Feb 1, 2012
Dumalang! Well, my dear friends, I have officially been in Botswana for now for three weeks, and it seems like only yesterday I got off the plane and settled into the flat! It’s even more difficult to believe that by next Friday (Feb 13th) I will have completed my first month of my 6 months study here in Africa! Can any of you believe this? I sure cannot. But this last week has been a quite an amazing one I must say!
Dumalang! Well, my dear friends, I have officially been in Botswana for now for three weeks, and it seems like only yesterday I got off the plane and settled into the flat! It’s even more difficult to believe that by next Friday (Feb 13th) I will have completed my first month of my 6 months study here in Africa! Can any of you believe this? I sure cannot. But this last week has been a quite an amazing one I must say!
On Monday, Sandy got all of her hair put into tiny braids-African style. She has wanted to do this for a while now. Th
e hair dresser who did the braids, Ruth actually is from Zimbabwe. She makes a living by doing hair in Botswana. It was a lot of fun to see how detailed each step was! First Sandy and Ruth went and bought brown and grayish-gold hair extensions to match Sandy’s own hair. Then they separated out the strands of browns and grays in two separate piles. The top of Sandy’s hair was put in large clips while the bottom half was being done. Ruth began the braiding at the very bottom of the head and worked her way to 
the sides and then eventually to the top part of the head. It was so much fun to watch how Ruth’s delicate fingers weaved and worked through Sandy’s hair for 4 ½ hours. There was such a quiet gentleness about Ruth that it was restful to watch her. Watching this process reminds me of when I was a small child sitting next to my oldest sister Becky for hours and watching my mom braid extensions into her (Becky’s) hair!
e hair dresser who did the braids, Ruth actually is from Zimbabwe. She makes a living by doing hair in Botswana. It was a lot of fun to see how detailed each step was! First Sandy and Ruth went and bought brown and grayish-gold hair extensions to match Sandy’s own hair. Then they separated out the strands of browns and grays in two separate piles. The top of Sandy’s hair was put in large clips while the bottom half was being done. Ruth began the braiding at the very bottom of the head and worked her way to 
the sides and then eventually to the top part of the head. It was so much fun to watch how Ruth’s delicate fingers weaved and worked through Sandy’s hair for 4 ½ hours. There was such a quiet gentleness about Ruth that it was restful to watch her. Watching this process reminds me of when I was a small child sitting next to my oldest sister Becky for hours and watching my mom braid extensions into her (Becky’s) hair!On Tuesday Ntebeleng and I went to the St. Peters Day Care, which is run by the Anglican Church in Botswana for children affected by AIDS. Some of them are orphans. We talked about what I would be doing for my service project. Gladys Mudereri is in charge of the Day Care and also the wife of a priest in the Diocese. She and I got along very well from the very first second we met, and from the moment I saw her I liked her immediately! We arrived at 9:30 am and Gladys took us into the dining hall where the children were finishing up their breakfast of milk and porridge. When Ntebeleng and I entered the room, the sea of little shining black and brown eyes was fixed on me. None of these darling children had EVER in their lives seen anybody like me! Gladys introduced us, and told them that I will be working with them and doing a lot of activities with them. When Gladys told the children to say, “Hello Miss Minda,” the kids responded with a rather quiet “Hello” that revealed their surprised curiosity.
After we’d been introduced, Gladys took us out to show us around while the children finished breakfast. There is a large court yard in the center of the building. Then each classroom is aligned one right after the other. Each room is very nice and large with PLENTY of room for the children to move around and play. In each classroom there are pictures of fruit or animals and objects that have the Setswana name on the top right of the picture and then the English name on the bottom left side. In the front of every classroom there is a large black board where the teachers write out the lessons. Behind the center there is a small garden where the vegetables are grown and eventually eaten.
When the tour was finished, we went to Gladys’ office, which is located in the back of the building, so we could talk more about my service project - this included some tea and delicious biscuits. I brought all the materials that I’d gathered at home, such as a booklet about the stories of Jesus and his miracles. Gladys was delighted when I suggested that I could retell the kids the Jesus stories and have them illustrate some of the stories and as well act them out! She thought that would be a wonderful idea because it would help some of the children really develop a clear understanding of God’s love for each of them and also help them with their English learning and communication skills. This is very important for them because they have to be able to understand English to go to regular school. They all speak Setswana, but in class they have to learn English because that is the official language. So they will teach me the stories in Setswana after I teach them in English! She and I read over some of the stories including Jesus calming the storm, walking on water, healing the sick, raising the dead, turning water into wine, etc… and eventually settled on the ‘’Feeding of the 5,000’’ as the first story to tell act out. Gladys told me that this is a good one to start out with, because she and the other teachers have been helping the children learn the importance of sharing with others and not always being the ones to receive. I will start my project next Monday, and we are going to use real bread and fish sticks! I have a feeling that it is going to be a lot of fun as well as interesting. I was already falling in LOVE with this place the minute the gate opened and our taxi drove in.
