Embedded Files
Written by: Gabriella Reiss
March 18 2024
Welcome back everyone!
Today, we presented at the Embassy of the United States, went on safari, and ended with a barbecue dinner.
In the Embassy of the United States in Gaborone, we met with Dominick Toa, the Public Affairs Officer, and Keletso Mokolwane, a Communication Specialist for PEPFAR. Our meeting took place underneath a structure called a Leobo. Leobos are structures throughout towns in Botswana used for Kgotla, which is a public meeting, community council, or civil law court.
Embassy of US.mp4During our meeting, in order to made the conversation more personal and engaging, Mr. Dominick and Ms. Keletso requested that we rearrange the provided chairs into a circle. Then, Graeme and Riley spoke about the activities we are running at Dukwi Refugee Camp, the definition and point of service learning, and what ASB has done during past trips. Both Mr. Dominick and Ms. Keletso seemed very impressed with their presentation. After Graeme and Riley finished, we went around the circle and each talked briefly about the activity(s) we are running throughout the trip.
Mr. Dominick then talked to us about what a diplomat is, first giving us a quick laugh thanks to his joke that diplomats always remember a persons birthday but always forget that persons age. He spoke of the goals of a diplomat, to make connections with other countries and people, and explained that sometimes diplomats are the primary method of communication between separate countries. Mr. Dominick also expressed a lot of intrest in what we are doing, and then passed off the conversation to Ms. Keletso to talk about PEPFAR and how it is related to the work we are doing.
PEPFAR is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and is the strongest commitment to a battling a single disease made by any country in history. Ms. Keletso told us about the major HIV/AIDS crisis in Botswana in the early 2000s and how this program's work and aim to eliminate HIV/AIDS as a public health threat has resulted in Botswana becoming a model country for the battle against it. In response to the women’s health program, entrepreneurial course, and STEM course we are teaching at Dukwi Refugee Camp, Ms. Keletso also informed us about the DREAMS program, part of PEPFAR, which targets young girls and women and aims to bring confidence, independence, and a decreased risk of HIV/AIDS to them.
After our meeting ended, we went to lunch in Gaborone, and had a lot of fun talking and hanging out with one another. Some of us even got life lessons from Mr. Javi. We then returned to the hotel for a quick change so that we would be more appropriately dressed for the safari this afternoon. Ms. Marta’s safari outfit was so cool she was deemed ‘Marta Jones’ after the Indiana Jones movies.
After toasting to an animal-filled adventure with NONALCOHOLIC mimosas, we hopped in a car to drive through the game reserve. As we went through, we saw many impalas, several zebras (including a baby!), and near the end two giant rhinos! With some awesome photographers on the trip (Riley and Graeme) the wildlife photos turned out amazing.
Photograph Credit: Riley Wittman
Our safari drive ended in a nice barbecue next to a lake, our final activity of the day. At the end, Ms. Marta and Mr. Javi talked to us about the activities for tomorrow: we are heading to Youth African Association and presenting our plans there, then we’re going to SOS Children's Village to run some fun activities with the little kids, and a sports day with the older ones.
After a bus ride back to the hotel with (once again) awesome music and the group all singing along, we headed off to bed.
See you tomorrow!
Page updated
Report abuse