Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Category: Africa (page 7 of 14)

Love, Laughter & Lessons Learned

My apologies for the lack of posts recently – I’ve been out of internet touch for a little while now. So bear with me as this post will be quite long. These past weeks have been some of the greatest of my life, ones I will absolutely never forget. We left from Windhoek on the 18th, en route for our last and final home-stay on a farm in northern, rural Namibia. We set out for Khorixas and once again, to say I was nervous to meet my new family would be an understatement. Knowing there was only 1 guaranteed English speaker in each home, and my lack of success speaking Damara, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d navigate through the week. I was placed on the Inhoek farm about six kilometers from the town of Khorixas with five other students- each of us with a different family to call our own. (We were on a family farm so most of the houses were all related to each other in one way or another.) My nerves were quickly forgotten as I was welcomed by my host mom Dena, two sisters (Buyela 23, Immseline 9)  and three brothers (Sydney 17, Delvin 14, Marvelous 3).

My host siblings - minus Marvelous

One of the beautiful sunsets

As the week went on, all of the young kids on the farm spent time together – whether it was sitting around talking or dance parties at night, I constantly found myself smiling and laughing uncontrollably. Each morning when I woke up and went to use the bathroom (a bush) and brush my teeth, I’d hear the pitter patter of footsteps behind me. Every time I turned around, I saw Marvelous running up behind me and as he got closer his little hand reached up and grabbed my two fingers. Marvelous didn’t speak or understand a word of English, but he’d always greet me with a smile and we’d walk hand in hand (or hand and finger) everywhere we went. This happened every morning and each time, I couldn’t suppress the large smile that overcame me.  Needless to say, as the days passed I came to love this family as my own. We spent days playing soccer, going on hikes, playing volleyball over the clothes line, riding in donkey carts, learning new games, telling stories, milking cows, herding goats & sheep, and whatever else we could think of. The sunsets each night were absolutely breathtaking, unlike any I’d ever seen before. I found myself dreading the day we’d have to say goodbye.

Marvelous and I on our morning walk

On one of the days, we decided we’d pass the time by walking into town. We rode in on one of our host dad’s trailer because he figured we wouldn’t want to walk all the way there considering the heat. We spent a little time in town eating ice cream and just walking around. On our way back we took a “short cut” that ended up being more of a long cut, but it left us laughing later that night. Every night after dinner we’d all gather at one house and have a dance party under more stars than you could ever imagine; we’d dance for hours until we couldn’t dance anymore. As I was admiring the stars one night, one of the girls asked me if we had stars in America. I laughed a little and told her we did, but we don’t get to see them like theirs. We told the story of Cinderella and Goldilocks and they told us a few of their traditional stories. All of the young kids our age spoke great English and they made an attempt to teach us more Damara. I think I can successfully count to 10 now.  Much to my dismay, the days passed, and the Monday I was dreading finally approached. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to fight back tears knowing I may never see these people again, but I can’t help but be filled with joy knowing I got to spend a week with such an amazing group of people, filled with joy knowing I’ll always have a family in Namibia.

Missing my little Marvelous already

After our week in Khorixas, we spent three days camping and going on safaris in Etosha. On our multiple game drives we saw zebras, giraffes, an elephant, cheetahs, lions, rhinos, wildebeests, warthogs, a hyena, and lots and lots of springboks!  Following Etosha, we headed even further north to a guest house for the next two nights. Though the previous weeks were incredible, I have never been more happy to see a bed in my entire life. We visited a few museums in the most northern part of Namibia before we made our way to Tsumeb to catch a bus to Victoria Falls for spring break.

Giraffes!

…But before that could happen we had a 9 hour wait for our bus to arrive. As we sat and waited we wondered why everyone was staring, until we realized there was a group of 14 of us sitting in a median under a tree with lots of luggage. To pass the time, we walked to the grocery store, climbed the tree and played cards. Much to our surprise the time passed quickly and we made a mad rush to the bus when we finally saw it arrive. 12 hours later we were at the Namibian/Zambia border and spring break was officially beginning. Another two hours passed and we finally arrived to Vic falls. Most of the group stayed in Zambia for two nights before heading to Zimbabwe but myself and two others went straight to Zimbabwe. Little did we know the walk from the border to the customs office was about a mile or so from the border. Not so bad until you remember you have to carry your 30 pound bag in the heat of the day.

