Red Cross Garden Project: Vegetables Galore!

First, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported me throughout the entire grant process. Everyone at Red Cross has been so thankful and they have worked very hard to make sure that the grant money has been used to the fullest.

Creating this garden has been a huge part of my second year service in Peace Corps. I am incredibly grateful, with your support, to help Red Cross combat poverty and increase access to education for vulnerable children.

The Red Cross Garden Project:

Immediately following the deposit of funds in my local bank account, a fellow counterpart and I went to purchase supplies from Builders World. Once the supplies were delivered, the construction of the outside garden structure took place. It took about one week, and was built by local Batswana who have experience in creating these types of permagarden structures.

Finished permagarden structure

After the structure was created, local materials to create the plots were gathered: straw, greens/leaves, manure and black soil. All materials were free of cost and found in Sefhare. Once the materials were gathered, staff began to dig the plots. For each plot (seven in total), staff dug about three feet into the ground. Once the plot was dug, staff filled the plots in with the materials collected, creating three layers of straw, grass, manure and dirt, watering each layer before planting a new one. Once it decomposes, it creates a liquid manure to provide nutrients for the plants.

Digging plots and filling with greens.

Adding straw to plots.

Watering finished plots.

Planting seeds.

Red Cross crew!

After the plots were created, seeds were planted. Companion planting was used, for example onion and green pepper were planted together, and beetroot and spinach were planted together. Each plant uses different nutrients in the soil, so they are compatible and good to plant next to each other.  In addition, onion is a good companion plant because it acts as a natural bug repellant.

Tomatoes growing.

Spinach!

The plants are currently growing fast and in abundance. Because there are so many plants in a plot, we had to transplant some into plots outside of the structure. Furthermore, seven fruit trees were planted, and are growing in plots outside of the structure. These trees should mature in the next few years and start producing fruit.

Red Cross driver harvesting vegetables. 

Very large spinach leaf!

Spinach and kale leaves!

Red Cross secretary Cici holding some of the harvested vegetables!

Two Red Cross Tirelos Sechaba workers about to cut the vegetables to feed the children!

Red Cross staff washing the vegetables and cutting them.

Staff was dedicated and worked hard to create the garden. The plots are growing so well that Red Cross staff has had to transplant seeds and plant them outside the garden. Two rounds of vegetables (rape and kale) have been harvested. Because of lack of funding, the Red Cross has no funding form HQ to buy food to feed the children in the Sefhare branch, which in the past has prevented children from attending the Centre. However, because vegetables have been harvested from the garden, RC is using the vegetables to help keep the Centre open by providing food to he children, in addition to local donations, so they can attend school. If enough food is grown, additional food will go to CBR clients.

Gender Issues in Botswana

Once becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer, there are different committees that a volunteer can join in their country post. Volunteers, with a faculty advisor, largely run committee’s. Committees in each country are different, and are based on the country’s existing Peace Corps programs and the perceived needs of the country.

In Botswana, there was one committee that I wanted to join immediately: Gender Committee. As a graduate from an all-women’s college, Smith College, I am particularly passionate about women’s empowerment and gender equality.

In Botswana, gender equality is an upward battle. Many men and women in Botswana are expected to uphold traditional gender roles. For example, women and girls are expected to cook, clean and look after the children. Men go to the lands and look after cattle. In tribal society, the ability to be a local tribal leader is passed down through males (although there are a few female tribal leaders, who were voted in by their villages). When dating, men are supposed to pay for airtime, phones, clothes and other materials for women.

Gender inequality is a large reason why HIV continues to prevail, and why more women have HIV than men. Many women and young girls stay with abusive partners, engage in transactional sex, and don’t feel like they can negotiate for condom use during sex because their partners provide them with monetary goods and they feel in their debt. In addition, some families encourage their daughters to continue in these types of unsafe behaviors because their boyfriends are providing the family with money or gifts. In workshops I have held on the topic of gender based violence, women have told me that they oftentimes engage in multiple sexual relationships because they are afraid that their partners might leave them suddenly, and their source of income would disappear. This puts them at a higher risk for HIV, STDs and unplanned pregnancies.

