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