Once we finally arrived to our hostel the activity planning was immediately in order. The hostel we stayed at was absolutely beautiful and just a 15 minute walk from town. Our first night in Victoria Falls we went on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi river, and to add to our list of animals we saw hippos and crocodiles. The next few days included a trip to see the falls, elephant riding, zip lining, and canoeing on the Upper Zambezi. It’s no surprise why Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Seeing the millions of gallons of water  pour down minute after minute, creating rainbows every where you looked was awe strikingly beautiful. We spent a few hours admiring the falls and got absolutely drenched from the rain the falls created. Knocking one more thing off my bucket list, elephant riding was amazing too. Sam and I rode on a 24 year old girl elephant named Star. She was pretty small compared to the others and had a short trunk because she was attacked by a lion when she was just a baby. After the hour long ride, I got to sit on her leg while she knelt and feed her some pellets. An elephant is a lot more comfortable to ride than you would imagine, and it was a funny feeling when she sucked the pellets through her trunk off of my hand. Of course, nothing compares to skydiving, but zip lining over the gorge was stunning as well. Canoeing down the Zambezi was loads of fun and very peaceful at the same time. Sam and I got caught in a few rapids but it definitely made it more exciting.

 

A day at the falls

As I sit on the 24 hour bus ride home to Windhoek, I’m sad to say my spring break is coming to an end, but I know it will most likely be the best of my entire life. I look back on these past two and a half weeks with great memories, so many new faces met, and so so so much happiness. I learned so much about myself and the world as a whole especially in my first week with my family. The week I lived with in Khorixas vs. my life in Claremont and Valparaiso are obviously different, but I’ve come to love so many aspects of each. No way of life is better than the other, none right or wrong – just different.  It’s hard to believe that a month from today I’ll be in Cape Town. Time to make the most of my last month in Windhoek.

Elephant Ride

 

Thanks for reading.

Xoxo

Maddy

Ps- since I was gone and not able to post it, here is what my second month looked like:

A New View of Windhoek

This week marks the halfway point in my study abroad experience, and to say it’s flown by would be a ridiculous understatement. Two months from today, I’ll be home. Whoa. Nonetheless, the weeks fly by. Each are packed with studies, but many adventures that make it all worth it. Though this week was crazy busy, it definitely marks one of the best weeks I’ve had thus far. On a high from skydiving and Swakop, being back in classes was a bit difficult, but I managed.

We had 2 birthdays in group this week, so we celebrated accordingly. On Thursday, after dinner we made a walk over to a place called 3 circles, by far one of my favorite places in Windhoek. It’s about a 20 minute walk from our house through the city and up a little hill, but once you get up it is absolutely breathtaking. The view looks over the mountains encircling us as well as all of Windhoek and Katutura. We made it just up in time as the sun began to set, and if you know me you know that sunsets are one of my favorite things in life. As I watched the sun go down, painting pinks and oranges in the sky, meeting the city lights and the tops of the mountains, I couldn’t help but smile. It was such simple, but surreal moment, and it felt so much like home.

The group looking over 3 circles

On a more solemn note, ever since arriving in Namibia, every time I’ve watched the news there’s been a new story of a violent killing of a woman, often by her significant other. Gender-based violence is a rising and very serious problem here in Namibia, and many citizens are beginning to take a stand. On Saturday morning a group of 12 of us headed downtown to “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”, an event organized by some people in Windhoek to raise awareness of gender-based violence. Hundreds of men wore high heels as they stumbled down the busy street chanting things like “Don’t hit her, just kiss her” or “Stop gender violence” in order to show their support in the fight against GBV. As I marched down the street with all of the locals, I sincerely recognized it as one of the coolest things I’ve ever been apart of. To see all the men [and women] walking and supporting something so important was truly amazing; I got the chills as I looked around at the crowded street.

The men leading the way in heels

Crowded Streets of Windhoek at the "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" March

The weekend just kept getting better and better as we headed to Skybar, a nice little restaurant/bar atop the Hilton in downtown Windhoek. As we climbed to the top we, again, got to see all over Windhoek as the sunset; an absolutely breathtaking view (this place seems to be full of those).

View From the Skybar

This week is absolutely busy to say the least, but the next 3 weeks hold numerous adventures; which includes our rural home-stay in the north, a safari in Etosha, and spring break in Victoria Falls. Buckling down on work is hard, especially when I know all the things I’d rather be doing outside. But nonetheless, I’m learning topics I’ve never learned before,which is a pretty awesome feeling. I should have one more post out before we leave a week from today, so stay tuned!

 

Thanks for reading!

