One Love Scholarship

I have established the "One Love Scholarship" in Mangetti and want your help. The goal of this scholarship is to send one learner from Mangetti Combined School to senior secondary school (grades 11 and 12).

Mangetti Combined only goes up to grade 10, so the learners have to leave the bush to go to senior secondary school in town. Unfortunately, this means much higher school fees than most families in Mangetti can afford.

The average household income in Mangetti is 3 US Dollars per day. Yes, I said household and yes, I said 3 dollars per day! This is not even enough money to provide 1 meal a day for a family, as many rely on help from extended relatives. Needless to say, the average senior secondary school fees of 350 US Dollars is far more than they can afford.

In Namibia, passing grade 10 is a significant accomplishment, but in order to open doors of opportunity, they must pass grade 12. The people of Mangetti get neglected enough as it is, so we'd like to keep that door of opportunity open for at least one learner per year. This is where YOU come in! A donation of $10, $20 or $50 can provide a serious lift in a young Namibian's life. Larger donations are accepted also, but only if you're willing and able. If we can put together donations to equal $350, we can send a promising learner from Mangetti to grade 11 and 12! Thank you, in advance, for supporting international education, a key component of achieving world peace. :)

You can donate on my site by clicking on the "DONATE" icon.

FYI: The money for senior secondary school covers school development funds, hostel fees, stationary fees, uniform fees and other school fees that vary from school to school. Rest assured that every penny you donate will be used towards their education. The winner of the scholarship will be personally selected in mid-December when we find out the grade 10 results.

Here are photos of the 3 Finalists: Aloysia, Garu and Kamina. These aren't the best photos, I apologize.

ALOYSIA- in the front, looking at the camera

This was taken when she was helping create the library.

GARU-in the front in the orange trousers

Garu is one of my library assistants.

KAMINA-sitting next to me

This was taken when he won dinner at my hut for scoring the highest on the math exam in grade 10.

ONE LOVE.

Farewell Grade 10 :(

WHOA! It's really been 4 months since I posted?? Crazy! My bad, y'all. I don't get a whole lot of time to type up blog entries from the hut and then post them when I have Internet access. I hope you can understand. I hope to write more soon and very soon about a wide array of experiences and stories, but I wanted to share my "farewell" letter that I wrote for Grade 10. I will say goodbye to them on Monday as they take their last exam (ENGLISH!!). Before the exams began, I wrote them this letter with memories of each learner. Before I could even start reading it to them, I was in tears. I was real unsure of how they'd react (Namibian men don't really express emotions like that), but after the class they sang me a beautiful song that they made up for me, ABOUT me. I wish I could post that video on here, but the Internet connection is way too slow in Namibia to do things like that. The main part of the song went something like this: "Mr. Butler, our teacher, we are sharing love together. Carry on, bye bye, carry on." Seriously, I wish you could see this video. When I get back to the US, I'll post it. Anyways, here is the letter. There are some inside jokes that only my learners will understand, but I have included a "glossary" at the end of the letter to help you better understand some of the things. I just wanted to share a bit of what these learners have meant to me (and this letter hardly covers all that I've gained from this year, just snippets).

