Projects, Crocodiles, and Jesus was Circumcised

A lot of people back home have been asking me what I'm doing, what projects I have been and will be apart of. That's an excellent question; one that I've been unable to answer until recently. Being a Peace Corps health extension volunteer focusing on HIV and AIDS prevention and impact mitigation in Swaziland is challenging. While it is wonderful having the freedom to choose what we want to do in our community, it is equally as frustrating figuring out what we can contribute to society which will be sustainable and where we will not be just another "Santa Claus": a white man handing out free gifts. Over the past few months, taking into account both the successful and failed projects of volunteers in the past, I've come to realize that my talents will best be used through schools and dealing directly with the children and young adults. I want to be involved directly with the youth- knowing that if change is going to happen in this country it will have to start from them. Behavior change is what we're aiming for, so we should get them when their young. (Plus they are the only ones that speak English- so I have to take what I can get).

I am currently teaching computer classes and physical education/swimming classes in the schools. The swimming classes are in a community a couple hours away from site but I make the trip once a week because I am desperate to get into water. Though I have been going to the school for months, last week was the first time I have actually taught a swimming class. The lightning storms are intense here (Swaziland has the highest number of lightning strikes in the world). I've never been afraid of storms until now, when lightning struck my hut a few months ago. Either it struck my hut directly, or struck a tree and the tree fell on my roof but there was an incredibly loud bang on my roof, followed by sparks flying out of my electric socket, then a full body convulsion/shock. I'm officially terrified of lighting storms. Anyways, last term every single swim lesson coincided with the lightning storms meaning we spent the days inside a gym with children playing duck duck goose, dodge ball, and running laps. Yes, I am that uncreative. This past weekend was the first time I got in the water with the kids and it felt absolutely wonderful! When I told a few of my community members about the swimming classes, they were jealous that I was teaching another community how to swim. I proceeded to offer them lessons in the dam with which they always responded with, "AIESH! no. We cannot. The dam... no. Aiesh!" No further explanation was ever offered. Many community members have hinted that "something" may live in there. But then others would laugh and say, "it is fine, nothing lives in there". Thus began my ever curiosity of figuring out if in fact there were crocodiles and/or hippos in the community dam.

As the rainy season continued, that dam which is in between me and my nearest PCV, overflowed and has become a river. When it rains too heavily, her transportation stops and nothing comes in or out of the community, and when transport stops, the only way out of the community is by foot. Either crossing the river (sometimes getting waist deep), or taking a shortcut to my community and passing through marshlands where the dam has overflowed. Over the past few months when I grew bored, I would take the trek out to her and cross the river. Then, in late January news came out that a 14 year old boy was eaten by a crocodile in my community. My community is very large and the river in which the boy was playing in is far away from where I reside. As I was talking to my Make (mother) about it, my bhuti (brother) said he and his friends saw a crocodile in our "river" which is so incredibly small that in the dry season it's a small pond at most. This river connects to the dam, meaning that the crocodile lives in there. As I pressed further into the issue, I found out from a friend that in 2008 a child was eaten by a crocodile in that dam. Everyone knew about this, and yet they pretend nothing lives in there? Aiesh! I now stay away from all shortcuts (marshlands).

Besides teaching computer and swim lessons, I had hoped to teach a life skills class and a health class this term but it has been pushed back until next term as other projects have taken precedence. One of my biggest projects that I am thrilled to be apart of is with our Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Youth Club. OVCs are children who have lost one or both of their parents who may live with relatives that often don't have the means to support themselves let alone their children and the children of their deceased relatives. Some OVCs don't get fed daily, some are beaten, and some are kept from school to work and to "earn their keep". My counterpart is an OVC herself and explained how important it is to know that you are not alone and that with hard work things don't have to stay the same (you don't have to rely on others your whole life). My counterpart started this youth group with another PCV in the community over and I fell in love with the idea, jumped on board, and started helping them expand in my community. We are teaching them how to sell sweets (the value of earning money, saving, and basic business skills) and how to sew. We are currently in the process of obtaining a piece of land to teach the children how to garden and grow vegetables in order to eat healthier and avoid malnutrition and to sell vegetables to earn a profit. This past Christmas we held a Christmas party for the OVCs and we used the money that they had earned to buy them things they needed: i.e. underwear, soap, candles, matches. It was incredibly touching as you can imagine. But, the biggest project that I am devoting all of my time and energy to is building a dam. Peace Corps as a whole, usually abstains from getting involved with large infrastructure projects due to many factors and I now understand why. This project was handed down to me, and while I am more than happy to help them complete it, I cannot wait until this headache is done and over with. That is why for the next 6 months I am devoting ALL of my time and energy into finishing this...

