Tearfund Botswana Team 2011

Ghanzi has a lot to offer, no one could deny it-Choppies, The Kalahari Arms, plenty of goats, cows and dogs.  But it seems they have been our top African wild life sighting so far, however last Saturday afternoon, things took an interesting turn of events. Some local Afrikaans arrived at our house simply wanting to know if we wanted to go and see the lions for free, so naturally we jumped at the opportunity. We piled into our new friend Richard’s Rav 4 and before we knew it we were face to face with the King of the Jungle.  For obvious safety reasons behind a fence, but even still, face to face. It was definitely a highlight and amazing to see these beautiful animals so close. However, I’m not sure if Joanna feels the same after being heavily scent marked by one of these majestic creatures. Comparable to the excitement about the lions, was the fact that William and Harry had been at same place a couple of years ago. It was definitely a class way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Monday brought about May Day and a day to relax.  For Holly and I, a day devoted to tanning. However Whitcroft learnt the hard way, it wasn’t just a heat rash. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that we are looking a great colour now!

The working week began with plenty of vigour, passion and enthusiasm. Excited, we went back to our beloved D.R.C and Kabakae and it was great to see our clients again. An encouraging morning was had by all which presented lots of opportunities to serve the community in the next few weeks. Kids’ club took a slightly different format this week and along with enjoying standard Duck, Duck, Goose we took the opportunity to pray and share a message with these children-what an absolute privilege! So many of these children have never heard the gospel and it was so precious to be able to use Kids’ club as a platform to tell them Jesus loves them. Please pray that God will be able to really work in those children’s lives.

We’re all really beginning to get into the stride of teaching. JMT and Jo do their Saturday morning maths club, everyone wants to be there! The real Jo, Jon and the fake Jo teach throughout the week in the Junior School and Holly, Beej and I find ourselves in the madness that is Kabakae primary school two afternoons a week. It is so rewarding but no one could say we have not been thrown in at the deep end!

Thursday brought about the one of the bumpiest journeys Botswana has had to offer yet.  The trip to Hannahai in the combi was not comfortable in the traditional sense, taking at least twice as long as usual but after two and a bit hours, it was so worth it .  The settlements are completely different places to D.R.C. and Kabakae.  The people mainly live off the land and it is so interesting to get a wee bit of insight into their lives.  Beej, Oaitse and I spent the afternoon meeting people and asking them “If there is one thing we could do for you, what would it be?”  We got some really positive answers and I’m really excited about being able to serve them.

Our busy week continued even to Friday. We spent our Friday clearing a yard of an ill member of our congregation.  The yard was much bigger than we expected and at first seemed daunting but we got properly stuck in and some hours later it was clear and looked great.  Holly is a real African woman who can dig with her hands and Beej recently received his wheelbarrow licence.

As a team we have been trying to set up a lot of new projects and develop Bridges of Hope whilst we are here.  One thing we felt passionate about were the young people in the church.  So on Saturday night we met with them for the second time.  The first time only a few had turned up and but it was a good night.  On Saturday we wanted to launch our youth cell group/Bible Study/Meet together to learn, worship and pray (it hasn’t got a catchy name yet but we’re working on it!)  I expected maybe seven young people to turn up on Saturday and maybe three would come to our cell group. How I underestimated God!  At least thirty, maybe forty young people turned up, most of them weren’t members of the church they just heard something was happening.  We ate food, prayed, played games, danced and had class conversations.  God is so faithful and I felt it was so evident to see him working there.  It was an amazing night and maybe one of my trip highlights. I can not wait to start our cell group next Thursday, so please pray, pray, pray! These young people so need to hear to word of God in a way that is tangible and real to them.

The start of this week has been hectic which is one of the reasons it has taken me so long to blog. Monday was again testimony to God’s goodness.  We set off to do Kids’ Club in the afternoon, everything was against us; it was unbelievably hot, everyone was very tired from the morning, no Africans would come with us to translate and we couldn’t even get a lift! We said a wee prayer before leaving and God was so faithful to that. We arrived and out of no where fifty children, calling their friends were running to greet us.  We prayed and played games and then the showstopper was brought out.  Holly received a parcel with a parachute in it at the weekend-thank you so much, Maxine! Totally amazing! The joy in those children’s faces as we trapped them underneath, threw balls up in the air and played games, was so infectious! How we take for granted resources like that at home!

