Nanogang Secondary School

After class we ate lunch and then went to a near by school called Nanogang which is a secondary school for children fifteen to seventeen. I was extremely excited to do this because I haven’t experienced working with kids in a counseling center. At first the students were very shy and observing of our behavior. We started by saying how we felt today, who our role model at the moment is and why. I explained how Barak Obama is my biggest role model at the moment because exemplifies the kind of hope our country needs and shows the leadership qualities that I admire. I explained how I am not going to agree with everything he might do in office but I understand what his presence means to our country and other countries around the world. I was kind of shocked when going around the room how many of the Nanogang students told me their role models were American icons.

One student also said Obama is his biggest role model while others claim JayZ, T.I., Martin Luther King Jr., Beyonce and about half the class said Oparah. All of their answers were for different reasons but overall because they want to make positive impact in the world. They also had to say what they wanted to be when they grow up and many of them said lawyers, doctors, surgeons, writers and only one of about twenty of the children mentioned money as their motivation. I figured that would be the most important issue for children who grew up learning in a room that was way too small for the number of kids, no air condition for the summer when temperatures reach the hundred degree mark or who have holes in their school sweaters.

The goal of them meeting twice a week was to talk about the problems of their life and to do self development. I got the impression that a lot of these kids are already adults and that they have to be the man or woman in their household because their parents are not reliable and their siblings rely on them or they might have problems taking orders from their older sibling for that very reason. This was these kids support system. Their homework was to do a family tree and describe each family member.

It was devastating to hear these children draw a family tree with empty tree branches because their uncles, cousins, parents, brothers, sisters have passed away. They are not even allowed to say the word death, they have to say passed away and if they slip the D word they are quickly corrected. Another thing I found shocking was that majority of the kids did not know their uncles and aunts names because it is found to be improper to call them anything other than uncle or aunt. I explained how in the U.S. I call my uncle, Uncle Ed. They found this to be disrespectful in their culture. So these kids grow up surrounded by their relatives and do not even know their real first name. I would say ninety five percent of the children were raised by a single parent and many of them did not know or associate with their father. I couldn’t imagine a family tree where I did not know anyone’s name. At the end of the session we went around the room and each person had to talk about what their goals in life are and what they are doing to achieve these goals. By this time I had moved around the room and decided to sit near a very cute little girl name Faith. She was sixteen; she came from a broken home and wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up so she could protect people from being taken advantage of. Here is a picture of Faith Simon and I after our three hour session.

The first girl to speak mentioned how she wanted to write a book one day and she is taking steps by reading books and learning as much as she possibly can about writing. Another girl mentioned how she wanted to start her own orphanage. Then there was this frail little girl that was about 4’10 and couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds. She stood up and told the class she has already written the book and has taken it to many different publicists trying to get her book published. Her book was about violence against youth.

She is on the bottom row second person from the right (next to the boy with the white bookbag). After she mentioned this Faith leaned over and whispered in my ear that maybe I could get her book published. I told her I didn’t know any publishers or I would. It’s inspiring to see a girl who couldn’t be older than fifteen already following her dream and acting on it.

At the end of the session I told them that I wanted to have a picture with them, they were eager to get as many photos taken of them as possible. This is why they are appearing to hang all over me trying to get their face in the picture thinking that it will become popular in the United States. I hope some day I write my own book and these kids picture can be in it. They have the motivation and ability to do so much if they are just given the opportunity. My impression from what I have learned about students like this in Botswana is that most of them will try to accomplish these goals, some will find help whether it be in continuum education or someone giving them a chance at a prestigious job disappointing as it may be the fact is few will succeed. The girl to the left of me in this picture dreams of moving to America one day.

I couldn’t help but sit in this room and look around at all the children smiling and wonder which ones is HIV positive? What children here will not make it to their twenties and why it has to happen to them? When I talk to my peers about their organizations we cannot tell who has HIV and who is healthy but then you hear the occasionally story of the kid who took a half hour more to get out of bed in the orphanage after their nap. My friends who are working at a Salvation Army sight said they fed the kids lunch Monday and that they were required to bring their own bowls just to receive a serving of what looked like canned dog meat. Many of these kids brought crayon boxes and some used card board boxes. I am getting goose bumps right now thinking about these kids eating like animals and yet one child even had the decency to share the only meal he was going to eat that day with one of the volunteers from our program. Chris felt privileged and since the Salvation Army couldn’t provide enough for the volunteers he graciously accepted the Childs invitation. I understand there are still kids in the U.S. who go starving and that this is a worldwide issue my mind goes in circles when I think of an answer to world hunger. I feel this problem is not incurable but it would take a major shift in global consciousness, one that I think people in our generation or the generations ahead are ready for.

Today was by far one of the most rewarding days for me in throughout our trip. I feel like I can draw inspiration from these kids.

If I ever lack motivation I will remember back to the young girl who wrote a book and is not giving up on publishing it. I will remember a young twenty year old opening a pawn shop just to get the experience of starting his own business in hopes of owning his own company one day. This reminds me of last year when I would be working out at ping and in my head I’d complain of being tired or unmotivated and then I would look up at the track and see a young man moving as fast as he can with his arm crutches because his legs were not strong enough to stand on his own two feet. I can draw motivation to do things using other people’s strengths; this is something I have acquired over the years. I find this to be one of my truest blessings. I’m more concerned with how I am going to take this experience back to the U.S. than I am soaking it all in. I feel inhumane if I were to see the things I have seen and hear the stories I have heard not do anything about it. I know some peoples response to this is well it’s not our problem but it is. If we don’t take care of each other the end result will be worse off than the effort it takes to help one another. If your raft is sinking in open water would you throw people overboard to make it lighter for a short period of time before eventually sinking or would you collectively come up with a plan to solve the problem at hand and work together to save everyone?