Wild Ride in Dar

Just had to tell you about my ride this morning before we get on the plane to Kigoma (it is just now starting to rain, so this will be a fun travel day...).

I got a taxi from the hotel and told the valet that I needed to go to the ATM to get 200,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $160), then off to the store called Game that sells appliances and electronics. We're running out of space on our hard drives, what with all of the footage we're taking. I also needed to get some rechargeable batteries because once we give the Flip video cameras to the kids to take home, they use the batteries up in one night, probably not sleeping just to keep using them.

So, we got to the bank, no problem. Because it is Sunday morning, the streets are teaming with people making purchases from the stalls and ramshackle huts lining the torn up streets. You can buy fruit, meat, textiles, phones, vegetables, you name it. The colors are bright and vivid. There were many Masai in traditional dress and ladies dressed-to-the-nines in huge hats, multi-colored dresses, and high heels as they made their way along the dirt paths to church. I saw many maimed men (land mines, I'm sure) begging in the road. Little children run everywhere and a few asked me for candy (wish I had some).

Red lights and lanes don't mean a thing, so as you swerve past huge buses with men hanging out the window to change their shirts (the buses are so crowded you have to lean out to get any personal business done), you hold on tight as huge lories pull right in front of you.

My driver ended up turning into a winding dirt road just wide enough for the car to get through. Good, I thought, he's taking a shortcut. We passed women in their doorways combing children's hair, plucking chickens, and doing laundry. This was more like it! The place was teaming with life, and I loved every second of it. We finally came to an abrupt stop and the driver announced "Game!" I looked over to a stall where a man was carving wooden checkers pieces. Ah, game...not Game. I was fairly certain that this guy smoking cigarettes on the stoop of his shack didn't have a 160gig hard drive to sell me. I explained, and the driver finally finally understood.

When we finally got to Game, I asked the assistant for the most powerful hard drive he had. Aha! He had JUST the thing. He took me to the computer section and proudly showed me a 2gig flash drive. Hmmm. Not so much. I bought one four-pack of rechargeable batteries ($65) and drove back to the hotel.

Pretty fun morning. I'm now very much looking forward to dragging all of our luggage and equipment through the rain to the airport! It's quite an adventure.

Again, more later.

E

Happy Birthday Mom!

A very special shout-out from Tanzania to my Mom, Marian. Andy and I both agree that, coupled with our shared sense of wonder about the world and people, it was our amazing parents who helped shape us into two dudes who can go do what we do. Mom, I wouldn't be here, sitting in the amazing city of Dar and preparing to go to the Jane Goodall Institute in Kigoma, without your unconditional support and love. Happy Birthday! I love you.

I asked Mom to write something as the only gift I could think of from this far away was a bit of the spotlight on the blog. Here she is:

Everywhere I go these days people stop me to say how much they are enjoying Erik's and Andy's blogs from their experiences in the five African countries. I've heard from neighbors, friends, relatives, colleagues and even one of Erik's childhood friends. We're checking maps on the Internet to see just where the Pearson Foundation is providing such wonderful experiences. Their descriptions are so vivid that we feel we are there. It has been terrific to hear perspectives from Jaime, Sandra, and Gabriel, too. The pictures are vivid and so important to the whole story. The comments readers post also add another dimension. I love how the Internet can make us so instantly connected to humanitarian efforts.

When I was reading The Story of Ferdinand to a class of kindergartners on September 20 for Read for the Record I loved having the connection to the children hearing Kelly Hu read it to them in Botswana. Those pictures of beaming children holding up their very own copies of the book were priceless. I know you are all gaining empathy, knowledge and perceptions of reality that could not be experienced any other way. This is education!

Thank you for taking us along for the ride.

Marian (Erik's Mom)


We're off to Kigoma at Noon. It was great to walk around the city last night. We at at an outdoor patio and soaked in the humidity, lush bougainvilla, and exotic bird calls. The humidity has a great side effect as my extreme hangnails are healing right in front of my eyes! I ordered chicken pili pili and asked for it extra hot. I think my fellow Americans who have come here before me have ruined any chances of me getting my food as spicy and hot as I like it. I'm betting the kitchen hears that a Mzumbo (white man) ordered his food extra hot and they just roll their eyes and leave off the chili.

I'm just now off on a walk along the beach to poke a stick in the Indian Ocean. It's not quite clean right here in front of our hotel, but beautiful none-the-less. We went to dinner with our new friend Alicia last night, then off to a fun dance club. After watching Andy work his way into an all-Tanzanian dance circle, then keep up with the hottest girl in the club, I'm now convinced he has African blood in him somewhere (well, we all do, don't we?...). It was great to walk around the city and see all of the beautiful people. I am so jealous of their smooth, toned, and glowing skin. Nothing like watching a beautiful Tanzanian woman walk by with her regal airs, toned body, and beautiful cappucino skin to make me rue my mottled, mole-covered, and splotchy outer-layer. C'est la vie. I left Andy and Gabriel getting their groove on to some poppin' hip hop music at about 1:00am. I may be 42, but I can still bust a move.

For those following along on Google Earth, check out Gombe forest. There are tons of great pop-ups that will tell you all about Jane Goodall's work with the chimps. Or, Google "Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots" to learn more about the kids we'll work with tomorrow. I am so excited to get there!

More from Kigoma,

Erik. (Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!)

Nice Break in Dar Overnight

After our fulfilling, emotional, and busy week in Joburg, we four were THRILLED to find ourselves in the surroundings Andy mentions below. One night to take a deep breath before we fly to Kigoma tomorrow. And, Andy and I are glad to be in humid weather. I added some Shutterfly photos. There are a few stragglers from Joburg and then some photos of this amazing hotel we've found ourselves in on the Indian Ocean.

More tomorrow as the Internet is smokin' hot here.

E

We are here in Paradise

We just arrived in Dar Es Salaam, and I am in heaven. It's a perfect temperature, it's not too dry, the sun is shining, and we are right by the Indian Ocean. I wish you could all be here. I am sitting out in the courtyard by the pool where Erik and Gabriel are swimming. I am typing this on the amazingly fast wireless Internet that there is throughout the hotel. Brilliant. I love my job.

If you want to read about Johannesburg, just look below. I will only say that it was one of the most profound and inspiring experiences of my life. It was one of those experiences I will be talking about for a while.

I am excited to fly to Kigoma tomorrow to meet the next group of kids. We will stay there for a week, and then fly back here to Dar for another week long camp with 30 more kids. Stay tuned.

A. dog.

Off We Go Again

Off we go to Tanzania. Hey, I forgot to mention that Andy, Gabriel, Jamie, and I finally tired of everyone telling us we couldn't walk the three blocks to the school. So, we threw caution out the window and marched purposefully to the school. We quickly became relaxed when we saw a schoolgirl walking with her backpack. Gabriel faked a limp, hoping to get a good story as the weak prey. Needless to say, we felt very proud to have made it to school, until we looked and found that we had walked down Princess of Wales Street.

Had a great time in Soweto last night with Claudia and her fiance Faisle. The waiter told us all about growing up in Apartheid Soweto, and all of the history. Before 1994, they didn't have any street lights, etc. It was another of those unbelievable stories. Had home cookin' out of bent and chipped pots. Amazingly good.

We leave in an hour for Dar es Salaam. We'll spend the night, then get to Kigoma tomorrow.

Posted some Shutterfly photos of the last day with the kids and adults in Joburg.

Not sure about Internet in Dar. Will post if possible.

E

Sandra Says Goodbye

Anybody out there have any extra Kleenex? They are surely needed in Johannesburg, South Africa today for we just completed our last day with the girls. I promise to write about the day in its entirety tomorrow but I just wanted to share a bit of the emotional high from today. We completed our Digital Arts residency with the girls and ended the day with a film viewing highlighting all of the films the girls made during the week. The delegates from the symposium joined us at the viewing. To say it was an incredible day would be quite the understatement. If there was a dry eye in the house, I'm amazed - I'm thinking NOT. Stay tuned - all the details tomorrow!Off to dinner, Sandra

Last Day In Joburg

Very quick upadate. We're off to Soweto for dinner with Claudia. She'll be here any moment.

