Welcome back to Me (email from Amy)

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't written for a while. I was home for Christmas. It was good. I still haven't processed it though. I'll write more about it later. The first grade teacher who I know has a telephone didn't get here until yesterday (she had exams for her correspondence college courses- she's getting her bachelor's degree) and the school phone was broken.

It's the beginning of the year. I'm really hoping that we start with classes on Monday (I think they will.) I feel a lot more prepared this year. I think back to this time last year and I wonder what I was thinking. I was sort of flailing about for lessons. This year I sketched out a plan for the whole term. I'm going to try doing a vocab word each day with a theme for the week. My favourite is called "Gross Stuff" and has words like "boger" and "vomit." I set that one for the week after a five day break, when none of the kids will really want to be at school.

Here's how I got back to Anker after being home. First there was the 28 hour airplane ride. On the way to America I sat next to a guy who worked at the American Embassy and his family. We had a nice chat. On the way back, ironically, I was on the same plane with him from Washington to Jo-berg, and then, even more ironically, I sat next to him from Jo-berg to Windhoek. His wife came to pick them up and offered me a ride and then they took me out to eat at Nando's (it's a nice fast food-ish chicken place. Think P---) Not bad considering I was planning on begging for rides from tourists. They thankfully dropped me off at Jason's place with all my stuff (miraculously, nothing got lost.)

I stayed in Windhoek that night and two more nights (I just couldn't face trying to travel with all of my stuff.) Finally I called a Radio Taxi (a taxi that will pick you up where you ask them to and then drop you off for a flat N$40 fee) and then a combi (I had to pay extra because of all my stuff.) At the checkpoint outside of Windhoek they stopped our combi and asked for IDs from everyone (the first time that has happened to me) and then I got into a bit of trouble because my passport was in the trailer in back and I only had my Peace Corps ID (which should have been good enough.)

Finally we got out of there and into Otjiwarongo where I got a taxi to Megan's place. She had thankfully not moved yet (she will soon because at the moment she's living with a UN volunteer, her boyfriend, and their 1 month old infant.) Matt and Carl were there. Then came the part of the trip I had been dreading- trying to hike to Kamanjab and then into Anker with so much stuff. We lugged everything to the Wimpy Burger (which, by the way, now has highspeed (relatively) Wi-Fi, who'd have thunk it) and while we were waiting for the food I went to Pep to buy a new cell phone. There in PEP I saw Mr. #Guibeb and my problems were solved. I brought all my stuff to his car, bought some groceries and I was back in Anker that Saturday afternoon after a relatively painless 3 hour ride in the back of a bakkie with three other women and all my stuff.

This week has been quiet. There are still only about half the kids we expect to show up (by Monday it will be all but a few) and they're not getting into too much trouble yet. I have thoroughly cleaned and finished cataloging the library, something I am quite proud of (pictures are coming.) Finally, this weekend I'm going to get some more groceries. I got milk, eggs, plenty of fresh fruit and veggies—cabbage, carrots, apples, oranges and cucumbers—but for some reason I forgot to buy meat and bread when I shopped last week. I've had to make up for it with Herero bread from the store and lots of complimentary proteins.) Also, I'm in charge of showing a video on Saturday night (I think it will be Holes.)

That's all for now. I love you all lots. Thank you to everyone who I saw while I was home, it was a very refreshing and energizing time for me (even if I did spend an inordinate amount of time watching CSI and Mythbusters.) Take care.

New school year starts this week

The new school year begins this week in Namibia. It is mid summer there and some of the hottest days of the year, but the holidays end this week and the children begin to return to schools and hostels all around the country for another year. Teachers are supposed to report to work today and prepare for students, who are to report on Wednesday. Below is a schedule of the whole 2007 school year for Namibia.

Click to enlarge

Article in Amy's hometown paper

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From Hatchville to Namibia

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From Hatchville to Namibia

By AMANDA LEHMERT
STAFF WRITER
This winter vacation, Erikka Loftfield feels overstimulated.

Her family's Hatchville home - buzzing with people to chat with and things to do - is a world away from what she has grown accustomed to in her Peace Corps outpost in Namibia.

Erikka Loftfield, left, says she knew very little about Africa before the Peace Corps assigned her to a teaching post in Namibia, where she has 90 students and runs an after-school program for girls. (Photo courtesy of Erikka Loftfield)

The tiny Namibian town of Bethanie has one store, a post office and a bank that is only open on Mondays, 2 to 4 p.m. There, life is all about her job as teacher, mentor and volunteer.

''I go to the little shop there and I have one choice of peanut butter. Here, I walk around the grocery story and I don't know what to do with myself,'' Loftfield said.

The 2001 Falmouth High School graduate has been teaching English and science in the African country since 2005. This week, she returns to Namibia, where she will complete the last 11 months of her two-year commitment to the Peace Corps.

Between her pre-med undergraduate work at Cornell University and plans for grad school, Loftfield applied to the Peace Corps and was accepted to work for the U.S.-based worldwide volunteer effort.

When she was offered the job in Namibia, she did her research.

''I knew very little about Africa, actually,'' she said. ''I was very shocked about how little you can know about a part of the world.''

With a long Atlantic Ocean coastline in the western part of the country, Namibia is bordered by Angola to the north and South Africa to the south in sub-Saharan Africa. The country gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

A mostly rural country, Namibia is plagued by AIDS, with nearly 20 percent of the population affected by the deadly disease.

