Training at the Honeymoon Lodge

It is Sunday and we have returned to Vryheid as the last leg in our 3 day journey to return to Mountain High Hospital after a week of Peace Corps training at the Honeymoon Lodge in Polokwane (capital of Limpopo, the northern province of South Africa). The Honeymoon Lodge was an appropriate venue as the setting was quite romantic with candlelight for several hours each day due to power failures. Ironically, most of our NGO Capacity Building Group of 30 volunteers are beautiful young women who were not impressed with the romance of the Honeymoon Lodge. The training was the mid-service component with updates on HIV AIDS in South Africa from the CDC and a glimpse into the lives of the other volunteers, professionally and personally.

Most of the volunteers have suffered from the mid-service slump and burnout. They told stories of being shot at in Durban and having the pellet removed, muggings in fancy neighborhoods in broad daylight, being robbed at Backpackers hostels, and Rohypnol lacing of drinks in a college town drinking hole. They also shared their disappointments and failures with their efforts to help the NGO’s and start up new AIDS programs. They have all experienced loneliness, cynicism and boredom. However, the group also discussed their successes with OVC drop in centers and feeding programs, production of an AIDS testing video for distribution in the high schools, lifeskills and empowerment programs for teenagers, computer training for boys in a sports program, and upgrading of administrative abilities at the NGOs. The young women who initially were coquettish people pleasers have matured into thoughtful, focused individuals who know who they are and can deal with unwanted attention and daily marriage proposals. All of us expressed resolve and determination to finish our service and to make the remaining months significant and productive. Brendon and I discussed not only trying to make our current projects sustainable, but seeking out a secondary project that would help the AIDS orphans in our community on a daily basis. We drew strength from the other volunteers as it is only another volunteer who understands the difficulties and triumphs of this remarkable journey.

The nurse from the CDC presented an overview of the current status of HIV/AIDs in South Africa. The good news is that the precipitous climb in infection rates (20% for all of South Africa, 40% for the pregnant women in KwaZuluNatal) is finally leveling off. When we arrived last July there was no end in sight and dire predictions were being made that the infection rate could climb to 50% or higher. The other piece of good news is that the infection rates among those under 20 years have dropped significantly. The lifeskills programs in the schools teaching critical thinking and decision making are credited for the big drop among teenagers. The bad news is that the rates shoot way up as soon as the teenagers leave home for university or jobs. Another aspect is the huge number of immigrants that are fleeing crises in their homeland. South Africa is absorbing many of the refugees from Zimbabwe and their lives are in chaos as they build shanty towns and form new alliances, contributing to the AIDS crisis.

The training was filled with laughter and gallows humor but also respect and awe for other volunteers that are very special people and are committed to using their skills to help this country. The three simple goals of the Peace Corps have not changed in 50 years: provide skills to countries that need help; develop understanding for the country; and help the country to understand America. We have learned so much about South Africa. What have they learned about America from us?