More entertainingly, in January I was also invited to be apart of the Male Circumcision nation wide campaign that will be starting up in Swaziland very soon. Futures group (from the US) has partnered up with the Ministry of Health in Swaziland with a goal to have 240,000 men ages 15-49 circumcised. I was part of a group of people selected to do marketing research within the rural communities. We were to ask 10 people what they thought about various logos and phrases. It was highly entertaining as my community STRONGLY opposes male circumcision. After each interview I spent a good 30 minutes to an hour debating with each person, and explaining why it is healthier for men to be circumcised. *Mind you- I am a woman in a very traditional community talking to men about sensitive issues*

Here are some entertaining excuses and reasoning on their part:
- If Jesus wanted me to be without the skin He would have created me without it
- what will you do with the skin afterward? You just want to put magic on me (voodoo of some sorts)
- Jesus does not want me to
- Circumcision is against the Bible
- Will you do the procedure? I will do it if you circumcise me (talking about me personally snipping)
- man: "No woman will want to be with me if I am circumcised. Would you want to be with me?" Me: "Circumcised is the only way I would go. Almost all men in America are circumcised." man: "you are lying!" me: "why would I lie to you about that? No American woman would have you if not" (Ok, maybe I did lie a little I'm sure there are American woman who support it- BUT the tune changed for the rest of the conversation, and he started listening to what I had to say)
- man: "I am married, I do not need." Me: "and this is a polygamist country, are you faithful to your wife? DO you have girlfriends?" man: "yes, but we are all faithful to each other. We do not need condoms and I do not need to be circumcised." (And this is how HIV is spread SO fast throughout the entire country- The interconnected web)
- The foreskin is like a shoe. You wear a shoe to protect your sensitive feet. If you do not have a shoe to protect your feet how do you protect it? (The man is also walking around barefoot)"
-BEST ANSWER: I will go into the shower and WASH away HIV after having sex. (A political figure within the country is quoted saying this in the national news. This misconception has spread into the rural communities further damaging the fight against HIV).

I have found through these conversations, that bringing the Bible directly into the conversation is more effective than solely using scientific data. Almost all of the men used the excuse that it is against the Bible. And so our response is, Jesus was circumcised (Luke 2:21- If you're going to use the Bible at least get your facts right). A fellow PCV found some Bible verses to help support our argument. This response is at least getting the men to think about it, and not to reject circumcision immediately. All in all I'm highly looking forward to being apart of this campaign. It's fun, entertaining, and I'm apart of something on a grander scale. I'm getting a taste of what Public Health is about and I'm liking it!

