Working and wading through water in Windhoek

As the bus rumbled down the road, my eyes scanned each building intently for the words Family of Hope – the name of the organization I would be interning at for the next 3 months. To say I was nervous would be an understatement; but as I arrived, I was greeted with smiling faces, friendly hellos, and the nerves quickly subsided. Family of Hope Services is a nonprofit faith-based organization in Katatura, a former black township in Windhoek. In particular, FHS works with children and families who have been affected by HIV/AIDS through various programs which includes a remedial school program, before/after school program, feeding and nutrition program, parental support groups as well as a bicycle workshop which assists in raising money for the various projects because FHS receives no government funding.

In my 3 months with FHS, I will be mainly working in the feeding and nutrition program as well as doing what I can with the remedial school and after school programs. At first I was somewhat overwhelmed because I thought “I’m  supposed to teach these kids? I have absolutely no background in teaching, whatsoever!” But, after the first few days, I’ve learned a little from the women I’m working with and am having a ton of fun. Many of these boys and girls ages 6-12 have never been in school before so we are working to teach them the alphabet, counting, etc., so that they can eventually enter formal education systems and further their studies.

Education is something we, in the U.S. take for granted without realizing how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do. Many of these kids have not been in school because they didn’t have their birth certificates  to enroll or were at home taking care of the cattle. With that being said, it is so much fun to work with these kids because they are so eager to learn. Along with my ‘accent’ being hard to understand, I’m also working with other ladies from Australia, New Zealand and Germany so that provides an additional challenge. I’m excited to work with these wonderful women over the next 3 months and cannot wait to see the kids grow in their knowledge, as they teach me so much simultaneously.

At the start of the week our group of 15, plus the CGE staff headed out to a little retreat for the day; time for team building and getting to know each other even further. With it being rainy season in Windhoek, of course a small rain storm was upon us. As we made our way back to leave at the end of the day, the small stream we crossed to enter the park was now.. a rushing river. A few brave souls started trekking first and we followed at about 3 at a time. Some phones went swimming, jeans were soaked, but hey, all in all it makes for a great story, and our “always say yes in Namibia” motto continues to hold true.

 

After about 2 weeks now, our classes have finally begun. I can’t complain though because studying consists of laying by the pool reading the required material. Classes are also held in our living room which gives us a well… comfortable feel. Again, I can’t complain. I’m currently taking Religion and Social Change, History of Southern Africa, Politics of Development in Southern Africa, my internship course, and yoga! For the first four weeks of the semester we are all also enrolled in a Language course. During our first class we learned the four clicks and basic elements like greetings, numbers, and family names. We couldn’t help but laugh when our mouths began to get sore after attempting to do the clicks properly. My first attempts were.. somewhat successful. It’s a lot harder than it seems, but it’s so exciting to be learning a new language that very few people in the world can speak.

Tomorrow marks the start of my urban home stay. I think the group has all around nervous energy going into this because it’s a week long and we’re all on our own this time, but I’m sure I will love my new family and all the things I’ll learn from them throughout the week. The bugs out here are eating me alive, although the hours and hours spent by the pool probably aren’t helping much. Oh well! It’s better than the Indiana winter I’m missing out on.

 

Thanks again for reading,

xoxo,

Maddy