Kalehari Ferrari

Lesson in African driving--ELEPHANTS ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY:

4,000 km from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to the Namibian sand dunes! Mom and Dad at the wheel, Helen in the back snappin' pics and me with the map giving us shotty directions. It was my first road trip and a serious, serious adventure. African road trips require driving only during daylight hours, because elephants and cattle are all too common up north. We saw so, so many animals that some of the reoccurring ones became no big deal. Mom was even quoted saying, “I'm taking a nap, don’t wake me for baboons or springboks”. What a Safari Snob, right?!



Kayanga Dinner

The trip started with a straight drive to my village, took more than a day but we made it in time to have dinner with my women's group. My parents and Aunt Helen mastered the culturally respectful Thimbukushu greetings and no-left hand rule, and we had a delicious and filling meal of porridge and chicken. Kids ran wild around the fire while my family stared in awe when Selma cooked the porridge; touching the boiling hot pot with bare hands and readjusting the firewood heat as if they were knobs on an oven. After the 4 of us sleeping in my one hut that night, we all went to my center where they helped teach, sing songs, dance and read to the 40+ kids that were there that day. Kayanga included trips to the river, the borehole and the garden to help plant more onion beds.

Helen and I in front of my kitchen hut (where dad knocked his head and bled for a day!)

After Kayanga, we headed straight to Botswana. Our only rip off of the trip came when a guy demanded 200 Namibian dollars to cross the border. We went to Chobe in Botswana, which has the largest concentration of elephants in the world and just about every other animal that appears in the Lion King. While in Botswana, we took a day trip to Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls, ya know, might as well check out one of the 7 Wonders of the World while in the area. We got soaked and ate our PB and J's overlooking the double rainbow at the falls, hard to believe but that wasn’t even our best lunch of the trip. My mom befriended a man named Tomato after he claimed to be the king of the the Zim/Zam border. Then that night we ate our dinner next to the river and listened to the pod of hippos right by our lodge.



rare sighting

After Zimbabwe and Botswana we returned to the Land of the Brave, Namibia. In Etosha, Namibia's famous game park, we got to see the highest form of Survival of the Fittest, where the animals who have managed to survive do so in such extreme desert conditions that a parade of 25 seven ton elephants becomes even more impressive. Check out this leap of leopards we spotted! That night at Etosha, the staff of our lodge surprised my dad with a birthday cake at dinner paired with a 10 minute serenade of traditional songs. The cake was so good that Mom was still talking about it a week later. We were able to share the cake with the entire dining room too and made some friends.



mom and I on the sand dunes!

This is getting long and I feel there is still so much left to say, sand dunes were one of the last big events, and quickly turned into my favorite event. Sandwhich Harbor is a remote, hard to get to spot where high sand dunes meet up with the Atlantic Ocean, it's incredible. But us Gannons, so flexible and just wingin' it, did not read the description in our travel book. So, we pack our credit cards and jackets for what we assume is a nice day out by the harbor where we can grab a nice lunch. It actually turned into one of the scariest things I have done, in life...and that includes bungee jumping off the highest bridge in the world. Bungee lasted maybe 3 minutes, but this was 5 hours in a 4x4 going straight up and straight down double black diamond sand dunes with an insane and fearless driver out in the middle of freakin NO WHERE. Our credit cards were clearly useless. Then Ernest, our crazy and old driver Earnest, suggested a walk in the dunes. Well that turned into 2 hours of walking up and down dunes so steep that you were climbing with all 4's without bending over because our hands were that close to the sand. At one point us Gannon's got separated from the other 4 people in the group. It was so, so fun though. Oh and the best part was Earnest packed a gourmet lunch, set out chairs, table, silver wear and plates with a 3 course meal plus dessert. We were the only people for miles and miles and milesssss out in the middle of the desert. THAT was the best lunch.



The only hiccup of the trip came when trying to make it to our next destination. We busted the car's oil pan. Hard to properly convey here, but someone was looking out for us on that ride because we barely made it to the only gas station in a 300 km stretch of dirt road without losing all the car's oil. Mechanic suggested we stay overnight, so we checked ourselves into the gas station/bar/lodge and came to terms with having to miss our last big adventure (which was actually just more sand dunes, but really famous ones). But that extra time gave us the opportunity to meet my first family in Namibia—the ones back from over a year ago at my training.

SOME MORE CAPTURES OF THE TRIP:



 

celebrating after we found clues of human contact in the desert

 

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.

