Books for Swaziland

Friends and Family,

I wanted to take some time to write about another opportunity to support Peace Corps Volunteers in Swaziland.  This year, volunteers are raising funds for the annual Books for Swaziland project, which provides 30 schools throughout Swaziland with 1,000 books, as well as training for a librarian.  Volunteers work with schools and community organizations to establish these libraries.  I have applied to receive books to set up a library in the local Youth Center, which will provide a safe haven for unemployed teenagers to escape into the world of reading.  The funds raised will be used to cover the cost of shipping the donated books from the States to Africa. 

The education system in Swaziland employs a very rigid teaching style that encourages rote memorization, leaving little room for the development of creativity or critical thinking skills.  Understandably, passion for learning is hard to come by in schools.  Reading gives students an opportunity to foster this passion.  It gives them a glimpse of a world bigger than their own and a vision for a better future.  It gives them a chance to improve their literacy and English-skills.  Many of us have experienced the joy of reading in our own lives.  If you feel called, please help us bring this joy to the kids of Swaziland!

For more information, follow this link:

 https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-645-001

Ngiyabonga kakhulu (thank you very much!)

Gratefully,

Kelsey/Nosipho

PS. SEE YA IN 2 DAYS AMERICA!!!!

GLOW

As I walked back from school today, I passed a group of four women, each with a baby clinging to their back and wrapped in a swath of brightly colored Swazi fabric.  I stumbled on my words as I turned to greet them.  “Sanibonani bomake...” or were they “bosisi?”  As I took in each of their faces, I debated which category they fell under: women or sisters.  Their young faces suggested they were merely high-school aged, but the babies on their backs led me to believe that “make” was a more appropriate title.  My confusion as to the proper manner in which to address women has become routine.  Yet as I reflect on the importance of female empowerment, I realize that 15-year-old girls with children should not be normal.  Of course, this is me imposing my Western, developed world, feminist belief that women should delay having children until they have at least completed school, or better yet, until they are married.  Who am I to suggest that my way is the best way?  But, then again, when these girls are dropping out of school to give birth at as young as 13 and face a lifetime of poverty without hope of life beyond the monotony of cooking, cleaning, and raising children in the community, I don’t feel that bad about thinking that there’s gotta be something more for these girls.

            The majority of girls my age in my community have at least one child.  When I’m not being asked for money, I’m being asked why I don’t have children.  When I respond that I’m only 23, not to mention the fact that I’m not married, they roll their eyes, refusing to accept my youth as an excuse.  I have become numb to the sight young women carrying babies on their backs, yet I have yet to accept the frequent harassment of young school girls by male khumbi conductors and out-of-school youth.  What saddens me more is the way in which the girls cherish this attention, viewing it as a validation of their womanhood and value in society.  Judging by the number of young girls with children, my guess is that this flirting often extends beyond the confines of the bus rank.  Seldom do these interactions end with flirting.  The awkward sixth-grade style adolescent relationship in which hand-holding is considered scandalous does not apply here.  Generally, young girls engage in relationships with older, more experienced men and intimate relationships are rarely limited to kissing.  Do the math and more often than not you get babies, high school dropouts, and HIV.  Not cool.     