So, we had a very busy and wonderful day. The girls had 3 hours to finish their fims, and they did it! They made some extrodinary movies. We rushed, rushed, rushed. Every hand was in the air at the end of the day...Andy! Erik! Andy! Erik! James! Help us! We made it through in the nick of time. These girls have created the most amazing movies Andy and I have ever worked on with kids.

They went off to practice their introductions to their movies to the adults during lunch, and James, Andy, and I feverishly posted their films on a hard drive for viewing.

We went to the adults symposium room at 2:30 and the girls each stood up in front of the group, introduced themselves, described their movies, then we played them. Honestly, there was not a dry eye in the place. These girls were so brave and open. Many of the girls broke down seeing their final films. They were so proud and so elated. We asked for comments from the adults after each film and they all had amazing things to say. It was amazing to look around the room and see both the men and women crying out of pain and joy.

Sandra handed out roses and Andy handed out certificates of completion to all of the girls. The girls were in love with both. They hugged each other, all of us, then we sadly said goodbye.

The adult symposium went extremely well and Sandra has a ton of new ideas (go figure).

We quickly packed everything up and high-tailed it home. We're exhausted, but on a high.

So, dinner in Soweto. We'll get pictures. We have a ton of pictures to post on Shutterfly, but no time to do it now. We'll do it from Dar es Salaam tomorrow.

Not sure how good the Internet will be over the next two weeks, so bear with us if our blogs are less frequent. We promise to provide all the details and take some more great pictures. Also, I'm going to attempt to post a couple of completed movies from our week in Joburg.

Thanks for the comments and emails. They truly are gems to us.

More (hopefully) tomorrow from Dar, and more blogging and picture posting coming soon.

Best,

E

Sandra Blogs Again

Another incredible day! In the morning, we worked with MML to facilitate a symposium with educational delegates from many African countries to discuss ways to improve life and education for African girls. In attendance were many very important governmental officials from all regions of Africa. I presented an overview of the Pearson Foundation activities in Africa and the group was highly appreciative as well as inquisitive of the PF efforts. Together, we targeted several areas that are in dire need of improvement for the young African girl and tomorrow we will facilitate as the group develops a target plan of action to address the situation in the coming year. It was very difficult for me to hear the delegates discuss the horrific situations that many African girls experience.

As I have a daughter the age of the girls referenced in the discussion, it was truly more than I could bear. The nature of the tragedies ranged from rape to incest to early marriage for money to female genitalia mutilation to sexual slavery. Again, more than I can bear to think about. The African delegates are so very brave. They work in this situation everyday and they endeavor to persevere! It was quite rewarding for me because the delegates were very eager for suggestions and valued the opportunity to trade professional opinions with one another. I am looking forward to a highly productive day tomorrow as the delegates develop an action plan. Tomorrow, we are also going to discuss ways to strengthen the Digital Arts program in Africa.

The morning session was productive, positive and uplifting BUT the afternoon session was off the charts, baby! The delegates from the symposium joined the girls in the Digital Arts program and the girls taught the delegates Premiere. AMAZING. The girls have been working with the software for only three days and they are teaching highly educated adults. They loved the experience – they being the adults and the girls. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you who loved it more! It was a beauty to watch. The girls beamed as they taught the delegates – they were so proud of their newly acquired skills. They relished the attention they received from the delegates and they spoke if Digital Arts as if they were PF employees! It was beyond wonderful. I can tell the girls are getting a bit nervous about tomorrow as they will present their completed films to the delegates.

In all probability, tomorrow is the last day we will ever see these girls. You can be sure I will not be wearing eye makeup tomorrow and I will have several Kleenex tucked discretely in my pocket. I wonder if the girls have any idea what an impact they’ve had on me……………..

Nite,
Sandra

Kefiloe

I finally got Kefiloe's low resolution clip up. Please watch. Her final film will look much, much better. Blogger.com would only allow me to publish this. Just listen to her words.

Day of the big gala event.

Sitting at the patio office again. It is raining like tigers-and-wolves out here. The thunder is unbelievable. We sit on a hilltop over an immense valley so it is, well, thunderous! Car alarms going off everywhere.

I have been trying to post one of our girl's videos, but it has now been six hours of trying, and I'm giving up. I'll try again tomorrow morning.

The girls were rambunctious yesterday. A good sign that they trust us. Andy was in the room teaching and I was filming the last ten girls. By mid-day, he needed me to come in as a new authority figure. So, I took the best-practices from my first-grade-teacher mom, Marian, and we calmed them down to focus. They did great. I don’t mind being bad-cop because Andy is such a wonderful good cop.

We had our friend Claudia speak to the girls today. We met her with the Bishop last week in Botswana. She grew up in apartheid South Africa. As a black woman, she had everything against her. She is now a high-powered attorney helping underserved people in Joburg get housing. The girls were enraptured. When she left, in her new shiny Mercedes coup, they MOBBED her with their cameras. They actually screamed when she pulled up and surrounded her car with flashbulbs going off everywhere. It really looked like paparazzi.

We RUSHED out of the room because we had one hour to shower, iron, and be on the big bus to the Hyatt for the gala opening. Several education leaders from across Africa there were to hear about Sara and the Pearson Foundation Digital Arts programs.

Mary-Clare opened the evening, then Fatima spoke, then we ate. I spoke about our work in the States and our world-wide literacy and digital arts programs. I think it went really well. We all had on our new African outfits (thanks Mary-Clare!). Sandra looked amazing. See Shutterfly.

Sandra leads the discussion with the adults at a symposium on girls in Africa this morning with the MML team. Gabriel, Jaime, and I are off to the SOS orphanage, about an hour away, this morning to see where the girls live. Then, back to the students for more Premiere training. They really are making some powerful films.

(Later in the day..)

Gabriel, Jaime, and I went with Martin to the SOS Orphanage in Errendale, about an hour from the hotel. This is where several of our girls live. I can’t believe that they make that trek two times a day, just to do our program. We passed SoWeTo, where we’ll go Friday night to hang out. This is the birthplace of the anti-apartheid movement. Along the route today, we saw miles and miles of shanty-towns. These are cramped compounds of shacks made from all manner of detritus. There were emaciated dogs everywhere, children running in the mud, and mothers frantic to bring in their laundry in from the roofs as we’ve just had the first rain in many months. The place is covered in smoke as people are forced to cook their meals on the ground on open fires. With this incredible thunder and downpour, the conditions are just deplorable.
We got to the orphanage and met the deputy director. Then we filmed me walking with her and talking about how kids end up there. Turns out that all these kids are there because their parents have terminal illnesses, or are dead. That was very interesting because some of the girls had told us that they didn’t know how they got there. So, it must be a coping mechanism…not admitting that they their parents are dead.
We walked into one of our student’s “homes”. She showed us around and we filmed her describing her situation. It really is quite a good situation. When they arrive at the orphanage on day one, they go through an intake process then head off to a house. There is a house-mother and several house-sisters and brothers to meet. They become a de-facto family. Girls (4 or 5 in quantity) in one room, boys in the other. They have a dining room table and it feels good. Our first girl, Thabisila, and her sister live in the same room with other girls. We filmed them showing each other the pictures taken on the day of their arrival.

We visited two other houses then met the director. He’s a great man and stated over and over how communities need to start taking over the care of abandoned and orphaned children because the system in place can’t take the load.

We visited the intake center and met with the woman responsible for this process. She said that it is so tough to see grandparents bring in children and then leave. Often, the kids watch as their last connection to family walks out the door, leaving them wondering about their new surroundings. It is emotionally heart-breaking for everyone.