All my love- xoxo,

Maddy

Coastal Living

This weekend our group of 15 set out on a 4 hour road trip to a coastal town called Swakopmund- an area inhabited originally by locals, settled by Germans, and houses a genocide in its history known by few around the world. The four hour drive quickly passed through naps and a stop for some junk food at a rest station we passed along the way. Swakop greeted us with palm trees, and beautiful desert dunes meeting the Atlantic Ocean. Though I definitely could have gone for weeks longer stay, it was the perfect little taste of what the coast has to offer.

Desert meet coast

Our first day was spent touring the beach town, the local township Mondesa, and the informal settlement as well. During these tours we got to visit a traditional Herero woman, a Dama lady as well as the chief of the Damara tribe who is the first woman chief. While speaking with the Herero woman, we learned a little about the Herero genocide and the effect it has had on the survivors lives today. During the genocide from 1904-1907, 80% of the Herero population were killed by the Germans. . . Yet in the middle of Swakopmund stands a large statue dedicated to those Germans who lost their lives, while the Herero men, women, and children have just a small piece of marble dedicated to them on the outskirts of town.

German Memorial

OvaHerero Memorial

The following day we headed out to Walvis Bay, a short 20 minute drive from Swakop. Walvis Bay houses the large international port, NamPort, where goods are constantly being shipped in and out internationally. During our time, we met with a man who works for NamPort as well as a man who works for the export processing zones (EPZs). While in Walvis, we also got the chance to travel out to the Topnaar community. The Topnaar community grows a plant called the !Nara that sprouts melons, which they then roast the seeds and sell them. I actually got to try some of the seeds, and they were delicious!

Me with the !Nara melon

Last but not least, the adventures began. We set out to climb Dune 7; the tallest dune in Namibia and if that’s not cool enough, it’s the oldest desert in the entire world. The climb up took about 15 minutes, and was definitely way more tiring than it looked. As the sand slips underneath your feet, you feel like you’re getting no where, but alas, we made it! And the view from the top was worth it a million times over.  Our weekend was also comprised of nights spent on the beach, and dinners spent watching sunsets; I can’t complain!

Atop Dune 7

But the highlight of my weekend, and so far marks the best day of my life was when I decided to fly 10,000 feet in the air and jump out of a plane. Because 2 out of 4 of us were getting our jumps filmed, we had to split up. I was last, but to say I was excited would be a ridiculous understatement; my biggest fear being the tiny little plane I had to go up in, not actually jumping out; I’m not quite sure how I justified that one in my head. But nonetheless, I watched the altimeter climb up by thousands and the nerves kicked in quite a bit once we got to 9,000 feet. As I lifted my legs out of the door and let my feet hang out into the whipping wind, it suddenly became real. Head back, hands on the harness, move as one, ready.. set.. go!! I began to fly. As I free fell for 30 seconds and descended down for 5 minutes I looked out at the beautiful coastline; the only place in the world the desert sand dunes meet the ocean – absolutely breathtaking seeing the earth curve and feeling like I was just apart of the sky. And oh my gosh, I wish I could put it into words, but I truly believe it’s physically impossible. No, my stomach didn’t drop, no it wasn’t scary, it was literally human flight, and I would do it a hundred times over if I could. And.. come to think of it I just might have to.  So as a little plug for all the crazies out there, if you’ve ever considered skydiving, do it. And even if you haven’t, do it. Don’t think about it, don’t question it, just do it. It will be the greatest thing you will ever do. Hands down. Because I can’t put it into words, I’ll leave you with two quotes they left me with.

View on the way down

“You must jump to know. No words can describe the incredible rush when the wind invites you to play. You are one of the few, for a brief moment you doubt but the doubt is short lived. As gravity pulls you from the safety of the plane you understand, this is freedom. No turning back now but who would want to? the dream of human flight. you know what it means to skydive.”

Free fall

“Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”

Thanks again for reading,

Xoxo

Maddy

 

1 Month Down, 3 More to Love

To live alone with a family for a week that you know very little about is something not many would describe as “comfortable”. At our first homestay in Soweto, each of us were placed with one other CGE student, but not this time. I was picked up by my host mother Johanna last Monday and the adventures began. To say I was nervous would be an understatement, but we were told this was all about stepping out of our comfort zone.. or as I’d describe it.. jumping. As a few hours went by, my nerves quickly subsided as I was welcomed by a lovely family who made me feel right at home. And hey, I can’t complain because I got to eat traditional Namibian food all week, which included eating my weight in pap .. and I’m totally okay with that. (Pap, pronounced pop, is a dish made from the grain mealy meal, which I like to describe as a hybrid between mashed potatoes and rice, totally delicious)

Chicken and some PAP!

