Village Developement and Updates

Kayanga is moving up in the world. We have had some commotion going on this past month, people from the capital and the big regional town have been camping out in Kayanga drilling a new borehole for us. The borehole that we have right now is only accessible to about 10% of Kayanga, because for most homesteads the river is the closer water option. For a lot of reasons we are so lucky to be so close to the river, specifically for planting purposes, but for drinking water the river poses some other problems. The river is known for giving lots of people worms and parasites, plus there are crocs and hippos. This new borehole will use solar power to pump water up into really large tanks, and it will be more accessible to the rest of the community. And...it just happens to be placed directly behind my hut. This is going to make life so easy, I feel spoiled. It will practically be like I have running water, no more walking a long distance with heavy buckets.

The other news is that my OVC Center (Orphan and Vulnerable Children Center) may be getting electricity. I do not talk about my center that often, even though it is my primary job. This is for two reasons, one is that I am invested in other projects that interest me much more. Two is because the center goes through lots of lulls. As mentioned before, the center is 100% volunteer based, we are not able to provide any initiatives for the volunteers. Some months the center runs great, and it's a beautiful sight to go there and see up to 5 women doing their assigned responsibilities. But then other months it's like pulling teeth to get people to show up. June was a bad month, but July is somehow booming. I have not deciphered the pattern of activity, it's completely random.

The prospect of electricity will bring more incentive, and I strongly believe that the women will feel much more motivated. In the last year, there has been quite a bit of development, including two concrete buildings. However, now we are stuck with the same activities day after day and the women are feeling stagnant. We have applied for a grant to supply us with electricity and sewing machines. This could provide daily work for the 17 project members, work that could make an income. All the money that will be made from selling clothes would go back to the center to buy blankets, soap, shoes, school supplies, etc for the children in our center. Our women will also be given a chance to benefit, since they do all this work for free. Assuming they provide their own materials, they can use the electricity and machines to make clothes and sell them on their own. This concept of economic development (on a small scale, I know) and having a business is currently not something seen in Kayanga.


Below is the building made where we will sew built in about 6 months by 2-3 men who worked for just a bowl of porridge with sugar everyday! The roof flew off this past rainy season, so the grant we applied for would also cover a new roof and windows (oh and a new door since the rain that flooded the floor ruined the door)

Some other little things—Stephanus' body was found washed up about 5 km away from Kayanga. I was surprised his body was not eaten by a crocodile because our Kavango River is FULL of them, but apparently they have picky taste and only eat fresh bodies. But because there was a body there was a funeral held. I spoke at his memorial service, in Thimbukushu, which I am really glad I did even though it was very nerve-racking to speak in front of so many others. Then to abruptly jumping topics-my Mom, Dad and Aunt Helen are crossing the Atlantic Ocean now to visit The Land of the Brave. I don’t even know how to properly formulate my emotions on this so I won't try! I just know that it is coming at a good time.

Growing Cabbage in a Desert

These past few weeks my ladies group and I have been working hard, and are well on our way to completing our garden! Was this just a quick process that was completed in the month of June? Of course not. We have been talking about a garden at every other meeting we have, I even got the rights for the land from the headman last October. The delay was due to certain things I cannot control. It is essential for us to plant next to the river, because who has the time or energy to fetch water everyday a far distance? But since we would plant close to the river, we had to wait 3 months until the rain stopped, because flooding is common. Then one of our women was pregnant and we wanted to wait until after she delivered to involve the whole group. But alas, June came and we were ready to plant! In May, my main girl, Selma, accompanied me to a really great garden workshop where we learned things that I have never heard of before. Wood ash to the soil? Yes. Soak manure in your water overnight to spray the plants each time you water? Yup, it'll make 'em grow like crazy. Add urine to your compost pile?? Nooo. But—wait, yes!!

It was a ton of work, I could barely keep up with these Mbukushu women. We first had the oxen go in to plow the soil, then we spent 3 days weeding the area. They taught me the songs they usually sing while they spend hours in the field planting the maize meal. I only mastered one, though. For the next week tasks included; collecting manure in the cow fields, smuggling wood ash and charcoal from fire pits (with permission), collecting thorns to make the traditional fences (unfortunately cows already stepped on all our hard work so we need lots of defense against them), doing our single then double digs and finally, planting!

The garden workshop taught us how to use a smaller amount of space to produce a bigger yield, by allowing the roots to grow deeper with our super, ridiculously nourished soil. For seeds we decided on; onions, swiss chard (I had no idea what this was but I think it's like spinach?), beets, cabbage (they LOVE cabbage\), carrots, and beans. We are also setting aside a large portion of our land for the traditional crops; maize meal, pumpkin leaves and mutete (a type of spinach that I will never eat again after my last food poisoning). This makes for well rounded nutrients. The plan is for the ladies to take some vegetables home to their families then sell a good portion of it too. They are very excited to sell and make at least a little income. I am excited for their children to get at least a little nutrients in their skinny bodies. We have a lot of space available and still many more weeks of work cut out for us. But here are our first 8 beds (we want to do around 15). Cross your fingers this works out...seriously, do it...I have never done this kind of thing before and I will feel bad for all the hard work the women put in if it fails.