Cultural festival

When there’s a holiday in Namibia, usually celebrations will only happen in one town in the country. And that town is selected depending upon who can pay for the festivities. Needless to say, Opuwo won’t be hosting any of the holiday celebrations anytime soon. So it was a real treat for me to hear that there would be a cultural festival in Opuwo. So last weekend I made my way over to the soccer field where the festival was taking place and settled in on one of the bleachers to watch the festivities. When I got there some important people were speaking and welcoming us to the festival. With Opuwo being the regional capital, of course there isn’t just one language spoken. So after welcoming us in English, they moved on to speaking Otjiherero and then lastly Khoekhoe (the click language). And with every new speaker they repeated this process of translating in all the languages.

A few hours later, the traditional dances finally started. 

With each tribe doing different dances, they all really varied in their form and type of dance. It was also really neat to see them all in their traditional dress too. With Opuwo being the spread of a National Geographic magazine, it’s not that I don’t see people in traditional dress every day, it’s the fact that here they were showcasing their culture and out of the every day environment. Previous to this festival, I haven’t taken many pictures, if any, of the Himba and Herero people in Opuwo because as part of their culture (specifically of the Himba culture), it’s rude to take pictures of them. But at the festival, I felt comfortable enough to take pictures of the various tribes, as it was a cultural festival.

Foreign aid and what it's doing to Namibia

I have just started to read this book called “Dead Aid” by Dambisa Moyo that was recommended to me by another PCV. (Side note: Thanks to my sister Sarah and her husband for the Amazon gift card they got me for my birthday so I can read all these fabulous books on my Kindle!)

Okay, now back to the book.....It’s about foreign aid in Africa and how it can affect a country and even a continent. In just the few short months that I’ve been here I have seen a lot of the effects that foreign aid can have on a country, both positive and negative ones. With Namibia obtaining a middle-income country status, it has caused some organizations to leave Namibia and others to readjust their funding. Medicos del Mundo for instance, an organization providing healthcare access to most vulnerable populations, left Namibia in November 2010. VSO has announced that they’ll be slowly leaving the country over the next two years, and many other organizations have also started to rethink their funding. Many of these organizations that have left or are in the process of leaving have decided to leave because they want to concentrate their efforts on countries that are more in need.

With many organizations in Namibia and even government ministries depending upon this foreign aid it can start to look like a disaster. But my first question is this, why ARE all of these organizations and government ministries depending upon this aid from overseas? I realize that Namibia has only been an independent country for the last 21 years but there also has to be a reason why it just obtained a middle-income country status. I’m not saying that the whole country is middle-income, because I know that’s definitely not true, but if the World Bank analyzed Namibia as a country and came up with this income status, there has to be a reason.

So when Namibia has been used to receiving all of this funding from outside sources (and in some ways have become dependent on it) and they start to pull out and leave the country because of the middle-income status that the country now has, it certainly causes a fruit basket upset. For instance, shortly after Medicos del Mundo left Namibia, there was a shortage of condoms in the country. That means that government clinics and hospitals weren’t able to distribute condoms in their facilities because there weren’t any condoms to go around. Can you imagine?? So that’s where we’re at now.

With no news that Peace Corps is leaving the country, I am hoping that through this book (and maybe some suggestions by colleagues and other volunteers) I might be able to help start changing this situation in Namibia. This country has so much potential and I would love to see it succeed and grow from this. Because really who knows what positive growth could come about in five or even twenty years. It could happen!

Life in the city

Last Wednesday, Elizabeth, Chad and I made our way on the patient bus to Windhoek for All-Volunteer Conference and Reconnect. When we got to Outjo, we were a little nervous to see if we’d be kicked off since there are usually a lot of hospital patients getting on at Outjo and getting off in Windhoek, but luck was on our side that day. So after arriving at the state hospital in Windhoek, we grabbed a taxi and made our way to Safari Hotel for the All-Volunteer Conference.

Now, in the history of Peace Corps Namibia, there hasn’t been very many times that Peace Corps has done an All-Volunteer Conference, so we were pretty lucky to have one. The All-Volunteer Conference is just what is written....all the Peace Corps Namibia volunteers come together for two days to talk about stress management, resiliency and also to celebrate Peace Corps’ 50th Anniversary. Plus it’s just a time to meet up together and meet volunteers that I normally wouldn’t be able to see because of the distance. And it being the 50th Anniversary, we watched different Peace Corps public service announcements (PSAs) from over the years. Pretty cool. And even saw some recent ones that I haven’t seen before! Also with the 50th Anniversary celebration came an invitation by the US Ambassador to Namibia to her house to have a little celebration....and free pizza, beer and wine. Who could pass that up?! Definitely a good night.

The rest of the conference was spent participating in a resiliency workshop. When Americans serve in Peace Corps there tends to be some situations that cause stress during our service. Between living with a host family, eating different kinds of foods, and just being completely submerged into a new culture, it’s definitely going to amount to some stress. One of the stress scales that we were given during training showed that stress of a divorce was about 50 points on the scale whereas a two year Peace Corps service was 350! Ridiculous! So you can see why we needed a resiliency workshop.

