This has been a question that we have been asked a lot. It is usually followed by a prolonged silence and umm-ing and humm-ing on our side. This isn’t because we don’t do anything. We do. We really do. It’s just hard to pin down and succinctly describe what we do. Peace Corps Botswana is somewhat unique in that the volunteer’s duties are not as specific as some other countries. Many Peace Corps posts (countries) around the world have very specific jobs that volunteers fill; some are English teachers some are forestry advisors some are IT specialists. In Botswana we are called “HIV/AIDS Capacity Builders”, but we may be better described as community development advisors and trainers. HIV/AIDS capacity building in Botswana is a grassroots bottom up approach to compliment the government of Botswana’s top down approach. We help people gain the skills necessary to better address the issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana. We fall into three specialties with the job titles of: District Community Liaisons/District AIDS coordinators, Community Capacity Builders and NGO Capacity Builders. This is the primary assignment volunteers in Botswana, but most of us also work on what we call ‘secondary projects.’  

Amanda in an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Capacity Builder. She is partnered with a very small community organization called Sekgele Trianing Home Society. When we first came to our village two years ago this small group of community members would best be described as a community based organization (CBO) or even a club. With no paid staff they were all volunteering their time to help the group achieve its goals of representing people with disabilities in the District by providing them with better access to services and education. The organization got a one year grant to fund activities, pay staff and build a small building to operate out of. 

Amanda’s colleagues (2 now-paid staff) at Sekgele, Gosalamang and Ogomoditse, are both very hard working and dedicated people who care a lot about the success of the NGO and its vision. Ogomoditse never finished high school and Gosalamang finished high school but never got the opportunity to continue his education. Both are originally from Gumare and have lived here their whole lives. Amanda’s primary goal at Sekgele has been to build the capacity of the organization, mainly through Gosalamang and Ogomoditse, so they have the skills needed to work toward achieving its vision.

This task takes on many forms for Amanda. Through observation or needs assessments, Amanda is able to spot specific gaps in knowledge that she then trains the group in. For example she has done several in-depth financial management training courses to help the group understand how to manage the various grants they have received. If they were not able to properly manage a grant they would likely never get another one, and misuse the current one. Amanda also does various computer skills training lessons for Sekgele. Amanda has also helped the group with grant applications that have helped to make them sustainable for the near future. This work with Sekgele is roughly half of Amanda’s work load.

I am a Community Capacity Builder and was originally stationed at the District Health Management Team (DHMT). The DHMT is a group of heath care professionals and administrators who are in charge of managing all the health facilities and health services across the district. Due to a long list of various circumstances I now don’t spend a lot of time with the DHMT but spend more time with the District AIDS Coordinator’s (DAC) office. I report to the DAC office every morning at 7:30am and usually stay until lunch. I assist the DHMT sporadically as a health education advisor. In the DAC office I am able to offer a different point of view on how to best conduct various HIV/AIDS awareness activities throughout the district. The DAC office’s primary responsibility is to act as an overseer for all HIV/AIDS activities in the district. The office holds an open application period for organizations to apply for funding they want to use for various HIV/AIDS activities. These applications are then reviewed, accepted or denied, and then compiled into a formal proposal to the government for a yearly financial allotment. Then, the activities that are funded are carried out throughout the year under the supervision of the DAC office. This work with the DHMT and DAC offices is roughly half of Todd’s work load.

For the second half of our work load we each have several secondary projects. Amanda leads a club of about 30 young students at the elementary school. The goal of the club is to teach the kids “Life skills” that will hopefully help them to make good choices in their lives in the future. The topics they cover are things like: self confidence, goal setting, decision making and self esteem. These are skills that are typically learned in the home in States but are usually not taught in the family setting in Botswana. 

Amanda also teaches a class on basic business concepts for community members (mostly women) which has an end goal of creating a detailed business plan that they can use to apply for loans and grants. The norm in Botswana for a beginner small business is to pay a “professional” to write up a business plan they then use to apply for funding. The problem Amanda has observed is that the business often fails because the businesswoman lacks the basic skills needed to take the business plan and turn it into an effective business. They also lack the understanding of their prewritten new business plan, because they were not involved in writing it. The private sector in Botswana is the sector with the biggest growth potential for the nation, and women make up the group with the greatest potential factor for filling it. As a woman in Botswana, owning a business also means independence, security and a step toward gender equality. These are some of the characteristics needed for women to help slow the HIV epidemic.

I work with an HIV support group that meets at the HIV counseling center. The group consists of people who are both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The group isn’t the typical psychosocial support type group you would expect like in the States. The group is more focused on income generating activities (IGAs) with the intent of giving the members skills and financial independence. The group also sporadically leads HIV education sessions in the community. They also have an annual People Living With HIV (PLWH) week where they get together with people who are infected to discuss issues relevant to the HIV community in Botswana (which is about half of the sexually active population).

Todd has also started teaching a computer skills course at the middle school. The computer lab was closed for the past two years. Many of the students are far behind on the skills that are important to make them competitive with other students in Botswana. The class follows the usual syllabus of the computer awareness curriculum but with an HIV awareness theme. For example the students created a PowerPoint presentation on how HIV affects their lives and communities.

This is not everything we do but these are some examples of the many projects we have been involved over the past two years.