Throughout the week my host mom took me back and forth between home and our Center for Global Education (CGE) house for classes or to be taken to my internship. Throughout the week I lived with my host mom, Johanna, host dad, Harris, host cousin, Martin, and host Aunt, Irene. They live in Khomasdal which is a small area in Windhoek. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with them, getting to know more about Windhoek and Namibia in general. On Saturday, Johanna and I made a trip to her eldest daughters house who has a 2 year old son and a brand new 1 week old baby. Maybe or maybe not one of the cutest babies I’ve ever seen. Sadly enough, I didn’t bring my camera so I don’t have any photos to show you of the little one. On my last night, I was taught how to make pap which I will definitely be bringing back to the states with me. It was sad to say goodbye to my family, but I’m planning on meeting up with them again before I leave to Cape Town in May.

My Wonderful Host Family

Classes are in full swing here at CGE, and our group is finally realizing that “study abroad” actually entails reading, studying, reading, and some more reading. By far my favorite part of my trip so far is still my internship. Working with the little ones twice a week is great and I love seeing the progress they’re making. I zoned in on one little guy named Johnathan who stole my heart. Cute as a button and quiet as a mouse, I couldn’t stay away for long. While working with Johnathan on his numbers and letters, I began to notice that between each letter or number he wrote, he would look up at me to make sure he was getting it right. I would simply nod and he would smile and go on to the next digit. I quickly fell in love with the little guy, but just yesterday I received the oh so bittersweet news he wouldn’t be returning to FHS but instead would be starting at a new formal school. It’s awesome that he’s moving up in his education, but I’m sad that I won’t be there to see him progress.

Johnathan counting with crayons

Today in our history class, we had the incredible privilege to hear Professor Kerina speak. Mr.Kerina was the first Namibian to travel to the United States for education where he attended Lincoln University. While in college, he spoke with the UN about Namibia’s need for independence as well as obtained personal support from John F. Kennedy when some in Southern Africa were trying to have him deported out of the US. If these weren’t cool enough things Mr.Kerina had done in his life, he also was good friends with Malcolm X and Maya Angelou. He oh so casually talked about his Friday lunches with Malcolm X as everyone in the room looked around at each other dumbfounded. But wait.. he gets even more awesome. He went on to be apart of the creation of SWAPO as well as, wait for it.. wait for it… he named Namibia. Yeah.. you read that right.

Our Group with Mr.Kerina

Things are getting exciting here in Windhoek, and my peanut butter addiction is growing daily. Planning for spring break has begun which entails Victoria falls, white water rafting, elephant rides, walking with lions, bungee jumping, canoeing or a sunset cruise. You mean I have to choose just 2? Swakopmund, Etosha and rural homestays are in our near future, and my first month in Southern Africa is officially complete. So with that, I leave you with a little video I made.. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading and thank you to everyone for your constant support!

xoxo

Maddy

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.

A little one waiting for her lunch

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.

The classroom at FHS

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.

Weighing one of the FHS students before he's served lunch - as part of the feeding & nutrition program I'll be helping with

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.

Fell in love at our team building retreat

River crossing

 

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

 

 

 

This Is Home

To finish up our final days in Johannesburg, we visited St.Martin’s high school in Soweto. This was by far one of my favorite parts of our time in Jo’burg because we got to casually interact with kids around our age, give or take a few years. They were all so eager to ask us questions about America or our views and opinions of South Africa. By far my favorite question was when I was asked if I personally knew Dr.Dre because I lived in California. One thing I admire most about these young kids is their knowledge and understanding of politics, not just in their country, but around the world as well. They were also so sweet and welcoming to us, it was sad to say goodbye.

Group photo atop the Voortrekker Monument

Some of us with the St.Martin’s High school tour guides

 

I arrived at my first home stay where I’d be staying for the weekend. It was nice to sit back and relax for a few days as I got to know my new family. My host mom Nthabiseng is the sweetest lady and was so welcoming! Subah (my roommate) and I were made delicious home cooked meals that we got to eat with our hands. I’ve come to love pap with just about everything! Visiting Credo Mutwa Village during our home stay was definitely one of my favorite parts. After climbing, well.. a few stairs to the top of a tower, we had a 360 degree view stretching all over Soweto.. definitely breathtaking. On our last night at our home stay, we were fortunate enough to go see Mandela’s Long Walk To Freedom in theaters at the local mall. It was such an honor to be able to watch this film in the country where Mandela changed so much. Our goodbyes were sad as we sent Sandile and Loyiso off to school the next morning, but we exchanged emails so I will definitely be keeping in touch with them!

