Well, today is the last full day of our adventure in Botswana. Yesterday was our last day at SOS and it was extremely difficult to leave not only the kids, but the teachers of the Kindergarden, as well as the mothers in the village and everyone else we would see on a daily basis. These people were such a big part of our experience here and they welcomed us with big smiles every day! I never realized what a big part of the trip (and the hardest part of leaving) would be, and that is the people and the friendships we have made while we were here. Alex and I gave out gifts and thank you cards to all the teachers and staff at SOS and donations to the children and mothers in the village. We have gotten really close with three of the mothers, Name, Bame and Caroline, who we called our 'Botswana mothers', so we baked them muffins and gave them some of our dresses and bracelets we had made. We will miss seeing them every day and getting to know what wonderful women they are. I can only imagine the types of friendships we would make and how much they would grow had we been given more time here.
Today we went out to Mochudi one last time to see the house. The roof is now on and the electrical is being put in. The builders were working on plastering the outside walls now and it is so close to being finished. It was great to see them one last time and give the donations we brought for the family. I also have some exciting news: with the help of everyone's generous donations and support, our group was able to raise over $4000! That amount, along with the $5000 that was donated by the University of Guelph was enough to finish the house. It covered the cost of all the materials and everything else included so thank you soo much to everyone for helping us complete the project! The family is so happy and Lisa (the founder of Stepping Stones International) will be posting photos of the house once it is complete on the website: http://steppingstonesintl.org. There is also a Facebook group (search Stepping Stones International) that anyone can join to see info and photos from the after school program and house builds.
I can't even describe the experience I have had here in Botswana, but I can say that it has definitely changed me in a lot of ways. I have now such a bigger and better appreciation for hard work and value people in a whole new light. In Canada we take our health for granted, but here I could be standing in a room with several HIV+ people who are fighting every day to survive. The children here are so precious and I hope that I can one day see them again and make sure they are doing well. I hope that when I leave Botswana the people here continue to live and love the way they have shown us. I have re-prioritized and reconsidered my post-grad plans. Before coming on this trip I had decided I would teach English over seas in order to travel and work to pay off my student loans, but after speaking with Lisa she opened my eyes to so many new and exciting options that could further me and my education in so many ways. I will definitely be keeping in touch with her because she is such a great resource in terms of networking and NGO's and I told her I would be emailing her about Stepping Stones for future experience. She will be needing a new long term volunteer in a year so I will definitely be considering it. Working with her would be such a great learning experience and I can't wait to see what lies ahead of me!
I have to go, but will see you all soon and I am so excited to share everything with you.
Love always, Claire xo
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