Dear Grade 10,

As our time together comes to an end, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been the most memorable year of my life. I remember that morning in January at assembly looking towards the Grade 10 lines and thinking, “Wow! I hope those boys (Pius and Muha) don’t beat me because they are much bigger than I am!” I remember Paulus and Joseph taking charge in the library sawing logs, proudly helping create the Kalihonda Library. I remember wondering if Hertha and Roise would ever speak to me, then finding out they are very sweet young women, just a little shy. I remember talks with Beatha and younger learners as we walked that side* for lunch when I lived at the guest house. I remember teaching Daniel the “Soulja Boy” dance in the guest house when he and the boys came to cut my hair. I remember Elias teaching me what Tate Buti* is really singing about in all his songs. NAUGHTY! I remember Gotfriead going out into the bush with Thomas and I to cut down trees for my house. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done! I remember Taapopi not saying much but always getting high marks and occasionally flashing his radiant smile. I remember feeling very honoured when Jonnas wrote about me in this term 1 English question paper*. I remember Auleria and friends coming to me protesting their required hair cut. Even though they had to cut their hair, I’m proud of her for speaking her mind. I remember all the sweet SMSes that Miss Lindsey and I received from Naironga while on holiday in Swakopmund. I remember hanging out in the Otara-tara* with Epimakus and friends trying to teach me Rukwangali. I remember Plasidius teaching me Rukwangali every day in class. “Awe sir! Na Na Na!”* I remember my weekend in Rundu with Garu and Kamina; at Kavango River Lodge, Garu enjoying his jacket potato* and Kamina wandering all around taking photos. I remember Uyepa, even though failing the first 2 terms, working harder than anyone else in term 3. I remember Aloysia, the youngest in the class and the only girl to pass term 2, working hard and actively participating in a class dominated by boys. I remember watching Martha on the netball field and looking at the photos of little Martha in the office.

Thank you for all the memories Grade 10. I will never ever forget you. As the exams begin, know that I believe in you. I believed in you when you were scared of me because you thought I was a Boer*. I believed in you when we decided to build the library. I believed in you when you stood up against corporal punishment. I will always believe in you. Believe in yourself, work hard, treat others with respect and good things will happen in your life. Now go knock out that exam, Hitman*!!

One Love,

Mr. James

GLOSSARY:

That side--This is what we say when you refer to anything, and i mean anything, that is fairly far away. Example: "Where is the store?" "It's that side." (usually accompanied with snapping and pointing with your finger in the general direction)

Tate Buti--A Namibian musician who sings many songs in one of the local languages about promiscuity and degradation. Instead of dirty, Namibians use the word "naughty" and I love it!

Jonnas' question paper--First, a "question paper" is another word for exam. Their writing prompt was to write about their hero and he wrote about me for coming into the bush to teach them even though there was no electricity, etc. :)

Otara-tara--This is kind of like the sitting room, or family room, in a homestead full of huts. Ours is pretty big and made strictly out of mahangu stalks. We have a fire in the Otara-tara and sit around it talking, laughing and teaching/learning Rukwangali.

Awe. Na Na Na.--Awe is pronounced "Ah-way" and Na Na Na is just like it looks. They use these expressions when they don't like something or they disagree with something or just to express general discontent with a situation. They use it a lot in my class, if we're playing a game and they think I cheated them out of points or something. It's hilarious. And when I use it in return, they all think it's hilarious. I like to use it in town when someone is trying to sell me something and I think it's too expensive. The reactions are priceless.

Jacket potato--baked potato. Garu proclaimed while eating his first jacket potato. "I'm dying gradually" because he loved it so much. So many amazing moments at that dinner. I'll write more about it another time.

Boer--another term for Afrikaaner. My learners recently confessed to me that most of them were afraid of me at the start of the year because they thought I was a Boer and the only thing they know of Boer's is that they treat blacks like garbage. It's really, really sad. Many of my learners' families live on farms around Mangetti and it really has a colonial era feel to it. So sad.

Hitman--World boxing champion from Namibia. I made the analogy that we were like Hitman who got knocked down in the second round because we did terribly on term 2 exams, but that we would get up and knock out the exams in term 3. They liked it. They are super competitive and I have a bit of that in me, myself, so it worked out nicely. :)


Thanks for reading. That ended up being a lot longer than I expected. Hope you enjoyed!

ONE LOVE.

Holiday, Hut and Library (with more to come)

For the sake of time, I have to make an abbreviated post but I will write more at a later date...

For stories about my holiday adventure in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe with some amazing pictures, check out Lindsey's blog:
http://lindseyloveinnamibia.blogspot.com

For pictures of my new home (mud hut) and our library that is finally finished, check out the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97680&id=511256995&l=7789a46dc4

TO BE CONTINUED...

