Ngwaga o Mosha!! Happy New Year. I realize that I have not posted anything in 3 months. In my defense, I was very busy doing projects that required me to be away from Gumare. I was barely home for much of November and half of December. Now it is 2010, which means that we will be done in 5 months. I can’t believe Close of Service is so close. Richard and I are looking forward to R&R next month in the Seychelles, where we will dive and lay on the beach.

In November, the District AIDS Coordinator’s office began working on its evidence-based plan for 2010-2011. During a 3 day workshop, our district planning group (government officers, NGOs, community leaders, etc) used the HIV/AIDS statistical information from the previous year to set priorities and activities for the district. Priorities included reducing teen pregnancy, increasing HIV testing, getting families to discuss HIV and sexual/reproductive health with youth, and increasing uptake of ARVs. This workshop was followed up with a another 3 day session with a small group of 10 people (including Richard, myself, my counterpart Pretty, and the DAC office), who helped put the plan and proposed activities together to submit for funding from the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA). After evidence-based planning, I went to a four day GLOW Training of Facilitators workshop in Maun. Since I am on the planning committee for GLOW this year, I helped this year’s facilitators plan their sessions so they are both comprehensive and interactive.

I also spent a good amount of time in remote areas. The UN volunteer Pusetso and I spent six nights camping out “in the bush” to provide sexual and reproductive health to 5 remote villages in our district: Tsodilo, Chukumuchu, Nxau-Nxau, Qangwa, and Xai-Xai. Unfortunately, the route we took to Nxau-Nxau was impassable so we never made it to this village. At each village, we presented for 4-5 hours at the kgotla (central meeting place). We talked about topics such as the reproductive system, breast and cervical cancer screening, STIs, condom use, fertility, birth control, clitoris stimulation, etc. We had a good turnout of 30-40 persons, with an almost equal amount of men and women, at each village. There were many questions and discussions, and people were generally very responsive. When we were finished, I came back to Gumare for a few days before heading back to Tsodilo for a 6 day life skills camp for 12 female and 12 male students from 4 area junior secondary students. We all camped at Tsodilo for the week and had life skills sessions (ex. Our Bodies, Communication skills, Relationships, Decision-making, HIV and other STIs, etc) outside. We also took some time to hike to the rock paintings and learn about the cultural aspects of the site.

After the life skills camp, I headed straight to Maun so I could leave with Women Against Rape the next morning to Francistown and Selibi-Phikwe to buy supplies for GLOW camp. After buying supplies, we headed to Tsetsejbwe to prepare the junior secondary school for the arriving facilitators and students. Unfortunately, mosquitos, giant roaches, and big beetles were plentiful at the hostels were we were sleeping. GLOW camp lasted 8 days and the kids seemed to have fun and learn a lot. The goal of the camp is to teach life skills and create youth leaders who can educate their peers on HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. After GLOW camp finished, I was very tired and went back to Gumare to rest for a few days.

Things have been slow around the office because of the holidays. We did go to Maun for a couple days to start processing our data for the Global Information Systems (GIS) project we are working on. For Christmas, we were invited to dinner by one of the local lodge owners in Shakawe. She ended up letting us stay for free for a couple days with our Peace Corps friends from Kasane.

It has been incredibly hot the last couple of months. In the middle of December, it was averaging a 110 degrees. It finally started raining heavily this last week, so hopefully it will break the heat.