Over half way through...

I have been living in moz for over year now.    PCVs say that the year mark is the hardest and now I understand why.    I miss the United States of Ameerrica!    I miss Alex and I miss seeing my family grow and change.    So I decided to write a blog to focus on what I have learned thus far and all of the wonderful benefits of pcv life in Moz!

I have learned how to small talk!  haha   Im pretty sure that is my biggest personal accomplishment yet.   So for all of the people in the past that I have offended by not seeming interested in talking with, the truth is that I just didn’t know what to say.   So I apologize, but now I have plenty of ideas and practice on how to have an everyday conversation.   Typical conversation in moz… “good afternoon.  are you coming back from work?  Yes I am returning from work.  It was hot today, yes it was so hot today.    You are eating beans for lunch, yes I am eating lunch.  Ok well I am going to go and cook lunch too.  Ok compliment or say hello to your family (aka your dog and cat) at home”   People literally tell me to compliment my dog em casa because I live alone which is extremely strange for this culture.    Before I had a dog people would tell me to compliment my family in America at the end of every conversation.  Its also important to ask how someone slept when you see them in the morning. Sometimes you don’t even have to say anything. People are ok with sitting in silence here, don’t make it awkward, haha because they aren’t.       It doesn’t matter what you say, the point is that relationships are important.    

Something I find interesting and didnt see the point of but that I actually kind of like now…  If I am looking for something or someone in the community, you cannot just walk up to a house and ask where someone is.     First you have to greet the person in the yard, they will bring you a chair, you sit down with them, greet again and ask how they are, and then you can ask the question you came to ask.   This is a tradition with friends or strangers.   

I really like feeling part of a community here.   When I walk to the store down the street or into town I will usually see people I know and we will stop and converse for a short while and it makes me feel good to know that I am part of the community.   I not only feel like I have many acquaintances but also many good friends here.  When I arrived I really didn’t expect to have real friendships here because I didn’t think it would be possible to relate to people past a surface level.   But I have been very blessed to have friendships with young women around my age who are studying and waiting to get married or have a family, just as I am doing.    When I arrived here I always felt like an outsider but now I feel like I have a group of people I can feel at home with.   When I am with the preschool staff or with my REDES group or with my other girlfriends I feel completely comfortable like I belong here with them. 

I really like the fact that everybody is family in Moz.   All people older than you are your aunt or uncle, your older sister can be called mother as well and your friends are called sister or brother.    If you are at a friend’s house during lunch time you will eat with them.  I actually feel bad cause I hate moz food and the last two times I have been at my landlords house for all of 10 minutes his wife tries to feed me a meal and I have given excuses like … oh thank you, but I just bought food to cook with at home or I already ate.   I don’t think the excuse is sufficient but I just can’t do it haha cause its never just a small plate of food.

I like that people here have a lot of respect for the elderly.   Everyone who is elderly is called grandma or grandpa by any passersby and for the most part the elderly are taken care of by their families.   Any family member can live with any other family member.   I have neighbors who’s children go and live with aunts and uncles in Maputo so they can go to school.   I have another neighbor whos grandchildren live with them to go to school in chokwe.   So if you have family that lives in a town where you want your kid to go to school at, the child can live with that family no problem.    If someones parents die usually the children go to live with family… there are not many homeless people in moz.   The young does everryythinngg for people older than them.   If you are carrying a bag or a jacket the younger person walking with you will offer to carry it for you.   All the cooking, cleaning, bring me a cup of water … eveerrything is done by whoever is younger. 

I have had incredible work experience opportunities!   I am the current inter-group exchange coordinator for REDES.  We call these events trocas das experiencias or exchanges of experience, where two or more REDES groups get together and learn or teach the other group a skill.    My job description is to review applications for groups who want to have a “troca” group exchange and approve their activities and budget.  I will be writing monthly updates to all REDES participants about recent trocas and writing an annual report including budget details.  As troca coordinator I will also help coordinate annual regional REDES conferences.   

I have my own REDES group with whom I am able to facilitate weekly meetings and I have the freedom to teach the girls whatever I want, accompanied by which ever activity I choose.   I have already hosted my own troca between 6 groups, including 10 facilitators and 40 girls, where we learned how to make banana jam, discussed HIV and played soccer.   Planning the event was a great experience for me to see what all goes into planning an event for a large group from start to finish.  

Of course the language is a huge benefit that I don’t even realize.   I am going to make the transfer over to Spanish when I get home.  Spanish and Portuguese are extremely similar.   There are many of the same words, conjugations and the structure is the same.    I am so lucky to be able to learn Portuguese in Africa instead of French, English or a local dialect.   When I get home I will get a job with Spanish speakers in order to practice and not loose what I have learned thus far.  