View over Soweto

My wonderful host family

As we arrived later in Pretoria we settled down in a beautiful new guest house, that had a pool. WOOHOO! While in Pretoria we visited the U.S. Embassy , Freedom Park, the  Voortrekker monument, and the Capitol. Visiting these places, especially the U.S. Embassy made me really think about what my future holds. Surely not with the Embassy, but it solidified my thoughts on wanting to travel the world, hopefully working as a nurse. Windhoek, Namibia welcomed us with a downpour and a long line of customs. We were so excited to finally get here, that in fact it didn’t really matter. Seeing monkeys crossing the road and one sitting on top of a street sign filled our bus with shrieks and laughter; definitely something I won’t forget.

Our big, happy family

The highlight of being in Windhoek so far was visiting an orphanage in Katatura (a former black township).  Within a minute and a half of meeting the little ones, they grabbed our hands, asked to be held, and wouldn’t let go. Many of them are HIV positive but are healthy and getting treatment. Once they got a hold of my water bottle, there was no way I was getting it back, they were in heaven figuring out how it worked and taking swigs too big that poured out of their mouths. I couldn’t help but have joy in my heart knowing these little ones were being taken care of so well despite what may have happened in their past. There were 4 little houses with very clean living conditions and many of the older ones were off at school. It was incredible to see the differences these “moms” and “dads” were making in the lives of some who couldn’t help themselves. My heart broke when we left as some of the little ones began to cry. I wish I could go spend time with them every single day.

A little one with my water bottle at the Orange babies orphanage

Settled in Windhoek now for a few days, it’s beginning to feel like home. This city is absolutely beautiful, and our group of 15 students who hardly knew each other 2 weeks ago have become a little family. It’s crazy to think I’ve only been here for 2 weeks now. I begin my internship tomorrow, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but excited at the same time knowing the opportunities that await.

I had to

Thanks for reading,

xoxo

Maddy

First Week in Johannesburg

So we’ve officially settled in Johannesburg at a guest house which was a former seminary training school (where Desmond Tutu went, pretty cool)! When we arrived the first night the  group of 15 of us were pretty jet lagged so we just dinner, played some icebreaker games to get to know each other and then tried to get some sleep. I was successful for about 3 hours when my body woke me up telling me it was only 4pm, but it was actually 2am in Johannesburg. Breakfast began at 8am and then we were off for our day.

Before we toured the town we had a guest speaker named Mowlefi come and speak to us about the Apartheid and history of South Africa. This was exciting to me because to be honest I didn’t know much. He spoke about his personal involvement in the student uprisings and the impact that it made on the change to come. This was inspiring to me to see young people so passionate about change that they’re willing to step in to make a difference. Following the discussion, he then took us on a tour of Soweto, which is a black township in Guateng province of South Africa. Soweto alone has a population of about 3 million people! (the whole country of Namibia only has about 2 million). While touring Soweto, we visited Regina Mundi Catholic church which was a church that allowed students to gather during the uprisings. In this tour we saw bullet holes and broken banisters that were left that way to show the damage done when police invaded the church. We also got to sign the same guestbook Nelson Mandela did a few years prior as well as stand in the same spots he did, so awesome.

Inside the Regina Mundi Catholic Church

South Africa feels a lot like home, a lot less foreign than most would imagine. Despite people driving on the left instead of the right, and the currency change,  most areas don’t seem much different. Though, when we were walking around the mall after we got lunch, we got many stares because we were about the only white people walking around the area. I felt like we had a sign on our head that said ‘not from here’ but that’s okay, its funny! When we were driving we also even heard a guy yell to his friend “Hey look, white people!!” We all got a kick out of that.

Following the tour of Soweto we visited the Hector Pieterson museum, a museum dedicated to the student uprisings, and named after the first young boy who was innocently shot by police on June 16, 1976. His older sister paid us the honor of telling us the story of what happened. It was awesome to me how remarkably positive she was about the entire situation despite losing her baby brother. My best guess would be that she knows the impact and legacy that her brother and many other young individuals leave, so I suppose there is a certain peace that comes with that.

