Basic Information Science, and Tribute to Ashley Earl

Hi! It has been a while since I have posted. I had some computer issues, which have now been solved! I hope that all of you are FINE!

I am currently at a training for Basic Information Science (B.I.S.) - information technology. This, along with English, is one of the subjects I teach here in Namibia. While it is an elective, it is important because it is all about accessing information. And I tell my students daily: information is power! And growing up in poverty, you need to access all of the information and power that you can! I enjoy teaching B.I.S. because it is also about research, accessing data and information, how to conduct research, how to use the library and the Internet, and fostering a love of reading.

In addition to our service, much of Peace Corps is personal growth, and seeing your "old life" and your country and culture in a new perspective. Teaching B.I.S. and accompanying my students on their educational journey, I again see how I extremely fortunate I am. (Thank you, mom, for bringing me to the library as a child! What a gift!) All of us who have regular access to libraries, the internet, and other educational and communication platforms, are not only extremely lucky, we are also very much in the global minority.

Nelson Mandela said that:

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

and

"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."

Here in Namibia, strides are being made towards harnessing the true potential of education. Last week, the government announced that within the next few years, junior secondary education will be free. Last year, primary school education became free and fuly subsidized by the government. Soon, school fees will be waived for all students in grades 1 - 10. Unfortunately, many issues persist. As I saw in Kenya and here in Namibia, free schooling does not equate with open access. Families who cannot afford school uniforms or school supplies still struggle to give their children access to education. In my village, many students raise themselves because their families are working far away on the farm, or perhaps they are orphans. (The HIV/AIDS pandemic strikes hard, leaving many children without parents.)

On another note, I would like to pay tribute to Peace Corps Namibia Volunteer Ashley Earl, who passed away last week. You can read more here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/media/forpress/press/2342/ I did not know Ashley well, but it is clear that she was a great person, and that in her short life she gave a lot back. When I met her briefly, she struck me as gregarious and full of life. Her death touched all of us in Peace Corps Namibia. When you live and serve far from home, you truly see each other as family, and her death really brought that home. The staff here did a nice job of arranging a memorial service for her. My heart goes out to her family and friends.

Ashley's death reminds me to practice gratitude for the people in my life, and for the many blessings we have. Thank you to her for her service and thank you to everyone who supports us as volunteers to make our work possible. Finally, thank you to our communities and the people we work with for letting us into your communities and into your lives. Her death is a reminder to count our days, to make them count. Each day is a gift.