Christmas in Mozambique

It's 2011! Another year has come and gone- passed in a blink of an eye. From being a senior at LMU, graduating in May, then moving to Swaziland in June- life has been moving with the speed of a bullet but thankfully, has finally started slowing down. I couldn't have asked for a better 1st Christmas away from home. I've never spent a Christmas away from the ocean (with some of the most memorable Christmas mornings on a dawn patrol surfing with my dad and close friends) and so now was not the time to end the tradition. 3 friends and I went to Mozambique for a week. We left for Maputo on December 22 and met up with a friend, a local of Mozambique. While hostels are always fun, there is truly nothing like staying with native of the land. It gives you a whole other perspective and adventure. She too us to a fantastic seafood restaurant and acted as our tour guide of the city. Though we were all ready to be in bed by 8pm, our new friends were eager to show us a good time. It was here that I fell head over heels for Mozambique. This country combines everything I love so much from around the world: The Portuguese influence, European architecture, African tradition, Latin/Spanish dancing, Portuguese language (Spanish acceptable), Reggae music, and an Island way of life. The rest of the week was spent in Tofo, on the beach soaking up the sun. I was determined to see a whale shark which I unfortunately didn't, but I went on a dive and saw a Manta Ray "cleaning station". It was incredible. Manta Rays were on the reefs being cleaned (or so I was told). They looked peaceful just hanging out on the ocean floor. The other highlight Was our own personal chef. We met a guy who was a chef at a 5 star restaurant in Cape Town. He was sick of the demands of his job, visited Tofo on vacation and never left. We loved his cooking so much that we returned on Christmas day and convinced him to take us to the fish market. There we watched as he scolded the fishermen for catching cray fish/lobster that were either pregnant or undersized (still young)- which goes against laws set forth in America which ensures the species survival- and sadly the fishermen didn't care as they could easily find another buyer. Then we watched as he spent 20 minutes arguing for a fish, saying "when you were 2 I've been a chef for 20 years!" We lost the fish-but we had prawns, calamari, crayfish, and much more. It was heavenly. We left Tofo on December 27th and headed back to Maputo. This is where we experienced big city African transportation at it's finest. As soon as the chapas (vans-what Swazis call khumbis) came, people sprinted towards them. I got caught in the mad dash and was physically being moved without actually moving. My friends weren't going to make it on and so I fought hard to get out of the crowd. We saw another chapa coming and so we sprinted to it. As we got on a man tried to sit down on a seat but the conductor said no and squeezed 4 more people into that spot. Let me explain that they fit as many people as possible. There'd be butts hanging out the windows (sometimes 2 butts out of 1) and if there's too many people the doors remain open and the people hang onto the outside of the vehicle. There is no such thing as a comfortable ride in Africa, but at least in Swaziland there is a "maximum capacity". I LOVE YOU Swaz for that. It was during the 1st rat race that my phone was stolen. As much as that sucked I am so thankful it wasn't my wallet, passport, or ipod all of which would be significantly harder to replace. When we returned to Swaz, we weren't ready to give up our vacation and so we hung out at a hotel and swam in their pool, then stayed with some amazing volunteers. I returned to site for 2 days then left to celebrate New Years Eve in the capital city! While everyone had goals for finding a midnight kiss, my goal was simple: to NOT fall asleep before 10pm. I failed. New Years Eve was fun but traveling from my site is exhausting in and of itself. That morning I had waited 2 hours for transport, finally got a khumbi as trucks weren't running because cops were out, then the khumbi got stuck in mud. We got out and hiked through the mud and waited for something else to come. Aother khumbi came, then dropped us off and called a cattle truck. The cattle truck took us to town where it too 2 more khumbis to reach my final destination. Life is rural Africa never dull. On January 1st before heading back to site we got to see the movie Life As We Know It, because Swaziland now has a movie theatre!!! whoohoo!

All in all it was a fabulous vacation. It made me realize that placing an Island Girl in the middle of Africa- with no water sources near by- was a bad decision. I desperately wish I was placed in Mozambique but since that won't change I can say without doubt that I will return, for the culture, the people, and the ocean. I've also realized that I need the ocean so trips every 4-6 months NEEDS to happen. This is going to be a long and challenging 2 years. 6 months down, 20 more to go!!

World AIDS Day 2010

December 1st was World AIDS Day. Ashamed, I admit I had not known this awareness day existed in all of my years growing up in Hawaii, and though I came to acknowledged it in college, I did little more. Truth be told I was always in my own little world and HIV was not invited to join my party. Only 1% in the U.S. is infected with HIV- a very small number of people, so small people don't think about it- but it all changed from the moment I stepped off the plane into a country where HIV is screaming to be heard in its hopes to find a cure. Naturally, I took this day to heart. I was excited to see what the country with the world's highest prevalence of HIV (aka Swaziland) would do to bring awareness, help, and support for its' people. A large event is hosted in the King's Kraal, and every year the location changes to a different region. There are 4 regions within Swaziland: the HhoHho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni and this year the event was in the HhoHho Region. My region! The event started with a walk (which I did walk just not with the group and an hour or two after it took place. I've got great timing I know!), and proceeded with the days events which included speakers, performances from singers, drama groups and a testing site and information from NGOs and other organizations. While it was great seeing people excited and supporting this day and what it stands for, I became very downhearted. There were a couple hundred people present when there should have been a couple thousand, there were mostly adults but there should have been a higher presence of youth, and most importantly I wish the King had come. He is the biggest role model for this country and his arrival would no doubt have improved the attendance numbers... While it was a good event, and I'm glad to have experienced it, it got me thinking about this day the world has chosen to observe. Oddly enough, everyday is AIDS day in Africa. The reason I say Africa in particular is that according to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS in 2008, it was estimated that out of the 33.2 million people worldwide who are living with HIV, 22.4 million people live in Sub-Saharan Africa. While it's good that everyone worldwide "thinks" about this problem, it's hard to "celebrate" this day when there's no cure. And so, with a hope that one day a cure might be found- I hope that others just as naive as I was, know that World AIDS Day does exist and not just on December 1st, but every day of every year for people ALL around the world from America to Africa.