A blown up photo of the moments following Hector Pieterson's death, as his shaken sister runs beside

Tuesday, we headed out a bit earlier for our trip to Orange Farm. Going into this I didn’t really know what to expect, we were not really briefed on it beforehand so it was a surprise when I looked out the window as we drove over dirt roads, noting the shacks people call home on the side of the road. Orange Farm is a community small in size but had a population count of a bout 1.7 million in 2007. I’ll give a brief overview of what we saw in Orange Farm so you can get a feel for it. First we visited a recycling center and were given a tour by a wonderful lady named Gladys. She showed us around the area, explained the process a little bit and took us by the little daycare center they run as well (too cute!!). The recycling center is many people’s only form of income because so many are unemployed. While in Orange Farm we stopped by a specialty school where individuals of all ages (17-75) take classes learning basic life skills like cooking, computer functions, and woodwork. These individuals pay to go to these specialty classes so that they can have a degree so that they can have a better opportunity to get a job and better improve their lives. While in Orange Farm we also had the privilege of visiting a project center focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, teaching,healing and support groups. I especially loved this because of the passion people have for helping those who are positive, or have been effected by people who are HIV positive. After my visit to Orange Farm I couldn’t help but think about how incredibly blessed I am to have the opportunities I’ve been given. These people of Orange Farm have very little materially, but they do have hope and hearts bigger than you could ever imagine. Their desire to help those in need by providing services like HIV/AIDS education and support groups, counseling/lawyers for domestic violence victims, or recycling centers that allow people to make money is so inspiring and humbling at the same time. They just want to make a difference. And they are.

Plastics smashed together to be sent off

On Wednesday, we went to the province of Guateng’s capitol building where we met with the two major political party groups, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC). Since 1994 the ANC has had control of 8 or more of the 9 provinces in South Africa, and with the election coming up in May, things are getting pretty intense. I was really interested in learning about how the South African government runs as opposed to the U.S. The best thing to me about the South African government system is the fact that there are many, many political parties, and even though ANC has had control for the past 20 years, statistics are changing and the smaller parties are even making a difference. Wednesday night we were privileged to see a play in downtown Jo’burg which was based on racist stereotypes in America. I liked being able to see people’s perspectives here in Africa of us back in the U.S.

The group in front of the capitol in Gauteng

Visiting the Apartheid museum was very emotional but so full of so much new information. I especially enjoyed the Mandela exhibit; it was an incredible tribute to an incredible man. One part that stuck most with me that I learned was that Mandela took up a foreign identity, traveled to many countries all over Africa and got people to join the movement for freedom and equality. Last but not least, we got to visit the Wits Art Museum and learned a lot about African art and all the different forms. We were so lucky and got to go into the storage room, where many of their collections are kept. I especially loved the pottery because I can appreciate all of the hard work and patience that goes into creating and perfecting each individual pot.

This weekend I depart for my first home-stay in Soweto, with a family that has a 5 year old little boy and 11 year old boy. You could say I’m a little excited.

 

Thanks for reading, stay tuned!!

Xoxo

Maddy

A day lost, a lifetime changed

This is kind of my catch up post, stuff I’ve written over the past 3 days, but I haven’t had internet to post. Enjoy!!

To start out, I’m Madison, mostly known as Maddy. I’m currently a sophomore nursing major at Valpo and a member of Pi Beta Phi.

Well.. The journey has officially begun. I’m off, and I can hardly believe it!! I feel like I have waited my entire life for this opportunity and it’s just started to feel real within this past 24 hours (as I am currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight). Packing was.. well as packing normally goes; stressful, procrastinated, etc. But hey, I made it! Imagine your most stressful 6am morning possible at an airport, that’s kind of how mine went. Ticket didn’t show up, bag was too heavy, no one to help, but I made it to my flight, even without sprinting through the airport in my flip flops. Now that all the stress is done, the nerves and excitement are finally kicking in.. Well the excitement has been here for months on end, but still.

For those of you who don’t know me or my story, I’ll give a little background. I have dreamt of going to Africa for literally as long as I can remember. Whether it was a mission trip, a safari or just to travel there, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. So when I found out Valpo offered an abroad program in Namibia & South Africa, I was sold. I began planning quickly after my freshman year begun, because I knew that the nursing program had strict requirements. The people and unfamiliarity is what drew me to Africa specifically. Everyone has an idea in their head of what it’s like, what the people are like, how they live, etc., but you never really know until you experience it. So that’s what I set out to do.

As I took my last views of the California coast and Pacific Ocean, reality began to sink in. This is real. The 17 hour flight to from Washington Dulles to Johannesburg begins now. Lets just say the flight consisted of constant rustling around, a few cat naps, sleeping limbs, 3 movies [42, Great Gatsby & Jobs], sudoku, and lots and lots of Solitaire. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant ride, and went by a lot faster than I thought it would. After we stopped in Dakar, I got to watch my very first African sunrise as we flew over the island of Senegal. It was beautiful to say the least, very lion king-esque. I was one of the few students who sat next to someone other than a fellow student on our flight. As i observed the man sitting next to me, I noticed his worn hands, and as he spoke I could hear his accent. I began to wonder what his story was, where he was from, how many times he’s made this flight, how often? But, he had his headphones in, so I guess I’ll always wonder!

