A Volunteer's Story: From Botswana to Malawi

My time in Mochudi, Botswana was defined by my internship with BOFWA, or the Botswana Family Welfare Association. Mochudi's a fairly large village boasting over 40,000 residents, and after my last homestay in Manayan (4,000 people), Mochudi took some real getting used to. It has its own transportation system with at least 8 different routes going in all different directions, one internet cafe, four grocery stores, a lodge and a really cute main street with lots of little shops. I stayed with a great family for about three and a half weeks, working a total of 15 days for BOFWA.

BOFWA itself is based in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana and has five branches in other villages, Mochudi being one of them. There were two paid staff members and a number of volunteers in Mochudi. BOFWA offers a number of services to the community. There is a large hall that can be rented out for functions (the Ministry of Agriculture held two events and the Mochudi Police Department threw a party), an HIV testing facility (Botswana has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world after Swaziland), a full clinic, basketball/netball/tennis courts that could be rented by adults or used for free by kids, and an afterschool center for Mochudi's youth. In addition, the volunteers of BOFWA will present or provide information on any topic to whoever asks for it.

 

I talked about the negative effects drug and alcohol abuse can have a community to a group of Standard 7 students during my first week with the organization. Although it was a slightly different topic than I normally cover with World Camp, returning to the front of a full classroom felt familiar and comfortable. It was a slightly frustrating experience as my Setswana, the most common language in Botswana, wasn’t as good as I would have liked for such a specific presentation. Although the students are taught in English, they couldn’t really understand anything I said, and my supervisor had to sum up my presentation once I had finished.

I also spent two mornings every week at Motswedi Rehab Center, a boarding school for the physically and mentally handicapped. Sometimes I played games like Simon Says or Duck Duck Goose with the older kids and then talked about hygiene, sex or abuse. The discussions were much like those I’ve experienced in Empowerment with World Camp, and I was again reminded that youth all over the world are facing the same issues and have the same questions. Other days at Motswedi, I stayed in the physical therapy room and played with the younger kids between their sessions. It was incredibly difficult to watch these kids be stretched out as they screamed in pain, but also knowing it would help so much in the long run.

Like so many NGOs, BOFWA’s biggest obstacle is funding. Although partially funded by the Botswana government, BOFWA is completely underfunded. It was frustrating to see such a vital and effective organization not be able to reach its potential because of a lack of money. With only one person working in the clinic, clients were sometimes turned away if Kealeboga, the supervisor and trained nurse, wasn’t in for the day. The Mochudi branch used to have a car to drive volunteers to events, but it was stolen and they haven’t been able to buy another.

I loved being on the other side of the HIV epidemic. Instead of solely teaching about HIV like I do with World Camp in Malawi, I watched adults come in for testing. I saw couples walk in together and walk into the counseling room separately. I saw kids playing netball after school and the BOFWA staff happy that they weren’t on the streets. I saw dedicated individuals talking to schoolchildren about the dangers of unprotected sex and malnutrition. I watched my colleagues pay their own khombi (public busses) fares to get to presentations around Mochudi. And, and what reminded me most of Malawi, are the incredible people I met who are completely dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV and saving lives in their community. 

Submitted by: Karen Clark, Coordinator, January 2010 volunteer

*Part IV in our Reflections series. Email submissions to info@worldcampforkids.org or katy@worldcampforkids.org. All forms of reflection encouraged!