January 2012 Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures!  Again, I am going to attempt to give you an idea of what it looks like here and how the seasons effect peoples lives.  Because most people where I live are subsistence farmers, they are both very dependent on and in tune with the land.  I will try to capture what they are doing throughout the year.  I was a little disappointed to not have more pictures of them working the land.  I was unable to find the a learner's house and land that I was planning on photographing due to the already high water.  I was forced off the road I knew and didn't know where to go.  Very frustrating when I was within a few miles.

School is going well and I will put some pictures up of what is happening there as I get settled in.  It has been difficult to get back into the swing of things and, although I know some of the things I want to do, I have had a little trouble starting and putting a plan in place, but it is coming together.  

Enjoy the pictures and, as always, let me know what you think or would like to know more about.  I am more than happy to try and write about and photograph things you want to know about.  (As the weeks go by you will probably see some of the some familiar photos.  I am taking a few shots from the same place to hopefully capture the changing seasons.)

Also, coming soon... The first 'Meet a Namibian' guest post from a student, Jona Nangolo.  I am really excited to post his story.  It will give some insights into the lives of many of the kids I work with.

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The first few pictures are all taken from my backyard before and during the first big storm since I got back.  It rained for 4 days and the waters in the surrounding oshanas (seasonal ponds) are higher at this time than last year.

This is a learner of mine and her sisters.  They are harvesting some grubs from the animal pens to eat for dinner.  The pictures of the fields are their plots.  They are pretty big plots.  Right now each family has plowed and planted.  Each day they spend a lot of time hand weeding sections with a hoe.

Sunset photos from the 28th as I was looking for my learners house.  These were taken a few miles behind where I live near the large oshana.  The light was not very nice to see the landscape in detail, but it is very green here with lots of tall grass.

Back in Namibia

After another long hiatus, I'm back and excited about a new year in Namibia. Although I really would love to detail the end of last year, I believe it is best to start fresh in the new year and, hopefully, do a better job this year blogging consistently. My goal this year is to have more regular posts that don't just talk about me. I will keep updating about what I am working on, but I hope to give you more insight into the lives of my learners. I will also be attempting to post more pictures to let you see the change of seasons and how that effects me, my school, and the community. Finally, I hope to allow some guest posts from individual learners so you can get a chance to see Namibia from their perspective. There also may be guest posts from St. Mary's High School documenting their efforts to fund raise for my school. Overall, the goal is to give a complete picture of my experience and the experiences of those around me, not just my perspective. I hope you enjoy reading and following what is happening in Omungwelume, Namibia.

I do want to touch briefly on last year. I had a great experience and was very happy with the amount of success I had. Not everything went according to plan, but more was good than bad. To review, I repaired about 60 chairs and 30 desks, replaced the school uniform for 4 learners, created a scholarship that will assist paying 8 learners' school fees, helped reorganize the library into the proper form and set up a library club to operate library, and began optimizing available technology and training teachers in computers. I am also very happy to report that I had a 93% pass rate for English in Grade 9 where I taught all the classes.

I learned so much in the first year and am going to put that knowledge to work this year both in the classroom teaching and within the school to help the school continue to improve. Thanks to hard work from everyone involved, the school made large strides in the quality of education it is providing as shown in our improved end of year examination marks, and we have started off on the right foot this year.

My goals for 2012 are to continue what I was doing last year, but make it sustainable for after I leave. I will be moving the library into a new building being finished now and will continue working to get it properly set up and run independently by learners. I hope to invest in more technology to optimize what they have and help the school run more efficiently. I am also planning on helping fund a school garden with the hopes of being able to make a small profit or at least sustain the project for years to come. The garden might also improve nutrition for learners, be a model for growing more diverse crops, and help experiment with different growing techniques . I will also continue with the chair and desk repair.

Thanks to some generous friends and family members, I have arrived in Namibia with some funds to assist these projects. If anyone reading would like to help Omungwelume Secondary School financially or in other ways (ex. donating supplies) please feel free to contact me through email at bwmcspadden@gmail.com.

All donations benefit the school 100%. It is also not my intention to subsidize projects that will not be continued after I leave. My goal is that these funds help provide an initial investment or boost to get some things started they otherwise cannot afford, but can maintain with their own funding in the future. For example, I have already received a commitment from the school to split the initial costs for the garden. Without a matching donation, the project would not get started. Now, it will and should be able to be maintained by possible sales and their own funding.

Feel free to send any questions or comments to my email or post in the comments section below. I apologize this first post doesn't have pictures, but I will be sure to post some next weekend. Thanks for reading and check back soon.