This Is What It's All About

So, since arrival in South Africa people have been asking me about what projects and programs I’m working on. And I am BEYOND excited, stoked, thrilled, and joyous to say that actual progress has been made on several of my projects! This makes me so unbelievably energized I can’t even really explain it. And I need something stronger than excited…ecstatic, elated? Not even that does it! It’s so exhilarating to see my ideas actually coming together in a real way!

I have been plenty busy over the last four months at my organization – don’t get me wrong. But for the first three months it was mostly trying to soak it all in and learn about my community so that I would know what the needs and wants are. After countless conversations, observations, and “data” collected I began to have my own ideas for what I wanted to work on over the next two years. The projects we focus on are obviously supposed to be things that the community wants and needs (hence will be sustainable once the PCV leaves after two years– there will be a commitment and interest in continuing the project or program). I do have a requirement for anything I take on though. In order for me to take on any project I have to feel strongly about what it is. I can’t take on a project that doesn’t stir my heart and drive me to do anything and everything I can to make it happen. The bottom line – if I don’t fully believe in it, I won’t give it my everything. Luckily I have no shortage of projects that I really want to do!

I think those of you that know me well, can attest that if I set my mind to do something, and I REALLY, really, really want it – it usually happens. Not in an “I’m so great I can do anything way” but in a way that is “I will be extremely focused until the end result is achieved to my satisfaction” way. You can ask my parents. I’ve never been more technology savvy as the time I was a young teen and the phone/internet lines were screwed up in our house. No one else seemed concerned about this travesty, so I took charge. That problem was fixed in less than an hour. Kind of a lame example…but I did not know what I was doing and I was dealing with wires in my freaking basement going from one room to the other under the floors. That’s commitment. ; )

So…my projects are finally taking off! Most of what I want to do focuses on the youth. I’ve always loved working with kids, and young adults and these kids deserve my hard work. I also love the idea of empowering youth to become aware of their potential – and believe in themselves. I guess you can say that I’ve long had a weak spot for the underdog. That is after all the core of why I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I also believe that working with HIV/AIDS – getting the prevention messages to the youth is going to be one of the many keys needed to slowing down and eventually ending this epidemic in South Africa.

So, here are the projects that are currently in the works. For all of them my organization is involved in some way or another which I think is really great. I’m so grateful to have the organization that I do!

Restarting the support groups we have for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and foster parents. Ikhwezi did used to have these but they have fallen to the wayside. There is currently no support group for PLWHA in our community! Hard for me to believe!

Grassroots Soccer Pilot Program. Grassroots Soccer and the Peace Corps are teaming up to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. Grassroots Soccer is a youth focused HIV/AIDS education program that brings sports into the mix. I applied (along with two of my counterparts at Ikhwezi) to be a part of this pilot program and was selected to participate (YAY!). Through the work we do we will be helping to create a solid partnership and permanent program for PCVs in the future to use in HIV/AIDS youth education.

Curriculum for our OVC center. First on the agenda…coming up with another name so we don’t have to refer to the children we help to their faces as “orphans and vulnerable children”. Drives me crazy. Just thought of a great idea today! Every Friday we will chose a different child and while sitting in a circle we will each say something positive about them (thanks ASB!). Currently they come after school and get a meal and get to play outside or inside our center but that is it. There is no set schedule or plan – and so many things that we could be doing to help these kids out!

Girls Clubs/Camp GLOW. This one I’m REALLY excited about! Well, I’m actually really excited about all of them, but this one has really started rolling lately. My counter part for this project is one of the new caregivers at our organization and used to be one of the OVCs that we cared for (what an amazing success story!). She is FANTASTIC and I am really looking forward to working with her! Here is our vision for the girls clubs: “Our vision is to see young women empowered to be confident and strong, able to make healthy life choices and ultimately become positive role models for their community”. LOVE IT! We brainstormed enough ideas in one meeting of topics to discuss that they will last us OVER a year. And that’s with two topics a month! Can’t wait to get this off the ground. And Camp GLOW is a camp held by PCVs all over the world and stands for Girls Leading Our World. It. Is. Awesome.

Peer Educators/Alexandria Youth HIV/AIDS Conference. I also want to partner with a South African organization called loveLife which focuses on youth HIV/AIDS education and health. (I should mention the age of “youth” in South Africa is 18(?)-30. Yes. THIRTY. (TOTALLY different from the States obviously). So sometimes when I say youth I mean young children/adolescents (my definition) and sometimes I mean it in the SA sense (like for loveLife). This project consists of identifying volunteers to become peer educators, they go for training and when they successfully matric (graduate high school) they are able to get paid for what they have been doing! THEN – we would hold a huge, awesome, totally cool youth conference. I’m imagining something REALLY hip. DJs, bands, dancing, sports, cool ways of presenting HIV/AIDS prevention messages – the works. I can see it now….

I have more things I’m working on as well (like how I’m planning our week long Strategic Planning Workshop to be held at the end of August), but the above projects are the biggies right now. I haven’t started work on all of them yet (I think that would be quite overwhelming…) but the seeds have been planted and I am ready to get started. The first ones to be up and running will be Grassroots Soccer, Girls Clubs, and the Support Groups. Although everyday I want more and more to work on the OVC center curriculum. I have a lot on my plate that’s for sure – but I’m not alone. I’m working with wonderful counterparts who are excited to make a difference and open to new ideas. Stay tuned my friends, and also if you have any ideas for any of the above projects I would LOVE to hear them!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. -Eleanor Roosevelt

Ps. this week marked my six month anniversary living in South Africa! It’s hard to believe, but I can’t wait for my dreams to begin turning into reality.