I think another benefit that I do not realize I am gaining is some managerial experiences.   As a PCV you are expected to come into a group that does not know who you are, does not speak your language and tell them what they have been doing their whole lives is wrong and they should do it your way instead.   This is intimidating and in my opinion difficult to do.  It has been a constant struggle with preschool staff to have good supervision with the children.   There has been some tense moments but it really is for the safety and wellbeing of the children so I have been persistent.   I think the awkwardness has paid off because things have gotten better, not perfect but better.   

Sometimes it is difficult to take the lead and teach people who are older than myself something they think they already know.   But I have learned that it is what PC wants me to be doing and that the people here really do need the education and it is for their benefit.   I really try to approach the situation as being a part of a group and learning together because I don’t feel I have the authority to demand them to learn from me.   But I can see in the future when I am given the authority to lead a group that it will be a whole lot easier with the experience I have gained here.    And of course being able to speak in English in that situation will make things a whole lot easier. 

Mana Gloria

Mana (Sister) Gloria was the first person that I met from Chokwe.    Before volunteers go to where they will be living for the following two years, they attend a conference with their supervisors or counter parts and Gloria attended the conference with me as my counterpart.    I remember that the first day we had to present each other’s histories but we didn’t have enough time to discuss everything about ourselves.    So mana Gloria wrote down her history for me to read and was reviewing it with me while other people were presenting.    She was very worried about it, like we would be in trouble because we didn’t have enough information about each other.   I thought it was cute.  After the conference I moved into my new house in Chokwe.   Of course it is always hard and somewhat awkward to be living in a new place but mana Gloria was always welcoming with a smiling face, interested to talk and catch up with me whenever we worked together.   

A while back I got the chance to interview Gloria on her life story, in order to write a biography to share with churches in the states in hopes that she would get a sponsor to pay for her to go back to school.    She had been working in youth development for over 10 years, first with World Relief and then with Hlauleka.   While working for Hlauleka she facilitated kids clubs in the community 3 days a week.   When she was not teaching the kids clubs she would stay busy at the preschool buying our monthly supply of food, helping in the kitchen or in the classrooms.   She was married and a mother to 5 children of her own but also a stand in mother to multiple orphans in her neighborhood.   Gloria had a heart for children, especially orphans because her husband was an orphan.    During the interview we talked about the fact that she would be going to school out of town and so her husband would have to help out a lot more at home.  He said he didn’t mind and that he wanted her to take the opportunity to go to school.   In this culture that is nothing less than amazing for a man to be willing to do this for his wife.  It was really cool to see a relationship like that within this society. 

Later on in the year I invited Gloria to another conference where we learned about grant writing and project management together.    On the drive to the conference we chatted and laughed a lot.  I remember there were some Asian people on the bus with us and she asked me if I could ever marry a Chinese person.   I told her I could, that race wasn’t important to me and we had a long conversation about relationships and different cultures.   During the 3 day conference we worked together to write out a chicken raising project proposal.   When we returned home we continued writing and planning for the project and before I left to visit the states in Sept 2012 I turned in the proposal to Peace Corps.   I am still waiting to hear their response.  

Unfortunately Mana Gloria had been sick since 2008 and was only getting worse with time.   She always felt weak and sick and had been coughing up blood for a long time.   She had gone to both hospitals in Chokwe to try and discover the problem but no one could diagnose her.     Instead of sending her to specialists to find the real problem the hospital prescribed her tuberculosis medication for 6 months.  Finally after the meds didn’t fix the problem they referred her to the hospital in Maputo.   When I was traveling to Maputo to come visit the states in Oct Gloria was on the same bus.  We sat together and were able to chat a little bit.  She had some tests done in Maputo and returned home.   A few weeks later she got up to use the bathroom early in the morning and passed out on her way back to bed.    They took her to the hospital but she passed away a few hours later. 

When I returned from the states the first thing I was told is that there is bad news … Mana Gloria died.   I didn’t know how to react.  I was told so nonchalant, matter of factly, it just caught me off guard.   We attended the funeral the next day.  There was three parts to the funeral.    First everyone met at her house.  Neighbors, family, co-workers etc… it was a packed house, inside and out.    They had her body at the house and were letting people walk through to look at her.  I realize now that I got there as soon as her children were walking out from seeing her.   I am friends with all of her children and that was definitely the hardest part, seeing each of them reacting in their own painful way. 