We left Gabriel there to film. He was then going to ride the bus with the girls to the digital arts program so that he could film them on the ride in. Jaime and I got in the car with Martin and had JUST enough time to get back before the other girls arrived at the school where we’re holding our program. About 15 minutes into our ride back, Gabriel called to tell us that the bus had left without him. We went back. No good having our videographer stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Lucky thing, though. When we arrived, I motioned to Gabriel and he came running. He had just shot 20 minutes of a grandmother dropping off her grandson. We watched the footage in the car on the way home and it tore my heart apart. The grandmother was hysterical, and the boy was confused, scared, and clearly worried. His parents must have died (or were dying, most likely of AIDS or TB), and the grandmother probably had 10 other kids at home already. I almost couldn’t watch it.

We got back and started the day with the girls. They are clearly tired. Many of them don’t get enough calories every day, so by Thursday, their energy was low.
Fatima, Mary-Clare, and Sandra were with the delegates from several African nations this morning, coming up with a plan to elevate girls in education and ameliorate the adverse social problems they face by 2015. What a task! And this plan is informed by the Sara program and our digital arts program. It was amazing.

At 2:00 the adults came into our room and the students trained them how to use Premiere. It was a beautiful and uplifting thing to watch. The girls had learned SO much and the adults were aghast. The ministers of education from all across Africa are going home to tell their governments of the good work at Maskew Miller Longman and the Pearson Foundation, from one afternoon watching girls work on computers and making their own movies. It doesn’t get better than this!

I have some photos from yesterday to put up on Shutterfly, so look for them in an hour. I’ll post the photos of the orphanage we took today on the blog tomorrow. We are all exhausted beyond belief. We start with the girls at 7:30am tomorrow and go until 5:00pm. We’ll have an important film festival tomorrow afternoon where many local officials and some press will be on hand to watch the girls present their films.

Right now, Sandra is working with the delegates on a very hefty plan for the future of education in Southern Africa. Jaime and I are emailing and blogging, and Andy and Gabriel have gone off in this horrendous storm to another of our orphanages. This orphanage, Kids’ Haven, doesn’t get the funding that SOS does, so I’m betting Andy and Gabriel are in for a hard afternoon.

Sitting here again on the patio at the end of the day freezing my nose off. There is tremendous thunder and the rain is relentless. Doesn’t matter. Tomorrow, 30 girls who have been through the toughest of times will show off their movies.

More tomorrow night (24 hours) after we end this week’s program, get ready to start in Tanzania on Monday, and pack up.
E

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Big Day in South Africa

Back on the patio to get an Internet connection. This space has become our official Pearson Foundation office in Joburg. Check out Shutterfly and see for yourself! (Also, I added the picture of Andy's spider bite to his blog below...scroll down to check it out. That must have been one honkin' big spider. Glad my room was twelve doors down.)

Had a great and emotional day yesterday, as you've read from the others. I'm glad to get some different perspectives up on the blog. The one thing we all agree on is that these girls, who have seen some of the worst horrors imaginable, are so strong and have dreams for the future. It makes me think very hard about some of the complaints I hear from students stateside...but enough on that.

We're off to the humongous Mandela mall this morning to get some computer speakers that will work in South Africa. Today we will finish filming ten girls. We got through 20 yesterday! It was a ton of work, and we had a few break-downs, but it is so rewarding. I think that one of the hardest things I've had to do in 15 years of working in film happened yesterday. One of our girls, who was describing having been raped by her mother's boyfriends, who had ended up on the streets, and who has the most infectious smile in Africa, broke down when she was describing the rapes. We comforted her, then I spent some time helping her get to a place where she could (and this was the hardest part), film it again. I offered her the option to not do it, but she said, "No. I must. I know there are other girls who have gone through this and think they are alone. If even one girl watches this in the Sara program in schools and then feels like she is not alone, it will be worth it. Let's film it again." We did. I stood behind Gabriel, and as she was speaking I had to rest my head against his shoulder to stay standing. I try so hard to be professional, but I cried as Gabriel kept going. When she was finished, she gave me a big hug and Mary-Clare and I just stood with her for a while. As she walked back to the room, it was all I could do to stay put and not follow her. We had to start filming the next girl (who spoke about waking up in the orphanage at eight years old, not knowing how she got there, and not seeing her parents since). The Sara program is profound, and I can't wait for you to see these girls' films.

We have a big Gala event tonight with some very important people and press. Fatima (Pearson Education Africa) and I will present. I'll show Lisa Ling's intro to the girls, the films of the SOS orphans in Botswana, then talk about the Foundation and what we're doing in Africa. Mary-Clare and Bernita are giving Andy, Jaime, Gabriel, and me gifts of Mandela shirts to wear tonight! So, look for photos tomorrow of us in our African finery.

Tomorrow morning we'll travel through Joburg with our wonderful driver Martin to the SOS orphanage to see where many of our students live.

More tomorrow.

Erik

Gabriel Blogs

I’m Gabriel. I am the videographer. It’s an interesting job because I’m not really here as a teacher, I’m more of an observer. I spend my time getting the footage of all the interesting and mundane things that go on and then to edit it into a short video that tells the story of what happened. So I tend to be more in the background, and focus more on the relationships and interactions that develop between others rather than having them myself.

It’s a pleasure to watch Erik and Andy teach this workshop, they’re a well-oiled machine and they find many ways to make it fun, like in the middle of a series of complicated computer instructions, when they want to know if everyone’s got it, instead of saying raise your hands if you’re done, it’s “make a muscle” or “make a piece sign” or “do the wave.” Little things.

So today was day two, and the story is still unfolding. Yesterday was all about excitement, lots of new faces and toys, at certain points nearly every girl had a camera and had it trained at someone else and you’d look out a see a mini sea of smiling faces giggling, performing for the camera, or watching the instant playback, or shooting that, it became like a fun house mirror at times, constantly reflecting back on itself.

Today the main event was when we began recording the narratives the girls had written. Some of them were really amazing. One girl began crying and had to stop when she tried to describe how she felt about having been raped, seven times. It was one of those difficult moments, when it’s very painful and uncomfortable, yet because the camera is rolling it’s also a golden moment for the film, effectively telling the story of the pain and suffering that is so common here, and yet at the same time letting the person suffer, alone, the rest of us behind the camera, watching. It actually only lasted about one second before Mary Claire, one of the directors from Cape Town came in to comfort her.

For me the day went by quite quickly as I trained the camera on girl after girl, each telling her story. My main concerns were about the light, the sound, and the background (did we want the university as the background? The city skyline? Some trees? We settled on trees.) Erik directed, quickly and effectively.

As I write this, the footage is capturing to a computer and then we’ll split it all up and put it on the girls’ computers in the morning. That’s the moment I am looking forward to, watching them watching themselves. It’s then that their work really begins, as they enter the next stage of crafting their own stories.

G

Andy's long lost blog

So I am finally sitting down to type a blog. After the last two days, I feel compelled to write about some of the experiences we are all having. Before I get into the heavy stuff, I have to tell you a cool "Andy story." Erik and I have made a decision to not write about any sicknesses we have here, because Africa gets a bad rap for too much sickness... but this was just too cool. The other day, I got violently sick in the middle of the night. Without going into details, I will just say it was horrible. On the day that we missed our flights, I still felt horrible. My joints ached, I had a fever, and I just felt like crap. So I slept for 24 hrs straight. I woke up and felt great. It was weird. So today, I was looking at my right hand, and realized I have two fang marks on my thumb. Sandra mentioned that her husband had a spider bite that gave him the same conditions. So I think I got bit by a massive spider, had a bad reaction, and slept it off. Check out the Shutterfly pictures and tell me if you agree. So cool (now that I feel better).

OK... now onto the real stuff. We just completed our second day with some of the most brilliant girls on the face of this earth. We started recording the girls' scripts today, and with that came thirty stories that both devastated and inspired me. I have worked with thousands of youth across the world, and I have never encountered a group so articulate. I can write and write about how strong these girls are, but here's why:

Out of the thirty girls that we are working with, about 25 have been raped.

Out of the thirty girls that we are working with, about 15 of them have been raped more than 3 times.

Every girl has either lost or has been abandoned by their parents.