According to the most recent Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BIAS IV), conducted from January to April of 2013, the national prevalence rate in Botswana is 18.5%, an increase from the previous BIAS III study, where there was a 17.6% national prevalence rate. Women in Botswana have a higher prevalence rate of HIV, with a prevalence of 20.8%, while men have a prevalence of 15.6% nationwide. Among women, the HIV prevalence rate peaks between the ages of 35-39, with 50.6% of this age group in Botswana infected. The highest rate of HIV for men occurs from the ages of 40-44, at a prevalence rate of 43.8%

In my district, Central Mahalapye, there is a 23.1% prevalence rate, with 20.1% of men infected, and 25.9% of women infected. Men aged 25-29 have a prevalence rate of 39.5% while women in the same age group have a prevalence rate of 50.7%. The results for the age group 30 to 34 is even more drastic with a prevalence rate of 74.3% for women, and 20.7% for men.

Gender Based Violence is also a large problem in Botswana, and according to the BIAS results, 24.8% of women who had a premature sexual debut said that their sexual encounter was not consensual.

As a member of Gender Committee, I try to break these gender stereotypes and encourage female empowerment by mainstreaming gender into almost all of my activities. For example, one of my favorite gender activities is titled “Sex or Gender.”  In “Sex or Gender,” after explaining the differences between sex and gender, I place three signs around the room I am in. One sign says “Boys/Men,” one says “Girls/Women,” and the last one says “Both.” I then show participants a series of words/phrases. Depending on the word, participants will go and stand under the sign they believe is appropriate for the word. Examples of words/phrases include: breastfeeds, goes to university, washes the dishes, provides for the family, takes care of children, cleans the house, fixes the house, cooks, owns land, drives a car, etc.

I’ve done this exercise with both adults and youth, and the signs participants stand under for each statement always varies. However, most answers tend towards the more traditional. For example, during one exercise, I held up the phrase, “washes dishes.” Most of the students I was working with stood under the “Girls/Women” sign. When I asked why, one of the boys said “women clean dishes better than men.”  Another example is when I hold up the phrase “takes care of children.” Almost always, participants move towards the “Girls/Women” sign. This is because in Botswana, women are considered the primary caregivers. Is government hospitals, men are not allowed in the birthing room at hospitals or clinics and are typically not supposed to see their child for a few weeks or months after s/he has been born. The mother and the members of her family who are female travel to take care of the new mother and newborn child.

After each statement, I always make sure that the participants understand what category the statement belongs to: sex or gender. Providing alternate examples helps participants to further understand that gender expectations are malleable, and in fact do change from culture to culture. For the “washes dishes” phrase, I always use the example that in my home, my mother traditionally cooks, while my father cleans the dishes. For the “takes care of children” phrase, I love explaining that in America, men are expected to be in the birthing room and are supposed to cut the umbilical cord when their child is born. Men are expected to have an equal role to women in childrearing, and are expected to participate in all childrearing activities, such as changing diapers or playing with the child. Seeing participants’ shocked expressions when I explain that my father cut my umbilical cord is always priceless.

Gender inequality exists in a lot of places, not just Botswana. And, despite the challenges in reaching gender equality, there are many parts of Botswana culture that encourage and promote gender equality. For example, in Botswana there are many female members of parliament, and the Speaker of Parliament is a woman. In fact, there is a lot of gender equality at the professional level in Botswana.

In order to achieve gender equality, both men and women of all ages need to be sensitized towards its benefits and importance. As such, I am focusing a large part of my service on gender work. And, I hope, that by the time I leave Botswana, I will have had a positive impact on the road to gender equality.

Please Donate to the Red Cross Garden Fund!

Friends and family, please find below the link and directions to donate to my grant to build a garden for the Red Cross Sefhare Stimulation Centre in my village.

The garden, in addition to helping provide healthy and nutritious meals to the orphaned, vulnerable and disabled children that attend the Centre, will enrich the Centre’s pre-school curriculum by allowing students to learn about nutrition and gardening first-hand. Furthermore, Red Cross plans to supply community rehabilitation clients (specifically those who are terminally ill, bedridden, or are severely disabled) with bundles of vegetables each week to provide them with fresh produce to improve their health. Red Cross will employ permagardening techniques to construct and maintain the garden.

Building a garden will help the Red Cross increase its capacity to provide quality services to disadvantaged members of the community and continue to provide quality pre-primary education to children in the village.

In order to begin implementation, of the project, I must raise $‎629.82 amount from friends, family and other interested donors. Any donation, no matter the amount, will help. If you are interested in donating, please follow the directions below:

The easiest way to donate is to visit www.peacecorps.gov/donate and search by the project number, PP-15-637-001.  Although the web site is the quickest way to make a donation, you may also make a check payable to Peace Corps Partnership Program and send it to:

Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
Peace Corps Partnership Program, GGM
1111 20th Street NW
Washington DC 20526

Be sure to indicate the project number, PP-15-637-001, on the check so it will be applied to the correct project.  Please note that due to security procedures, checks sent to Peace Corps via regular mail can take up to 4 weeks to reach their destination.  We strongly recommend donors to send check payments through an expedited service such as FedEx or UPS as this will dramatically speed up the delivery process.

