Update on Training

Hello again,

I am very much in a learning phase. For those of you who want to know more about Botswana, you might want to check out the US State Department latest bulletin on the country. Background Notes : Botswana (05/08) . The longer I am here, the more questions I have.

We are in the process about learning about the HIV problem. Depending on the figures you see, and most are outdated, the rate for adults is about 25%. The rate is higher for young women and people 14-24. That is about 3o%. So you can see it is a real problem. I am doing a project on the district of Molepolole to determine more information. The local clinic says the rate is going up in the sense that more people are being tested now that the ARV treatments are available and fewer people are dying. The mother to child transmission has gone down dramatically since the mothers are being monitored and treated with medication to prevent the transmission at birth. That transmission rate is now on 4% evidently. I will be dealing with younger people in the schools. There is a life skills program to be implemented to empower young people to make decisions regarding their lives. More as time goes on...

I walk several miles a day between various locations. It feels great. I am cooking for my host family which find my vegetarian ways odd. But they do eat my pasta, rice and various stews with vegetables. We did a mapping exercise of the community to show where the churches, stores, community center, clinic and hospital were located. All Batswana people have a clinic within less than 10 miles from where they live. That is an amazing accomplishment for a country in Africa. However, the ARV drugs are not at those clinics and are only found at hospitals and the district center, which is a real problem for many.

The news show President Khama visiting various parts of the country, which is the size of Texas.
Cattle prices are on the news nightly. Cattle are prized here. My host father has a cattle outpost about 3 hours away. To marry you need to pay a bride price. It is usually in the form of number of cattle. Most can not pay so many live together without being married. From what I can tell most young couples do not get married since unemployment is about 20 %.

There is also lots of news about Zimbabwe because so many refugees are here looking for work.
The newspapers are filled with pictures in the paper of people who have been tortured as the result of the last election. The next run off could be worse.

Our training goes on six days a week from about 8 until 4 pm. We are learning proper protocol for dealing with people in the work place. Among other things, we are told to dress well in business attire since the country in general is very formal. All kids have school uniforms which must be in order every day.

Have to run. My time on the internet is running out. I am at an internet cafe with a fairly good connection today. Forgive me if I repeat myself, I usually have limited time on the internet to re-read all postings.