I saw Tlongi, 14, first and she was being carried by 2 women screaming crying mama! Mama!  As I walked closer to the house I saw Milda, 19, sitting against a wall on the ground crying by herself.  A little further in front was Katoura, 18, who had already passed out once that day.  She just looked like a zombie, completely void of any emotions or thoughts.   Dorka,13, came out of the house crying being held by 3 women, collapsing and having to be carried.   Nelson, 10, came out being helped by 2 ladies, went and laid down with someone.    It became very real after seeing these children morn for their mother who they had all been so close with. 

My co-worker, Paulo, told me he would go with me if I wanted to see the body, but before I had a chance to respond my other co-worker came and brought me to where all the preschool staff were sitting.    When I first walked in I didn’t recognize anyone but as I looked around I realized that I knew everyone around me.   Our whole group was sitting together crying for their loss, so I just joined right in.   After a little while we all got up and got in cars to go to the church.   Friends and local business owners offered their cars to transport everybody to the church and later to the cemetery.   I think there were around 10 busses and trucks packed beyond capacity. 

In the car ride over some of my co-workers just lost it, whimpering uncontrollably.  I could feel that this was becoming real, the last goodbye.   We all entered the church and listened to a few groups of people sing songs and say something about Gloria.  They opened the casket one last time for people to see the body but I just couldn’t do it.   I know its supposed to be for closure but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.     We got back in the cars again to go to the cemetery and we sat for a while more while they buried her and said some more words.   The whole ceremony was in changana so I couldn’t understand anything.  

Afterwards we all went back to her house to talk and eat some food.   The family slaughtered a cow and cooked 75 kilos of rice for all of the guests.  It was very odd to me that as soon as we left the cemetery people’s demeanor immediately changed.  They were back to normal, like they had done their morning and now the event was over.    The older children were still distraught but the younger two were even smiling and helping serve food.  The way this culture deals with death is just amazing to me.   I guess if you dwelled on every death you would be constantly depressed but it is still something I don’t understand.  

People here do not die just from HIV/AIDS.  They die from unnecessary, treatable illnesses.   I am not saying that what Gloria died from was preventable but I do know she would have had a much better chance with better doctors and technology to help her.    It just irks me that her husband and close friends are doctors and still no one saw this situation as grave, needing immediate attention.   She had been sick coughing up blood for over 4 years and worked up until her last day.   

Instead of dumping butt loads of money into “fixing the problem of HIV” foreign aid should be going towards education and work experience opportunities.   Doctors should know that yes, coughing up blood is grave, usually ending in death and should be taken very seriously!   I heard recently that the only thing doctors in moz can diagnose is HIV, malaria and TB and from my experiences here it seems pretty true.   Because of this doctors just hand out malaria and TB meds like candy when they cannot find the real problem, thus provoking the sicknesses even more.   

I guess I just feel like putting money towards HIV is an easy out, only dealing with the surface issue that cannot be fixed without really getting to the deep rooted problem which is lack of education and experience.     But that would just take too much time and energy to deal with… lets just give them the medication… never REALLY monitor or evaluate the process and hope the problem fixes itself.       If we really want to help these people merely giving them medication and training them on how to use it, one time per year, is simply not enough!   Sorry if the end seems like a tangent but it is all relative to me. 

Formacoes/ Trainings

Recently I have been blessed to able to participate in two really great trainings/conferences. The first was a training for coaching youth in soccer, with a health/HIV component as well. I was asking a PE teacher for his feedback on a youth soccer program I am working on and he mentioned that he was going to a training the next week for all the PE teachers and coaches in Chokwe. So I casually invited myself, lol and he accepted. I had no idea that it would be a three day training complete with lunch each day, actually playing soccer, a manual and of course a certificate. Mozambicans are real big on certificates and cannot complete a training or conference without one to add to their resume.

Each day we have practical training where we practiced simple drills of all the basic skills and it was pretty humorous because me and my friend Elisabetta had to play with grown men who were experienced players and we had never played before. Some of the activities were practicing head butting the ball and a team building exercise where we closed our eyes and our partner led us around the field. The catch to the team building activity was that we couldn’t talk, we had to use hand motions to communicate and the motion to start walking was a slap on the butt LOL a tap on the shoulder to turn left and right. I chose to break the rules and just tell the guy to walk but he did not return the curtsy haha but all jokes aside it was harmless and my partner was a respectable guy.

