Motswana for a Day

So I had a very relaxed Sunday getting to know everyday life in Gaborone better.

I started out by going to the Catholic church here for the first time. I really liked the service and the priest was very good and had an insightful homily. Most of the things were the same, except some of the wording of a few of the prayers are different, and everyone’s accent makes everything sound different! Plus they had all the little kids from Sunday school walk down the aisle during the collection singing “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”. It was adorable!

After church I went for a run and then went to go see Carol upstairs. She wasn’t doing anything and I wasn’t doing anything, so we decided to do something.

She took me to BBS mall, which is where she goes when she goes shopping. Its very very different from the westernized and “modern” malls of Riverwalk and Game City. It has a lot of stalls outside, discount clothing shops mostly run by Chinese people, and other stores. I bought a scarf for $2, the same plaid scarf could run me like $20 in the US.

After that we were still deciding what to do and it was such a nice day so she decided to take me to one of the townships (like a slum) on the outskirts of Gabs. It is shocking here to see the disparity between the pretty and quiet Gaborone that I’ve spent most of my time in and the poverty of the slum. One tiny room in what would generously be called a house can hold a mother and all her children, with no electricity or running water. Most people are unemployed or have basic jobs like gardening or cleaning.

The whole afternoon Carol and I talked about life in Botswana and the culture there and I told her things about the US. I love Carol because not only is she a great friend but she’s really helpful in showing me what life is really like for the Batswana.

She was explaining how there’s a very different attitude towards raising children and extended families. Its not uncommon for children to live with a grandparent or aunt/uncle. There’s also a very high rate of teen pregnancy, because not as many people talk about birth control in high school. But also the proportion is high because Botswana just has a tiny population overall (1.6 million in the whole country…around the population of Philly), so just like with AIDS, there’s a higher rate even if the total number is smaller than many countries.

She was also telling me about schooling and employment here. Primary education and sending kids to kindergarten is difficult it is because you have to pay school fees. But also even for the students that make it through UB (the only university in the country) or who go abroad for education and come back, employment prospects are limited because there just aren’t a lot of opportunities in the country. For example, if a student graduates as a chemistry major or anything in science, one of the only things that he/she can do really is be a high school science teacher, or maybe a university professor if they have a graduate degree. There aren’t really any science research companies based here, which is why a lot of people end up doing something else or going abroad. That’s sad because there’s a lot of potential that’s not being utilized, and if there’s one thing that would help countries develop it would be science.

She also told me about her cousin who has Downs Syndrome because I was telling her about Erin and how I was sad I was missing Special Olympics this weekend. There are basically no resources at all for people with special needs here. There is 1 school in the whole country and its in Ramotswa, which is about an hour out of Gabs and she says its too crowded. Carol’s cousin didn’t really go to school because they live in a rural village but her family did the best they could and taught her life skills like cooking and things. It was hard to hear because I think of Erin and all the disabled people I know and know that as much as they struggle everyday, they would have a much harder life with a less hopeful future if they lived in a different country.

It was a great day and it was good to see the other side of Gaborone. The longer I stay the more I feel at home here and I love it!