I thought I'd address a couple of questions that seem to have been repeated in several e-mails I got today:
1. how many students do I have in model school?
it changes every day, but I would say about 120.
that's one of the challenges, at least in model
school, that students are just showing up whenever
they want to.
2. What is the school like?
There are 4 long buildings, and each holds about 6 or
7 class rooms. There is also a staff room in one of
the buildings where the teachers have their desks, and
a principal's office. And the computer lab that the
PCV here in Oshitayi set up. The one I'm using right
now. The bathrooms are pit latrines at the back of
the school yard. there is also a water faucet in the
middle of the school yard. the class rooms have desks
and chairs, enough for all the students, and a
chalkboard and a desk for the teacher. that's about
it. there is a soccor field next to the school where
students will play soccer after school.
3. Is HIV/AIDS a serious problem in my area?
YES! I think the AIDS rate is between 25 and 30% in
the Ovambo region (northern most part of Namibia)!
It's very bad. But the good news is that Uganda had a
26% HIV + rate a while ago (1998 maybe?) and then they
started this intensive condom initiative where they
gave out free condoms to anyone who wanted them, and
educated people how to use them, and why, and now the
rate in Uganda is down to 8%. Namibia is trying to do
the same thing. I think Education is the key. I am
teaching a unit on HIV/AIDS to my 10 grade life
sciences classes. hopefully that will make at least a
small impact.
I have talked to so many people who have had people
die of AIDS in their family. it's crazy. they say
around here that Saturday is for funerals and Sundays
is for regular church. that's how common death is
here. not good for a country with a 1.8 million
population.
Is poverty high?
Yes. Namibia has the highest disparity between rich
and poor of any country in the world. A really small
percentage of the country is very rich (I think it's
from owning diamond mining companies or some such
nonesense), but everyone else is very, very poor.
diamonds and some metals are the few resources that
this country has to offer to the rest of the world.
Subsitance farming is the only option to a lot of
people, but the climate/environment is not that great
for growing stuff. Mahangu (millet) seems to grow ok
here, so that is used as a carb source for pretty much
every meal. They eat very few vegetables. they spend
their time and energy raising goats and cattle
instead, because those animals can eat the grass that
grows around here (at least up in teh north where they
get more rain). so there's a lot of meat in the diet
too.
One positive aspect is the health care here. For N$3 anyone can go to the clinic and see a doctor AND get whatever medicine they need. That's 50 cents in the US. Can you imagine? It's government funded, I believe. So even though people are living without any luxuries, at least they have access to health care.
Right now there is a big field of green, swampy grass next to my homestead. It rains about 1 or 2x per week. the rest of the area is mostly sand. I think the green, grassy area is there because it's in a low area or something. At night there, people use parafin lamps and fires for light, so it's really dark and I can see the stars really well. it's very pretty. It's amazing how much light comes from the moon. now that the moon doesn't rise until the early morning hours, I really, really miss the moonlight at night. I used to be able to take a bucket bath at night by moonlight, but now it is too dark and I have to bring my flashlight and hang it up for light.
ok, I'm heading off to the cucu shops with Mike N. now. gotta run.
love, siggi