A little bit of hope

In the last few weeks I've been noticing some dramatic changes among the kids at Stepping Stones. When I first started my position there, hardly any of the 30 kids would speak to me, even when asked a question. And it's understandable when they have all been traumatized in one way or another- most of their parents have died from AIDS and even a few have been murdered. Since I'm working with adolescents (arguable one of the hardest times in a person's life anyway), I knew they were already facing a lot- it's hard to imagine losing one of both parents on top of adjusting to becoming an adult. Many of them, despite being under 18, were caring for their younger siblings; some were being abused at home; many were living in extreme poverty, sharing a one-room house with 11 other people; a few are HIV positive themselves... So I'm very pleased to see that the majority of the kids are really opening up and becoming more confident. Just in the last week I've had several kids ask me for help with their homework or college applications; some just come up to me to tell me about their day or ask about family problems they're having- I'm really starting to see that my stay here is meaningful, and feeling inspired to do everything I can to keep these kids from letting their lives go to waste. It is really challenging, but so rewarding to see them excited about school, being more confident and assertive, and interacting better with others. There are still a lot of needs to be addressed, but at least there has been some improvement.

A storm is brewing!

Just a few pictures from one of the many storms that came through Mochudi in the last few weeks

Valentine's Day and getting in shape

For Valentine's day we decided to have a bit of a party with the kids at my program. I ended up baking about 150 heart-shaped sugar cookies, with the help of a few of the older kids in our program, and each kid got to decorate (and eat) a bunch. These kids aren't used to having many sweet things, let alone a treat of any sort, so the sugar was quite a shock. I've never seen these kids with so much energy and hyperactivity, it was pretty amusing.
My own Valentine's day was a nice treat. My boyfriend Jason came up to visit and we had, over the last few months, collected all the ingredients to make sushi. We had discovered an Asian food store in Gaborone where we were able to get the seaweed wraps and wasabi; my mom was gracious enough to send some vacuum-packed smoked salmon, and after a lot of searching I managed to find pickled ginger and cream cheese. Sushi is one of the foods I've missed the most since living in a land-locked country, so this was a very exciting occasion. Amazingly it was pretty tasty despite my extremely minimal experience with making sushi. It's surprising how exciting food becomes when your options are limited.
This weekend some other volunteers and I are celebrating "Peace Corps Prom". We definitely have to be creative with ways to have fun, so we're all getting dressed up (as much as is possible with the limited wardrobe and funds that we all have) and having a dance. It should be pretty entertaining, I'll be sure to post some photos after the event.
I've officially started training for my 3-day sponsored walk that's coming up in May. I've been walking a lot pretty much everyday and started running as well. Fortunately it has been relatively cool in the mornings and evenings so all this exercise isn't unbearable. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has helped me raise money so far, including the recent additions from aunt MJ, Brian, J and Tony, and Tim. I've raised about $600 so far, only $400 more to go! Please email me if you're interested in helping out, leslie.duling@gmail.com. Thanks!

Quick Update

I don't have a lot of time to write, but thought I would document some of the highlights of the last few weeks. Things have been going really well at work- we have several new people working with us which has made things run more smoothly at the centre. A member of the national rugby team is designing a sports program for the kids and comes to the centre once a week to get everyone in shape- the kids really enjoy it, and even my coworkers and I get involved. Some of the kids just started doing horseback riding- the older kids had done it before, but the younger kids had never gone. I got to go with them on their first trip and they had a fantastic time. None of the kids had ever ridden a horse before and they couldn't stop smiling. It was inspiring to see them so excited about something.
For those of you who don't know I'll be participating in a sponsored walk for Y Care Charitable Trust (check them out at www.ycare.org.bw)- the proceeds of which will go to non-governmental and community-based organizations throughout Botswana which do crucial work with, among other groups, disabled and disadvantaged youth. If you are interested in helping me reach my goal of raising $1000, please email me at leslie.duling@gmail.com. Donations of any amount would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much to those who have already offered to help out:
Mom and Dad, Betsy and James, Geoffrey and Liisa, Saret, and Brooke.
I'll be posting more pictures and stories soon!