Game Drive, and Community Friends ~

Hello! Recently, I was fortunate enough to go on a game drive at a lodge very nearby my village. It was stunning, and Namibia's great beauty was on display, as always! Some photos are included below. (The final ones are of a lion feeding. Yes, it was totally staged for tourists - but the 4 female lions are amazing nonetheless!

And here are some additional photos from my community. The first photos of the kids are of our recent Grassroots Soccer graduation. Grassroots Soccer partners with Peace Corps worldwide, and uses soccer-inspired drills in a club format to raise awareness about, and work to stop the prevention of HIV and AIDS. I LOVED coaching Grassroots Soccer, and especially appreciated the deeper, inside look that it gave me into the community. I also loved mentoring this beautiful and talented young women and men!

The beautiful Herero woman is my friend who was wearing her traditional attire in preparation for her father's funeral at a nearby village. (You can see the traditional Herero outfit with the headscarf pointed on both sides, and the Victorian-inspired dress.

Update

Below are photos from recent life in Namibia:

Last weekend, my community counterpart and I hosted a nutrition/healthy lifestyles workshop for people in our village. The focus was on a healthy diet, especially one incorporating fruits and vegetables. I wrote a grant to begin a garden and soup kitchen project for individuals in our village living with HIV and AIDS. What we noticed is that many people were not certain how to incorporate vegetables into their diet. So the workshop was aimed at educating the public on the importance of a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables. We had a great turnout and it was WONDERFUL to see our community so happy and engaged on this important topic.

I also traveled to the coast recently. Here are some shots of the coast and "Dune 7"- one of the largest dunes in Africa.

There was also this interesting salt mine...

Enjoy your weekend . . .

PHOTOS!

Below are some recent photos from miscellaneous events and activities:

(SORRY for the incorrect orientation of some of the photos!!)

First, here are some of my “friends” - students who come and visit me regularly to color, draw, do arts and crafts, or to “play shop” with my recycling! They are pretty awesome!

The guys with the glasses are pretty amazing, as you can see. They came over looking for supplies to create their own glasses (or “specs” as they are called here). I was a bit worried because none of us had scissors or glue. But I gave them some old boxes and plastic bags and they used their creativity to make the “specs” and the result was this very cool look! I am pretty proud to know such cool kids! ;)

And more cute kids! My friend’s recently had a birthday party for her cousin, and here is a photo of the adorable kids waiting for the birthday cake(s).

The party was in northern Namibia, in Rundu. Below is a photo of the Kavango river there:

Next are some photos of students at their “Entrepreneurship Day” event. The day is meant to foster entrepreneurship and teach the students the basics of operating their own business. Our entrepreneurship teacher manages the event.

We also recently enjoyed another visit from OYO (Ombesha Yahinga) – a dance and theatre troupe focused on stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS within Namibia. Their philosophy is that it is easier to reach Namibian youth via music and dance than by preaching. And the kids really enjoyed the performance.

This is a random series of photos, but another event I was involved with recently was preparing for the new group of Peace Corps volunteers who just arrived in Namibia. I was in Okahandja at the training for this, and we stayed at a conference center with the following mural and garden:

In less interesting news, there has been what we will call a plumbing issue outside my house. But in the Peace Corps, we learn resilience and to see the positive in everything. So the upshot of this is that it is attracting a lot of animals, like these cows!

Finally, our group “COSed” (Peace Corps talk for “close of service”) recently. This means that we had our week-long conference focused on preparing us for the transition back to the U.S. and concluding our service here in Namibia. We began as 35; only 23 of us remain. Below are group and individual photos from the event:

I will close with a pic of sunrise over our school, and of the Namibian sky ~