I am now officially sworn in as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer! The ceremony yesterday was very nice. There was a musical group that was outstanding and speeches from the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia, the Peace Corps Country Director and others. Helen and I ended up leaving Okahandja after the ceremony instead of this morning as was originally planned. That was a bit tough as it meant quick goodbyes to people that have become our family over the past 8 weeks. We also packed in a hurry and were then on our way.

I was greeted in Keetmanshoop by a lovely host family who welcomed me with open arms even though they have never met me and had short notice about taking on an American volunteer. I spent today getting my bearings and walking to the craft center with my host niece. She knows her way around the area and I was thankful to have a Namibian showing me the ropes! Although Keetmanshoop is very different from Okahandja, which really felt like home, I will spend time making this my new home and doing what I can to become a part of this community as well. I’ll try to take some pics of the area in the next week or two so you can have a better idea of my new surroundings.

Thanks for thoughts and prayers and I hope all is well in the states!

Last Saturday night in Okahandja

So tonight was our last night Saturday night in Okahandja. This night comes with mixed emotions. We are excited to move on to our sites and begin our real volunteer work, yet this also means losing the comfort of each other as a trainee group. We spent the morning and afternoon preparing American food and feeding our host families to thank them for hosting and putting up with all of us for these 8 weeks of training. We then had an “after party” at Kelly’s host family’s home. Not all of the volunteers could make it but a good number of us showed up to let our hair down and hang out till the evening came.  Kelly and Leah, I will miss you! We are the three musketeers of Veddersdal!

I will surely miss all of my fellow volunteers as we all head off to different parts of Namibia. It will be great to see each other again in three months at reconnect for more training. I’m sure we will all have so many stories to share from our sites. I’ve shared some pictures not only of the great evening but the first photos are from an orphanage we visited earlier this week. What a bunch of beautiful children…many o f whom have lost one or both parents. Whenever I feel like I’m having a bad day, I just look at these pictures and lovely faces and it puts it all into perspective.

Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers this Thursday as we swear in as Peace Corps Volunteers.

Many thanks! Miss you all!

Keetmanshoop

I returned from Keetmanshoop yesterday. I will definitely be busy! The craft center is great and I’m excited to help the organization try to increase their marketing in order to be able to keep the women employed by the center very busy and therefore generating income to help them and their families stay fed. Right now a big challenge is selling enough of the great crafts they make to keep the women busy and employed. They have also started doing screen printing of t-shirts which will also help to generate a lot of income.  

There are two other women who are new to the center’s staff, Keshia and Claudia. I believe I will be working closely with them on marketing ideas as well as helping to organize some production materials in the center. Since I am only here for two years, I need to be sure that what I do is tied into what they are doing so that the work is sustained and understood by someone other than me. Otherwise it is pointless if it falls to the wayside when I return to the states.

Keetmanshoop has a high rate of alcoholism and the craft center is located in an area of town that is quite poor. There are some beautiful people in Keets and I look forward to getting integrated into the community as that will help keep me safe and will help to explain who I am and my intentions for being around and working at the center.  There are some other volunteers in Keets that have been there for a year and have offered a lot of insight. I am also joined by another woman from my training group who will be working at the hospital and we will be joined by Will, a current volunteer who is extending his service for one more year and will be coming to Keets to do so. It will be nice to have a male presence around!

The pictures below are from a gala I attended while there where the women showed off some of the items they make at the center. Sorry the pictures are fuzzy. The scenery is from the drive down…a lot like AZ huh? I’m back in the desert! J

I now have a PO Box too so feel free to be in touch! My PO Box is:

Becky Tomaszewski

PO Box 83

Keetmanshoop, Namibia

I hope this finds you all well! Geniet die dag! (Enjoy the day!)