Making Friends & Acquaintances

Travelers are a special breed of people. I have been reminded of that the past few days at Puccini Guest House, where I am residing during my stay in Windhoek. I have met fellow travelers and volunteers from Brazil, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Uganda. And they are kind -- sharing traveling tips, funny stories, meals, and warm seats by the fire at night. When it gets lonely, these people remind you why you travel in the first place. I made acquaintances with three gentlemen from Rio de Janiero, Brazil -- Rodgrigo, Marco, and Luciano. They are filming a documentary about 13 Brazilian women who left their homes in Brazil to live in other parts of the world. These men are funny and kind, and they loved to dance! I think I most certainly made a fool of myself on the dance floor trying to keep up with them. But they have moved on to their next filming destinations -- Kenya and Sweden. It is already quieter without them around. But, having never been to Brazil, or South America for that matter, we have received an invitation, so Chad pack your bags!! If you are interested in seeing a clip of their documentary you can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw8_Gw8NiAo (it is in Portuguese!) Here is a pic with Amanda (my neighbor at Puccini), Rodrigo, Marco, and Luciano.

I also made acquaintances with a lovley French-German woman on Friday. Anne has been living in the United States for the past six years completing her PhD in Genetics. Having already completed a doctor of veterinary medicine she is now in Namibia setting up a lab at the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF). When Chad and I visit the CCF in Otjiwarango we will have a lovely guide and maybe even a chance to pet the big kitties!

My other new acquaintance really makes me feel right at home. He is a wire-haired daschund, named Morris. Morris is particularly rambunctious (almost rivaling Tuc) as he is 6 months old. Morris has been visiting the guests of Puccini House on the dining room tables at breakfast in the morning and running away with food, sandles, and sweaters. He loves to give kisses right on the mouth too. Morris needs to learn some manners. Here is a pic of Morris and I, but don't show this to Bella--she would be very jealous!

Gwen and Reid took me out to dinner again on Saturday night and introduced me to their friends Larkin and Kelly. Everyone but Gwen has midwestern roots and grew up in Iowa. They took me to a popular restaurant/watering hole, called Joe's Beerhouse, where different kinds of game dominate the dinner menu. I have been impressed by everyone's willingness to try different meats -- oryx, zebra, gemsbok, springbok, and crocodile. I learned that Gwen and Kelly have been visiting a local orphanage and taking the kids to activities. I am excited, and quite nervous, to visit the orphanage with them. Gwen and Kelly said that the kids mainly want to be held and that they are very excited that someone is willing to do activities with them. I fear that this will be harder than seeing the kids at Mount Sinai Centre.

Tomorrow I visit the University of Namibia's School of Social Work. There I will meet future University of Minnesota, School of Social Work PhD student -- Evaline. I am excited to see the School of Social Work and meet some of their students. I would love to sit in on a class and see if there are many differences in curriculum, teaching style, homework, etc. A new friend of mine whom I met through Professor Lightfoot, Joy, drove me out to the University of Namibia (UNAM) the other day. It was kind of out in the middle of nowhere, yet many people were walking there. The entrance to the school was gated and monitored by guards. Taxi drivers lurked around the gates waiting for patrons to fill their car, talking and gesticulating quickly. I am excited to get a closer peak at the school tomorrow.

First days of work

Any idealistic visions that I had of working in Africa have definitely flown straight out the door by now. And I don't think I was too idealistic about it in the beginning. Upon walking into Mt. Sinai Centre for the first time I see that they have next to nothing. The building is brand new and beautiful, and relatively empty. The City of Windhoek donated the property to Mt. Sinai Centre and apparently the site was previously a toxic dumping ground. I'm sure that toxic chemicals are superb for women's immune systems that are compromised by HIV. My boss' office isn't really an office. There is no desk, no computer, files are strewn about the floor, as are supplies. The main room in which she is working right now has a small table with one working computer and projects laying around. The other computer that was meant for this room was stolen by the man she thought was going to fix it. The bathroom does have soap which I find miraculous-not many of the bathrooms which I have seen so far have soap. I should also explain (Mom and Dad, please skip over this next sentence) that the grounds are surrounded by barbed wire fence and patrolled by a young man who stays awake all night to watch the building. He works for free but is happy to because he feels that my boss, Christa, provides things for him that he does not have in his tin shed that sits on the edge of the Mount Sinai Centre property - i.e. a toilet, electricity, water. When Christa can, she throws him $300 namibian dollars which is approximately $40 american dollars a month.