Loftfield's Peace Corps teaching adventure began at a secondary school in Karbib a year ago. Last spring, she moved to the little town of Bethanie, a rural community first settled by missionaries.

In a holdover from the country's domination by Apartheid South Africa, the line between black and white is distinct in Bethanie.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Loftfield stands out among the all-black student body. She lives in a flat at the school's hostel among about 90 students, many of whom hail from the poor outskirts of the region.

''You see more integration then there was in the past, but it's slow,'' she said of race relations in Namibia.

Loftfield teaches natural science and health, subjects that include lessons about dessert ecosystems and prevention of malaria and yellow fever.

The official language in Namibia is English, and students are taught exclusively in English after fourth grade. Still, some of Loftfield's seventh- and eighth-graders must translate for other students who have yet to master the language.

''On paper, it all works very well. But application is more difficult than that,'' she said.

She does plenty outside the classroom, too.

Loftfield runs an after-school program for girls and an AIDS-prevention program sponsored by UNICEF. The UNICEF program tries to build children's self-esteem.

''Just to get them to the point where they can say 'no' is sort of a novel idea,'' she said.

Loftfield is also among the Peace Corps volunteers who run a youth leadership camp that brings together kids from across the country so they can interact with Namibians from different tribal backgrounds.

''It's really just a venue to get kids together and realize they are working toward the same goals,'' Loftfield said.

Despite the tough work and sometimes lonely existence - Bethanie has very few residents Loftfield's age - working with the children has made her feel purposeful and welcome.

''I'll walk to school in the morning and I'm tired and grumpy, but they're happy and singing,'' she said. ''It makes it easy to be there.''

(Published: January 7, 2007)

Copyright © Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved.

Jason featured in his hometown paper

This was from the Idaho Press- Tribune on 12/30. The link didn't work so I posted the text from the article:


Idahoan helps to connect Africa

Jason Sears has lived in Namibia for a year helping to
spread technology, and he's ready for more

By Adam Ross - Idaho Press-Tribune

Jason Sears has fielded plenty questions during his holiday time back
in Idaho, there's just a couple he can do without.

"The worst is when people ask 'what's Africa like?'" Sears said.
"There's just so many things you can say."

But Sears didn't return from a vacation in Africa, he spent a year in
the southwest nation of Namibia as a Peace Corps volunteer, and will
soon head back to the land for another year of service. In Namibia,
Sears is lending his lifetime of computer knowledge to a nation
devoted to fixing its broken educational system.

"They spend a lot on education," said Sears, a graduate of Boise State
University. "Only 30 percent (of Namibians) graduate from 10th or 12th
grade."

Those who do get through the school system quickly find that there
are few career options in a nation whose main natural resources —
diamonds, uranium and fishing — are mainly exploited by foreign
countries. As part of the Peace Corps' Information Communication
Technology (ICT) project, Sears gives computer training to young
Namibians, teachings that are usually not available in a nation with
widespread areas still without electricity.

Traveling across the globe to live in a country that is only 16 years
old (after gaining its independence from South Africa) was a huge
decision, but one that was not entirely unexpected.

"It's definitely in-line with his character," said Jason's mother,
Esther Sears. "It took a little getting used to, but we're extremely
proud of him. He's accomplished a great deal and has made a huge
difference."

Sears' life in Namibia began with spending a month with a local
family, learning the skills that he would need on his own — such as
washing laundry in a basin and taking a bath in a bucket.

Sears spent his introductory weeks in a city neighborhood, but would
be doing his teachings in the poverty-stricken "locations," areas
outside the cities conceived during the apartheid era where the black
population was once forced to live. The locations still remain, with
neighborhoods frequently constructed out of crude metals and wood.

"It's amazing to walk through," said Sears, who attended Boise's
Capital High. "It's in not like (in America) where you see someone and
say 'hi,' there you have to stop and have a conversation with people,
and sometimes they invite you in and serve you food."

The same enthusiasm that thrilled Sears throughout the villages was
also present in his classroom, with students eager to learn computer
training. A challenge facing Sears as a teacher was that his students
had no access to computers at home — all of the skill building had to
happen during his limited classroom time.

"Traditional teaching won't work, because we would have such a mix of
experience levels," Sears said. "We ended up doing project-based stuff
like making movies, and had the less-experienced students learn from
the others. Unless they apply what they learn there's no chance they
will remember the skills."

The technology training is seen by the locals as a way out of the
villages, which have no economy to speak of and a heavy concentration
of AIDS infections and alcoholism. The latter is in part a result of
Namibia's beer culture, with residents frequently brewing their own
beer and often setting up their small house as a makeshift

Back home in Boise, Sears was met with an unwelcome greeting — cold
temperatures. Sears eventually grew accustomed to the constant triple
digit temperatures of Namibia, heat so assaulting that pants and
long-sleeved shirts become the preferred defense against the sun's
rays. Before leaving for Africa again on Jan. 2, Sears is busy raising
funds for the ICT efforts in Namibia. Sears and his partners (a group
of Namibian students who applied to teach alongside him) need
financial help with their bus travel from village to village they make
throughout the year.

Beyond a couple unanswerable questions, Sears has found it easy
adjusting to American life again during his brief stopover at home.

"Some people were worried that I would be a totally different person,"
Sears said. "But we've picked right up from where we left before."

How to help

Jason Sears is raising funds to help with transportation costs related
to his cause in Namibia. Any small donation will be greatly
appreciated. To donate, visit Sears' Web site at www.mindofjason.com

Copyright 2005 Idaho Press-Tribune. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.