Every girl was willing, and actually quite open, to talk about everything that they have been through.

Every girl ends her story about a personal tragedy with their hope for the future.

Every girl here has the most contagious laugh and smile. They actually do make a grey sky blue.

So. Without sounding like a hallmark card, I just want to brag about having the privilege of working with this group of girls. I would vote for anyone of them to be my President. These videos will have the potential to inspire people from around the world for years to come. I can't wait for you to see them, just be prepared.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,

A.

Sandra's First Day in Africa

The big day for me has arrived! I landed in Johannesburg at 8:30 a.m. after an eleven hour flight from London and was graciously greeted and welcomed by our great driver, Martin. I later learned this was Martin’s second trip to the airport to meet us (me and Gabriel Diamond - the wonderful videographer you will meet through the blog at some point!) as we had erroneously reported our arrival date as a day earlier. Obviously, my travel clock was a bit confused as I was sure I would have the rest of the day to recoup and to get my pep back into my step……… WRONG! When we telephoned Erik to let him know we arrived, he said “GREAT, the girls will be here in about an hour”. I quickly discovered the instant cure for jet lag – the anticipation of meeting thirty South African teenaged girls!

The girls that are scheduled to attend the Digital Arts workshop are from three different organizations that provide 24 hour care to children that have no other appropriate/safe place to live. I’ve been told that many are orphans whose parents died of AIDS, many are abandoned at orphanages by their parents for varied reasons, and some have been taken away from their parents for mistreatment or neglect. As an American educator, I am somewhat familiar with circumstances of this nature and have worked with children in similar situations. I am a very experienced educator – I know lots about what is required to facilitate learning in settings where children are disadvantaged. I had prepared myself to work hard to be extremely upbeat and uplifting as I was sure these girls would need a heavy dose of positive reinforcement and encouragement to learn. Let me just say there was a lot of uplifting going on – just wait until you hear about the greatest beneficiary!

My initial reaction within thirty seconds of the girls walking in: How wrong can one human be? My other initial reaction: Dr. Sandra Reed – You know nothing about what is required to facilitate learning to disadvantaged South African teenaged girls! My other initial reaction: These girls are beautiful (heartwise as well as physically), delightful and brilliant. Yes, that’s right all those initial reactions at one time! During the first ten minutes of meeting the girls – my heart is racing, my palms are sweating with excitement and I’m fighting back tears (I think they were tears of joy and relief)! I wish I could draw you a picture of the entrance of the girls. They all bounced in, they all smiled graciously, and they all displayed perfect manners. WHAT???????? These girls have every reason and then some to be dismayed with the circumstances of their life. My mind wanders over to the reaction of many Americans (myself, primarily) to situations in life that don’t go exactly as we’d like and I’m ashamed. All this within the first hour with the girls!

After quick introductions, Erik presents a brief (as in ten minute-ish) photography lesson and hands digital cameras to the girls with instructions to “go take pictures”. They shriek with excitement and run outside – laughing all the while. Moments later, I went outside to watch – amazing. The girls are taking photos of each other, strangers, the city, etc. Some girls are teaching one another how to use the cameras! After a short period of playing/learning with the cameras, they girls return to the classroom for the introduction of the lesson.

Erik presented a quick introduction to Premiere and asked the girls if they wanted to learn to use the software to make movies. They quickly affirmed and the lesson was on! Andy and Erik did an amazing job of teaching the girls the basics of making movies utilizing Premiere in about an hour and the girls did a more amazing job of learning the basics of utilizing Premiere to make movies in about an hour! I continue to be amazed. The girls worked in groups and followed on their computers as Erik/Andy led the activity on the screen. Let me just say that many American classrooms could learn a bit from the learning style of these girls: they worked well in groups, they were respectful of others in the classroom, and they were very appropriately engaged in the activity. It was apparent to me that they were very grateful for the learning opportunity provided.

After a quick lesson on Premiere, the girls were asked to write a short narrative for the movie they were going to make. The movies the girls are making are relative to their experiences with a multi-media communication initiative developed by UNICEF to promote adolescent issues in Africa – Sara. Publisher - Maskew Miller Longman has partnered with UNICEF to promote existing Sara materials to more children and to develop additional materials. I quickly decided this was a great idea as I listened to the girls share some of their experiences with the Sara curriculum and how it was relative to their lives. The girls were able to very clearly articulate the impact of the Sara curriculum on their lives and all quickly pointed out that they were very aware that the future of their lives would largely be shaped by the choices they made.

I was able to maintain my composure (barely) as one girl spoke of being raped by her father, one girl spoke of her mother deserting her and her siblings permanently with no explanation, one girl spoke of going to sleep hungry every night before coming to live at the shelter, and one girl spoke of being sexually abused by many of her mother’s boyfriends. However, you can be sure that as I reflect on it now and write about it, my composure is nowhere to be found. As the mother of a girl very close in age to these girls, my heart feels like it might beat out of my chest as I remember the experiences the girls shared. Tears are streaming down my face but they are really strange tears. I’m not sure if they are sad tears or tears of joy that these girls now have a safe and wonderful place to live – it’s really strange.

The most common thread among the experiences the girls shared was that they all expressed that they knew they had opportunities presented to them for a better life and that they had made the decision to take advantage of all such opportunities. These girls are the picture of making lemonade from lemons.

Who gained the most from day one – me or the students? Clearly, me. More later as we are off for another day with the girls!

Sandra

Getting Ready for Day Two

Good Morning (7am in Joburg). Erik here. That's Gabriel in the photo above. You'll hear from him later. Also, Sandra is going to blog today. I'll leave it to her to tell you about the girls. Just let me say that our first day was, as Jaime described it, wonderful. It was also very emotional. These girls have been through so much, and it was heart-wrenching to hear some of their stories yesterday. More from Sandra in a bit.

We haven't seen much of Joburg yet, just the hotel, the computer lab, and the immense mall that has a statue of Nelson Mandela in the courtyard that looks about 400 feet tall. I've been told over and over not to take my camera out in public, so I can't get any shots of the statue. Every time Sandra walks out the front door of the hotel to come meet us in the patio, the doormen frantically ask here where she is going. They beg her not to go on the sidewalk. For the life of me, I can' t figure that out. I keep hearing that it is unsafe, but where we are, there are no people on the streets. We didn't go out last night because we wanted Sandra and Gabriel to sleep. Bernita will take us to a restaurant tonight, then we'll head to the SOS orphanage tomorrow to visit the staff and see where the girls live. We have a huge gala event tomorrow night with about 60 very high-profile heads-of-education, local officials, Pearson people, etc. I am the MC. We'll also go out on Thursday and Friday, so we'll have more to report on our reflections of Joburg. And, I promise to get Andy to blog (I SWEAR!).

One last thing. I just found out that I could change the settings on this blog and allow anyone to leave a comment...without having to have a Google account. So, if you're so inclined, leave us some comments! We love them, and it makes us feel connected.

More from Sandra in a couple of hours.

E

Sara Program Day One South Africa

Hello everyone! It’s me, Jaime. I’m taking my first stab at blogging, so bear with me if I start to ramble.

The Pearson team finally came together this morning for our first day with the girls in Joburg. Gabriel and Sandra made it safely from the travel vortex. Andy came out of his malarial coma. And Erik and I rallied from a long night of bad TV movies, barely edible room-service food, and a few rounds of Yahtzee!.

We got to the venue early and set up the equipment, as we eagerly anticipated the arrival of the girls. My job was to organize all the miscellaneous equipment (cameras, video cameras, cords, batteries, etc.). I’m sure Erik will post incriminating pictures of my anal-retentativeness. Erik and Andy and Sandra set up computers and got all the presentation materials ready. Gabriel was busy setting up the filming equipment.

We were then met by Bernita, who is an independent consultant for MML (Maskew-Miller-Longman). She has been the one taking care of all of us. She arranged our hotel rooms, shuttled us from the airport, coordinated transportation for us, and made sure our stay will be seamless. Mary Clare Tomes (Managing Director, MML), Sandra Jones (MML/Unicef/Pearson liason), and Lisa Cloete (research & development, MML) came soon after.

