Life is Good

If you’d asked me 6 months ago what I’d miss most about Swaziland, I would have thought long and hard.  I probably would’ve responded with something vague: the sunsets and sunrises and the culture of greeting people.  I’m not sure whether it was the rejuvenating trip home that left me with a fresh perspective or the fact that everything came together over the course of the past week, but somehow I’m coming to realize that saying goodbye to these people and this place is going to be harder than I originally anticipated.  I fear that as my time here winds to an end and as I transition beyond this season of my life I’ll over-romanticize my experience.  I don’t want to forget the sleepless nights, the tearful phone calls home, and the days I nearly packed up and peaced out of Swaziland.  I want to remember those moments so that I can maintain a realistic vision of what development looks like on the ground, especially as I move towards a career in public health and international development.  But I also want to take a moment to celebrate how freaking AWESOME it feels when things finally fall into place, especially in light of all of the setbacks we had to overcome to get here.  The majority of this blog has documented the failures of my Peace Corps service, so today I’ll take advantage of the fact that there are actually some successes to report(!)  Here’s a taste of what’s been going on lately:

GLOW:  After attending training with my counterpart in January, our GLOW club is up and running this school year.  Somehow, we quickly went from zero teacher involvement to having three regular teacher counterparts who are sharing the responsibility of leading the club.  I played a much more instrumental role in club last year, but after watching and learning, these teachers are taking the lead.  Last week about 15 girls attended and learned about menstruation, a mystery to many of the young girls who are raised without a mother figure to help them navigate these major life changes.  When I see my GLOW girls in town or on the bus, they always ask whether I’ll be coming on Friday – it’s these little victories that make it all worth it. 

Library Project:  I won’t delve into the fiasco that it has been working with the administration at this school, but I will say that after purchasing the books five months ago, the new library stock is finally being put to good use.  Last March when we began working on this project, I presented the idea of a reading competition as an incentive to encourage the students to read.  Well, nearly a year later, the school is finally on board to get this thing rolling.  Last week they announced the competition to the school: “Last year Nosipho raised X amount of money from the American people to buy us books.  As part of her grant, she has to do a reading competition.  If we don’t do it, Peace Corps won’t let her go back to America in August.  Read books so she can go back.”  Not exactly how I anticipated the promotion to go, but it worked nonetheless!  Now during my career guidance classes, I find kids reading behind their notebooks instead of paying attention to me.  I guess I can’t complain too much…

Career Guidance:  The high school has now entrusted me with four Career Guidance classes, so I’m relishing the opportunity to mentor these students.  Some highlights from last week’s “getting to know you” complete-the-sentence activity:

-My favorite part of my body is…penis, vagina, my breasts, viginal (nice spelling, girl), and private parts (penis) (thanks for the clarification, buddy)

-When I get angry, I…will beat everyone

-I don’t like…rice because…it is asia food

-When I am sad, I like eating banana

-My weakness is…­stabbing people in the back

-My biggest threat is…fancy car, iphone, fiancé (Justin Beiber) (I think this got lost in translation somehow…)

Yesterday I mentored some young boys on how to release themselves from the grip of their “Sugar Mammas” – I’m changing lives over here, y’all.

Red Rhinos: 6 months later, I am ELATED to report that the Red Rhinos are finally taking off!  We still don’t have a consistent showing from all members, but we’re getting there.  Two of the members, Busi and Ivy, have inspired me with their commitment to this project, encouraging me to have faith in my moments of doubt.  Over the course of the past three weeks, at least one of them has been at the market every day, rain or shine.  They initially hid under the shade of a large acacia tree, not realizing that while the spot served as a refuge from the African sun, it also was not visible to tourists passing through.  The market is located at the pickup point for guests entering the game reserve, so most guests arrive early and park their cars in the dirt lot.  I have encouraged the ladies to move their goods out into the sun and closer to the lot.  It didn’t take long for them to realize that this relocation was well worth the heat.  I also made a sign using chalkboard paint on an old cardboard box and this seems to draw attention to the goods.  These two changes have led to a significant increase in business.  Last Thursday, the women sold nearly ALL of their stock and have sold at least one item every day since.   Upon witnessing their success, the rest of the members now have a sudden interest in the business.   To celebrate our recent success, we will start building a permanent structure next week.  Words don’t do justice to how awesome it feels to see this come together.  I am so encouraged by Busi and Ivy’s faith in this business.  They have picked me up when I was on the verge of abandoning the project and I could not be happier that they are finally witnessing the fruits of their labor – they deserve it!

Ivy

Busi and her son, Mcawe

It feels really good to be at a point where the cancelled meetings, endless excuses, and hours spent waiting finally seem worth it.  I’m thankful that I heeded the advice of the second year volunteers that claimed that Year 2 is what makes your service.  I’m starting to really grasp why Peace Corps is a two year commitment – it takes a significant amount of time and effort to truly integrate into a community and to gain the trust and respect of your work partners.  Over time, I’ve slowly expanded my network and understanding of the ins and outs of the community.  I will always be an outsider, but right now I feel about as “in” as I can hope for.  I recently found myself caught in the throws of family drama – it doesn’t get more integrated than that.  So, things are looking up as I approach the final months of my service.  I know that there will still be roadblocks ahead, but right now I’m savoring this success.