First Week of work at SAPSSI!

I have had a week and a day of work at SAPSSI, the Salvation Army Psychosocial Support Initiative. This was my second choice for placements, but it definitely ended up being a great place for me. Dr. Pillay and Dr. Bates obviously knew more about the organizations than we did and they were able to make the best matches based on our majors and other factors. I trusted their decision and knew that regardless of where I was placed it was going to be a life-changing experience. I have so much to say about this first week of work. I am with three other OU students, Kate, Jenny, and Chris, and the four of us have had a blast so far with all of the kids and activities. On our first day when the director of SAPSSI, Joanna from Canada, was explaining the program I couldn't help but think how similiar its fundamentals are to C.A.R.E. (my education partnership). They focus on student-initiated learning and emphsize the importance of making meaningful connections between content and your own life. It is mostly discussion, which can be difficult with this age group, but so far I am extremely impressed.

Where I work for the next three weeks!

Our office, in Old Naledi, one of the poorest areas in Gaborone.

So for a little bit more info about SAPSSI, they have three main programs. They work with a daycare that is affiliated with the Salvation Army, which we have not gotten to see (but we have been to other daycares), they do an event every Saturday called Kids Club where they do a variety of events such as a bible study, sports, arts and crafts, etc. Their main program and the one that we have been working the most with is called the GoLD program, Generation of Leaders Discovered. SAPSSI has 8 or so facilitators who are 18 and older. They go into 4 local secondary schools and work with three groups of students called tracks or standards (they call them either one). Tracks 1,2 and 3, which are close to 8th, 9th and 10th grades. They work with about 20-30 students from each track and these students are called Peer Educators. GoLD is considered and extracurricular activity so these students are taking time away from doing other activities like sports and music to grow as leaders in their schools and communities. Their job is to become educated about these serious, relevant topics and to be resources for their peers and other members in the community. They are also responsible for helping to plan and participating in community activities, when peer educators and other students from all 4 schools come together for some kind of event such as a sports day (which we are planning now), a panel discussion, and other events. I was very impressed with the number of students who are a part of the program. In the U.S., a LOT of students join extracurriculars such as clubs and leadership groups simply to build their resumes. These kids seem to be doing it to better themselves as people, not just on paper. The topics that the GoLD program covers include HIV/AIDS, sexual violence, teen pregnancy, community resources, and more. What I have been most impressed with is the openness that these kids have with discussing these topics that are so taboo and "not appropriate" to talk about with teenagers. The program continuously stresses abstinence, but unlike many schools in the U.S., they are realistic about the sex ed. that is necessary for this age and offer important insight and alternatives to these issues (rather than simply avoiding the topics altogether the way we do at home). I have only seen track 1 students and I am blown away by their deep insight and thoughts. They speak so precisely and say exactly what they mean. They are open with talking about their personal opinions, as different as they may be from one another, and they are just extremely mature. I am so impressed with how much these people have to offer-not that I had low expectations of them, I just know the way that American students their age speak and act. Something that I love and will absolutely use in my classroom: They strongly encourage students to share their true and HONEST opinions, even when they are not agreeing with the majority or what is considered "right" and "wrong." When someone is sharing a very personal opinion, the facilitator reminds the group that the student is "protected." This means that no one can snicker or argue back in a disrespectful manner, but rather they can take turns voicing their opinions, RESPECTFULLY, without attacking anyone directly. After all, these students are young teenagers and can get their feelings hurt REALLY easily. The facilitators do an excellent job of making the group a safe environment. This is soo important in a classroom or just a group setting and I love how they reiterate that statement - "He/She is protected."

We have gotten to be involved a little more as time has progressed in the group discussions, icebreakers, and activities. We have gotten to teach them icebreakers like telephone, which was pretty entertaining with 30 kids, whose English is good but hard to understand in a whisper. By the time the message got around it went from "Michael Jackson, rest in peace" (which one of the students came up with) to some kind of gibberish that can't even be typed with English letters-haha. The kids got a huge kick out of it. We also taught them the game, Electricity. We had them stand in two lines holding hands and I sent a sqeeze of the hand simultaneously at the beginning of each line. The first line to send their hand squeeze all the way down the line the fastest, the last person had to slap the book in front of them and their team won. They really liked this and wanted to keep playing. I can't get enough of their laughter. They are SO full of life and they get so excited about new and funny situations. It is so incredible that laughter is so universal. People can be having a conversation in another language, but the second they being laughing, anyone can tell what they are feeling. I am really looking forward to having some more open, serious discussions about a lot of the important issues that these young people are facing every day.

I have also really enjoyed interacting with the facilitators, who are all about our age. Tankiso, or NoNo as we call her, has become a good friend. She was the one who showed us the ropes of SAPSSI and also parts of Gaborone, or Gabs as they call it. She is 19 and finishing up high school. She is beatiful with a huge smile, TONS of energy, and so many stories to share. She has made us feel so comfortable and we all became close friends quickly. She is so fun and sweet and we have gotten to spend some time outside of work with her when we met her at Game City mall for some Chinese food...in Africa...I never thought that would happen.haha. The other people we work with are girls named Dumi, Tsego, and Cajo, and the guys are Sugar, Peace, Thabang, and K.G. They are all great and have really started to open up to us. I look forward to getting to know them more, too. They gave all four of us our Setswana names, which you are allowed to get if you are going to be in Botswana for at least a month, which we are. They rarely use our names anymore and are just calling us by our Setswana names. They are even introducing us by our Setswana names. We are getting quite a kick out of it!

Mandy - Lesego - means "luck"

Kate - Neo - means "gift"

Jenny - Ame - means "all that is mine"

Chris - Kabelo - means "giving"

NoNo, Kate and me, typing up some letters to send for an upcoming community event.

Some of our co-workers (left to right): Cajo, Tsego, Dumi, K.G., and Sugar