ONE LOVE.

GET UP, STAND UP

As you can see, I’m sticking with the Bob Marley theme for this entry as well. Keep reading and you’ll find out why.

I have decided to move out of my palatial, very western, comfortable guest house in Mangetti. I was thinking about moving for several reasons, but this week one of those reasons came to the forefront of my attention: racism.

Namibia is a very young country (19 years of independence after enduring the colonialization era) and inequality between blacks and whites still exists, especially in the bush. I noticed the type of attitude that Afrikaaners in the village (and some visitors) have towards the black community members and it really bothered me. It’s not really an ‘in your face’ discrimination, but there is a feeling of superiority that some of the whites have towards the blacks. I saw it when I arrived and I continue to see it daily. I have been thinking of ways to approach this situation with the Afrikaaners in the community (owners of the guest house where I’m living), but I wanted to be clear and have concrete examples of what I was speaking about.

Then yesterday I was approached by the owner of the guest house about my position in the house. He brought up the fact that I invite some colleagues to the house nightly to watch the soapy (soap opera). He asked that I not invite my colleagues over when there are other people (mostly white Afrikaaners) staying in the guest house. This gave me the perfect opportunity to inquire about my suspicions so I asked, “Why?”

He went on to tell me that not all people are comfortable with black people and that he wanted to avoid any of those situations. As you can imagine, I was burning up inside at this point. I told him that’s called racism and is not acceptable in this country, or anywhere in the world for that matter. He brought up several more points including that’s how he was raised and that it’s a business and he wants to give his guests a peaceful stay in the guest house. I countered with, “I don’t care if that’s how you were raised, it’s not fair or just” and then asked “Would it be a problem if I was inviting Afrikaaners over?” to which he responded, “Probably not.”

I stewed over this conversation for awhile and spoke with my principal about it. I decided that I needed to speak more with the owner of the guest house about this situation so I went to his house that night. I told him that it was his guest house and that I couldn’t tell him how to run it, but if he was honestly going to stand his ground about not letting me have visitors while other people were staying at the guest house (because of the level of discomfort the guests might get from seeing black people) that I was moving out. We talked for about 45 minutes about the issue of racism in Namibia, the US and throughout the world. He, himself, said he has no problem with black people, but I argued that not standing up for the black people in this community was just as racist as the people who come to Mangetti and feel discomfort around my colleagues. Passive racism is similar to active racism in that it’s still racism!

His main argument was that he did not want to disrespect his superiors who might come to the guest house and feel uncomfortable with my visitors (who are only there for 1 hour a night as it is). He referenced the Bible ALOT (I will spare details about that), especially when talking about respecting your superiors at all times. I asked, “Even when your superior is telling you to do something immoral?” and he responded “yes.”

His decision remained the same about the visitors, so I told him that I could not live in a house where I had to follow a rule that was laced with racism. As a result, within the month, I will move from my comfortable duds at the guest house. I will say “Mbaa” (Rukwangali for “bye”) to my comfortable bed, electricity, cold food and drinks, hot showers, TV and ample space and move into a mud hut. I am actually in the process of talking with community members and learners who are going to help me build my own mud hut by the school closer to the community.

I realize that my stance in this situation did not cause a change in the owner’s policy, but I do know that I brought up their racist attitudes and beliefs. I don’t think that happens very often with them. Therefore, I am happy to have at least brought it to their attention and maybe, just maybe, some change in their attitude will come from our conversations and my moving out. I also know that the community will not be happy with them when they hear why I am moving out, so there is a chance their attitudes and beliefs could be brought to their attention even more from community members.

It’s really hard to address something that has been etched into the way of life, here in Namibia, for generations and generations. But I felt I had to “get up, stand up” for what was right. Racism will not end in Mangetti with my move, and I fully realize that, but a stance needed to be made.

PEACE. LOVE. EQUALITY.