The Ridiculous Stephanus

For some reason the month of June has been a lot different than any of my other months of service. I assumed that my second year would be easier, because older volunteers say this to younger volunteers in their first year to give them something to look forward to. I guess this optimism is true, with some things. But recently I have found that after living here so long, and becoming so invested in the people, my friends,my work, the kids...that when things so astray it just hits me harder. With some hard weeks the change in mood is hard to decipher, but this week it was clear. There were four deaths in Kayanga, two old and two young in the last 5 days. It is weird to mention cause of deaths because it is considered such a taboo topic in my life here in Kayanga, but two of these deaths, like so many others in Namibia are due to HIV/AIDS. The question of how someone died is never asked, nor is it ever suggested that it could be due to the HIV epidemic (out of respect for the family) but it is silently, silently, understood.

One of the four deaths happened to be my friend Stephanus, I have mentioned him before in a previous blog entry, he is known as Kayanga's village crazy. I was very surprised how the news of his death hit me, not until about 5 hours after I heard did I break down. Everyone in Kayanga knew him and no one realized the impact he had on the community until after his presence was so obviously absent. I don’t mean 'impact' in a good way...and not in a bad way either. He was just crazy, like bat shit crazy, in a endearing, ridiculous, funny way, but absolutely, completely loyal to anyone in Kayanga, especially me. Actually, he was almost a genius, but he got drunk on 1 dollar traditional beer daily, so that really took away from his intelligence. He was the only one here that could directly translate everything in Thimbukushu for me.

I am going to miss the weird daily interactions with him. Who is going to scream at me while just having a normal conversation because he can't control the volume of his voice? Who is going to get kicked out of every village meeting after demanding he is going to call the president of Namibia to come to Kayanga? Who is going to randomly sing "Twinkle Twinkle" in probably the worst singing voice ever, ever heard while fetching water (like I said, he is ridiculous)? Who is going to help me collect firewood? Who is going to interrupt my morning pre-primary sessions to tell me he needs washing powder? Who is going to randomly come by my home demanding I eat his cow tongue?? Even every single one of my friends (and sister) who have visited Kayanga knew him, because he was always dropping by my home to say hi. One time, my Peace Corps boss visited from the capital and she was scared for me, thinking that a man who was very angry was coming by my home screaming my name, but he was just coming to say hi (like I said, he really can't control the volume of his voice). Half the time my name was Jackie and half the time it was just "my sister!!!" I don’t mean for this to sound like a eulogy or anything, its just that for people around me death is so terribly common, so the character that is Stephanus may not be commemorated the way that he should be.

Angolan Police Station

It is so typical Stephanus the way that he died. This past week a Chinese man was shot in a large village 30 km away from me (like I said, June has been a weird month). Since Stephanus loves to carry news and alert people of things, he took it upon himself to immediately go to Angola (even though it was getting dark) to tell the police man at the border to watch for any suspicious people crossing over that could be the culprits. After that no one ever saw him, they say that he either drowned or was killed by a crocodile. Normally if there is no body, there is not a funeral held, but I have a feeling that this will not be the case with Stephanus. He was way too well known by everyone to not have some sort of gathering, and maybe we will all sing “twinkle twinkle” because we all know he loved it (I am kidding, sort of).

insisting he help Christine cut the pumpkin

helping move my kitchen hut

A Necessary Gift

There are a lot of things we take for granted in America, things that don’t even make us spoiled because they are expected and deserved. Something that people may not think is a luxury turns into something that girls here in my village don’t even think are possible. Sanitary napkins are one of those things. Women and girls in rural villages in Namibia, and in many parts of Africa, use anything they can: leaves, old clothes, dried mud, and newspaper being the most common for their menstrual periods. One of my Namibian friends told me that girls don’t even bother going to school during that time of the month, just spending the whole day in bed. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer recognized this need and created an amazing initiative to make and donate re-usable pads to rural areas that could greatly benefit. All I had to do was send an email with the number of bags I wanted and somehow get them to Namibia (enter the hero: Christine Gannon who brought them over!)

I sort of had a preconceived idea in my head of what would happen when I gave out the pads. I was excited to finally be able to provide something tangible, especially when they really deserved this. It also come in adorable packaging J I planned on having my women’s group do a health session on puberty to all school attending girls 12 years and older; the changes to expect, how pads work, proper sanitation, and then questions afterwards. After that, in an orderly fashion, we would hand out the bags that had each girls name written on it and take a photo. This is not how it went at all.

health session by Selma

explaining how the pads work

It was complete and total chaos; I have never seen the kids behave like I saw them that day. First, all the boys felt excluded since they were banned from the meeting. They all stayed after school to hang around and see what they were missing out on. Consequently, the pre-primary kids and anyone under 12 situated themselves for the 'show' once they saw the boys peeping in. The worst part is they didn’t just stand quietly outside, boys were literally climbing through the windows (the school windows don’t have glass). Once the pads and bags were handed out, girls were shrieking and jumping up and down. I was assigned to guard the door (they don’t lock or have door knobs) while my woman's group yelled for peace in Thimbukushu. Nothing would stop the madness. It may seem like yes, all these kids were misbehaving, and that's true they were terrors, but it just goes to show how excited they were to receive something that I had completely taken for granted.

the girls with their new pretty pad bags, hand sewn

my womens group, getting pads too!