November Blues

The month of November was a hectic one. Aside from the normal meet and greets from my community (and the constant reminding that I am NOT their personal fundraiser), Peace Corps Group 8, which is my group, met up for our In-Service Training (IST). The last time I saw majority of the group was at our swear in 3 months ago. But as it turns out, I'm more integrated than I thought. As fantastic as it was to see everyone, 1.5 weeks is a LONG time and I found myself daydreaming about the solitude, peace and quiet my hut provides. Our sessions during IST were very long, usually going from 8-5. While we learned about funding, grant writing, small business development and many other useful topics, we also talked heavily about DEATH, HIV/AIDS, OVC (Orphaned and Vulnerable Children), crime, theft, sexual harassment, and how to deal with the above mentioned topics. To summarize, it was NOT fun and I went away from more than one session feeling useless and on the brink of tears. As horrible as some of it was, there were some great times. We had 2 language sessions with some of our favorite teachers. I happened to be placed in the best and most interactive group (also known as the idiots who failed the language proficiency test). Best quote of the lesson, Teacher: "Is there anything you want to know?" Rob: "Yeah, how do you say it's nice today? Like the weather is not making me want to kill myself today?". *Explanation: it is summer in Swaziland now and temperatures ranging from 100-124 F is normal... You would be pleased to know that I re-tested and passed! I am now an astounding Intermediate Low. haha. We'll see just how much I'll be able to learn (and retain) in the 2 years. Other highlights of IST include talking with Laurie about the book Heaven Shop (this book is fantastic and should be a required reading for children in the U.S.), and having a 4 hour graphic presentation on male circumcision. Circumcision is the new push (and the outside world's solution to reducing HIV). Unfortunately I am beginning to realize that if change is going to happen in Swaziland, it has to be from them and pushed by them. No foreigner will be able to "solve" this crisis. From looking at other African countries who have won this war on AIDS, it started with them and their leaders. They wanted change and so they acted upon it. As we keep on saying, it's behavior change and in Swaziland behavior change means cultural change. They are going to have to change their thinking and the ways in which they behave, or as horrible as it is to say or even think about, this country is going to cease to exist. Some young girls have just accepted that contracting HIV is inevitable so why bother protecting themselves? Others want to have kids so they don't use protection because being a mother is the only way a child becomes a woman and gains respect. And then there are the women who want to use condoms but their husbands accuse them of cheating and may beat them. Thus it comes down to the people to change and confront it, and not let the rest of the world work out their problems.

At the end of IST we had ALL VOL where all current serving volunteers came in for more group sessions and finished off by celebrating Thanksgiving together. We were fortunate enough to go to the U.S. Ambassador's house and have a true American party: pool, beer, wine, 9 turkeys, 10 pies, and endless amounts of food and deserts. Since pre-made/boxed food does not exist here, EVERYTHING was made from scratch including the bread and rolls. As expected of Peace Corps Volunteers, we ate as though we had never seen food before and like it was our last meal. Yes, we are definitely AMERICAN.

Traditional Swazi Wedding

Roses

"But he that dares not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose" -Anne Bronte

This quote sums up my time here in Swaziland. It's my constant reminder that in order to see the rainbow we must be willing and able to endure the storm. As difficult as it is, here and now, I know that in the end it will all be worth it.