Also, if you’re looking for ways to make your donation go even farther, check with your employer to see if they have a matching gifts program; many companies match donations dollar for dollar. 

Please share this post! Thank you.

Home Sweet Home

*Originally published in Peace Corps Botswana's newsletter, Ditiragalo.

Over the most recent holiday season I returned to the States to visit my family. In short, my trip was awesome. I ate everything I saw, hugged as many people as I could and took multiple showers a day.

During my two weeks in America I talked about Botswana a lot. I told people about the culture, the traditions and my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I showed them lots of photos and videos of my time in Botswana. However, none of my descriptions came close (in my opinion) to conveying what it actually felt like to live in Botswana and to be part of the small village I now call home: Sefhare. 

A view of the hill surrounding Sefhare.

Sefhare (pronounced like the word “safari” but instead of an “ee” sound at the end, add an “ay”) is located in the eastern part of Botswana, near the South African border. Sefhare has about 5,500 people and is about two hours away from Palapye, my shopping village. Because of inadequate transport I often have to hitch to get places. I have running water about 25% of the time and electricity most of the time. Sefhare is surrounded by beautiful hills and because of this the bugs in Sefhare are super sized. When I came back from leave I found 11 cockroaches in my house. Despite these challenges, I love my village. And when I returned to Sefhare, my re-acclimation wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be. It felt familiar, and it felt like home.

At my landlady's lands in Sefhare.

A few months ago I was having a very bad day. The bus I wanted to take home from my shopping village was not on time so I ended up waiting five hours — with 50 pounds of groceries on my back — for it to arrive. It was about 85 F outside, and the butter I purchased melted all over the grapes I just bought. Once the bus came, it took about two hours to get back to my village. While I managed to get a seat, the bus was so packed that people standing in the aisle were forced to lean over the seats for some space. The man leaning over my seat happened to be eating Chicken Licken and during the two hour bus ride he proceeded to drop about a quarter of what he was eating all over me.

By the end of two hours I wanted to cry, and as soon as I got off the bus in Sefhare tears started streaming down my face. However, a few seconds later I heard shouts of “Mpho! Mpho! Dumela Mpho!” In a little under a minute about 10 people from my village (not knowing that I was having a bad day) had come to greet me and see how I was doing. Despite the challenges getting to my village, once I was there I was welcomed and embraced as a part of the local family. I was cared for.

One of my favorite pastimes in Sefhare is my daily run. On my runs, villagers like to yell out greetings to me as I run through the streets, kids love to give me high fives and I race with primary school students on their way home from school. I love running in my village because I get to interact with the people who live here and I get to show them how much I love being part of their home.

The Condomize Campaign, which came to Sefhare, encourages people to use condoms.

A good friend recently told me that as humanitarian workers who live and work abroad, we often feel “adrift” managing two different lives: the life we had previously and the life we have now. I understand. Being part of the culture in Sefhare is incredibly unique, and I can’t imagine living and working someplace else besides my village. At the same time, I still miss and want to be a part of my old life, family and friends before Peace Corps.

My trip home helped clarify this feeling of being “adrift”:  For now, I have two homes, both with people who love and care for me. One is in the States and one is in a tiny village in eastern Botswana called Sefhare.

Close friend and Red Cross coworker, Cecilia and I, posing together at a birthday party event Red Cross held for the children at the Stimulation Centre.

I GLOW, Do You?

In Peace Corps, I work with many different institutions in my village: the Red Cross, Hospital, schools, Mothers for All. However, my favorite part of my Peace Corps service is working with the youth in the schools. Specifically, I love doing GLOW camps.

Giants, Wizards, Trolls ice breaker

GLOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World) camps were founded in the 1990’s by Peace Corps Volunteers in Romania. GLOW camps cover a variety of different topics in the hope that the information students learn will give them the necessary resources to overcome obstacles they might face, and give them the skills to achieve their goals.