Jackie and Dongo; Crime Detectives

In one week I learned two interesting ways of how crime is handled in Kayanga. Unfortunately, one I experienced first hand, and the second I was a very confused bystander.

The first was that this past week my kitchen hut was broken into. I have been fortunate to not have any theft in Kayanga, so I felt confused and betrayed that it would happen this far into my service. I got over these feelings rather fast because Dongo, my counterpart, and I became crime investigators pretty immediately. As I was looking for clues it reminded me of my childhood dream to be exactly like Harriet the Spy. Dongo was able to inspect the footprints in the sand right outside my hut, differentiating those from 2 days ago, the day before and that day. He says that he had to learn this when he was a cattle boy when he had to undoubtedly know which cattle belonged to his family and which direction they ventured off to. With his expertise we had a definite lead of the group of kids went into my kitchen hut. The group was later confirmed when they tried to buy fat cakes* with the Zambian bills they stole from my kitchen table. I realize that no matter how hard I try to blend in with people here, trying to live without the same amenities they live without, I will always be viewed as having more. And it's true, my kitchen posses exotic things to them...like peanut butter and... potatoes.

The second crime case was a stabbing (in the arm, minimal damage) that occurred in Kayanga. It is weird because Kayanga is a very safe and very small village, but yes, these two events happened in the same week. There was a huge village meeting about it, big enough that both Kayanga's headman and the Angola headman attended. It finally helped answer the question of what exactly a headman does. He decides the proper punishments for crimes. The village meeting tree is not in my normal route on a Monday, but as I was coming back from my pit latrine I was summoned over by some friends. They recapped the situation for me.

Apparently, for cases like this, the innocent party will be given permission to slaughter the cow of the guilty party. The use of cattle is not abnormal, cattle are usually used for payment for adultery cases, theft, and most other crimes. For more severe cases like this one, however, it is customary to then they smear the blood of the cow onto every part of the man's life; on his house door, on his children's doors, on his other cows, on his car (and if no car then perhaps his oxen sled) and maybe any other creative places they think of. Blood for Blood, I suppose. I couldn’t really decide if I was in favor of the punishment, to publicly humiliate the guilty party, or if I was just grossed out at all the cow blood I would soon be seeing. I would have loved to have direct, word for word translation on that meeting though.

*fat cakes are small, fried dough balls made here that are delicious and dirt cheap

AFREAKIN' ADVENTURE

Some photo highlights of the trip Christine and I took together. We hit 5 African countries in two weeks with no car: we stayed in my village in Namibia, we walked over the border to Angola, hitch hiked to Zambia and Botswana, and walked over the border to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. Not a small feat...

 

In Kayanga

our elephant-BOB

Top 10 interesting/useful things I have learned from hut life

1. Termites. They were everywhere in my kitchen and after countless of store bought products that only work temporarily (if they even work at all) I went with what the others around me do--rub gasoline all along the sticks. Eight months later and I have never once heard their humming while they eat my home.

2. What is the fastest way to de-feather a "running chicken", stick him in boiling, hot water for 15 minutes, but of course. Running chicken is what they call them here because you have to run to catch and eat 'em.

This was my annoying chicken-Pele

3. After months of practice I can successfully and thouroughly bathe myself using only 4.5 liters of water. The average person in an average 5-6 minute shower uses roughly 75 liters.

(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_water_is_used_in_a_shower)

4. There is a very large and scary looking black centipede found in Namibia, if you are ever stuck in a situation with an unclean, parasite infested water source you can carry one of those lil buggers with you. When poked, they coil up and excrete a liquid that is almost 100% iodine and can be used to purify water.

5. There are termite mounds found all over Namibia. German scientists have studied them to find that they have a natural air conditioning system that is able to keep the insides of the mound the same temperature 365 days a year, this is amazing considering the extreme desert climates in Namibia. The people here realized the remarkable characteristics of this natural phenomenon and combine the mounds with sand and water to build the hut that I am writing this from. Keeps me significantly cooler in the worst Namibian heat.

in front of the termite mounds (where black mambas like to hang out by the way, chris watch out!!)

