Making moves

Disclaimer: the content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. government, the Peace Corps, or the South African Government.

So much has happened over the last couple of months that I hardly know where to begin!

I spent the last two weeks of July in Polokwane for my cohort’s in-service training (IST) to better prepare me to introduce evidence-based interventions, and to properly monitor and evaluate these interventions, at my site.  I received training for Grassroots Soccer, an intervention that uses soccer to teach youth about HIV, and Zazi, which means “know your strength” and is designed to empower young women to make positive choices for their future.  We did enjoy one free day, which we used to walk the Polokwane Game Reserve. It is amazing how well the animals are able to hide from view!  We were almost next to several animals before we even noticed them, and we never were able to see a rhino.

After IST I headed to Cape Town for my first vacation since arriving in South Africa.  Cape Town is absolutely beautiful!  I stayed about a block from the beach (but did not swim since August is a winter month here), and had the opportunity to see penguins, visit wineries and a brewery, and visit Table Mountain.  After an ill-fated attempt at hiking Table Mountain I took the cable car to the top to see the view, which was breath-taking.

I followed Cape Town with a month in Pretoria while I waited for my new site.  When staying in the village access to first world amenities may sound enticing, but once in the city I felt that I was spinning my wheels, as though I was not serving my purpose.  Luckily, I only had to wait four weeks for my new site.

My new site is in the Limpopo province, and I am living with the Tsonga people.  I speak very little XiTsonga, but I am fortunate that many of those around me speak English.  The Tsonga are such an exuberant people, with brightly colored clothing and such upbeat music and dancing.  I had the opportunity to attend the Heritage Day celebration for the primary and secondary schools, which was quite entertaining.  It only became slightly awkward when they wanted to see me dance and paused the show until I acquiesced.

Currently I am working on settling in to my new home, adjusting to my new village, and working with my new organization toward their desired goals.  The organization operates as a home based care, a victim empowerment project, and a drop-in center for orphans and vulnerable children.  The big vision my supervisors have is that they will be able to build an accommodation for victims of domestic violence, which should keep us very busy over the next year.