Then came the girls! Thirty beautiful girls, accompanied by two house-mothers. Ten of the girls were from SOS (an organization that provides housing and a safe environment for abandoned and orphaned girls), ten were from Kid’s Haven (another shelter for girls), and ten were from primary schools that provide for underserved children in Johannesburg.

We were all awe-struck by these amazingly beautiful, intelligent, articulate, lively girls, who ended up providing us with an afternoon of sheer entertainment and delight. Not to mention inspiration. I think we took away as much (or more) from this gathering as the girls did.

Check out the shutterfly photos on the link to the right to see pictures of the adults setting up and pictures our students took after 15 minutes of photography lessons.

I think Sandra is going to add her insights to our day in a blog entry of her own.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Sandra Reed…

Travel, travel, travel

Hello. Emailing from the Sunnyside Park Hotel in Joburg. VERY interesting day.

First, Andy and I missed our flight from Gabarone to Joburg. My fault. Last night, we went to a fancy dinner with the Bishop. I glanced at our itinerary and told Andy that he could sleep in because our flight was at Noon. I got up this morning, had a leisurely coffee, and then got in the shower. When I emerged, Andy called to say, "Really bad news, dude. Our flight is at ten, not Noon." It was 9:30. Oops. So, we quickly packed and drove like the dickens to the airport. We had to switch flights, turn in the cars (one with a shattered window that required reams of paperwork), and give them our luggage. We made it on the flight with 20 seconds to spare.

We arrive in Joburg and called our friend and Pearson colleague, Bernita, to pick us up. Her husband Pierre had been waiting for Sandra and Gabriel to arrive since 8:30am. They were not on their flight. We worried over this for a spell, then decided to head to the hotel and hope that one of them would call or email explaining what had happened.

We arrived at the hotel (very nice, very colonial, and very safe) at about 1:00. I rang Jaime's room...nothing. No Sandra. No Gabriel. No Jaime. Andy was exhausted and went right to sleep. So, here I was at the hotel patio wondering if I would have help with the Oprah girls tomorrow, wondering if Sandra and Gabriel were stuck in London, and wondering if Jaime had been kidnapped in Joburg. (We've been told over and over that Joburg is a bit dangerous...).

Finally Jaime showed up. He'd been in his room reading my most recent favorite book, "The World Without Us." (If you have not read it, DO!!!). I was so relieved to see my friend. We got an email from Gabriel saying that he was on schedule and would see us in the morning. Our bad...we had his and Sandra's arrival for Sunday, when they actually arrive on Monday. Whew.

Jaime and I went to the Mandela Mall (the world's largest freakin' mall) with our driver Martin. We have a driver here all week, just to make sure us naive Yanks don't end up in any sketchy areas. We bought provisions and are now sitting on the patio discussing how we'll get great narratives out of the girls tomorrow.

So, a few travel "issues" today, but it all works out! (Oh, we had the WORST turbulence when were flying over Joburg today...a few screams...a few people throwing up...but fun none-the-less!). Jaime will be blogging tomorrow to tell you about his impressions of the first day with the girls. So, you'll have a rest from me for a bit. Look forward to blogs from Andy (I SWEAR), Jaime, Sandra, and Gabriel.

More tomorrow.

E

Malabo's Public Service Announcement

Click on the link at the bottom of this blog entry to see a rough-cut of Malabo's movie. We have some more work to do, obviously, but it is getting close. Just some tweaks are needed. Also, Kelly, Mitch, Annelize, Andy, and I all recorded (or will record tonight) short call-to-action introductions for each student's film.

Last night we had a nice dinner with the Bishop's wife, her kids, and her mother. Her mother was married to the second president of Botswana. That makes the Bishop's wife the daughter of the same. Our good friend Patrick (who had been managing our event for the hotel) finally had a chance to sit with us last night. He about fell over when he found out that he was sitting next to the President's wife!

Last day went well. Andy and team finished up with the original students, and then invited local officials and parents to come watch. It went really well and a majority of the movies are just unbelievably good. Andy and team tried to load the movies off of the computers so that we could pack them and get them to FedEx by 4:00. He started on one computer (we had 8) at 2:30, but it took 1/2 hour. SOO...that wasn't going to work. At the same time he was trying show movies to the parents, I was running around gathering orphans from the pool and playground. We finally got in touch with FedEx and they were, indeed, open on Saturday morning at 9am for us! Whew.

We packed up (well, Kelly and Andy packed up), and I finished with the orphans...as much as I could. By Friday, they were so distracted by the pool, that I couldn't get them to focus too much. However, they learned a TON. This group, going from no knowledge about computers and cameras, has come so far. Malabo was happy just to record herself singing into the Mac and playing it back. We put one track of her singing in her movie. It was sad to say goodbye to them. I put them in the car, gave them each 20 pula to buy some treats (about $3.50 for each, but they were screaming with joy), then cranked the radio with one of my favorite dance songs. I had two additional kids that day, so we were crammed. Every time the vocalist sang, "PUT 'EM HIGH", we would raise our hands in the air and they would laugh riotously. I waved goodbye at the store. I had burned them a CD with their movies and pictures. I'll not soon forget them.

We got up today and packed the two MANUAL cars. We were just about to leave when we noticed that the back window to the car Andy and I were to drive had a fine crackle all over the entire window. WEIRD. No impact mark. It started to fizzle and gurgle in front of us, then when I opened my door to drive, it FELL IN all over our stuff. Oh well, a long, dusty four-hour drive to Gabarone! Cool. We went to FedEx and got everything off to Ghana. Mitch cleaned up the broken glass everywhere. We took off on the Gabarone road with the music blasting. We made the mistake of opening our windows, and then as we sped up, the wind started whipping around hundreds of pieces of (safety) glass. Ouch. It really only stung a little.

Andy led the pack. He quickly understood all the ins and outs of the road. First bit was O.K. Then, we kept coming up on very slow lories, so Andy would get ready then punch it! Two lane road with desert scrub on either side. Needless to say, we had a few close calls (goats in the road, cattle meandering, and (the equivalent of) antelopes. Not to worry. Mitch kept up. Kelly hid herself in her Chinese language course and post-produced Molobo's movie in the passenger seat

It is dry season now, so the countryside is a bit barren. It was still beautiful, with lots of goats and donkeys and mud huts.

We are in Gabarone now, and we all have to be at the press junket in 30 minutes, dressed in ties. We'll have a reception after. I am SOOO excited to be in a room using MY OWN computer with not-too-slow wireless Internet. Not too much staring a the screen, as I've been doing for DAYS at the Marang on their office computer. This might get easier for a couple of days.

More from Andy tomorrow.

I SWEAR! (More Shutterfly photos coming soon, too.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Time shift.

We just got back from the press meeting. There were reporters and cameramen there from two national newspapers. We spoke about the program, then showed them Malabo's movie. They couldn't believe it. It really was an amazing meeting.

Off for some great Botswanan bbq out in the bush tonight. Joe from Pearson Longman will join us. He's so thrilled to have the Pearson Foundation here to support him.

Fly to Joburg to meet up with everyone tomorrow!

More from South Africa.

Last Day in Francistown

Hello! First, I promise to bug Andy to blog again. He's swamped with the 21 original students, madly rushing to complete their films. You'll hear more from him in South Africa, I'm sure.

So, big lesson learned this morning in Botswana. Andy and I were waiting for the shuttlebus to take us to the airport to pick up our two rental cars (we're driving to Gabarone tomorrow morning with Kelly and Mitch). We saw some guys lighting smoke fires in a tree, so what did we do? We, of course, walked over to check it out! They were smoking out a hornet's nest. I IMMEDIATELY got stung on the tip of my nose and then high-tailed it out of there. If it stings or bites, it will find me. Andy was right next to me and they just attacked me. I put some sting-ease on it and some ice. Perfect. Tomorrow night we have a big press junket with the Vice President of Botswana and the Minister of Education, and I'm going to look like Carl Malden. Oh well.