Finally, we get to yesterday.  We’re all still tired today because yesterday we constructed a house.  Maybe house is a grand term, but definitely a living facility, four walls and a roof. We have been encouraging an old man who is living in a shack in the D.R.C. to move to his plot. Living on his plot means he can receive so much more help from the government, have his own water tap and support for his children to go to school.  We took his shack down in twenty minutes; it took slightly longer than that to reassemble.  After some serious miscalculations, we seemed to run out of materials. When you’ve just  taken down someone’s house and then you try and put it back but seem to only have half a roof, it’s a little bit difficult. However Lems saved the day, sourcing some extra plastic for the roof and after a lot of hard work, we were very proud of our efforts.  The family moved in last night and we’re really looking forward to going back and see how they’ve settled in t their new home.

We’ve had a busy week and a half and really seen God move. I know we all look forward to the second half of this trip with great anticipation of what God is going to do. Now we’re just praying we don’t get eaten by a hippo in the next couple of days as we head up to Maun early tomorrow morning!

Over and out

Becky x

A one week break from blogging and we can come up with one simple conclusion; we don’t understand the Africans, but we love them. However, it‘s not an ‘I don’t understand’ like the Irish contingent don’t understand the concept of a lie-in, nor an ‘I don’t understand’ like Jon Chapman doesn’t understand the concept of attendance, but more an ‘I don’t understand’ like Jo Allan doesn’t understand the concept of daylight. Simple. And if you ‘understand’ that exceptionally convoluted metaphor then you deserve some sort of medal.

The past week centred mainly around 2 events being the Wedding and Easter. Desperate for unadulterated banter before we were kicked out of our bedrooms and sucked into preparations, we went searching far and wide for a suitable memento to signify Monday as a beautiful and historic occasion. What we found wasn’t beautiful, or historic for that matter, but it was very funny. In short, wee putted ve hed of a pig intoo ve toylet. Only in Africa do you waltz into the local store, looking for rice and peas, and leave wielding a 2kg hog’s head that set you back little over £1. It’s a magical thing. As expected, the rest of the day left us tapping our feet whilst waiting for the victim, J. Allan, to be scared witless whence nature did call. Needless to say he found it. He jumped. He screamed. He cried. He wailed in fact. It was when he started hyperventilating in a horizontal state and Medi-Vac were on the phone that we thought, just maybe, it was a little harsh. But hey, the things one can do in the name of banter, stupendous.

This light-hearted exchange set the tone for an utterly splendid week of the finest that Botswana and its people have to offer. Without being humorous, some of the names we have come across have been unreal. I tell no lie when I say we’ve met a: Native, Innocent, Divine, Pinky, Monnapula Monnapula, Patience, Memory, Exclamation, Future and George. Ok, not the last one, but still, quite a prestigious bunch I’m sure you’d agree. The essence of the Botswanans, however, isn’t in their names but in their unique way of life. I’m talking late-coming, early-rising, all-singing, law-breaking, extraordinary-dancing, people-loving, grub-eating, forget-to-supply-drinks-ing, 5-hour-church-service-ing, every-last-part-of-a-cow-cooking, child-wielding, anti-swimming, meat-devouring, sun-hating, dubious-fashion-donning, questionable-banter-adoring and generally God-loving human beings. It is a true pleasure to be submerged into a place so rich in character, culture and the obedience and love of Jesus.

On to the main event, (leaving out the highly controversial decision to baptise 2 men, bless the Cataclysts, sing, pray, take communion, read and give 8 separate min-sermons in one service) it was time for the wedding. The wedding. The wedding of Shady and Rethabile. The wedding of Shady and Rethabile on the 23^rd April at 10:00. The wedding of Shady and Rethabile on the 23^rd April at 10:00 that somehow managed to commence at 12:30. Standard. But my, oh my, what an occasion it was. From driving through the town honking and cheering to the reverberating soulful sound made by the church upon the bride’s arrival it was something we’ll always remember. In some respects it resembled a British wedding. There was a bride, a groom, a church, a pastor, a bunch of bridesmaids, a few token ushers, a ceremony, some rings, a traditional kiss, a reception, speeches, a meal and a slightly drunken Great-Auntie. But at the same time, as you might catch from the pictures, it oozed spirit and charm (leaving the inherent tack to one side) and was a true testament to all the preparation and build-up. Preposterously excellent.