I begin my work on Monday with a briefing from Christa. She tells me all about the history of Mt. Sinai Centre, current projects, partnerships, threats, and challenges. I listened intently, trying to really hear what she was saying. I even start to think to myself about the theory and program development skills that I learned at school. It actually applies!! But, when we get to talking about the centre's threats and challenges Christa gets quite upset. She feels that funders (i.e. USAID and Global Fund) are trying to "push her down" and make her organization's work their own work. Part of me thinks, "yeah, this is the way donors work-they have a lot of stipulations," but at the same time I am trying to listen to her (legitimate) concerns. She also feels like she is being deceived-a local organization who has something to do with USAID wants her to lie and say that the centre has a kids club. The first lady of Namibia has also used information from Mt. Sinai Centre's projects in a brochure without crediting the organization. The first lady of Namibia is also the patron of Mt. Sinai Centre, meaning Christa has to proceed carefully in handling this matter. Christa is trying to be straightforward and I believe, just wants credit where credit is due. However, I am noticing a distinct cultural difference in how organizations operate and how they perceive funding from Western organizations. I am not sure how to proceed, especially when she needs a steady source of funding (if there is such a thing).

In the meantime I am working on some logistics for the centre. They do not have a clear mission statement, vision, or measurable objectives. I am trying to set the centre up when they apply for funding in the future. I am also trying to give them some legitimate ways in which to measure the success of the centre. An evaluation of their work will be critical for potential funders and current funders. At the same time, I am amazed at the record keeping and detail that Christa has gone through. She keeps a file of everything-any letter of appreciation, receipt, referral, etc. She is very thorough.

Tomorrow a woman is coming to teach some of the mothers at the centre sewing skills. Christa is working to give the mothers some skills that will make them more employable, self-reliant, and confident. We are also in the beginning stages of starting a garden that will be used to grow vegetables. This garden will not only provide nutrition for the mothers and their children but it also serves a money-making opportunity. In the coming weeks Christa also wants me to go the hospital where she used to be a nurse to see how hospitals are working with HIV/AIDS patients. I am very interested to see alternative perspectives of the issue-there are clearly a lot of people and organizations working on this issue. And I can't yet tell how much cooperation there is amongst them.

My brain is done churning for now.

Acclimating to a new environment

June 7, 2009

After almost 20 hours on the plane and one night in Johannesburg I have arrived safely in Windhoek. My "boss" Christa picked me up at the airport with her sister-in-law. Christa was as nice as could be and instantly made me feel at ease. I of course managed to get car sick on my way into town, almost vomiting on the lawn of this woman with whom Christa and her sister-in-law had to stop to do business. Classy, Brooke. I was happy to arrive at the guest house to unload my luggage and finally get a bit of rest. My attempt at rest was unsuccessful though so I worked my way into the communal area of the guest house. I met a young Namibian woman who was also a guest at the guest house. She asked me if I wanted to go into town and I thought "what the heck, I need to get groceries sometime." This young woman dressed to the nines to go into town and I kept insisting that I only needed to visit the grocery store and the cell phone store. She had a purple satin shirt on with a tight jean skirt, stiletto heels, and some serious bling. I finally ditched her by convincing her that I had to get back to the guest house to work. But boy, did it take some convincing!