Sex or Gender exercise

Since becoming a PCV, I have helped lead six of GLOW camps. Working with an amazing crew of four other PCVs in my intake group, we applied for a grant through Peace Corps, and received almost $10,000 to carry out a series of camps in our district. For the camps, we created a unique curriculum that we would follow on the topics of life skills, gender based violence, HIV, leadership, peer pressure and self-esteem. Our goal was to make each session at the camps interactive and engaging way possible, so the students would have fun, and not feel like they were in the classroom. For example we did activities such as “Our Bodies” charades, HIV jeopardy and HIV Limbo.

Condom Balloon game demonstration by Anne Conte (facilitator, PCV)

The first camp in our series turned out great, and was a good model for how to run a camp, however, it was lead primarily by veteran PCVs. The second camp in our series was the first camp we (the new PCVs) carried out and facilitated without the help of experienced PCVs.

We encountered two major challenges during the second camp. The primary challenge was the language barrier. While all youth in Botswana speak English in school, the level of English fluency varies greatly across the nation. The first camp was held in one of the largest villages in Botswana. Therefore, the student’s grasp of English was quiet high. The second camp took place with the students from my village, Sefhare, which is a small, rural village. Thus, the English comprehension level was considerably higher in the first camp than the second. Some of the activities we had planned for the GLOW camp required active discussion, and without the proper understanding of English, or confidence in their English speaking abilities, some youth from my school that attended the camp were unable to participate.

Gender based violence tree

A second challenge we encountered was creating a comfortable and conducive environment for the youth. Because it took much longer to get the students to the camp than anticipated, the introductory sessions (the group icebreaker sessions, the sessions that introduced the camp, and the session that established ground rules) were rushed. We found that because of this, the youth had trouble connecting with other students and facilitators, and therefore did not actively participate in discussions.

While the students learned a lot and had a great time, I was disappointed that the second camp encountered so many challenges. However, in hindsight, the camp was a wonderful learning opportunity. It gave us a lot experience and ideas on how to improve the curriculum and work with the youth for the future camps. After the second camp, we almost entirely gutted the curriculum and re-designed it (while keeping the same topics), so that it was much more user-friendly and was accessible to youth with varying different levels of English comprehension. We made sure that at least two hours were blocked for introductions, ice-breakers, and ground rules so that the tone of the camp was set early. We also created teams of students at the beginning of the camp. Each team had five people, and they had to come up with a team name, sound and motion. When the curriculum required students to work in groups during sessions, groups were already established, and students were comfortable working with the people in their group. Thus, discussion and group participation increased. This also encouraged a greater sense of camaraderie.

Sex or gender exercise

Since the camp with my students, both students and teacher have asked me if there is going to be another camp. The impression that the camp left on them is strong. And, I hope the lessons that they learned during it stays with them throughout their lives. 

Condom Distribution: Part 2

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about the condom distribution project that I am spearheading in my village. Since last posting, the Red Cross has gone on to do several more distributions in the village. I thought it would be neat to post some basic statistics about demographics of the distribution campaign.

Currently, condoms are distributed to 13 institutions around Sefhare. When each institution is given their box(es) of condoms, they are also given a record sheet to track the number of condoms they distribute. The record sheet tracks whether the person collecting the condoms is male or female, youth or adult, and the number of condoms collected.

For example, during the month of August, 4,464 condoms were distributed in Sefhare. The institutions that went through condoms at the highest rates were the Immigration Office and local bar. This high rate of distribution can be attributed to high traffic flow in these institutions. During the month of August, more males than females took condoms, and more youth than adults took condoms.  Youth took the most condoms at social gathering places, such as at the local bar and a hair salon. Female youth took the most condoms at the bar and the Red Cross. Male youth took the most condoms at the bar, the local government office (which is next to a popular volleyball pitch), and the hair salon. Female adults took the most condoms at the primary school, and male adults took the most condoms at the local government office and the bar. 

Because of these trends, we distribute more condoms to institutions near social gathering places than others. It is important that both youth and adults have access to free condoms. And, if used correctly and consistently, condoms can help reduce the spread of STDs and HIV.

Condom Distribution Campaign: Part One

While I primarily work with the Red Cross (RC) and schools within Sefhare, I am a community volunteer, and try to work with as many institutions within Sefhare that I can. One of those institutions is the hospital in my town, the Sefhare Primary Hospital.

Because of the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Botswana, all health clinics and hospitals provide free condoms to Batswana. Most clinics run out of condoms quickly, however, because Sefhare has a hospital (which provides condoms to clinics), the condom supply is plentiful. However, in Sefhare, the hospital is on the edge of town. This provides several problems for community members regarding the ease of access to free condoms. First, many people don’t want to travel that far to have access to free condoms. They also don’t want to spend money on condoms. Therefore, they have sex without condoms. Second, people are afraid (specifically youth) that if they go to the hospital, family members or people they know in the community will see them taking condoms. Thus, they have sex without condoms. As a result of these factors, one of my first projects with the Red Cross was to tap into the resources at the hospital and start a condom distribution campaign in Sefhare.  