A highlight of the day for us all, especially our resident secret agent (JMT) and our resident Brit-abroad (Jon Chapman), was the journey from the reception to the evening braai. We piled onto an open cattle truck, brimming with chairs, accompanied by around 50 San children and a few of the ‘Ghanzi Youth’ and set sail into the sunset. Not only was it atmospheric and stunning but it was also life-threateningly terrifying. The driver, who was either slightly merry or had a burning hatred for children, seemed to milk every turn and bend to the point where we were almost convinced we might flip. What an immense buzz it was though. It almost makes the 2 unidentified casualties of the event justified. (I gest, of course.) Morbidly electric.

The evening drifted off into a carnivore’s haven, kwassa kwassa dancing, spiderman, gorilla pouncing, a naughty native and Jo Allan ensuring the local girls that, ‘Back in England, I’m a bit of a legend.’ A wonderfully fitting end to an educational and superb day that will linger long in our memories.

In other news, life continues as previously described. Filled with the riches and wonders of Botswana. Kids Club keeps us busy. Primary and Secondary school keeps us even busier. And we learn more with each visit to our squatter villages. There are also plans for building and development work. But I’ll leave that talk for another person, another day. For now, that’s all folks.

This is Bej, clocking out.

(Disclaimer; No Jo Allans were harmed during the writing of this blog.)

The pig. The wedding. The Thabang. Living the dream.

Yet another eventful week in the Seitlheko household;  two more kids clubs, two more dead animals, two days teaching in schools, 17 further trips to Chopies & 24 bad dances by Jon.

So to continue the epic tale from where Joanna finished – last week ended with a trip for Becky, Beej & Holly to Kabakae Primary School, where they worked with the various teachers to teach Tswana, Botswanan Social Studies & Maths (respectively). Yes really Tswana – Becky is now the team expert and is offering lessons for P10. The teachers were so impressed with their performance that this week they walked out this week and left the team to it. We’ve also been attempting to get involved with the local junior school (yrs 7 -9) to limited success - they are very up for us helping but they just don’t have a school timetable yet…

The weekend brought more teaching (Joanna & myself taught GCSE Maths at the local secondary school) & more importantly the first ever youth club. Now you may imagine a youth club would involve table tennis or pool being played by people under 18; if this is the case you clearly have never have been to Botswana, or more importantly our youth group.

The evening started predictably late (9pm instead of 8pm) with food (& 1 person out of 25 under 18). Then (as alluded to above) the dancing began with Jon leading the way in spectacular fashion. After 3 hours of dancing (mostly to Rhianna) the church’s youth (anyone who is yet to marry) moved on to a house farm party while we remained to clean up the church, after arguably, the most exotic Botswanan dance night…. Ever! My favorite dance move of the night was a high kick by one of the local youth that finished with a Stiletto 3 inches from Jo A’s nose. He’s still in recovery.

The new week started more soberly – while Holly, Lems & I went to research the full extent of help available to those living in squatter camps (minimal unfortunately) the others were given a dead baby. During the night one of our client’s babies had died – and since local authorities where reluctant or unable to help the remainder of the team helped transport the corpse to the morgue.  The baby had a treatable illness – but the parents had decided that a life in the squatter camps wasn’t one they wanted for their child.

The week continued with the usual shenanigans (visiting clients, hospital visits & HIV testing). An unexpected extra this week was when certain members of the team had a fight with some local guard dogs & were only saved by the calm persuasion of Lems (they hid behind him).

We also launched the Kabakae kids club on Thursday – which was a resounding success in terms of children attracted (maybe 40 children). The majority of the group answered important questions such as “What’s the time Mr Wolf?”, while a couple of us tried to befriend the children who were more scared of the wolves transformers.

I was also fortunate enough to visit the farm this week – where we slaughtered a cow and a goat (bringing the total hit count for the team to 3). Rumor has it a donkey (or a horse) is next on the target list.

Monday announces the start of a ten day national strike – there is a danger this might involve closing the post office – further raising Jo A’s & Holly’s parcel envy.