It was a really great experience and opportunity to meet a lot of contacts in Chokwe. We will be starting our project soon and I was able to get everyone’s names and contacts to participate in our project! The training was led by German government and the National Mozambican Futebol (soccer) League! This was an amazing opportunity to stumble upon. We are going to invite the leader of the Moz Futebol to our final meeting with PC for our project in hopes to create a partnership between the two organizations. The best possible outcome would be that Moz Futebol funds our project and helps us train our coaches… so all prayers for that J But if nothing else Moz Futebol will be aware of our project and be able to help us promote it.

The other training was the REDES conference in July for all the groups in Gaza and Maputo provinces. REDES is a group for young girls to learn about health, women empowerment and entrepreneurship to better their futures. I have a group of around 20 girls in Chokwe. We were able to bring 3 girls from our group as well as our Mozambican counterpart. I brought two girls from my neighborhood, my counterpart and an older girl that we are friends with that might help facilitate in the future.

There was over 100 girls ages 10-24 as well as the facilitators and PCVs. It was a 4 day conference held at a high school in Macia, Gaza. We were served 3 meals a day and snacks in between. Every day was filled with sessions covering topics of HIV, self-esteem, finances, reproductive system of a woman, communication with sexual partners, yoga, how to make jewelry and more! It was awesome and it feels really great to be a part of something where you can see a tangible difference being made in the life of young Mozambican girls.

It was also a great experience to be a part of the behind the scenes organizing/coordinating part of the conference. PCVs were responsible for assisting a Mozambican facilitators in their session, preparing materials, shopping for food, preparing snacks and serving meals. Each day there was a facilitator training where our Mozambican partners discussed how things were going and asked any questions they had. PCVs were able to participate in this activity as well.

In the next year the current PCVs leading the REDES program will hand over the project to my group and I hope to be involved in the planning of conferences and other events. There are several leadership positions available for the REDES group such as curriculum development, program director and financial director. I might be interested in being the contact person for my province if possible and depending on the responsibilities. However, right now I don’t have time to be a part of leadership, I just want to continue my own group in Chokwe as well as stay active in helping planning and participating in events.

Vamos Jogar!

Me and my friend Elisabetta are working on a new project that we hope will become a new Peace Corps secondary project.  Currently the PC secondary projects are REDES, a project that teaches young girls about health, income generation projects and woman empowerment.   There is JUNTOS which includes boys and girls and teaches about HIV and health through the arts: photography, drawing, painting, dance, drama and music.   There is English Theatre where Mozambicans can practice their English by writing a play and presenting it in a competition against other PC English Theatre groups.   There is also Science Fair where students can compete in a science competition.   We are starting a competitive sports project that will include boys and girls, soccer and hopefully basketball and volleyball in the future.   We will be teaching about health, values and entrepreneurship in efforts to fight against HIV, corruption and aid dependency.  

We are including ages 11-18 that will make up soccer teams with a maximum of 20 people.  The coaches of each team will participate in a training in the beginning of the season to learn how to teach about the various health and values lessons.   Each coach will receive a manual that describes the each lesson accompanied by a related activity.  The coach will present the lessons at each game and so not only can the players can learn but the audience will have the opportunity to participate.  

The PCV and coaches will lead a life skills workshop two times per month.   The topics of the workshops will range from cooking demonstrations to practice good nutrition, guest speakers sharing information on their profession and the steps it took to reach their position, or how to make toys out of wire that the youth can sell.    The workshops are meant to put the health lessons into practice, learn how to make crafts that youth can sell, and get them excited about the future possibilities of education and careers.   At the end of the year we will have another training and follow up for the coaches.   The PCV will be responsible for checking in with the coaches throughout the year to ensure that they are giving the health lessons and participating in the preparation and presentation of the workshops. 

We have had one meeting with PC staff to explain the project and see what the steps are to get PC to fund it and put their name on it so other PCVs can participate in the future.  They liked the idea and told us to apply for a grant to fund the first year and if it goes well they will recommend the project to the public affairs office, which funds all other PC projects.  We are still working out all the logistics and trying to put together a manual which has been a long process. 

We are trying to include the community as much as possible.   We are currently working with the directors of youth sports and activities of Chokwe and Guija to get their opinions and cooperation for the project.   It is going to be huge if they can actually organize things through their side in the government and community because at the end of the day we want this to be a project run solely by Mozambicans.  

In efforts to involve the community we are also holding a competition for the high school students the design the name and logo.  We are handing out a flyer to the art and PE teachers that explains the competition and what we are looking for in the name.   We also handed out documents with the projects description, mission, vision, goals, objectives and a list of the lessons to various community members to get their opinions and to help with correcting spelling and grammar of Portuguese.   