After our time at Safari Hotel and with the conference (and a hot shower...wahoo!), we made our way to the city to do some shopping and see the latest Harry Potter movie. I have missed the city so much and just being back in the hustle and bustle of it all was really nice. Yes, believe it or not I miss the traffic noises and the craziness of the city. Although after not being in a real mall for 5 months, I was sooo overwhelmed with all the shops and variety of everything. I mean, having a sports store or a shoe store at my disposal??? Weird! But oh so nice at the same time....and so refreshing.

Then that night we made our way to Greiter’s Conference Center for the next 2.5 weeks. Although Greiter’s was no luxury palace (like Safari Hotel) it does have real mattresses and hot water, so I’m a happy girl. So for these next few weeks I’ll be with other group 33ers at Reconnect, and having workshops on topics such as male engagement and project design. It might not sound like the most interesting of topics, but hopefully I’ll be able to bring some ideas back to Opuwo with me.

So far, we’ve been able to catch up and I’ve been able to hear more about everyone’s sites and what they’ve been up to these last couple of months which has been really nice. I’ve also been able to go hiking up one of the mountains where I was able to see a view of the entire city. Although the hike up there (and the high altitude) made for a very exhausting hike, it definitely made me feel better. So good to just be outside and experience the outdoors....without people questioning why I’m running in gym clothes in the middle of town.

While reading the PC Namibia health program goals during one of our sessions, it really helped me to get a better understanding of what the health program was trying to accomplish but also gave me a breath of fresh air of what I hope to accomplish during my time here.

Then today, we began a three day workshop on male engagement. So far, many of the topics that we covered today have already been covered either during our Peace Corps training back in February or through my social work classes at Champlain....including gender roles, feelings and “I” statements. It made me feel like I was transported back to high school or college. Seemed like such simple topics, but for some of the participants it was the first time that they’ve covered this material. Interesting. I only wish that it was a trainer of trainers workshop so that we’d be able to bring resources back to our sites. Well, we’ll see.

So far, that’s about it! It’s just been so nice catching up with friends and meeting new ones.....and not having to cook! Wahoo!

Where in the world is.....

These next couple of months are going to be crazy, so I figured I’d give you the run down now before everything starts to get insanely busy.

July 20 Head down to Windhoek for the All Volunteer Conference

July 21 & 22 All Volunteer Conference

We’ll spend these days talking about issues affecting volunteers like how to manage stress and personal resiliency. Plus having all the current Peace Corps Namibia volunteers in one place? Heck yeah!!

July 23-August 10 Reconnect

Believe it or not, I’ve already been at my site for almost three months, which means it’s time for Reconnect. And for me, it couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s time to recharge my emotional batteries, get answers to the many questions I still have lingering in my head and just hang out with other 33ers.

As for the actual training, we’ll be talking about topics like male engagement, project design management, and of course having some language classes.

August 12 Head back to Opuwo

August 22-September 2 Victoria Falls trip!!

Monday Aug. 22^nd

Pick up our rental car in Windhoek and drive to Rundu & stay with PCVs there for the night.

Tuesday Aug. 23

Go to Botswana & visit Chobe National Park.

Stay for 2 nights, with one full day of driving through the park.

Thursday August 25

Depart to Livingston, Zambia

Stay in Victoria Falls area for 5 nights.

And while at Victoria Falls, I plan on doing a half day white water rafting trip, the zipline and a sunset/booze cruise. Check out more information at: Activities at Victoria Falls

Tues August 30

Check out of the backpacker’s lodge and stay in Caprivi area

Wed August 31

Depart Caprivi area and stay somewhere near Rundu or Grootfontein

Thursday September 1

Drive to Windhoek or Okahandja

Friday September 2^nd

Drop off rental car back in Windhoek


Let the fun begin!!

Rollercoasters

They say that the life of a Peace Corps volunteer is like a rollercoaster. There are plenty of ups, downs and even times when you feel like you’re upside down and ready to cry or throw up. While waiting in line for your turn to experience the thrill, you might have sweaty palms and be a little nervous because you have no idea what to expect. But you take the anxiety in stride, because really, it’s all worth it in the end. I mean, why else would you wait minutes upon minutes for your chance at the rollercoaster? Or maybe in the case of Peace Corps, months upon months waiting for that invitation letter and package to come your way. But through it all, there’s also excitement. Excitement of the thrill of going through this crazy ride. Excitement for the anticipation of what’s around the next corner. And at the end of the ride as you’re pulling back into the station where you started, you think, “man, that was fun! Let’s do it again!” Even after all that anxiety and waiting, you’re willing to do it again, because for just that short amount of time, it was all worth it.