So, you might ask, what are some things that have happened the past month? I had 2 friends Early Terminate (ET) service- they went home. They left so fast there was no time for goodbyes. Although I am in the HhoHho Region, which is supposed to be in the Mid-High Veld (cooler and more rain than the rest of the country), my specific community-oddly enough- is in the lowveld (meaning very hot and little rain). Just my luck, huh? :) Most of the time I get the lovely view of lightning and thunder and rarely is it accompanied by rain. When it does rain, it conveniently happens to coincide with my swim lessons-which means no swimming and I'm stuck indoors with the kids. I am currently in a WAR with rats. In my first battle with them, I moved my entire room outside and 2 Swazi men came in with an axe chasing it around my room. It escaped out of a hole in my roof. I proceeded plugging the holes with my clothes- as I had done to the other holes. The rats continued to take out the clothing and snuggle with me in bed. I finally bought a fake cement sealer to plug the wall. Currently, I fall asleep to the sound of them eating at the cement- trying desperately to re-enter. It's a great sound. Did I also mention that the rats are the size of cats and kittens? My friend has said she had seen 2 cats chasing each other. It ended up being a cat chasing a rat. CREEPY. On a happier note, I got my furniture!!! After 2 months of cooking and eating on the floor, and sharing ALL of my belongings with my "pet" rats (including my clothing which they hid in) I finally have everything off of the floor!! Who would've thought that simple furniture would change a hut into a home? On the topic of animals, I have had a scorpion, lizards, endless amounts of spiders, and bugs I have never seen before in my hut, bats outside trying to enter, and snakes in our fields (backyard). In a windstorm, our roofs started to blow off. What's the solution? Throw more rocks on it. It's working so far :) I have also found out that my roof leaks. It's a good thing I don't get rain that often. To save water I have resorted to bathing in a river (when I visit a friend) and taking baths in the rain. It's quite fun. People look at me strange but it's worth it to be clean! I have also acknowledged the fact that I will probably be leaving Africa with schisto. If I don't get it in my 2 years, that will be shocking.

Though all of the above has SUCKED, I had a brief glimpse of that "rose" and it has restored my excitement and joy to be here. For Halloween weekend, I was supposed to go out with friends and celebrate. Due to a lack of funds largely in part to my rat fiasco, I stayed home. In doing so I was invited to attend a traditional Swazi wedding with my Make (mother). As we all know, colonization has left Africa broken. It stole all that characterized them, and left them with a westernized system that did not work with their previous way of living. Since their independence from European stakeholders, African countries have been struggling to find a compatible mixture of the Westernized traditions while still trying desperately to maintain their identity and culture of their ancestors. And so, seeing the true and authentic old cultural ways of how their ancestors used to live, is rare. I got a taste of it at this wedding. It was not a performance as they would do for a tourist. Rather, I was there as family. There were a couple hundred people in attendance and almost all were dressed in traditional Swazi wear. The wedding was entirely dancing and singing- a true celebration of marriage. At the end, and as darkness fell upon the mountains, I was invited into the private hut with the close friends and family of the bride and groom for a prayer and blessing over the couple. Throughout the prayer, they would break out in song and dance. It was touching. It was intimate and it felt as though I was outside peering in through a window, silently observing at what I though was a lost culture. I was wrong. African culture is alive! It isn't blatantly seen, but dig into the dirt a little and we might just uncover something magical. I had wanted a taste of the African culture and I got it. What a blessing!

Swaz in the news

Every day provides a new opportunity and challenge. I find myself constantly growing; my eyes being opened to the harsh realities of this unforgiving world. Through all of the masks and facades as well as the excitement, blindness, and pre-conceived notions that comes from being thrust into a new culture (especially in going to a continent where its history and the foundation of the current governing systems is the direct result of the greediness of mankind), I am slowly learning that life is not black and white. Here are two pieces of writing which I found very interesting and I'd like to share them.

The first is an article published in The Economist.
http://www.economist.com/node/17046710

The second is an excerpt from a fellow volunteer concerning the current problems and "solutions" about HIV in Swaziland and our work as it is related to Peace Corps Volunteers. She has spoken so thoroughly, accurately, and eloquently about it that I would never be able to convey the message as beautifully as she did.
The link: theyshouldhavesentapoet.blogspot.com. Titled: "What's the Solution?" written on September 14, 2010.

Read it, process it, and think about your life-how blessed you may or may not be. There is always room for improvement and for a healthy change. Think about what you can do to make your life/community/state/country/world a better place to live in. <3