Team morale remains high after a late Brunch of pancakes (cooked by our very own Wallace Beej Harris). This afternoon shall see a trip to see Bertwina AKA the Kalahari arms – which serves the best (& now I think about it, only) milkshakes in town. You’ll find it in local guide books as the number one location for first dates – the second date should be a trip to the Namibian coast (a ten hour round trip)…

Jonathan

P.S. Next week is a ‘communications’ ban – which means no more internet (& possibly texts) until next Sunday.

1 month in Botswana and the tiny town of Ghanzi is starting to feel like home. Becky even found being called a tourist almost an insult.

The arrival of Rethabile and Shaddieh’s traditional wedding has meant we have been able to witness some of Botswana’s culture. The animals that took residence in our garden are unfortunately deceased. One sheep and the cow were gone by the time we woke up last Thursday, however the other sheep was given a few hours of extra life until Oaitse used Jonathan’s penknife to basically hack it’s head off. Oaitse skilfully skinned and gutted the sheep then, with no wrapping, just put it in our freezer where it has stayed for the past week.

When we arrived at the end of the wedding the girls were led to the circle of women and given a piece of liver that looked like it had been cooked in a stomach. As much as we tried to hide the fact it was fairly grim we were still laughed at as our faces made our opinion of the food fairly obvious. Once the guys had sat down and began to eat we were allowed to go and join them. We were handed a plate of beef and samp to eat with our hands, which was generally fairly nice other than finding bits of intestine, tongue, arteries and just other random bits of cow. After this we climbed into the minibus, got given a glass of guava juice and came home.

The next day the girls were invited to the Bridal Shower, whilst the boys had a “lads night in”. We knew it was going to be an interesting night when we told to bring a kitchen utensil to get in. We arrived and sat on the floor of a sweltering hot room. There were about 30 of us all cramped in which made the whole situation a tad claustrophobic as the room was tiny. We all introduced ourselves and then were allowed to ask Shaddieh questions. Of course the majority of this was in Setswanan and it took a while for them to realise that we had no idea what was going on, until one girl was kind enough to translate for us. Shaddieh was also given advice on what would make a good marriage and the general theme was keeping her man happy and to keep looking pretty so he didn’t get bored. We were then given a plate of food but no fork so it was a little problematic when eating the more liquidy food. We finally got the chance to go outside so we could breathe and were given the universal “Im not drunk…its just the music and dancing that makes me like this” speech from one of the other guests. This same woman ,in an attempt to teach me how to dance, pulled me onto the dance floor and grabbed my legs in an effort to make them move in the way she thought they should. Becky and Holly were also thrown on the dance floor and then left there whilst everyone else expected to see some amazing dance moves that none of us possess. We also cornered by the self proclaimed MC of the evening who was adamant she was Rethabile’s best friend. We were given some rather intimate details of how her marriage was so successful and how she had managed to make sure her husband was not in any way bored. After this we were invited to go to a club but as it was already late and judging from the calibre of the bridal shower we figured it would not be a good idea. Overall the night was a really fun experience and one we’re not likely to forget. 

The work with Bridges of Hope has now really started to take off. After collecting clients we have followed up their cases which for some was being the link between them and the services that can help them such as social services, home help etc. We have also taken several people to hospital and for HIV testing.

 We have also had our second kids club which again went down really well. The children are starting to recognise us and be really open to playing games and singing songs with us. The parents that come to watch seem to be having as much fun egging their kids on during duck duck goose. We are hoping to try and build relationships with the parents as well and take them on as clients to try and help them.

 On Wednesday the weather reminded us of home as it was grey and drizzly for most of the day. However the horrible weather didn’t stop us going into DRC with a spade and a 4x4 full of tyres to make some chairs for people so they didn’t have to sit on the dirty rubbish covered ground. All we had to do to make the chairs was dig a hole, put the tyre in and then stamp some sand to make the tyre stable. The people seemed to be really grateful for their new chairs and it was brilliant to see something so easy make a difference.

The team have also started to organise doing some work in the local schools. We visited 2 primary and one secondary school and they all seemed enthusiastic for us to start helping, so we’re really excited to see what we can do to help the children.

 This week the productivity has been high along with team morale. We are hoping that next week the weather will be a little less British as Oaitse and Lemogang seem to be scared of the rain.