7 hours later we start to make our descent into Johannesburg. As I stare out the window, I see the city pass below me and then open plains. I notice cars driving on the left instead of the right, and I just can’t help but smile as I realize one of my lifelong dreams is coming true in that very moment. And now.. it’s real.

As we waited in the customs line at the airport a 7-9 year old boy begins to walk by stopping at each and every individual in line, asking in very broken english “hi you, where you from?” and would move on to the next. We later found out he was from Zimbabwe, as he made his way back down the line saying goodbye to everyone.

This next week has many adventures and lots of learning about Johannesburg’s history in store. So stay tuned!

I promise the next blogs will have more excitement.

xoxo

Maddy

GreenSpot

For one of our last development classes we went to GreenSpot organic farm in Okahandja. Manjo Smith, who runs the farm, gave us a thorough tour of the property before serving us a delicious organic breakfast cooked on their very own solar stove.

It was really refreshing to see how all aspects of nature work together in an efficient, self-sustaining farm that is still able to make a profit each year. With no prior experience in farming, Smith jumped right in to organic farming for over 8 years and though she has studied farming since then, she has really learned the most through trial and error over the years. Her passion and commitment to the farm are really an inspiration – if a former private sector employee can turn a plot of land into one of the country’s most successful organic farms, then surely I can attempt to grow a small garden once I get back to the states!

Some of Smith’s tricks for farming seem so clever..but then again they are more like common sense when you actually think about it. Seeing how the farm functions without the use of pesticides and GMOs like in big commercial farms was really great. The chickens on the farm eat up all the insects and weeds as they rotate throughout different pieces of land. They allow the chickens to naturally hatch the number of chickens they choose while keeping the extra eggs for consumption. The chicks grow up with a mother hen, which has proven to produce better quality meat and eggs. Smith is still trying to build up the chicken population on the farm, so right now they do not have enough eggs or chicken meat to sell, but in a few years they hope to have the chicken coup up to full capacity.

The cat and dog take care of snake and rodent issues around the farm. And the calf is allowed to graze openly in certain plots. Smith explained the importance of rotating crops each season as certain crops take away nitrogen and other infuse nitrogen back into the soil. This way no chemicals are needed to maintain the quality of the soil. Each year the farmers throw small red-painted rocks into the strawberry fields right before harvest so that when the berries are actually ripe, the birds will not eat them because they’ll associate the strawberries with the hard rocks. Smith is also trying to grow squash next to the corn this year since the height differences in the plants are believed to distract the fruit flies.

I was so impressed by the farm’s ability to produce such delicious produce without any pesticides or GMOs. Smith is a strong advocate against GMOs, especially genetically-modified corn, since Namibia and South Africa are the two main countries that eat corn as a staple food – much of the subsidized GMO corn in the U.S. is used for bio-fuel and not consumption. Smith’s organic farm also has their own bee hives, which have not been affected in the slightest by the mysterious colony collapse disorder that has swept the United States and is believed by some to be linked to Monsanto GMO crops.

South Africa recently opened their borders to Monsanto’s GMO seeds, and the backlash from environmental activists has been enormous. The strain of corn being used in South Africa contains one of the two active ingredients in the infamous Agent Orange, also a product of Monsanto. The Green Times reports that exposure to 2,4-D corn has been linked to non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been shown in studies to cause birth defects, neurological damage, and interference with reproductive organs. Unfortunately anti-GMO activists have had difficulty actually proving the link between Monsanto GMOs and cancer.

Either way, the thought of eating food infused and/or sprayed with chemicals that were based off of the chemicals used in Nazi gas chambers is not appealing. Thankfully Namibia has not yet allowed GMO seeds into the country. Imported food in the grocery stores is not exempt though.

South African activists are pushing petitions to ban Monsanto GMOs in the country. In spite of their efforts, Monsanto maintains a worldwide monopoly on the agriculture industry. Big money means big power and big influence in politics as we’ve seen year after year through Monsanto’s powerful lobbyists and lawyers. I agree with Smith though, the power to the change the system lies in the hands of the consumers. Slowly, but surely, I think consumers will open their eyes to the damage of Monsanto’s chemicals and change the demand “back to basics” and the innovative technology that organic farming entails.

