Botswana Bound!

As many already know, I will traveling to Botswana this summer to participate in an Ohio University and University of Botswana sponsored program on the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. I have decided to keep a blog to share my experiences whenever internet access is available.

My stay in Botswana will last roughly one month. We will be departing from Columbus on June 13th and flying to Atlanta for the connecting flight to Johannesburg where we will spend the night in South Africa before going on to Botswana. On the return flight, we will be leaving Johannesburg on July 16th, flying back to Atlanta, and arriving home in Columbus on July 17th.

The first week or so in Botswana will consist of an orientation to the country, the HIV/AIDS situation there, and the governmental and non-governmental programs that have been instated to deal with the disease. Although--thanks to British colonialism--English is the official language of Botswana, we will additionally be working on learning some Setswana, the language spoken by the majority of Batswana. (Batswana is the plural of Motswana, the nationality of Botswana.)

The second and third weeks will be spent volunteering for a non-governmental organization (NGO) working towards an HIV/AIDS-related goal in Botswana. We will not know our NGO assignments until we arrive in the country, but I have already ranked my top four choices. Clicking on the links will take you to their websites.

1. Botswana Network on Ethics, Law, and HIV/AIDS (BONELA)
2. SOS Children's Village
3. Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Program (BOCAIP)
4. Botswana Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (BONEPWA)

The fourth and final week in Botswana will be time for traveling and seeing the country. Botswana is a popular destination for safaris. Experiencing the scenery and wildlife is a priority during the last week.

As I said earlier, accessing the internet regularly may be difficult in Botswana. I will do my best to update whenever I can. Please feel free to leave comments as I would greatly appreciate your feedback on what I write.

This blog can be found at http://Botswana-MJH.blogspot.com/

I can be contacted by email at mh213106@ohio.edu