GAME ON!!!! The Village Sports Court Project for Community Health

Quick update on my toe: The stitches have been removed!!! And I'm still planning on going back to site on Wednesday. Keep fingers crossed!

And now, for some even more exciting news!

One of the main reasons I decided to extend for a 3rd year, here in Namibia, was to finish up a project I had started in the village. It is finally coming true!! I have been working my butt off on this, and am so excited to announce it!

My village is collaborating with Courts For Kids, an organization from the U.S., to build a basketball/volleyball/netball court!! A group of 12 Americans and 1 Ugandan will be flying to Namibia on Dec. 31, 2015. On Jan. 1, we will be driving up to the village, and spending the next 4 days building this court, experiencing Namibia and Owambo culture and making my community's dream a reality!

We are so so lucky to have Courts For Kids on our side! They will be assisting in the cost of the court. My village also did their own fundraising, and because of their hard work and dedication, have been able to raise some money, as well.

I, too, am going to help raise some of the funds. This is going to be thru the Peace Corps Partnership Program, an online "crowdfunding" type of grant.

Below is a little more info, as well as a video to explain a bit more about the village and project:

(If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to contact me!)

The village in northern Namibia, where I spent my first 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, shares the same problems as many others in the country: high teen pregnancy rate, alcohol abuse, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and a lack of resources and facilities. Unlike towns, villages have few safe community and health enhancing activities for the children, youth and adults. This particular village is also the center of the main village. The community should be able to host sport tournaments, cultural dance competitions, and other events, Due to the lack of resources, they are unable to provide these recreational and educational gatherings for the community.

The village will be collaborating with a U.S. non-profit organization to build a basketball/netball/volleyball court in the village. It will not only we be creating a safe, healthy space for the community, but by collaborating with CFK, there will be a culture exchange between the Americans and Namibians. This court will provide a safe space for children, youth and adults to use for recreation. Improving their health, teamwork, fellowship, as well as an alternative educational place, used by life skills teachers and students. This court will also allow the community to host events, which could then result in income-generating activities.

The donations raised will cover the cost of supplies, as well as a local Namibian contractor, and a vocational school to build this court. The community has also pledged to help with the cost of this project, through fundraising and labor.

If you would like to donate to this AMAZING project, please go to:

Peace Corps Partnership Program

This will be a tax-deductable donation. Any amount you can give is truly, truly appreciated by myself and the village!


Thank you to all who have supported me and my village throughout the creation of this project! A special BIG thanks to Courts For Kids! We are so so grateful for you help, and can't wait to share with you our Namibian home!


Peace & Love,
Ndapandula
(which means, I am thankful, in Oshikwanyama)   

THE SPORTS COURT IS HAPPENING!!!!

(can you tell I'm a bit excited??)

Hello all! I have so so so much to tell you….

But currently, I am in the thick of doing a million things at the same time. Good things. Which, I will update you on…and hopefully sooner than later :)

My reason for writing this particular post is just one of the many reasons why I stayed here in Namibia, in the Peace Corps, for a third year. First, I’d like to say that I LOVE my new site, and all that is happening there! Promise, my next post will be about that (we just had a wonderful school holiday camp with the kids – pictures and stories to follow).

But this post is about what I had been doing during my first 2 years here – up in the north, in the village. I have so so much to explain to you, and more details will come when I get everything in order – which includes a grant – which, if you so incline to do so, may send in a donation. Until I get all the necessary documents, blah, blah, blah in order, I want to let you know of this great opportunity for some of you Americans! (I guess maybe someone other than an American could come as well – I just hadn’t thought of that possibility! But if you’re interested, let me know!)

Anywho – this coming December 31, 2015, a group of college students will be arriving in Namibia, and on January 1, 2016, we will be driving up to my village in the north, and alongside Courts For Kids (check them out!!) we will be helping the locals build a basketball/volleyball/netball court!! We will be pouring cement for about 4 days, learning about each other’s culture, and then the group will continue on to Etosha Park for 2 nights of camping and game drives. For so so many reasons the village need this – but mainly, there is a high teen pregnancy rate, HIV/AIDS, TB, alcohol abuse, and very limited safe places, activities and entertainment for the children, youth and adults of the community. Courts For Kids has some open spots still available!! This would be for those who are of college age (although if some of you are out of college already, and have an interest, let me know and I can see what we can do!).