Right now, I guess you could say I’ve just hit a “down” in the rollercoaster but am slowly  inching my way, trying to ascend up to the top, for where the view is always incredible. If you ask me how my day was today, I might reply that it was fine, but ask me a few days or even just a few hours from now and I might tell you differently. I think the one thing keeping me here and letting myself feel these downs is because I’m stubborn. Yup, I admitted it, I’m stubborn. I’m stubborn because deep down I can see the big picture in all of this, or at least I hope the big picture will come into view when I’m at the top and everything looks beautiful.

Since I have been on other types of rollercoaster rides in my life, I know that with downs also come ups. I know that if there were never low moments in life, I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the happy ones.

But for the next couple minutes, just let me wallow in my down, okay? Since I stepped off that plane and walked through customs in the Windhoek airport back in February, I wondered what I’d actually be doing the next two years--heck, I’ve wondered that since I was in the middle of my application process! And now that I’m here, now that I know where I’m going to be living for the next two years, I still wonder. Me being the go-getter American that I am, I have such an urge to just get up and do something. I want to be busy! But with entering a new culture and country comes different cultural norms. So even almost three months of being at my permanent site I still have no freaking clue what I’m doing. And it’s frustrating beyond belief. To know that I could just not show up to work one day or just take off on a vacation and no one would bat an eye where I was is frustrating. You would think that after three months of being here in Opuwo, I would have a better understanding of what it is that I’m supposed to do. There’s more going on than what I’m writing, but for my sake, that’s all I’m sharing here.

My APCD (Peace Corps program director) gave me a job description of what I should be doing at my office but also in the community and it was very helpful. So far though, I haven’t done very much at all in my primary assignment at the regional office. What I have been doing though is doing more community work than anything. I’ve been helping out and planning lessons for the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) class at the Red Cross every Friday. And I have to say, those kids light up my life. After meeting them and seeing the joy in their eyes, it has made me want to come back week after week. And with my enthusiasm and experience of working with kids, I have soooo many ideas up my sleeve.

But one of the recent highlights in my life has been the planning of my upcoming trip to Victoria Falls. I’m excited beyond belief about this one. I’ll talk more about it in another blog entry, but for right now I’ll tell you that there’s white water rafting and so many animals involved. This makes for a very happy Alison.

And as I said, with the “downs” also come the “ups” so bring ‘em on!

Wanted: Passionate People

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

-Howard Thurman

For me, art therapy has always intrigued me. In college, I desperately wanted to learn more about expressing your emotions through creative arts. But I quickly found out that it’s almost impossible to have a full-time job as an art therapist. So instead I found myself expressing myself through scrapbooking, journaling or just doodling during meetings and classes. This is what makes me come alive. It’s a passion I have and I think it’s a great way for people to express themselves if they don’t feel comfortable through other ways. It's also a great and creative way to present material. After a traumatic event or even just after a long day at work, there's nothing better than just sitting down and coloring. No matter if you're 5 or 95. And after walking around Opuwo my first couple of weeks, I stumbled upon Ombetja Yehinga (OYO), an organization that uses art to teach people about various social issues. I might have already talked about this organization a little bit, but I just can’t help but feel excited about it. They educate youth on social issues through creative arts, such as dance, drama and other visual arts.

Art/drama + HIV/AIDS awareness? Yes please! And it just so happens that what makes me come alive and what I’m passionate about is also what the world needs right now. The world, especially Namibia, needs passionate people. And I am so excited to be a part of this initiative. If you present the material to learners (students) by just talking at them, they’re not going to learn much. But if you find a creative way to do it, then there’s a better chance that they might actually absorb what you’re talking about.

Have you ever been in a class or heard a speaker just talk on and on like Charlie Brown’s teacher? Meh, meh meh meh meh meh meh…..The speaker’s not having fun and clearly not interested in what they’re doing and the people in the audience can’t help but check their watch every five minutes. Who wants to do that?! And how will you ever learn that way?? But if you make the material fun and you get excited about it even if you are the speaker, then it’s a success.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go with Lucia, who works at OYO, to an upper primary school in town to give presentations on HIV/AIDS and also to distribute the latest OYO magazine. (You can check out the past issues of the OYO magazine here: http://ombetja.org/OYO%20Magazine.html ) When we first walked into the school, the kids saw that we were carrying copies of the OYO magazine and scrambled to us and begged us for copies. This was incredible to see! I have never seen children want educational magazines this badly! It was awesome!! After finding out where the life skills classes were and what class was free, we made our way to one of the 5^th grade classrooms to distribute the magazine and to give a brief presentation. When Lucia started to talk about HIV/AIDS and about the magazine though, she didn’t just talk at them, she made it fun and interactive. And it was like this throughout the entire presentation. Needless to say, I left the school feeling excited for what the future could bring and so happy at what we had accomplished. I can’t wait to accompany OYO staff on more presentations and work out in the community. When I saw the passion in the eyes of the OYO staff and learners (students), it made me excited too. And that’s just what this world needs.