We are getting down to the final steps of writing our grant proposal to PC and editing all of our documents.  We have had 2 games between our two towns, Chokwe and Guija.  Guija won the first game and the second game was a tie… Chokwe is going to win the next one!    After the grant is approved we will start implementing the project throughout Mozambique and start writing the very detailed manual in English and Portuguese.   The project is a lot of work but we are really excited and motivated to be completely finished by the end of our service!  

Malaria

 
Most people think that HIV/AIDS is the biggest problem in Mozambique.  It is a big problem, that is true, but in reality more people die from malaria in Mozambique than from AIDS.   Malaria is a tropical disease that is contracted from mosquitos.   Malaria is fatal and can kill an adult within a week, it can even take the life of a child within days.   Malaria is more dangerous than other fatal sicknesses due to the commonality of the symptoms.    Symptoms can range from a head ach, fever, stomach ach, diarrhea, and vomiting.  So you can see why it would be difficult to diagnose malaria when the symptoms could lead to any number of things.   

 In Mozambique it is very common for someone to get malaria multiple times a year.  The symptoms are similar to those of the flu or common cold.  It is such a common disease that the hospitals hand out medication without even testing for the sickness.    Many times medical staff assumes that someone has malaria and prescribes the medication, when in fact it is a different sickness.  When this happens the patient creates anti-bodies for the medicine and becomes more resistant the next time they actually have malaria.   Due to the different strands of malaria and people becoming resistant to the medication it is becoming harder and harder to control.  

One of the many methods to fight against malaria is the use of mosquito nets but unfortunately a lot of people either don’t have them or don’t use them.    The problem is that people either cannot afford to buy them, they don’t like to use them because sleeping under a net can trap the heat or its just annoying to put up and down every day.    People here are so used to getting malaria and it becomes normal and so prevention goes out the window.   

One of my goals for this year is to start mosquito net distribution to the families in our orphan and vulnerable children program.  Hopefully we can distribute nets and teach about the importance of using a net and how it can significantly lower the rate of malaria.   I will also be preparing lessons on malaria that will be presented to kids clubs and the guardians of the orphans in our program.     

One of my fellow pcvs is working on malaria awareness and our goal is to raise awareness through blogging for the month of April!  So I am really late haha but better late than never  :D

Paulo

This blog is about my friend and co-worker Paulo.  We work together at a christain preschool called Hlauleka, which means praise in the local language.   He is enrolled in college right now but did not recieve the financial support that he  was counting on from the preschool, and is therefore having a hard time paying for school.   He is a really nice christian guy with a young family to take care of and I think he really deserves the extra help. 

 The director of the preschool came up with the idea that Paulo could pay for half of his tuition up front and have the other half loaned to him by the preschool.   After he graduated, he would be contracted to work with the preschool for two years and pay off the debt.   However the preschool functions completely on donations.  So I interviewed Paulo and wrote his story to share with the regular donating churches and personal friends of the director, in hopes of getting some extra finances for him specifically.    The donated money would be processed through the preschools bank account but would go directly towards the loan he would be working off in the two years following his graduation.  

 I really like this idea because most of the time people here just get free hand outs. Free aid has become part of the culture, which ultimately is not helpful because the people arent learning how to be self sufficient.  So this plan of a loan system is great and really progressive! 

 Unfortunetly, none of the friends or church donors have offered to help him.  The preschool is also having trouble with finances at the moment so they are not able to help Paulo as planned.  He was depending on the money and Im afraid he might have to drop out of school if he doesnt figure something out soon.  There is no financial aid system for education in Mozambique like there is in the states so it is really hard for people to get  a college education.  

Paulo did not ask me for help, he just mentioned his financial dificulty in conversation this week.   I thought it would be worth it to check and see if anyone at home was interesting in helping him finish his education.  His school is between $100-$150 per month but I am not sure of the exact amount.  If anyone is interested in even making a one time donation, I know it would be greatly appreciated!   Any amount of donated money would be recorded and paid back after he graduates.   So in retrospect, your donated money would be put back towards the preschools finances in a few years when he pays it back from his salary.   

Here is Paulo's Story:

Paulo was born in 1984 in Guija, District of Chokwe, Province of Gaza.   Paulo finished primary and secondary school in Chokwe.   He has two siblings, one brother and one sister.  His mother still lives in Chokwe, however his father passed away in 1991.   Paulo was married to his wife Rebeca in 2010 and they had their first child in 2011.   They had a baby girl, Ilda, who is now four months old. 

