There are not a lot of words that I have to describe what I have experienced the last couple of days. I never thought that this year, 2010, would unfold the way that it has so far. For those of you that haven’t heard, my Uncle Greg passed away this past Tuesday. It seems almost unreal to me that the two relatives I am closest to have passed away in the last four weeks. I am continually grateful that I was able to visit home over the Christmas Holiday.
There was something really unique about my Uncle Greg. He was the kind of person who “dealt” with challenges in life by making the best out of every situation. My Uncle had an accident over 33 years ago and spent the last 33 years in a wheel chair, he overcame bladder cancer and a couple different shoulder surgeries. The amazing thing about him was, he never complained about any of it, not the wheel chair or what his limitations were.
He was also a very loving; husband, father, brother, uncle and most importantly Grandpa. I don’t think I have ever met someone who was more proud to be a grandpa. He would always send me updates and pictures of his trips to Seattle to see my cousin and her 2 boys. These emails always seemed to come at a good time, and helped me with whatever stress I was under. He also loved to send me pictures from his father/son camping trip with my cousin. He did so much with the limitations that he had. I will always wonder what this world would be like if half of us had his determination. Think about how much more we could get done or what differences we could make.
This past week has been really hard, but I took my uncles determination for life and made the best of my situation. I took Wednesday off to be by myself and Thursday we did site visits all over one of the regions in Northern Namibia. I had no idea that it would take 12 hours to visit 8 different sites. I really enjoyed getting to know the coaches and realized what great people there are here in Northern Namibia. It was amazing to hear how passionate these coaches are about teaching the HIV/AIDS curriculum to the kids in the community. George told me that a majority of the coaches have been affected by HIV- where one out of every three huts in the rural area’s “the bush” ,has either a person laying in a bed about to die from AIDS or has a is carrying for a member of their family that is that sick from AIDS.
It continues to amaze me how many people are affected by the HIV virus. Death from this disease is a way of life around here, and it breaks my heart. We took pictures with all of the coaches and sites along the way. They are all so special and each one of them was excited about the upcoming trainings we are doing in a week. I think those two weeks are going to be good for me, it is great to be around people that are passionate and hopeful in this fight against HIV/AIDS. The last two trainings that I have been a part of have helped me to gain a little perspective on life; I expect nothing less from these next two.
The other important thing about these site visits was we had someone from Arrandis with us, to show them how the project works on the ground. This is the project that we are thinking of starting in the small mining town right by the coast, about an 8 hour drive from where I am now. The day went very well, I had a meeting with them this morning and in the upcoming weeks we are creating a program plan that will help create a sustainable program in Arandis.
Very few interns get the opportunity to start a project from scratch in the field. It is a huge responsibility and gives me another opportunity to learn more about sport for development. The really unique part about this is it makes me feel like I am really making a difference; creating new opportunities to teach the kids there about HIV/AID. This is one of those things that I think both my Uncle and my Grandma would be so proud and excited about. That is what I will remember in the days that come when I am very sad or trying to understand how and why everything has happened back home.
I feel as though I am in the calm before the storm. I have so much work in the next few months, and I am on the very edge of it, getting ready to jump in. I am very blessed for my opportunity here and hope that I can get everything achieved to the best that I can, with no regrets. I am trying to use that determination and appreciation of life that my uncle had in all of these projects I am working on.
The main reason for these site visits was to tell the coaches to select 2 girls from their community to attend our week long tournament in April in Cape Town. “Girlz got Skillz” is what we are calling it. I felt like Ed McMan, going from door to door bringing good news. We went from site to site telling the coaches to select girls from their community to be come to Cape Town for a week, learn about HIV/AIDS, play soccer and site-see, and it is all paid for. I only met one of the girls that we are going to take. She was so excited; I cannot even explain it to you. This girl lived on a farm, which is common up in the north.
These farms are amazing, they normally have a main house and then smaller huts all around them. The whole family then lives on the farm. Also, there is a common room (still outside) where they entertain guests, and where the men sit and wait for dinner every night. That is what a lot of the women do, work on the farm during the day-I saw a lot of them plowing the field with a donkey and a old fashion plow and at night-prepare meals for the rest of the family at night.
The girl whose farm we visited was so excited about going to Cape Town. It is really fun to start bringing good news to people, for them this is a chance of a life time. Next week we are spending two days speaking with parents about the trip, getting permission slips signed. Can anyone think of a better thing to do!!
This week in Cape Town is going to be such a unique experience. It is all funded by Johnson and Johnson. The US State Department is flying over 2 professional players from the US. We have 10 girls from the US confirmed, 21 from South Africa, and 21 from Namibia. Every time I turn around there is something new and exciting about this week. I think it is really going to turn into something great. One of the things I am working on is delegation -not one of my stronger qualities. I just hope everything goes well and is planned accordingly, I think it will be a truly unique event.
A couple of unique things about driving through this area, is the amazing landscape and clear skies. There is little to no pollution, so it is some of the clearest skies I have ever seen. Also, there is a lot of live stock just walking along side of the road, crossing the street whenever they want to. This includes cows, steers, goats, and donkeys. There is a song called “If I had a million dollars”, in it they say, Haven’t you always wanted a Monkey, and on this drive I couldn't help but say, “Haven’t you always wanted a Donkey”. I hope you enjoy the views.
With Love, 
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