use of extra clothing to get through the winter. I have very limited built-in social groups and discovered it is challenging to find them.   I enjoy the modern conveniences, but very much miss the socialization that comes with being a regular PCV, yet I don't know that I'd want to have spent a year hauling water and going out to a pit toilet.

The two Peace Corps country offices I've reported to are also very different in how they manage their operations.   One thing both North and South Africa have in common is that where I lived, the winters are colder inside homes than outside in the sunshine!  :)  The seasons are the same in Morocco as U. S., not the opposite as they are in South Africa.  Here I walk the streets of a suburb of a huge city; I've posted photos of scenes/flowering shrubs.  This is a photo of a winter walk of 20K (about 12 miles) that I did a few times to my post office town in Morocco.  Notice the snow in the mountains.












So there you have it. As is the case with most life experiences, there are both the positive and negative aspects, challenges that must be met and dealt with,  and accomplishments to celebrate.   Bottom line, I do know that my time here is helping improve understanding between our countries, that my work is helping improve lives, and I am receiving more than I am giving.  So it is with both my Peace Corps experiences.

4th OF JULY AND PAST WEEK

It's a TGIF day here, and since PCVs only get public holidays of their country of service and the the U. S. holidays, I worked at the office as usual, but the intern had a little eye problem and my manager was working elsewhere, but I didn't mind working there alone.  After work I went to my yoga class.  I was pretty independent.  :)

Our Independence Day today, and they just celebrated their 20 years of freedom here. Isn't that something? I think we tend to forget there are so many countries where the people still don't know freedom. A Peace Corps question posted on Facebook today was about what we PCVs have come to appreciate more about America.  There are so many things, it's hard to choose just one, but I think I'd say women's rights. So many millions of women around the world are oppressed it's difficult to get your mind around it.

This past week my work continued on the NGO management course.  I think we may offer it on two five-hour Saturday sessions in a small meeting room at my church sometime in the next few of months.  A vendor at the weekly Sunday African market expressed an interest, the church is near the market and will make the room available,  so we'll see what comes of it.

We also went out to my landlady's "Camp I Am" day camp for school kids on a three-week holiday break.  This was a session she facilitated for the Department of Basic Education on how to conduct a spelling bee. The first ever national bee will be held in October.  It was an interesting session, and included a role play by some of the learners attending the camp. Landlady Kai is the one on the far right, then Tshidi, my counterpart, then Jake with chin on hand.