Today is the last day. The kids have made some extraodinary PSAs. Mitch worked on helping them create original music. Some of the films about their dreams are very powerful. Again, we'll post a couple from South Africa.

Kelly and Charles filmed the four orphans the other day. It was tough going because they just don't think about having dreams for the future. They focus on existing. We had them record in Setswana and will run sub-titles. I had Malabo (who wants to be a singer) record a song. It is very haunting and quite beautiful. She will add that to her film today as a soundtrack. We have parents and teachers coming today to watch the films. It will be sad to leave.

I gave the orphans cameras to take home. I'm trying to upload to Shutterfly right now (check back for a new link to the right), but the Internet is REALLY slow. I can't wait for you to see their pictures. These are kids who had never used cameras just four days ago, and they took some amazing shots. They have been swimming every day, knowing that it will be the last time for a very long time.

We have to get to FedEx today to ship computers to Ghana for our program that will happen in three weeks. It is quite a task to organize all of this. Then, we'll pack up tonight, work on the kids' films, and head to Gabarone tomorrow morning early. Oh, we went to get the two cars, as you know, this morning. Mitch and Kelly will drive one, and Andy and I in the other. Annelize and Charles will drive the Bishop's car and stop to film along the way. I had JUST mastered the art of driving on the left, when we were hit with a new surprise this morning. Our cars are manual. So the stick shift is on the left and the blinker is on the right. There are SO many things to think about at the same time. On the way back, Andy and both kept hitting the windshield wipers because they are on the left. We also kept shifting from third to first, something you don't want to ever do, I promise you. It was actually great fun, however, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment when we got back. Tomorrow will be fun.

We spend the night in Gabarone tomorrow, then fly to Joburg to meet Sandra, Jaime, and Gabriel (our videographer). You'll have a new cast of characters to meet next week.

Finally, Annelize summed up our time here very nicely last night. I'll admit that it was a little shocking to see caucasion students mixed in with our African students on the first day. However, it is so great to be somewhere where the races mix so well. Annelize recounted a story about a friend who went to boarding school in Switzerland. In her thirties now, she still keeps in contacts with her friends from school. They are African, Indian, Asian, American, etc. She feels lucky to have been exposed to so many cultures and now "carries them all on my shoulders every day, reminding me of the many ideas in the world and admonishing me to be open and free." Love that.

More from Andy from South Africa. I SWEAR!

E and A

Two Days Left In Botswana!

Two days left!

Andy and I are sitting here on the beautiful grounds watching the most amazing African sunset. We’ve had a very busy day.

I forgot to mention something very funny. On the first day of camp here, I greeted the students and asked them if they could guess where I was from. Without a hiccup, they all shouted, “AMERICA!” I asked them how they knew. On of the kids shouted, “Because you’re dressed like you’re going on Safari!” Great. I buy the cool cargo pants that have zippers at the knees so that I can turn them into shorts and I look like a typical American. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I do love to fit into the culture seamlessly. Oh well.

So, we went to the school where some of our students go during the day. There was an assembly going on, so we were introduced, then they got down to business. About 8 of our students took to the stage and performed the most wonderful Marimba concert. They were amazing. Honestly, we couldn’t stop dancing. They were fast, powerful, and syncopated. When some of the players had a brief interlude, they would do some African dancing. It was unbelievable. You can see pictures on the new Shutterfly link to the right.

Andy, Kelly, Mitch, and Charles helped the kids film their Public Service Announcements with the high-end video camera yesterday. They really involved the kids by letting them hold the boom, frame the shots, and use the reflectors. The kids’ narratives are unbelievable. One snippet: at the end of one boy’s narrative about his desire to change the Africa and eradicate racism and ethnic strife, he states, “This is my dream. If your dreams don’t make you a little bit scared, they aren’t big enough.” BRILLIANT! Just wait until you see the final products. We’ll post them here this weekend.

The kids are now working on adding their own pictures and Flip video clips to their movies. Tomorrow, they’ll work with Mitch on music. We have a piece of software that will allow them to make their own soundtracks. Can’t wait to see what they come up with!

I sent the four orphans home with cameras yesterday. Their pictures are amazing. I’m going to go through them with Andy and post some of them for you tomorrow. Really profound stuff.

The orphans arrived today with their swimsuits. Yesterday, I took them to the store to buys some biscuits (cookies) to take back to the orphanage. Malooki asked me, “I can have any box I like? Really? Any box? Can I share them with the boys in my room?” I then walked home with them and told them that they could swim at the end of the day when they came back. They were thrilled.

We worked with them in Premiere today. These kids could not use a mouse three days ago and are now adding transitions between clips, editing sound, and making life-skills decisions about creative options for their movies. I will admit it. I have the best job in the world! Forgive me for gloating. It’s just that I feel so blessed today. We grabbed some paper and crayons and they drew pictures for their films. Remember, they want to be a teacher, a nurse, a soldier (to help his country and have a family), and a singer. I took pictures of their drawings and you can see them on Shutterfly.

Then, Kelly, Charles, and their head-mistress filmed them talking about their dreams. Kelly would ask questions, and the head-mistress would interpret into Setswana (Botswana language). We decided that it would be great to film them in their own language and run sub-titles. They did great, but it was really tough for Kelly because she kept asking them about their dreams (like we did with the other students). It was clear right away that they didn’t really have any, because they just think about survival. They worry about having enough food every day, so to think of the future (other than what they can do to make money) doesn’t compute. Added to that is the fact that they have no role-models for this kind of thinking. They have no parents or family, so they just worry, and don’t actually dream. I am going to sit with the head-mistress tomorrow morning and interpret their narratives so that I can add the sub-titles to their films. I can’t wait for you all to see the movies of both the orphans and the other students. I think they’ll be great.

At the end of the day today I bought the orphan kids some chocolate bars (again, they treat them like gold), then the boys stripped down to thread-bare shorts and the girls changed into hand-me-down bathing suits. They looked like a rag-tag team, but they jumped into the hotel pool with such abandon and joy that all of us watching couldn’t help laughing. They stayed in the pool for over an hour. I think it was the first time for a few of them. They couldn’t swim, but BOY could they laugh. They were really sad to get out because they didn’t know if they would ever be able to swim again.

Tomorrow Andy, Kelly, Mitch, and Charles will finish with the first batch of students and I’ll finish with the orphans. Again, these orphans have taken the most incredible pictures and video, so we’ll add these to their video footage.

Having a brilliant time in Botswana. I do know, however, that I have made four really good friends who happen to be twelve, orphaned, and abandoned. I’ll admit now that it will be a sad goodbye to them.

More tomorrow,

Erik and Andy

P.S. I am covered from head to toe in mosquito bites. My good friend Andy (urgh..) is not bothered by them. I think my blood is their favorite type! Actually, after I received my 728th bite tonight, Andy got his first! YEAH!

QUICK UPDATE

I only have four minutes left on this computer and there is a long line. More detail tomorrow. Had a great time with the orphans today. Turns out two have lost both parents to AIDS, and the others lost their mothers to AIDS then their fathers just left them at the orphanage. It's almost worse. Andy, Kelly, Mitch, and Charles have made huge strides with our other students. They filmed the kids reading their narratives today. You can see more on the new Shutterfly photos from today.

More tomorrow!

E and A

Mmoloki, Banyatswang, Goemeone, and Malebogo

Well, I don’t really know where to begin. Here goes…

Our four twelve-year old kids from the local SOS Orphanage showed up today. Charles and I waited out front for them as Andy, Kelly, and Mitch worked with the other students on their scripts. (Which are absolutely amazing, inspiring, and even emotional.) The van pulled up and Charles started filming. Three girls and one boy timidly emerged. They were all very nervous and huddled together. Their parents had died of HIV/AIDS. I quietly approached them and sat down to ask them their names. They very properly responded, Mmoloki, Banyatswang, Goemeone, and Malebogo. I tried to repeat their names back and finally got some good smiles and even a little laughter as I tragically massacred the pronunciation. I then showed them the Flip video camera. Mmoloki (the boy) took it from me and went right up to one of the passing hotel employees and started filming. Just from watching me once. I then showed them the digital still camera and there was much laughter after they all got to see themselves in video and on the still cameras for the first time in their lives. They are all much, much smaller than our other twelve-year-old students. I think one of the girls might be HIV positive.