            So needless to say, this country is in need of some female empowerment programs to equip young girls with a sense of identity and greater purpose, to emphasize the importance of schooling, and to instill in young women a sense of individual self-worth that does not require a boyfriend.  For those that do chose to date, we aim to empower them with the confidence to negotiate delayed sexual debut or safe sex practices.  Gender equality and female empowerment have quickly risen to the top of the list of development buzz words in the past 10 years.  If you haven’t read Nicholas Kristoff’s Half the Sky, I highly recommend it.  Through his accounts of various empowered women throughout the world, he argues that in order for true development to occur, nations need to take advantage of their entire population, both male and female.  How can a nation truly prosper when it engages only its male citizens?  Peace Corps volunteers throughout the world have taken this to heart, working in their respective countries and communities to empower young girls to become leaders in their communities.  They have developed a program called GLOW – Girls Leading Our World.  Many PCVs work with local counterparts to form after-school clubs to work with girls to teach them life skills (goal setting, communication skills, values, etc.) and to empower them to become leaders in their schools and communities.  Since June, I have been working with a group of primary school girls (ages 9-16).  Our GLOW meetings have been somewhat inconsistent due to extracurricular conflicts at the school and girls will often approach me on the street inquiring why we weren’t able to meet.  While GLOW is ideally intended for high school girls, I’ve been blessed to work with a mature group of younger girls from grades 5-7.  Meetings serve as an opportunity to teach girls more about what it means to be a leader in their schools, ways in which they can volunteer in their communities, and how to set goals for their life.  Our aim is to provide these girls a bigger picture for their lives that they wouldn’t otherwise envision.  The highlight of each meeting is the question box – a box where the girls can write anonymous questions pertaining to anything – my life in America, how to succeed in school, and questions about puberty.  One Friday afternoon, I spent an hour squatting on rocks under a tree outside answering questions about menstruation.  I often question the impact that I’m having as a volunteer and the effectiveness of my projects, but GLOW provides me with affirmation that my time here is time well spent. 

            Each year, Peace Corps Volunteers in Swaziland who have GLOW clubs in their communities work together to plan a week-long GLOW Camp.  Each volunteer brings a local counterpart and three girls from their communities to attend the camp with girls from all over Swaziland.  During camp, they will have the opportunity to gain valuable life skills, learn about sexual and reproductive health, and discuss with each other ways in which this generation of young women can transform their Kingdom.  One girl who attended camp last year writes, “I learned that any girl, despite her background or how she was treated, can be strong and confident to take an active part in leadership and bring change into our communities.”  This camp requires a significant amount of funding, which depends on support from friends and family back in the States.  If you are looking for a way to support our work in Swaziland, I can guarantee that a donation of any amount will be put to good use.  This is by far the most valuable project that Peace Corps Volunteers are engaged in throughout the world and its impact is significant in the lives of the girls who attend the camp.  I am including a link to the fundraising website for those that are interested in contributing:

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-645-008

Thanks to good ole' America and its government shutdown, we are a bit hard-pressed for time and hoping to raise the funds by December 1.  We are also in need of in-kind donations for those that are interested in non-monetary contributions.  The following is a list of items we are hoping to collect:

Toiletries:

• Shampoo
• Soap
• Toothpaste
• Sanitary pads

Arts and Crafts:

• Paper
• Markers
• Sewing supplies
• Flannel cloth
• Stickers
• Scissors
• Glue
• Friendship bracelet supplies

Sports:

• Soccer balls
• Jump ropes
• Air pumps
• Dodge balls

Sweets:

• Chocolate
• Candy
• S’mores supplies
• Gum

Games:

• Card games
• Board games
• Sudoku
• TWISTER

Educational Materials:

• Teen easy-read books
• Motivational/Goal-oriented reading materials

Other:

• Glow sticks
• Old Magazines
• Nail polish

In-kind donations can be mailed to:

Lauren Karplus, PCV

P.O. Box 2797

Mbabane, H100

Swaziland, AFRICA

I realize that shipping is quite pricey, so another option would be to mail donations to my parents in the States.  I will be home for a visit in December (!!) and will be able to bring back any donations to Swaziland when I return on January 3rd.  If you are interested in contributing in this way, please shoot me an email at kefreeman9@gmail.com and I will pass on my parents address. 

Thank you all in advance for your help with making Camp GLOW possible as well as for your constant support and encouragement.  I feel incredibly blessed to have such an incredible support base at home and miss you all dearly.