Joanna

We are now entering our 4th week here in Botswana, and no amount of mechanical failures, ravishment by mosquitoes or John Chapman’s jokes could dampen our spirits. In a spectacular display of ‘Englishmen Abroad’ we’ve all managed to get horribly sunburnt (despite it being officially the rainy season) which has affected some worse than others. The girls are biding their time for it to turn into a blissful tan, while Chapman (coupled with his new hard-nut haircut) is looking more like a fried tomato every day. The rainy season has had its upsides, acting as a brief reminder of home, and as an ad hoc shower while ours is out of action – after Lemongang and Oitsie engaged in a little amateur plumbing. The professional philosophy of such artisans seems firmly to be, ‘All roads lead to Rome’; and any lack of planning is strongly made up for by enthusiasm. It occurs to me that these colleagues of ours may not have been introduced, so as a brief character summary: Lemongang (pronounced Lem-oh-han) looks like Tinie Tempah but impossibly gangly. Oitsie (pronounced Why-eat-see) is a guy so cool he makes Samuel L Jackson look like a giggling school-girl. To complete the triumvirate we also have Olefile – the smiling womanizing wonder of Ghanzi – who speaks about as much understandable English as Holly and Becky. Team morale has peaked and troughed as we have progressed. An undeniable high came on Tuesday morning with the first instalment of our weekly Kid’s Club in the DRC (one of the area’s most poverty-stricken squatter settlements). As most of the children in the area do not go to school we wanted to provide something to occupy and educate them; and the end result was fantastic. Drawing in around 30 kids for our first unannounced session it was great to be able to spread God’s love in such a visible way. While a lo of the things in the DRC can be deeply disturbing, mornings like that can make you feel like progress is being made against such innumerable odds. As a two-and-a-half hour session, comprising largely of games, it allowed us to exert our inner drama queens as we danced and squawked our way through Simon Says; and JMT was in no mood to lose a round of Duck Duck Goose, no matter how many 5-year-old girls stood in his way. The whole experience was entirely positive, and Beej was so excited about the prospect of next week that he had to bounce on the purple exercise ball for half an hour to calm down. Compared to the highs, the lows have been few and far between; even when storms have curtailed our activities, it has led to long, engaging discussions about milking and Ireland (which definitely is a real country). The food has been excellent, so much so that Beej’s carefully mothered ‘Winston’ has not thanked him. Menus have ranged from goat to samp to chakalaka; indeed the fight over who would get the last of the delicious pap resulted in the team’s sole ‘all-time-low’ in morale. However the mood is buoyant, plans are coming to fruition, initiatives are gaining momentum and links are being forged (we have befriended the pastor and his wife of the Dutch Reformed Church; and John has found his new best mate, an American volunteer called Geoff – or James, he can’t remember which). And as we look forward we have the prospect of the Sibeko’s wedding on the horizon, which has resulted in the endless acquisition of livestock (in accordance with the ancient San custom); and we wish them all the best for the very exciting date ahead. This is Jallan sigining off. Good night and good luck. P.S. Any queries on the definition, existence or scale of a ‘Winston’ will be happily received at beejis8@hotmail.co.uk

Hi there fellow bloggers. I am a condemned cow. I have been taken from a farm on the Namibian border. I am due to be sacrificed tomorrow for an African engagement ceremony. I thought it only fitting to write my last words for the Tearfund Transform Team.

This is of course a joke! It’s really Jon Chapman writing an unofficial blog entry outside of his designated slot! Smashing! Genius! Anyway the last few days have been belters. Africa got on the wrong side of me by raining continuously Manchester stylie for three days solid. The day after the flood came the sun however, which saw me burn like a fat chick on the costa del sol. That ozone depleted cloud can really lull one into a false sense of security. I’ve also been playing chess. Fun, educational, morale boosting and team building are just four of the words I would not use to describe it. On the plus side, Beej did show me the fine art of the card game ‘spit’ and with Beej’s lisp it was spit by name, spit by nature.