The city center was interesting. It is dominated by strip malls and people loitering around, especially teenagers. It was also horribly loud and people were driving like maniacs. One thing is for sure - pedestrians do not have right away! I definitely started to get a bit of culture shock. The languages around me were not English, I was the only white person and I'm sure I looked like a tourist. Upon getting back to the guest house I definitely wondered what I had gotten myself into.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling a bit better. I met a young German woman at the guest house and we went into town together to a museum and to the craft center where there are lots of local crafts. That afternoon I had plans to meet friends of my professor for dinner-Gwen and Reid. They picked me up with their three kids and took me on a tour of the city before we stopped at Heinitzburg Castle for an adult beverage. An old German castle on a hill, it has a great view overlooking the city. After that they took me out to dinner at this busy eclectic restaurant called O'Portuga.

Gwen and Reid were gracious hosts again as they picked me up Sunday morning to take me to the private game reserve, Daan Viljoen, just 20k out of the city. It was wonderful to get out of the city. The sky was bright blue (I haven't seen a cloud since I've been here) and I could not hear anything except for the chirping birds and the kids chattering away in the car. This was also my first time seeing some of the native wildlife. Our first sighting was immediately inside the gate to the game reserve. There was a line of about 8 giraffes following each other over a ridge in the distance. Later on the drive we saw the giraffes close up and I got a picture of the baby. We also saw warthog, baboons, blue wildebeest (photo on right), some kind of mongoose, and eland. There were also a couple of different kinds of antelope-like animals--I have no clue what they were! At the game reserve you can also get out of the car and walk around. We did a couple of small walks and Gwen and Reid kept saying "this is prime snake territory." I was terrified to be walking at the end behind their littlest girl. God knows she wasn't going to hold me when I jumped up on her back!! We successfully made it out of the park seeing only the animals I wanted to see.

Driving out to Daan Viljoen I got a better view of Windhoek and its vast disparities. The city itself has a small city center and is surrounded by different neighborhoods and further afield, township-like communities. Some of the neighborhoods close to the city center are quite wealthy and home to expatriates who work for the CDC, various embassies, and USAID, among others. As we moved further from Windhoek the houses became tin settlements where I am guessing there was no electricity. People were walking along the side of the road--to where, I don't know. Tomorrow marks my first day of work. My exposure to these disparities will become increasingly evident. But I am excited to jump in and learn more about the work that Mount Sinai does and how I can best help my boss.

Windhoek, Namibia

June 7, 2009

I am spending the summer in Windhoek, Namibia working on a maternal-HIV project with a non-profit organization called Mount Sinai Center. I was lucky enough to be connected with this opportunity via a professor (Liz) at the School of Social Work who spent a year in Windhoek on a Fulbright Award and taught at the Univeristy of Namibia. Liz was very fond of Mount Sinai and thought it would be a wonderful place for me to gain both international public health and social work experience. During my time in Namibia I will be staying in the capital at Puccini's Guest House. I can't wait to get out of the capital and see the rest of the country--it is supposed to be a hidden gem!

"Where is Namibia?" For those of you wondering, and trust me, I wondered too, I have included a small map to give you an idea of the location. Namibia is approximatey the size of Texas and Louisiana combined. Boasting a population of approximately 2.2 million, Namibia is also one of the least dense countries in the entire world with 2.1 persons per square kilometer.


A little history lesson: During the 1880's Namibia was annexed as South West Africa by the Germans. It was not until 1915 that South West Africa came under rule of South Africa. While the struggle for independence occurred over many years it was in 1960 that South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) formed with the goal of gaining independence for South West Africa. Many of the SWAPO revolutionaries spent time imprisoned on Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned). The president of SWAPO, Sam Nujoma, was exiled for 29 years. In 1990 Namibia gained independence and Nujoma became the country's first president. He served three terms as president of Namibia (1990-2005). In 2007 he retired his post as SWAPO president. The SWAPO party is still in office.