 

Community Based Resource Management

So while in Namibia we took a short trip to the south where we examined community-based resource management. It was exciting that we’ve now seen nearly every corner of Namibia.  Also, while learning Khoekhoegowab this semester (the language of our rural host family) we had high school students come and tutor us.  The language is a compilation of Damara (spoken in the Khorixas area) and Nama (a language spoken in the south) and some of the students were from this area, so it was interesting to see where they were from.  Our main purpose though was to compare some of the areas that are trying to implement programs similar to the ones Namibia has won awards for and some challenges they are facing.

 

Namibia has been praised internationally for its successful conservation programs and just last month, Namibia was awarded the Markhor Award for the conservation of biological diversity and human livelihoods by the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation. The award was presented at the 11th annual United Nations Biodiversity Conference in India.

During apartheid, land was owned predominately by whites, forcing black Namibians onto small plots of land with few resources or animals. The only way for many of these farmers to survive was through poaching. Poaching intensified during the 70s and 80s amid drought and war, resulting in a near extinction of many animals.

In the 90s, Namibia thought of a way to turn poachers into gamekeepers by shifting to a policy of community-based resource management, where farmers live hand-in-hand with wildlife in designated conservancies.

The programs have been very successful in the northwest Kunene region where Hartmann’s mountain zebra numbers have grown to 27,000 from only 1,000 in 1982. Namibia has the largest black rhino population in the world, and the number of desert-adapted elephants is five times higher than in 1982.

The combined total earnings of Namibia’s conservancies total more than US$4.8 million, derived mainly from trophy hunting and tourism. Private-public partnerships are at the heart of the program’s success in places like the Torra conservancy in northwest Namibia, where the private Damaraland Camp pays rent to the conservancy and hires locals  in exchange for running a luxury lodge that brings in large-scale tourism, job creation, marketing, and training for local employees.

Conservancies in the south seem to be in a very different situation than those in the north, however, as we learned on our travel seminar this weekend. Mr. Davids, a former employee of the Namibian Development Trust (NDT), told our group that conservancies in the south struggle to sustain themselves without the big-5 game animals. The money southern conservancies do make, which is roughly US$11,400 goes directly to operational costs.

The Ganigobes community campsite where we stayed one night in southern Namibia began as a project of the NDT back in 2007. Since its inauguration in 2010, the campsite has only had 2 overnight groups (both CGE groups). They are also struggling to get plumbing set up due to government and money-related issues.

The program has since lost its EU funding, and the NDT has been forced to close down as well. Without funding, the campsite struggles to market itself. In order to just put up a road sign, they need to be registered with the Namibian Tourism Board, which can take ages to accomplish with all the bureaucracy it entails.

The community in Ganigobes is in the process of applying for conservancy status in hopes that as a conservancy, the community will be able to buy game animals at a cheaper rate to attract more visitors to the area. Even with more springbok and ostriches, the Ganigobes community still lacks the big-5 animals and is not likely to prosper to the extent of Namibia’s northern conservancies without government funding or support from private-partnerships with the already-established luxury resorts in the region.

Regardless, the Ganigobes campsite, as well as the Brukkaros campsite where we stayed our second night, are both beautiful. The landscape is gorgeous and the sunsets are breathtaking. Ganigobes has a hot spring and a view of the mountain. They also have drinking water, but no plumbing. The Brukkaros campsite does not have water, but it situated right at the base of the mountain, so if you like hiking, be sure to check it out! We spent our third night at a private lodge near Mariental, Namibia. They have indoor lodges with showers, electricity, etc. but they also have very nice campsites with electricity, showers, toilets, and a kitchen area (just tables, shelves, and a sink).

While the private lodge was very nice, it did not have the same hiking or breathtaking landscape. The lodge is perfect for the traditional Namibian tourist, eager to set out on a game safari drive or lounge by the pool and drink at the bar. I enjoyed all three sites, and while the third lodge has the ‘comforts of home,’ I still enjoy the occasional rustic camping trip to the community sites where you can be left alone in nature without the distractions of other loud tourists.

But that is not to say the lodge was not very enjoyable – even though they are not community-run, they still were very adamant about incorporating wildlife conservancy and sustainable ecotourism into their business model, which I found very refreshing! The lodge also offers internships to Namibian tourism students and gives back to schools in the community. The staff are well trained in eco-tourism and wildlife conservation…I am not sure whether members at the community campsites are given the same type of training in conservation…
If you are interested in reading more about Namibia’s conservation programs, feel free to check out Janessa Schilmoeller’s related article: http://www.mintpress.net/is-namibias-internationally-acclaimed-conservancy-model-a-cookie-cutter-for-development/

 

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