As a trainee, site announcement is pretty much the biggest thing you look forward to throughout training. It’s the day you find out where you will be living and working for the your 2 years of service. For Bots 11 that day was Friday the 21st and I am excited to announce that in a week and a half I will be moving to Molepolole (aka Moleps) to work at the Molepolole Drop In center for the Kagisano Society Women’s Shelter Project.
Now for some more information. Moleps is the largest traditional village in Botswana with a population of approximately 70,000 people. It is about an hour bus ride from the capital city, Gabarone, but based on what I have heard, still very much a village in the sense that it still has very defined wards that separate the community. Until recently, the village was the site for Peace Corps training, so the village has quite a bit of experience working with Peace Corps volunteers. Moleps also happens to be a hotspot for volunteer placement as there are currently 4 volunteers serving there and 4 more from my group who will join them in November ( I will be the only one officially partnered with an NGO). This is a unique situation as most volunteers are the only ones in their village.
As for my organization, I have heard many good things. It was started in Gabarone in 1998 as the first shelter of its kind in Botswana. It was founded to provide shelter and counseling for victims of gender based violence. In 2009, recognizing increased need for support services in Molepolole, the organization opened the Molepoloe Drop in Center. The center currently provides counseling and referral services, outreach activities to educate the community on gender based violence, and the implementation of youth activities with a focus on like skills.
I think that this placement is perfect for me and I am super excited to get started!
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