The condemned cow reference is related to the beast stood in a trailer barely 10 metres behind me. I spent some time with this animal earlier, as it, along with it’s two sheepy counterparts, is due to be sacrificed at the 3am on 31st March. That’s right readers, the likelihood is, as you read this, my friend in the back will be mince Botti meat - that’s a reference to Botswana meat in case you were wondering.

photos and vid to follow

love you. miss you

Jon C. The C is short for Chapman

We’ve been here 2 weeks and had a birthday already.   Jon (Creamy) Chapman turned 30 on Sunday. Still trying to get over the event that was ‘Ghanzi is got Talent(!!!!!), we decided to kick off the celebrations a little early, on Saturday, with a party consisting of Chilli Con Carne and dressing up as each other.  Lets just say some peoples interpretations left a lot to the imagination- Creamy!!! 

Sunday was another hot day in church, Jo and I did manage to get out of the 2.5 hour service by helping with the Sunday school, although it was hotter there than in the church. After we had our usual Sunday lunch, the family produced a huge birthday cake for Jon, which really was the best cake we had tasted for a long time.  After the family went to their other house, we were left alone to give Jon our own presents, the girls gave a selection of ‘useful’ items, such as lady shavers, cream and phone top up.  Beej and Jo decided to write and perform a song for Jon, which was very well put together, amusing and had good sound quality.  Jon’s reaction on the other hand lacked the enthusiasm the boys were looking for, but the second cake we produced helped to numb their pain slightly. 

This week began as usual, very, very hot, and this along with other things meant that team morale was, as The Wanted would say, at an all time low.   Both teams having tried to contact various NGO’s in Ghanzi, without success, decided to take their frustrations out on the tree trunk that needed to be removed from the front of the garden, and the walk into town to get food for dinner.  However, the mood still had not been lifted so we decided to have a time of devotion, to worship together, discuss what issues we had been faced with, and pray for positivity and help.  We found that we needed just to bring everything to God, and think about the little things we were doing, rather than focusing on the big stuff when we come to it.  I came away really encouraged and I think we were all really pumped and ready for the week ahead. 

On Tuesday, Jonathan stayed home to pray and the rest of the team went with Lemogang and Oaitse to Kabakae, where we became like Pied Pipers with children following us around the squatter village.  This began when Jon started doing the Macerana, badly, and the children copied him so we all joined in and the kids loved it, although they impressed us more with their style of dancing.  While we sat with the kids, describing skin colours  (we are milky, the San people are coffee coloured and the Botswanans are black) one said she was going to follow us home to eat chicken and rice and another wanted to swim in our swimming pool, which we all wish we had. I definitely think we had all gone out with more open minds and positivity and we all really enjoyed the interaction we had with the children and the other people we met. 

We were talking about our negativity and tiredness and were told it could be something to do with the orange squash, Mazoe, we were all drinking a lot off.  We have decided to set up a scientific experiment to test the theory that this highly sugary drink is behind our mood differences.  Basically half the group are longer drink Mazoe and the rest do, and Becky just to clarify, Mazoe drinkers, drink anything including Mazoe and Non-Mazoe drinkers, drink anything but Mazoe.  I am in the Mazoe group and feel great, Beej and Jo didn’t help me though when they had a 3.5 hour nap yesterday, while on a now called ‘Mazoe low’.  The rest of the group have experienced a slight Mazoe comedown, with Joanna having a rather long nap yesterday.  I am not sure how biased this experiment is, as both camps think they are in the right but as long as my teeth don’t fall out and I have a glass of Mazoe I feel great!

The big drama of the week was yesterday, it had started out like a normal day, 40 minute uncomfortable drive to Hanahai, repair a fence, eat peanut butter sandwiches (with George and the deadly wasps), look at a chameleon, discuss our Mazoe/Non-Mazoe lows  and get back into the combi to drive home.   BUT the combi would not start, the Botswanans tried everything to fix it, while we all sat watching, contemplating the thought of spending the night in the settlement.  Thankfully we had the 4x4 with us, so the girls along with Jo and Beej in the back of the pick up got a ride home, while Jon and Jonathan stayed behind with Pastor Joshua and Lucas.  We arrived home, the boys slept while the girls bought and cooked dinner and nearly 3 hours later it returned, having been towed at 30mph, with Jon and Jonathan inside, both experiencing tiredness, Non-Mazoe lows and too much sun.

This week has definitely had its highs and Mazoe lows, but we all have a more positive attitude to everything we have been doing, and we are definitely looking for Jesus in the small things now.

Holy, Holy, Holy….  Sorry I mean Holly.