Sending love from Swaziland!

some of my favorite GLOW girls

Where There Is No Toilet

When we arrived in Swaziland, we were given a book titled Where There Is No Doctor.  This practical guide serves as a reference for your basic bush ailments and is best left on the shelf to collect dust because extensive studying of it can lead to unnecessary anxiety and inaccurate self-diagnosis.  In light of recent conversations with my sister who has developed an academic interest in global defecation practices and sanitation, as well as one too many personal emergency bush dumps, I feel that a more useful guide should be developed: Where There Is No Toilet.  Since this has yet to be written, I have decided to take matters into my own hands.  A year ago I would have had more class than to publish the intimate details of poop life in Swaziland on the internet, but when my first task of the day is to haul a bucket of my own urine to dump behind my hut while all the neighborhood school kids observe, there’s not much pride to be maintained.   And let’s face it, poop is hilarious no matter how old you are.  They say you’re not a real Peace Corp Volunteer until you’ve pooped yourself.  On that note, if you ever find yourself in the bush, take into consideration these suggestions from a real PCV:

• BYOTP.  Yes, long gone are the days of BYOB (not that there’s any booze worth bringing in the country – last night I dreamt that I got into a fist fight over the last bottle of Blue Moon…).  Bring your own TP.  TP is a luxury here.  Most Swazis use newspaper clippings as TP.  One morning I found a photo of my fellow PCVs on the newspapers hanging in the latrine.  I promptly removed the clipping and informed my family that it was disrespectful to wipe their butts with photos of my friends. 
• NEVER shine your headlamp down the pit latrine.  Trust me. 
• Don’t be phased when you’re greeted my a child mid-squat next to the road waving, “How are you, Nosipho?”
• I know I’ve said it before, but never trust a fart.  Seriously.
• When it rains, be prepared to use force to fight goats seeking shelter in the latrine. 
• Be wary of picking up pant-less children, 9 times out of 10 it ends poorly and every time you wear that shirt, your host mom will remind you that it is your “poof shirt.”
• Leftover tissue paper from care packages serves as a fine substitute for TP when you run out.  A bit rough on the bum, but it beats newspaper.
• Before closing the door to the latrine, check for snakes and rats.
• In case of emergency mid-run bush poops, it is always preferable to sacrifice your underwear in order to wipe and then abandon them in the bush.  It makes for a much more pleasant commando 5-mile walk back to your hut. 

Overall, it is best to embrace the latrine experience.  I quite enjoy my morning trips to the outhouse and often find myself spending long than necessary in there as I chuckle over the ridiculous newspaper articles hanging inside.  My personal favorite was an interview with a movie star in which she notes, “My faith is very important to me.  Every night I read my Bible.  After that I like to relax by reading Fifty Shades of Grey.”  Come on, girl…

I hope that I haven’t offended any of you and if you ever find yourself where there is no toilet, that you’ll take this advice to heart.  That being said, when you walk down the hall to your porcelain flush toilet, be grateful for the absence of cockroaches, for the softness of the toilet paper and the cute embroidered teddy bears on it, and for the fact that once you flush, you’ll never see that poop again.

The world is your stage and the bush is your toilet

LISTS

I’ve always been a big fan of lists.  My college dorm rooms were always scattered with post-notes of to-do lists.  Until recently, to-do lists weren’t really relevant to my life here.  “Spend 8 hours in my hammock, finish Cowboys Are My Weakness, check, check!”   So, in the countless hours spent waiting for meetings to begin, I’ve compiled a more diverse set of lists.  Here’s a sample:

Things I miss about America – in no particular order (my personal favorite list, also a favorite topic of conversation among PCVs)

• Family and friends
• Timeliness
• EFFICIENCY
• Fro yo, chai lattes, prosciutto, baby spinach, berries, Greek yogurt, Alon’s French Connection salad, Flying Buscuit, Farm Burger, ATL dining in general
• Unlimited calls and texts
• The green couch
• Bosley and the cats
• Country radio
• Respect for personal space
• Customer service
• Free wifi/fast internet
• Showers
• Washing machines
• Grace Midtown Church
• Running without being harassed
• Not being asked where I’m going 24/7
• Pumpkin-flavored everything
• Driving
• BLENDING IN
• Free public restrooms/toilet paper
• Complimentary water at restaurants
• Air conditioning