During our talk I also mentioned that the older children who come for after school care could retell the stories and illustrate them, writing a little bit about themselves and then bring the stories together and make a booklet in both Setswana and English that St. Peter’s could then sell in order to support the Daycare! Gladys liked that idea as well, and thinks we should do something like this starting next month. I am sure we could sell some in the US as well as in Botswana for other children to read.
During our talk I also mentioned that the older children who come for after school care could retell the stories and illustrate them, writing a little bit about themselves and then bring the stories together and make a booklet in both Setswana and English that St. Peter’s could then sell in order to support the Daycare! Gladys liked that idea as well, and thinks we should do something like this starting next month. I am sure we could sell some in the US as well as in Botswana for other children to read.
Mid-morning, while the children were still in school Gladys, Ntebeleng, and I went out to see the Cheshire Center. It is a community that takes care of mentally and physically disabled men, women, and children throughout Botswana. Gladys had wanted to do this for quite a while now and th
is particular day she could finally accomplish another task on her to-do-list! It is only a few miles away from St. Peter’s, so we figured we could go to Cheshire and then be back at the Day Care right in time for lunch. I was so stoked to go, that I could hardly sit still in my seat for the ride. We were warmly greeted by the director who excitedly gave us a tour of the place. Sandy had actually told him about me before I arrived in Botswana. I met with the staff, the caregivers, those who are in charge of the funds, cooks, laundresses, and the beautiful children. I got to hold several of the children who were severely disabled that they really could not move themselves at all. They were so precious, and I could see God’s face shining through each of them. One little girl 
whose name was Kaleboga, could not move her legs at all and her hands were twisted in a way so that she could not easily grasp anything very easily. Even her neck was limp, and her head lolled from side to side. She could not have been more than 10 years old. But her disability did not keep her from reaching out to the world in any way she could. I held onto her for a good thirty minutes and I will never forget that absolutely tender smile that never for a second left her face. We simply sat there in each other’s embrace. I almost could not break away from her when it was time for us to move on. I came across another little boy who was similar to Kaleboga but he was at least two years older than she, and slightly more mobile. He wanted to take pictures of me with him and continuously asked Ntebeleng to “flash some snaps!” He finally settled on taking a picture with us 
hugging each other. The poor lad!!
is particular day she could finally accomplish another task on her to-do-list! It is only a few miles away from St. Peter’s, so we figured we could go to Cheshire and then be back at the Day Care right in time for lunch. I was so stoked to go, that I could hardly sit still in my seat for the ride. We were warmly greeted by the director who excitedly gave us a tour of the place. Sandy had actually told him about me before I arrived in Botswana. I met with the staff, the caregivers, those who are in charge of the funds, cooks, laundresses, and the beautiful children. I got to hold several of the children who were severely disabled that they really could not move themselves at all. They were so precious, and I could see God’s face shining through each of them. One little girl 
whose name was Kaleboga, could not move her legs at all and her hands were twisted in a way so that she could not easily grasp anything very easily. Even her neck was limp, and her head lolled from side to side. She could not have been more than 10 years old. But her disability did not keep her from reaching out to the world in any way she could. I held onto her for a good thirty minutes and I will never forget that absolutely tender smile that never for a second left her face. We simply sat there in each other’s embrace. I almost could not break away from her when it was time for us to move on. I came across another little boy who was similar to Kaleboga but he was at least two years older than she, and slightly more mobile. He wanted to take pictures of me with him and continuously asked Ntebeleng to “flash some snaps!” He finally settled on taking a picture with us 
hugging each other. The poor lad!!Before we left, the director told us about a mile walk that happens every year, done in order to raise money for the disabled. It is to take place on the 25th of February and he wondered if I would be interested in joining them in the walk. I immediately I said that I would- how on earth could I not?! Of course, that committed my “pushers” to walk, too!
On the way back to St. Peter’s, Gladys and I thought that it would be very good, as well as important if the older children would make a trip over to Cheshire and meet the children there. Gladys said that would be good for St. Peter’s children - especially those who are orphaned, to see a different sort of suffering and it would be good for them to reach out to others. This would also be wonderful on another level. If the kids from St. Peters make friends with the kids at Cheshire they may end up wanting to do things together outside the center which then would bring them out into the public more. Hopefully this would start encouraging other disabled people to come out into society as well.
I would like to see something like this happen while I’m here – the disabled really coming out and being acknowledged as children of God just as others are. I want people to see them for who they are. I feel like this is a large part of why I’m here and every day I think that God lays this on my heart more and more. Pray that the churches will be more and more willing to embrace the disabled and then to let them, serve alongside “normal” people. It is not easy anywhere, but it is hard here because many people still think that someone did something to the mother, or that the mother did something wrong to make these people handicapped, and so they are not really seen as “good.” Please continue to pray for me as I begin my service project next week and for God to open new doors of learning opportunities for me. Again I’m so happy to be here!
Baka Moreno, mowa we me le tsotlhe tse di mo teng ga me, bakang Liena la gagwe le le boishepo. Dipesalome 103:1
Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name! Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name! Psalm 103:1
Sala Sentle!
Minda
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