The condom distribution campaign started in April. Part of the agreement between the Red Cross, the Primary Hospital, and myself was that if we (the Red Cross and I) were going to distribute condoms in Sefhare, the hospital wanted a record of where the condoms were being used. Therefore, at the beginning of the month, each institution was given a box of condoms and a record sheet to track the number of condoms distributed. The record sheet tracked whether the person collecting the condoms was male or female, youth or adult, and the number of condoms collected. Condoms were packaged in newspaper in packets of six at the Red Cross office. Condoms were distributed to eleven institutions around Sefhare. Most were in areas of high community traffic flow, such as a local bar, the immigration office, and the local Ministry of Parliament’s office. During the month of April, I helped distributed 2,788 condoms to residents in the town of Sefhare.

Almost immediately, several challenges presented themselves. First, there was the challenge of recording the number of condoms distributed. At each institution the Red Cross visited, a contact person was chosen to keep a record of the condoms that were being taken. However, some institutions had trouble recording the number of condoms taken. For example, about a week after the RC dropped the first box of condoms to the Sefhare Land Board, the box was almost empty, yet only two people had recorded the condoms they had taken. One reason for this was that the contact person was often away from her desk and could not accurately track all of the condoms being taken. A secondary reason was that people were uncomfortable writing down themselves that they had taken condoms. This was resolved with a conversation with several of the Land Board staff reinforcing the need to track condoms for monitoring and evaluating purposes, and that if they continued to not track condoms, the RC would not keep supplying. When the Land Board received their second box, the number of condoms distributed was more accurately tracked. 

A second problem was communication. When each institution was given their box, they were told to call the Red Cross when a new box was needed. However, several institutions did not call to request more condoms when they were out. For example, the Sefhare Primary School went through their box of condoms within three days, yet no one called to request a new box. A follow-up discussion was made with the institutions that had difficulty calling to request new condoms, and the responsibility of the contact person to call and request more condoms was further emphasized.

The last problem (and biggest) was transportation and supply. There were several institutions that distributed condoms at a rapid rate, however RC supply was inadequate to keep up with the demand. In addition, for most of April, the Red Cross combi did not have petrol, and was unable to help pick up condoms from the hospital and transport them to the different institutions. Furthermore, because of holiday breaks, the combi was unavailable to assist in condom distribution and collection. These problems persisted up until July, at which point I scheduled an appointment with the hospital to resolve the transportation and supply problems.

To resolve the problems with transportation and supply and communication, I approached the hospital with the following solution: At the beginning of each month, one member from the Red Cross will accompany the hospital car as it drives through Sefhare to drop off condoms. The number of boxes of condoms dropped off at each institution will be based on an estimated amount that the organization will go through during the month. For example, the Immigration Office went through about four boxes of condoms for the month. Therefore, at the beginning of the month four boxes of condoms will be dropped off. This will cut down on transportation time to the different institutions, as well as keep institutions supplied with condoms, so they don’t need to constantly call RC. 

In addition, an added benefit to the hospital taking over transportation will ensure that the project remains sustainable on both the hospital side and the Red Cross side. A sustainability problem I had was that my Field Officer and counterpart in the project was transferred to Gaborone, and therefore could not continue the project when I was away for trainings and workshops. Thus, organizations did not receive condoms for most of May, June and July. On the plus side, institutions we had supplied with condoms kept calling and requested more condoms because the demand for them was high. This let me know that condom distribution within Sefhare was needed and people were using the condoms. Thus, in order to ensure sustainability, the hospital will be in more control over the condom distribution process by providing distribution of the condoms, while Red Cross will be in charge of monitoring condom distribution. This will ensure that even after I leave, the project will be sustainable, as I have trained Red Cross members in tracking the numbers of condoms distributed in Sefhare.

The condom distribution campaign is the first project in Sefhare that I carried out as part of my Peace Corps service. I had helped on projects at the Red Cross before, but never had I spearheaded one myself. I am proud of the impact that it has had on the community and the direct effect it will have on promoting safer sex practices for youth and adults of both genders. In future blog articles, I will post results of the condom distribution campaign from different months so you can all see the allocation of condom use in Sefhare.