In 2008 Paulo started working at Hlauleka as a driver and administrative coordinator.   Paulo also manages all of the construction projects for Hlauleka.   Some of his responsibilities at the preschool are to file government documents, make bank deposits, pay utility bills, maintain vehicles, process salaries, and create the report of income and expenses. 

In order to improve the quality of his work at the preschool, Paulo would like to attend an 18 month course for public administration in Chokwe.   He is going to finish his last year of secondary school at the same time as the first semester of college.   Paulo will continue working for Hlauleka during the day and attend school in the evenings.  Paulo said “I have difficulties with finances and this money would help me immensely, in order to complete my education.”

Paulo enjoys working at the preschool and working with the children.   Each morning he picks the children up and drops them off in the afternoon, so he is able to get to know the children and their families very well.   In the future he would like to see the preschool grow in many areas.   At the moment we have one car but he would like to see us have 3 cars for the children.  We are also in need of an office and he would like to manage the building project in the future.     

Outside of work Paulo is actively involved with his church.  He has music practice on Saturdays and leads music on Sundays.   He is also the activities director for his church.  On his free time Paulo likes to spend time with his family, read the bible and work on cars.      

Please let me know if you are intersted in helping Paulo!!  You can leave a comment here on my blog or send me a facebook message.   Thanks!!

Wish List

In case you are dying to send me something in Africa!

I just wanted to make a list of possibly needed items in case any of you just cant wait another minute to send me a care package in Mozambique!    There are just some things that I cant get here, are really hard to get or are expensive.   

Frisbee:

I think Frisbee would be a really fun game to play here!  I have never seen a Frisbee here before so it might be something completely new for the youth.

sauce packets:

My most common meal in Moz is pasta and so having sauce packets are a real treat.  Im not a huge fan of red sauce, so I make a lot of white pasta sauces.    I can make them from scratch but milk can get expensive so having a alfredo, pesto, cheese or any other white sauce packet would be great. 

Pictures:

I would love to have more pictures of friends and family to decorate my house with.  New or old pictures, anything would be great.  I can actually print out pictures here but it can get pretty pricey and it is fun to see what pictures other people have.   

garlic salt

flea collar / drops:

I have a cat and a dog now but flea drops or collars are not available where I live.

Parmesan cheese: 

The powder kind that is in a plastic bottle would be amazing to have for pastas

Cleaning materials for computer:

Wipes for my computer screen and an air soft can for cleaning my keyboard are not available here

Seeds:

cilantro, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, zucchini, herbs, carrots, lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin, lavender (natural pesticide)…

any plants that grow in a hot climate would be great.  I am planting a garden at my house, the preschool I work at, maybe one with my co-workers at the hospital and maybe one with the girls group I facilitate.  Having a garden here is a real solution to malnutrition and a lack of food for people living with HIV/AIDS.   Gardening is a great way to teach about the importance of nutrition and introducing new cooking techniques.  Cant have too many seeds!!

Plastic popsicles kit:

I used to use a plastic popsicle kit with my grandma when I was little.  She used to freeze orange juice and I could use it for all kinds of stuff here.  Im not sure if they are even still sold but just in case J

AAA battaries

Canned Cat/dog food

Hair conditioner

Hand gardening shovel:

Im going to buy a home made metal shovel type tool … haha … but who knows when that will actually get made so in the meantime a small hand held gardening shovel would be perfect for working at home

Thin/med sized yarn:

My girls empowerment group (REDES) is interested in crocheting and so yarn would be useful.

Bubbles:  Any kind.. they are not available here. 

The address is

PCV
Corpo da Paz/US Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, MOZ

If you write To: Sister Hannah and Jesus Loves You all over the box, it has a better chance of arriving untouched.  Packages are sometimes compromised en route to Moz, but not as much as if people think it is religious material :) 

Thank you soo soo much to anyone who can send any of these items! 

Read this as the first blog in Feb!

12-7-11

I thought it would feel like a life time here but it has already been 6 months and I have events planned out, for basically, the next two years.     Im really excited about my next adventure … going home for a two week visit at the end of December.   I want to make it to Carnaval in Quilemane in Feb 2012, I have a conference with Peace Corps in March for financial planning, Bush Fire music festival in May, mid-service sometime in June, I might be traveling up north to visit friends in Aug, going home again in Sept to visit family and hopefully to go to Heathers wedding, Alex is visiting in April 2013, and my service ends in July/Aug 2013.  I want to travel for about a month after service with friends and then go home.    In between all of the events listed I will have other PC conferences, REDES events, English club, maybe become a part of the peer support network and of course my actual jobs with the preschool and hospital/HIV association, not to mention the random weekend trips and PCV get togethers.   I thought that I would have a lot of down time here but it turns out that I will be extremely busy!    The time is going to go by sooo fast, I am enjoying every minute so far and I hope I will continue to live in the moment and value the rest of my experiences here. 