(Click on the new Shutterfly link to the right to see photos from today.)

We went to the conference room, but it was clear that they were way too intimidated to mix with the other students. So, we gave them some food and some juice. Kelly and I both forgot that we were supposed to dilute the concentrate with water so we ended up giving these kids glasses of the most foul tasting liquid they have probably ever encountered. They tried to be polite but it was clear right away what we had done. We fixed it.

I took them to the sitting room in my hut and Charles came along to film. We all five sat on the small couch and I put a computer in front of them. I explained that we were going to take the pictures and video from the camera and put them on the computer so that we could learn to make movies. I turned on the computer then asked Banyatswang to move the mouse over the Premiere icon and click on it to open the program. Their English is by no means perfect, but we can communicate enough to get ideas across. She took the mouse, just as I had done, and then picked it up and turned it around in her hand, looking at it like it was a real, live mouse. AHA. It finally dawned on me that they had never used a computer before.

So, we started with the basics. I taught them how to use the mouse, how to click, double-click, drag-and-drop, and right-click. To make a long and quite joyous story short, in one-hour, they were dragging video, images, and music into the Premiere timeline, editing clips, making decisions together about which clips should go where, and using the mouse and keyboard to watch their emerging movie over and over, every time laughing even more at seeing themselves on the monitor. I can’t think of any other words to describe that hour other than to say it was magical. Charles was almost in tears watching and kept saying, “Man, this is beautiful. This is beautiful.”

We learned about camera techniques and then I let them take a Flip camera and still camera back to the orphanage to film tonight. We had a good discussion about being careful with the equipment, and reminded them not to let either camera out of their sites. Rest-assured, they were treating these items like pure gold so I’m not concerned in the least. As Andy has learned from Gambella, orphans rarely, if ever, get the chance have something of their own. Kelly noticed how tightly the younger orphans were holding their Ferdinand books the other day.

Right before they left, I told them that we were making movies about our dreams, and asked them about theirs. Mmoloki wants to be a soldier so that he can have a family. Banyatswang wants to be a singer because she can make people smile at the orphanage when she sings, and “orphans do not smile that very much.” Goemeone wants to be a nurse so that she can cure HIV/AIDS. Finally, Malebogo wants to be a teacher so that “I can teach people to make movies like we are doing today.”

Needless to say, I think that was perhaps the most fulfilling hour of my life. Kelly is going to work with them tomorrow on their movie scripts, so I’m sure you’ll be hearing from her then.

Erik

Dumelang

Dumela Mma (hello/female), Dumela Rra (hello/male), Dumelang (hello/group).

I thought I might put some of the pictures you’ll see on Shutterfly in context.

The students we’re working with are making public service announcements under the theme of “I have a dream.” They’re writing about their dreams for the future. We started writing with them on Saturday, and many of them have already written some powerful narratives. Our idea is to have them talk about what they’d like to do, how they want to help the world, their action plans for getting there, and their ideas of hope for the future. Then, either the Bishop, Kelly, Annelize, Mitch, Andy, or I will come on explaining that the viewer has just witnessed the dream of one of the students in Botswana. We’ll explain that not everyone has the educational opportunities to make their dreams real, but that a group of professionals have created Think Tank Thuto to build schools in Botswana that will incorporate traditional disciplines as well as the oft forgotten areas of arts, sports, music, and technology. These boarding schools will provide even the most marginalized children of the area to realize their potential.

Our students this week come from schools in Francistown. You’ll notice that there are Batswana (African kids from Botswana), as well as Asian and Caucasian students who live here in Francistown. It is wonderful to be in a place where all the races get along and work together with no noticeable tensions.

The pictures you see of us adults all standing in an open field were taken when we went to visit the site for the first school. The gentleman in the yellow shirt is the Kgosi (Chief) of the area. He is responsible for many aspects of daily life for all of his people. He is very excited that Think Tank Thuto and the Bishop are working together with the Pearson Foundation (and many others) to help make the school a reality in his village. There will be room for at least 250 students. There are no secondary schools in his area, so children either end up having to find their way to Francistown (15 kilometers away), or, most likely, not go at all.


Kelly and Annelize visited the SOS orphanage the other day and invited 40 young children to come to our Read for the Record event. Most of these orphans have lost both parents to HIV/AIDS, which is a big problem here. As a matter of fact, from a percentages standpoint, Botswana has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Funerals abound. They used to be held on Saturdays only, but now occur on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Many of the orphans Kelly read to are also HIV positive. However, they are making strides here. The government was one of the only in Africa to openly acknowledge the pandemic, and should be lauded for their efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS infections. The stigma originally attached to the disease is slowly eroding away.

Read for the Record went really well and we thank Kelly, Mitch, the Bishop, and especially Annelize for making it happen. The orphans had a great time and really loved the juice and sandwiches on offer here at the Marang. There was a big blow-up slide that they practically destroyed with their joyous playing.


We’ll continue to work with the students on their narratives today, then Annelize and I will go upload the footage of Read for the Record later this afternoon. There is a very funny “gym” here that Andy, Charles, Mitch and I are going to. I worked Andy and Charles out the other day (neither had done much weight-lifting for quite some time) an they both were cursing me yesterday…but they’ll go again today!

I drove the Bishop’s car yesterday to get ready for our four-hour drive to Gabarone on Saturday. You might not find this to be something to write home about, but I can tell you it takes A LOT of concentration to be steering from the right hand side of the car and drive on the left side of the road. The hardest thing to do is make right hand turns. I did it, and didn’t maim any of my friends. Whew.

Dumelang!
Erik

P.S. You can use my erikeleven11@yahoo.com account now, but I still can’t get email on the Pearson account. I’d love to hear from you! When Andy and I see that someone has left a comment on the blog, we feel like it is Christmas morning! So don’t worry about over-commenting or over-emailing…we love it and it makes us feel REALLY good.

Message from Andy

Erik finally got me to blog about what's been happening. First, we just posted some pictures on Shutterfly. Click on the link to the right to see them.

Let me just say that every day, I am more and more impressed with Botswana. It is very tidy and the people are wonderful. The food is amazing.

Yesterday, we had our Read For The Record program with kids in Francistown. It turned out better than I could have imagined. We had a great mix of kids from the entire region. One of the highlights of the day was seeing the 30 kids from the SOS orphanage in Francistown receive their own copy of Ferdinand. We had the event early so that we could get photos and video back home in time for the event. The kids were so excited to actually read it for themselves.

We started the day by having Kelly Hu read the book for the kids. We filmed the kids' faces first so we could capture their initial reactions. Kelly read the book once more (for wide angle shots). We had arranged to bring the kids to the hotel, hold the event, then provide drinks and a light lunch for the kids. Look for video clips of the day soon.

So far, other than Setswana being spoken occasionally (and driving on the left side of the road), I don't feel much culture shock. Botswana is a beautiful country and very easy to navigate.

Andy

Think Tank Thuto Digital Arts Program

Africa 101

A little more detail. Yesterday’s blog entry was rushed. We went to an Internet café in town. We paid 5 pula ($1) for 15 minutes of time. I was trying to log onto the blog, and needed to type in my email address to gain access. When I tried to type the @ sign, it kept coming up as a quotation mark. The guy at the front had no idea how to help me. After trying every combination, I finally got to 9 and instead of a parenthesis, I got the @ sign! Whew. Except that I had wasted 12 minutes looking for it, and there was a line for the computer. I am now sitting in my room typing this on the MacBook Pro and hope to go to the front desk and use the ONE computer that has limited Internet access to upload this entry.

