How do I
describe my experience in Maun? I really have no words. I know that the comments and feedback especially on Facebook
consistently have stated that in my photos I appear to be having so much fun
and I seem so peaceful. I have felt a
deep sense of; I don’t know what here in this land. I am undoubtedly in the “country” the air is
fresh and clean and there is a certain unhurried presence. I am at peace with me and with my
surroundings. There is always an
assumption that I belong, if not from here, then from somewhere on the
continent. One day, a man came up as I was standing in the parking lot, shook my hands, yes randomly like that, but then he stated, he realized I was not a typical Ghanaian woman as he
assumed, when I did not do the proper handshake. I never did learn the handshake. Sometimes I became so caught up in conversations it seemed that I was trying to absorb whether by dialogue or osmosis years of history
and culture. There was always something new and fascinating and people were
always willing it seems to share.
KGOTLA
I had the
privilege of visiting a Kgotla and without an appointment the Chief who
happened to be female took more than ten minutes of her time to talk to me about her
experiences. Although she was the first born in her family, her brother
inherited the chiefdom, but since he chose politics she was acting on his
behalf in the Kgotla. She while waiting
for witnesses to arrive for a case she was presiding over, took time to share
her personal experiences with me, a stranger.
In Botswana the
Kgotla institution continues to play a vital role in addressing conflicts
arising from within and between communities. The Kgotla is a traditional system
which serves as a forum for policy formulations, decision making, including
political and economic developmental activities and judiciary on litigation. In the Kgotla the chief and headmen are
seated in a semi-circle while listening to cases or in meetings. The face to
face seating arrangement signifies the equality that exists in the Kgotla and the
belief in ‘mafoko a matlhong’ (words are easily spoken out when facing each
other).
OPENING THEIR
HOMES
I had been
taking lots of pictures of rondavels, the traditional huts, but had not been
inside one and mentioned this to my colleagues while we were on our way to the
Kgotla, after they laughed at my interest they decided that I should of course go in one that day. How does this happen?
My colleague stated that she will just assess the friendliness of a
strangers tone as we stood on the street, when they respond to Dumela and then simply ask if I can enter
into their home. I could not follow the discussion between her and the first
woman she approached but what ensued was that we were entering into the yard of
the rondavel we were standing in front of and a stranger was welcoming me into
his home. He told he how he had inherited the home from his father and was waiting for
papers to be able to upgrade it with electricity and running water, but he already had a home of his own. In Botswana, land is free to citizens. Again
I was touched by the generosity of strangers to open and share their life with
me with such ease.
I experienced this
willingness to share again when I was invited to spend a night with a family who
were basically strangers to me. They
were felt it was ridiculous for me to spend hundreds of pula on a hotel room
that I would basically only to be in for less than seven hours as we were leaving for a Game drive at 4:30 am the following morning. But in providing me with a bed the family
chose to sleep on the floor. They stated it was their way of showing hospitality. I was beyond touched.
THE
JUXTAPOSITION
But for me
there is also a jarring juxtaposition, the reason I am here, my mandate. In assessing the policies and procedures of
the shelter I realized that the counselors were exposed to a high level of
vicarious and secondary trauma stress in their work with victims of gender
based violence. The atrocities stories
of violence perpetrated against victims were heart wrenching and there were no
processes established for Counsellors to debrief. My mandate expanded somewhat to incorporate
the impact of secondary trauma and developing tools to assist the Counsellors
to work more effectively which ultimately would reduce compassion fatigue and increase
their sharing and support of each other.