One of the organizations that I work with is called Hlauleka, which means to stand out or be different, and was taken from a bible story.  It is a Christian org and has a lot of different departments.  It has parenting classes, youth clubs, kid clubs, a preschool and supports orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).  Today me and the director of the preschool, Sybil, reviewed the monthly financial reports and created an annual financial report that we will use to improve finances for next year.   Later I went with Sergio, head of the OVC department, to visit some of the OVC families.   OVCs include children that live with a single parent, and extended family member, or just lives with older brothers and sisters.   During our visits I was able to ask if they had necessities such as food, clothes and school supplies for next year and hygiene products.   We also asked how many children were in the family, if they passed their classes this year, how the families buy food, and if they had water available.  Some of the family leaders didn’t speak Portuguese so Sergio translated for me.   Hlauleka supports the entire family of the OVC, not just the child that comes to the preschool or is in the clubs.   Some of these families are just kids and have no way of buying food or anything and so they depend fully on Hlauleka.   I am going to do more visits tomorrow and my goal is to make a list of all the OVCs, their families, living conditions, needs, etc.   I want to hold classes for the families on how to properly use mosquito nets, hygiene, nutrition etc.   Some of the family members volunteer at the preschool as payment for their child to attend the school and so I also want to schedule a day where we can clean, prep and plant the garden at the preschool.   The families can take food from the garden and we also serve the kids at the preschool breakfast and lunch. 

My other job at the hospital is a little less eventful right now.   Right now I work with an org, ICAP, at the hospital but it is being replaced by EGPAF, which are both American orgs.   I am working with the HIV positive volunteers with ICAP to form their own association and we just turned in some of our forms on Saturday.   Now we are just waiting to hear from the government for approval and then we are going to start on writing our by-laws and constitution.  Once everything is official we will be training the peer educators who will be doing the educating and visiting the public, educating people on HIV, visiting HIV positive people we are not currently taking medication and trying to convince them to get on get treatment, creating gardens, working on environmental projects, income generating projects and more!  So I think it is a slow start but it will get to a productive state eventually.  The great news is that a friend of a friend approached me with a project idea and so now he is just getting on board with the association we were already starting.  He is really motivated, organized and has tons of great ideas!  I think he is going to be the leader of the association which is nice cause it takes the spotlight off of me and the project is sustainable after I leave.  

This Saturday I am having my first REDES meeting and we are making friendship bracelets.  I invited about 15 girls and I think we will have a good turnout.   PC actually gives me quite a bit of money to buy whatever activities the girls are interested in doing.  There will be conferences where the girls can share their experiences and get a chance to travel, which is rare in this country.   I will be working with a Mozambican woman who is a great remodel for the girls.  She is 24, she went to college and is looking for a job, she’s not married, has no kids and is not HIV positive.   I also have a few guest speakers lined up, who will talk to the girls about different options they have for their futures.   PC gave me an amazing book, in English and Portuguese, that I can use for discussions and activities with the girls.  Im really excited and hope that the girls like the group, learn and grow J 

I also want to start an English club.   Basically everyone wants to learn English here.  They learn a little in school and so my most common greeting is “hello, how are you? I am fine, thank you” as one full sentence haha.    I just hope that I have time for everything I want to do here.   I am used to being busy in the states and I think I just need to adjust to being busy in Africa instead of adapting to the slow pace culture here, cause that is easy to get sucked into.    I am really excited to take a break, visit home and come back rejuvenated!  Im so excited for the future and getting these programs off the ground!

And it begins!

Time goes by so fast here!  That is a good thing but it also makes it hard to keep up with everything I want to do and accomplish.    I feel really lucky to have so much work as a PCV because its usually just the opposite.   I am actually too busy to do everything I want to do or have enough free time.  