Back to the beginning of our Botswana journey. We were met at the Gabarone (Gabs) airport by the very genial and highly efficient Father Ben. He works with the Bishop of Botswana (Trevor)…more on him in a bit. All but one piece of luggage (mine) made it to Gabs from San Francisco. The plane we were on only held so much luggage, so they kept several pieces in Joburg and put them on the next plane to Gabs. So, Father Ben helped us get through customs (no problem) and stored our luggage. Then The Bishop showed up. What a man! He has an amazing sense of humor, a ready and warm laugh, and an elegance of manner that is a wonder to behold. I rode with him and Andy rode with Father Ben to the Palm Hotel (everyone, I mean everyone knows and loves the Bishop). We passed by the new DeBeers diamond building (MASSIVE) on our way in. The government of Botswana manages the mining, and it couldn’t be more different than the horror of Sierra Leone (see Blood Diamond). Miners are treated very well and the country has an amazing GDP. They call Botswana “Africa 101” because it is a lovely introduction to the continent. The streets are clean, the building are sound, and it is often hard to tell the cities from American cities. Granted, there are problems, and you do see goats in some streets, some shanties, etc., but 99% of the time you could really be anywhere in the States.The Palm Hotel was gorgeous and we had a light snack and discussed Botswana and our digital arts program with the Bishop and Father Ben for an hour and a half before we had to go to the airport for our final flight of the 48 hour journey…to Francistown. We learned from the Bishop that they just finished filming The Number One Ladies Detective Agency here. The Bishop is friends with the author and is even in the book! CNN interviewed the Bishop and he was on last week (you can Google him and see the footage online).

Our program here came about as follows. Andy and I were at a pre-wedding evening of cocktails and dancing with Lisa and Paul the night before the wedding. It seemed like about 200 of their friends were in the club. We met Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King and many other movies and TV shows) and had a blast hanging out with her. Andy and I were sitting with her and had just started telling her about our trip to South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. I went to get a drink and was gone no longer than about 90 seconds. When I got back, I found out that we were going to Botswana! Bamb! Kelly is like us. Just get things done, no dilly dallying. She had been working with the Bishop and Annelize Bester to set up and International School in Francistown. When Botwana gained independence in 1966, the government had a big task in creating an entirely new education system. They’ve done fine, but the Bishop wants to create take a more holistic approach and design a system that includes arts, sports, technology, etc. He really is the best cheerleader for Botswana. He and Annelize (and many others, including USC) have been working on the business plan for a few years and Annelize has basically given her life to these projects! She’s just wonderful. (I’m going to ask Annelize to post a blog so that she can explain more and tell you more about herself.) They are still in the fundraising stage, so that is where we come in! Andy, Kelly Hu and her most excellent musician boyfriend Mitch, Annelize, Charles (our great new friend and the videographer for this project), Victoria (managing the kids), and I are here to work with kids from local schools to make public service announcements to be used to raise funds for the school(s). If this is successful, the Botswana team will have the chance to really change education. We have 25 kids. They started yesterday. We taught them photography and videography techniques yesterday then they spent the day using The Flip cameras and some still digital cameras as they practiced what they’d learned. We had hoped to get started on the computers and their Premiere training, but our converters basically blew up so we had to go to town last night to get the right stuff. It will all be find today! (Thanks to Annelize who figured the “current” issue out.) Today, the Bishop and Father Ben arrive to talk to the kids about the project (Think Tank Thuto…Thuto is the word for education…you can look it up online). The kids will be making movies about their dream jobs for the future. They’ll decide what narrative approach to take (poetry, verse, prose, interview, etc.) and start writing tomorrow. They’ll lay down an action plan in their PSAs and talk about how Think Tank Thuto’s holistic approach will really help them realize their dreams. Then, the kids will film Kelly, Mitch, Annelize, Father Ben, Andy, and me for short “calls-to-action” asking the viewers to go to the website to find out more. The kids are all extremely bright and well-mannered. The Sun People are the original inhabitants of Botswana (kind of like our Cherokee) and most live in the bush. The people in the cities have come from somewhere else (South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc.). Our students are a lovely mix of kids from South Africa, India, Zambia, and a few other countries. They wear uniforms and drink tea and sandwiches with us at 3:30! They arrive at 1:30 after school and leave at 4:30. We have them until next Friday.

We are holding the program (and staying) at the Marang (you can look it up online as well). It is wonderful here! We figure we’re having a nice entry, but we still look forward to the mud huts and donkeys in Gambella! The lodge has a beautiful thatched roof, just like our huts. The hut is on stilts off the ground. I can see the riverbed (it’s totally dry right now…rainy season is supposed to start any second!), so I figure the proximity of the river explains the stilts. I have a lovely sitting room, desk, big bed, and big bathroom. You can have ostrich or chicken…great food here. There are monkeys everywhere. I believe I told you about the poop on Annelize’s doorstep yesterday. The weather is warm, warm, warm during the day, but I have to bundle up at night. Francistown is a bustling place and you really can get whatever you need.

We’ve been taking plenty of photos and shooting some video. I fear we might be able to get those up on Shutterfly until we get to South Africa. The Internet connections are just too slow and unreliable. I’ll put a Shutterfly link up on the blog page when I can make this happen.

We’re having a GREAT time and wish everyone we knew could come to Botswana! The work we’re doing with Think Tank Thuto is really going to change education here. If you met the Bishop, Annelize, and Kelly you’d totally understand why I feel comfortable in stating that.

Andy, Charles and I are off to set up the room so that everything is spit-spot for the students’ arrival (no exploding equipment).

Andy will do the next blog, then you’ll hear from the rest of the team. I can’t get email here, so if you need something, leave a comment on the blog!

E and A

P.S. A guy walked up to me at the hotel and said, "Hey Erik!" I knew I hadn't met him. Turns out I had left my blog up on the hotel computer and he read all the way through then went to the Pearson Foundation website. His name is Herman (Hey Herman!). He is going to introduce us to some high profile people in Joburg. He runs workforce readiness programs for underserved people in Africa. Serendipity rules the day!

Day One with the Kids in Botswana

Hello! Erik here (Andy is looking for electrical adapters). I have to be quick because the Internet times out here so quickly. Also, my phone doesn't work at all, and I can't buy a sim card for it. Andy's phone does work, if you need us.

Andy and I got some much needed rest. You have to see this place we're staying at. Over the next few days, I'm going to find a place with a better Internet connection and post a bunch of pictures on Shutterfly (the link will be on the Blog page). Today, we had a great breakfast, met Annelize and Charles, and got the room set up. We had to go to town several times (well, Andy did) to find adapters. While we had lunch, about 15 monkeys showed up and one ran up to look in the window at Annelize's stilted hut. He left her a nice piece of monkey dung so that as she walked in, she was covered in it. Fun. The kids arrived and we showed them how to use the Flip video cameras and the still digitals. Then, they went out and practiced doing both. It was great fun. When we came back to the room, the adapters we bought were literally smoking and had burned out. No computers today! Thanks to Annelize, we found a solution so it should be better tomorrow....

Blog Posting While Utterly Exhausted

So. It has been 48 hours since we left and we JUST arrived. We have had MANY adventures. I will recount them in the morning once Andy and I have had the chance to sleep. I don't think I have ever been as tired as I am now! Left Joburg for Gabarone, then got on our flight to Francistown. When I have more energy, I'll recount the trip. Rest-assured, we are here, safe, and quite in love with our hotel, The Marang in Francistown, Botswana. I am in room 37 and Andy is in room 35. AND...by "room" I mean cottage, really. We are on the most amazingly landscaped area of F-town. We each have our own thatched-roof huts raised off the ground with 8-foot stilts. It is really magical. When I get my senses back (and once I've unpacked and arranged my clothing by color), I will give the full details. Best of all? We get to meet the kids tomorrow and we couldn't be more thrilled. Again, much to detail. Just wanted you all to know that our adventure has gone from the theoretical to the real. More tomorrow. MUST SLEEP. Erik and Andy