6. Lime juice helps mask the extreme, nose pinching smell of ammonia that is an unavoidable when one has to use a pee bucket for 2 years...

7. Never pass up the cheek of a goat. Not only is it delicious but it is an honor to be offered part of the head.

8. When you are carrying water or laundry on your head, whether it be 10 L (me) or 25 L (them), it is less about keeping balance and much more about keeping your hips centered and in control.

         

9. After layers of filth and limited water usage, feet can only be completely cleaned by using a nice rough but flat edged rock...ignore the unattractive heal cracks that come as a result.

10. Lastly, if it is one of those nights where you are watching precious TV on your computer (downloaded from volunteers and passed around), sweating more than you ever thought possible and you watch a woman drink water with ICE CUBES and your mouth is watering for anything besides beans that take 4 hours to cook....the diarrhea pills Peace Corps provide taste like candy.

Hey Soul Sista

The time is finally here. The time when I can properly share my Namibian experience with a loved one back home, and that loved one just so happens to be one of my favorite human beings--Christine Gannon! She is arriving this Sunday, May 13th, and then the adventure begins. We will be hitch hiking all through Namibia, traveling to Botswana and Zambia,  and of course spending a decent chunk of time in my village with some of my new favorite human beings. Accommodation will range from ridiculously cool backpackers, dirt huts, a tent for two, and finish with a fancy hotel to end our trip in the bizzare German-like town of Swakopmund. We will of course be safe (MOM & DAD) and bring back lots of stories (HELEN) and will surely miss the 3rd Gannon sibling (SEAN).

our last trip to Africa---in swaziland

Hearth

Porridge. Every meal. 365 days a year.

Can you imagine an eating schedule like this? For the last 12 days my appointed "village mother" and I introduced a nutrition program with 6 new and delicious recipes to add some excitement to the taste buds of 7 Kayanga women and their babies. More important than the nice change of pace, food wise, was the protein that it supplied to the children.

Each day of the 2 week program began by finding women in the village who wanted to participate and whose babies fell into the moderately malnourished category, tested by a MUAC band. The MUAC band measures a child's Mid-Upper Arm Circumference and is a simple proxy to measure malnutrition. 

Each day of the program we started the day by fetching water, making the fire and washing our hands. Did you know that ash can be used as an alternative to soap? After a 30 minute session about healthcare, nutrition, contraceptives, or HIV, we would begin the cooking. I have seen the women cook porridge practically every single day; at my center, at my friend's homes, and with my host family, but it still never fails to impress me. Years of practice results in hands of steal, the ability to pick up the boiling hot pots, eyes that can handle the smoke, and such strong biceps for stirring the thick porridge. Whenever my eyes water from the intense smoke, when I squeal from touching the hot handle and when I get tired from stirring after 5 rotations they laugh and shoo me away, constantly thinking of me as fragile. Their jacked arms make it look easy while at the same time looking graceful in their beautifully patterned wrap around skirts.

It's funny that I was in charge of essentially a cooking course with these women, because I consider myself seriously challenged in the kitchen. I give my mom credit, she tried to teach me how to cook so many times, but I never cared. Namibia was the first time I flipped an omelet, boiled macaroni or even mashed my own potatoes (I lived off english muffins and cereal in college). So it felt nice that at the end of every new recipe when the women would gush over the new taste, accomplished by adding a single, simple ingredient such as; banana, peanut butter, cow's milk, eggs, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, mangos or beans.

So for 2 weeks we cooked, taught and fed. The children, ages 7 months to 5 years, were all in the moderately malnourished category except for one severely malnourished. This severely malnourished baby, Kanjenge, is 2 years and 4 months old, weighing in at only 5.5 kg (12 lbs) with hands and feet the same size as a 7 month old in the program. She quickly became one of my favorites because she was so delicate and adorable. By the end of the two week diet she gained 1.5 kg, moving her up to the moderately malnourished category and just 2.0 kg shy of her goal weight! The results for the whole group showed that 4/7 babies gained weight, 2 stayed the same and 1 lost 0.2 kg (we found out he had malaria half way through the program, which I am sure affected his progress).

I do not expect all of the women to immediately go home and cook these recipes day after day. That is a high expectation considering how they have not changed the taste of their porridge like...ever? I do hope they take the egg porridge one back with them, that one is the easiest and most accessible..everyone has chickens. I will check up on the same seven women and their children to see how they are progressing in one and three months. We are coming into a nice time of year when all the pumpkins are ready for picking and other vegetables will be available if people prepared well during the rainy season,which is now behind us. So, fingers crossed they keep gaining weight!