As of now, my work at the hospital is on hold.   ICAP (org at hospital) will not be working in Gaza province anymore and EGPAF (new org at hospital) will be replacing them, but they will not be starting until April.   But I will still be working with various community members and activisitas on forming our own association, so they don’t have to rely on foreign aid.    I am really fortunate to be working with the leader of the group who is extremely motivated and has tons of great ideas.   On the other hand, he can be a bit overbearing with all the texting suggestions, updates and brainstorming sessions that he wants me to be involved in.   We had our first meeting, with all the members of the association, this Saturday where we read and reviewed the by-laws/constitution.   One person read in Portuguese and a translator explained in the local language, Changana.    The positions of power, president, activities coordinator, secretary and financial coordinator were also decided on during the meeting.    Each elected position chose someone to help them as second in command or a sub-chefe.     We still need to revise and add to the by-laws but after that all we have to do is turn in the paperwork and pay the fees to become legalized.    The process went a lot faster than I was expecting and I hope all of our activities and projects are just as successful.    I cant take credit for any of it though, it was all due to the dedication of the activities coordinator/group leader, Cesar. 

The preschool is also going really well and we have started off a new school year strong!   I introduced a new idea to the preschool this year, of a theme of the week, to try and improve teaching skills and techniques.  Some of the topics that we will cover are supervision, patience, learning through play, shy children, different learning styles etc.   I will be planning the discussions/palestras throughout the week with the new supervisor (Celeste) and we will present to the teachers on Mondays.   We have created a supervisor/principle position at the preschool to make sure the staff is on task during the day and that operations run smoothly.   I am working with her as a sort of consultant/advisor/helper.  I am trying to help Celeste develop computer skills by having her type out the new forms we are going to use for this year.   She is learning quickly and I think it will be beneficial. 

  Last week I interviewed 3 staff members, who are trying to go to college this year, about their education, family and work history.   We are trying to get each of them a sponsor who will pay half of their tuition and they will pay for the other half with their salaries from the preschool.  When they finish school they will pay the preschool back for the donated money from the sponsor.   I think this is a really great system because the money from the sponsor can go back into the preschool/org and the staff is learning about using loans instead of just handouts.  

We also have a new English teacher, who came from the Michigan, so I will be helping and translating for her as well.  She will be teaching 3, 4, and 5 year olds at the preschool, kids clubs, youth clubs and preschool staff.   I will only be helping her when we are both at the preschool, if I have time, so its not a main focus.   She is really cool and I hope she likes it here and I can help her adjust to the culture.      

On Saturday I will be working with the guardians of the orphan, that attend the preschool, in the machamba (garden).   Hopefully we can get the whole space cleared out and ready for planting!   We want to plant in Feb, March and April… so it begins!!   I really want to try and use the perma-gardening techniques that PC taught us during training.  Its really great because Sybil (owner of the preschool) saw the technique used in S Africa and she brought back the biggest beat roots I have ever seen!  They were as big as small pumpkins!!  So we are both really excited to test out perma-gardening and hopefully we will get good results.  

I am also planning to work with the director of the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) department and do monthly lectures/palestras on health issues in the community.    I also want to work with him in the financial area, just to help him learn how to be more organized and structured.   Its really interesting how there are little things that I take for granted, like learning how to make check lists or use a daily planner, that can really improve the operations of an org.  

I have had 5 REDES meetings thus far and I think it is going good.    Im realizing that I like having smaller groups of girls, so that I can talk to the girls individually and get to know them better.   The first 2 meetings we had between 15-25 girls and that is just too many to really do an activity, let alone learn their names.    Im lucky to have access to a so many girls because of the youth clubs at Hlauleka.  Most of the girls that come to REDES also go to the youth clubs.   So far we have made bracelets, necklaces, crocheted, played games, drew, danced and sang.  Next week we will be sewing but I really want to start incorporating more structured discussions in our meetings.   That is really my main point of doing the group, is to talk with young girls about their options and decisions for the future.  Hopefully some of the girls will choose to further their education and have careers instead of becoming young stay at home mothers.   It is really amazing to see youth, like preschool staff and my REDES counterpart, succeed and choose a unique path in life for Mozambicans because of Sybil and Hlaulekas influences on them.  I am really blessed to be able to be a part of that and hopefully add to it as well.  

I am trying to start an English club as well but it is really hard to find a time that works for everyone to meet because the youth here go to school in the morning and at night.  So there will always be someone who is not included.   I have already dedicated all day wed to REDES so that all of the girls can participate and I just don’t know if I will have time to do an English club.  I really want to keep my weekends open because I have monthly meetings with the preschool, I want to have the freedom to travel from time to time and just have a break from everything to be honest.   But for now it is on Thursdays at 5:30pm.  I have had one meeting and not a lot of people showed.  I want to play games where we can practice English and have a discussion topic for each week.   People learn English in school but they all want a place to be able to practice and conversate so I hope this group will be sufficient. 

So sorry this blog is so long and has so much info… I have not been very good with keeping up with it but lets just hope for the future :D