Campaign Day 2--Delivering the Nets

Friday, July 23, 2010

We woke up at 6 AM to get dressed and load the bus, that way we could leave immediately after delivering the nets. Today, we wore red shirts that Tommie had designed and printed specifically for the Campaign. We started the day with another "kgotla" meeting, but this one was much more official because the Chief of Parakarungu was there, as well as other dignitaries.

Nets purchased for the Campaing

We arrived at the meeting at 8:00, and were scheduled to begin at 9:00, but we had to wait because Victoria O'Connell, the representative from the Regional Health Office of the US Embassy, was running very late. One of the students, Rebaone, stalled by singing a few songs on the microphone, and some of the villagers even sang along. Eventually the meeting started, and several people spoke about village issues. Another student, Tshenolo, translated for us because they were mostly speaking in Tsetswana. After awhile, we told her only to translate if they were talking about malaria and the Campaign, because we didn't care about any of the other business.

At one point in the meeting, all of the villagers sang Botswana's National Anthem. We had been given the lyrics two days earlier and taught the melody and pronunciation, and we had been practicing for this moment. Luckily, there was no microphone on us. Later in the meeting, we were both introduced to the villagers as high school teachers and the donors of the mosquito nets. They made a point of saying that this shows that "America really does care about Africa, not just Iraq and Afghanistan."

By 11:00, Victoria O'Connell finally arrived and gave her speech, and soon after the meeting concluded. We had a chance to meet her, as well as the Member of Parliament for the Chobe District, Gordon Nshimwe. Mr. Nshimwe is the equivalent of a member of the House of Representatives in the US Congress.

Member of Parliament, Gordon Nshimwe

Regional Health Officer for US Embassy, Victoria O'Connell

We divided up into teams, and we were each matched up with a representative from the Chobe District Council to help us translate and deliver the nets. These government representatives had the responsibility of keeping track of where and how many nets were delivered. They had GPS tracking devices to locate the households because there are no street addresses. This was a lot of bureaucratic paperwork, and we weren't interested in anything except delivering nets. We only had a little more than one hour to deliver the nets because the kgotla ran so long, and our bus needed to leave by one o'clock in order to get back to Kasane and get fuel before 4:30.

All the teams split up, and the two of us and our partners were able to visit four households. At each house, we had to ask how many people, including children, lived there. Then we needed to see how many sleeping spaces there were. We were trying to give one net for every two people, or one for each sleeping space. We also checked to see if they already owned any nets, and if so, how old and in what condition they were. Then we would decide how many nets to give them. We opened each new net to check for holes, and we explained how to properly care for the net. In total, we gave out around 11 nets. Some teams gave more, and some gave fewer, and we didn't have time to give out all 500 nets before we had to leave. However, the workers from the Chobe District Council would be staying in the village, and they assured us that the rest of the nets would be given out.

Doug and Dena with 2 mosquito nets


Doug helping to explain proper care for the net

When we finished the work and had to leave, each of the Burbank/Gaborone representatives traded their red t-shirts with their team partners in exchange for their white t-shirts. It reminded us of the end of a World Cup soccer match, when the players exchange jerseys with the other team.

We got back on the bus and said goodbye to Parakarungu. It was a bitter sweet goodbye--the conditions were rough, but it was a great experience. The ride out of the village was just as rough as the ride in, and there was no chance of resting on the bus over this bumpy road. Eventually, we made it back to Kasane, got fuel for the bus, and bought some snacks and drinks at a local grocery store. Then we went back to the campsite's main lodge where we had a delicious dinner of beef and chicken with other side dishes. We also exchanged email addresses with all the students and took several pictures because they would be leaving early in the morning, while we would be staying behind to spend the weekend in Zambia and Zimbabwe. We started to get a little sad because we weren't sure when we would all see each other again.

pictures with the group before leaving them

Back at the campsite, we finally had a chance to shower in our chalet--they fixed our shower while we were away. We've noticed that throughout our stay in Botswana, our living conditions have been quite a roller coaster ride. We started in a very nice hotel, then downgraded a little when we moved into Tommie's house for one night. Then we were at the campsite, which in some respects may have been an improvement (shower), but also a step down (food). The low point was definitely Parakarungu, sleeping on the floor on a very old mattress, constantly breathing through the dust, and being forced to "catch" a chicken for our lunch. We were very happy to be back at the campsite, which felt like a palace after "The Curse of Parakarungu," as we started to call it.

We repacked one of our suitcases with things we wouldn't need over the weekend, that way Tommie could take it back to Gaborone for us. Then we spent some time with the students so we could say goodbye. During the week, I had been wearing my Burbank Golf hat to cover my unshowered head. This hat became the envy of all the students, so I decided to give it away to Onalenna, one of the boys, because I had bonded with him more than the others. Also, Tshenolo, the girl who translated for us at the kgotla, had named her stuffed bear "Dena," so she could always have Dena with her. We were sad to be saying goodbye, but we all hoped there would be time to visit their school again next week.