Now, the commitment to come, along with a deposit, are due September 18. I know it’s just around the corner, but I thought I would help out Courts For Kids and get these spots filled! If any of you are interested, please contact me, or Selene Nesland (selene@courtsforkids.org). I’m so excited to be collaborating with Courts For Kids, and helping my village!! Plus, I get to show it off to you…. Oh, and you get to visit me :)

Below is something that Selene wrote, with a little more info, which I wanted to pass along…

College Students to Namibia, Africa, with Courts for Kids View this email in your browser

Courts for Kids offering Trip to Namibia, Africa, for College Students over Christmas Break December 29th- January 9th If you are in college and looking for an exciting adventure over Christmas break then join us in Namibia, Africa, to build a basketball/netball/soccer court in Onamumhana, Namibia in southwest Africa.  To learn more about this community and project  check out the video the community made here. You will also get to experience an overnight safari in Estosha National Park-one of the world's finest game parks, where animal sightings are guaranteed. If you are interested in receiving more information (price, flight itinerary, etc.) email Selene Nesland at selene@courtsforkids.org.

An Oryx Holiday - Part 3 - Damaraland Camp

Here is post #3...again, by my parents :)
To see the previous posts, go to: Part 1 and Part 2

We arrived at Damaraland Camp last night just after sunset. We were racing there to beat the sunset because there are no lights in the middle of the desert. It was dusk when we entered the Damaraland entrance but the entrance said 13 more kilometers to the camp. The roads are classified by condition...B,C, and D. There are no A roads. B are the  two lane paved roads on which you can travel up to 120 kmh. C roads are either paved or gravel and you can go from 80-100 kmh. D roads are teeth rattling, spine jarring, genital jarring (at this point John has had 2 glasses of champagne, while we are writing this blog post) (refer back to Diane's condition at arriving at Kunene Lodge.) where, with luck you might go 30kmh. So these roads that we were "racing" on were D roads. Johanna wants to tell you at this point Diane had taken over driving a couple of hours earlier because John.................blah, blah, blah (imagine - sometimes a wife needs to take over the driving!). Anyway, once we arrived, there were two staff members who greeted us...Alexia and Hilka. It was impressive...they knew our names and had us directly to our rooms instead of registering first. They recognized that we were tired. This was typical of how the entire staff treated us during our entire stay. They took our bags. On the way there, another staff member gave us each a sherry. Our two rooms were next to each other and basically the same...two twin beds enclosed by a mosquito net, a bathroom with 2 sinks, shower, and toilet. Stepping up from the bed was a desk and closet. The "cabin" was really made of thick canvas. If you wanted to "close" the windows, you would pull up a piece of canvas and hold it too the window by Velcro.

We ate dinner and at each meal thereafter we had a staff member eat with us. During our stay every staff member personally introduced themselves to us and often made conversation with us.

In the morning, Alberth brought us hot water to make coffee at 5:40 am. By 6:10 we were in his "jeep" on the way to breakfast. Breakfast was on top of a mountain with 9 people plus staff...fruit, bread, cheese, and eggs and bacon cooked on an open fire.

After this we started on our trek to find elephants. We were so Iucky to drive up very close to an elephant herd and observe the main male, females with their young, and teenagers who never stopped playing the whole time we were there. On our trip through the Torra conservancy, (3522 square kilometers with 1200 people living there) we also saw oryx, kudu, springbok, many birds, 2 kinds of rock...dolomite and basalt, and 3 types of plants were pointed out to us. 

an Oryx

Desert-adapted Elephant

2 teenagers playing around

We were close!!!

We stopped at a village that was founded during apartheid in South Africa called DeReit. A woman gave us the story of how the town was founded. The children hung around us and got a chance to either have their picture taken or use Johanna's phone to take pictures.

We came back to the camp for lunch and then went to another village. The income from the Damaraland Camp helps to compensate the farmers for loss of livestock due to predators. We were guided around by a teenage boy, named ..... On their farm they have  over 500 goats, sheep  and ... donkeys. They sell these goats to people who need goat milk or breeding females or males. Sometimes they slaughter the animals but not often. The family has about 5 dogs who are there to protect the animals by barking when a predator animal comes on the property. These dogs are very skinny...ribs showing....and very dirty. They are not pets. Their food is fruit and meat...not sure where the meat comes from. They have chickens which are kept in a "hen house" about 6 feet by 10 feet and are sometimes let out to scratch. They eat the eggs.

They built a garden, quite big, enclosed with a 10 foot high fence. They also electrified it using solar energy. This was supposed to keep the elephants out. But elephants have thick skin and they could care less about some puny solar electric fence. They just ran over it and destroyed the garden including the family's banana, guava, orange, and lime trees. One day when he and his grandfather have time they will replant this garden, along with getting a larger solar collector so it will generate more electricity.

The family also makes money by supplying the lodge we were staying with water. The women here do the lodge's laundry. The income from the Damaraland Camp helps to compensate the farmers for loss of livestock due to predators.

For dinner that night we had to walk away from the lodge in the dark. When we got to our destination there were fires to light the area and a buffet for all the guests. The staff sang us the African Union Anthem and the Namibian National Anthem and a welcome song. Just after dessert was served they came out singing an anniversary song holding a cake which they had baked for our anniversary. When we got back to our room there was a bucket of ice with champagne and many lit candles. It was a lovely way to end the stay at our favorite B&B so far.