Things I’ll miss about Swaziland (judging my the length of these first two lists, I think its safe to say America wins)

• Sunrises and sunsets
• Walking everywhere
• Greeting everyone/general friendliness
• Slower pace of life
• Sounds of singing at night
• The stars
• Chicken dust (half a BBQ chicken with maize porridge and salad for $1.50)

Things that got me through my mid-service crisis

• Phone calls with my mom
• Running
• Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience
• Text messages from friends at home that could not been better timed
• prayer
• Watching seasons 1 and 2 of New Girl…on repeat
• Cowboy romance novels…new low
• Lazy afternoons spent laughing with my neighbor and Basanda
• Listening to Sugarland, particularly the song “It Happens” (Ain’t no rhyme or reason, no complicated meaning, ain’t no need to overthink it, let go laughing, life don’t go quite as you planned it, we try so hard to understand it, the irrefutable indisputable fact is, **it happens) – I like to jam to this song every time a meeting gets cancelled or things don’t go as planned…so like every day
• EMILY’S VISIT

Sounds of Swaziland

• Goats, dogs, chickens, cows
• My Babe barking orders to the young boys around the homestead
• The whistle and singing of traditional songs in the distance at night
• Kids singing during weekends and school break
• The electric keyboard at church
• Wails of women at funerals
• Bus preachers
• Gospel music blaring from my neighbor’s car at 6 AM every morning
• Sugar cane trucks barreling down the dirt road outside my window
• Swazi House music blasting from cell phones of teenagers passing by outside
• Women singing praise songs at the beginning of meetings
• Pitch Perfect songs on repeat

Quality knowledge I’ve gained throughout my time here

• Rule #1: Never trust a fart
• The trick to capturing guinea fowl is liquoring them up
• Dreaming about rivers means you’re pregnant
• When you wear your shoes on the wrong feet, you are wearing “banana shoes”
• Buckets can double as washing machines, dishwashers, bathtubs, and toilets
• Striped knee high socks with fluffy ankle socks and flip flops are so in right now.  Oh yea, slinkies also make stylish bracelets and deodorant is overrated.
• When being chased by a hippo, run in a zig zag
• Knees are sexy – cover up!
• Reasons to cancel meetings include: slight drizzle, temperatures about 80 degrees, temperatures below 65 degrees, laundry day, clinic day, firewood collection day, last minute plans, exhaustion from a two hour meeting…three days ago, forgetfulness, lack of desire to attend
• Mosquito net covering on burglar bars

Most commonly heard Swazi phrases

• “Ngiyacela ______” (imali, emaswidi, kudla, emanti, etc.) – I am asking money, sweets, food, water, anything visible on my body
• “Uyaphi?” – Where are you going?
• “Uhamba leni etinyamo? Hamba gibela libhasi!” – Why are you walking?  Take the bus!
• “I want to teka you” – In other words, I want to throw you in the kraal where the cows sleep in the middle of the night while you stand there naked and cry as my relatives shout insults at you.  In Swazi culture, “teka”-ing is part of the marriage process in which the female wails for the loss of her former life as she prepares to move onto her husband’s homestead.  I think it goes without saying that I will not be marrying a Swazi…
• “How are you? I am fine. How are you? I am fine. X50” – This is the only English many young kids know.  What teachers forget to explain is that a single greeting is sufficient, but instead the kids continue to ask “ How are you?” until you’re out of earshot. 
• “Unemanga!” – you are lying!
• “Inkingake” – the problem is…

I think these lists do a decent job summarizing my time thus far in Swaziland.  Here’s to another year of list making..