On the Job Training
- ayarosah
- Nov 13, 2022
- 6 min read
Sanibonani, I hope you all are enjoying the cooler weather in America! Currently in Eswatini, the weather has been rainy as we are approaching the summer.
I must admit, time surely does fly by as it has been a while since I have given an update. Two weeks ago, I was at my selected community staying with my host family! I stayed for a week as part of my On-the-Job Training (OJT), to become familiar with the area and to make initial assessments. Once I am sworn in, a little less than 2 weeks, I will be back at my site!
The High School
I visited the high school that I would be co-facilitating on the subject of Lifeskills. This subject is a requirement for all forms weekly, for one class period. (In Eswatini, high school is from Form 1-5, also known as Grade 8-12). Lifeskills is a subject that covers a range of different topics from time management skills, coping with grief, understanding peer pressure, HIV related topics, sexual and reproductive health, and more. The subject is similar to sex education and health classes in the US, but with many additional life topics! You would be surprised at how well the students participate and discuss in these classes. My hope is to also foster a safe environment in the classroom where students can share.
I had the pleasure of meeting the Principal, Senior Deputy Teacher, and head department teachers for both LifeSkills and English. I greatly enjoyed hearing their passions for the youth, their vision and short-term goals for the school, and brainstorming potential youth clubs as currently there are none (Please be compassionate on this one as the resources are different here😊). I did have the opportunity to engage in conversations around capacitating the library. I also suggested an idea of having the students paint inside the library, and the design students to build tables and chairs. A meeting will take place while I finish up my Pre-Service Training, so I will definitely give you all an update later!
Moment of Joy: When I visited the school for the first time, I joined their morning general assembly where all of the ~650 students were gathered. They called me up to the front and I had the opportunity to introduce myself in siSwati. The students greatly enjoyed it, especially with my greetings. In Eswatini, every conversation starts with these greetings. The room was full of laughter after each response. Just thinking about it right now, I cannot help but smile on how precious this memory is. But really, the students are precious. I cannot wait to get to know them!
The Community
While I was in my community, I had two counterparts who assisted me in navigating the different organizations and structures within the community. This is important to know which resources are available for the youth, and how these structures can support them. Both of my counterparts are very passionate in supporting the youth.
Here in Eswatini, they operate through a chiefdom system. I had the opportunity to visit one of the leaders in my community’s chiefdom called the Indvuna, who works closely with the chief.* A previous project they had worked on was increasing the water accessibility to the different homesteads, such as installing water tanks or a community tap. Now, they are focusing on cultivating the fruit business to generate more income into the community. I also attended another meeting called the Linbandla, where I not only met the Indvuna again, but other community constituents. I explained my role as a Peace Corps volunteer and asked what they would like for the youths in their community.
Before I proceed, let me quickly go over my role and the Youth Development Volunteer objectives:
Increase knowledge and skills of youth to use life skills and address HIV mitigation and sexual and reproductive health (SRH)
Hence, I will be co-facilitating in teaching LifeSkills at the school. This may also come from teaching SRH and life skills through a club outside the school.
Increase knowledge and skills of in school and out of school youth for livelihood preparedness for the workforce
Peace Corps would like us to create income generating projects for the youth. This is crucial in helping the youth have an entrepreneurial mindset. Due to the high unemployment rates, the hope is to empower the youth to become their own employers.
Increase youth’s civic engagement skills
This can come in different forms! It can be getting the youth engaged in clubs such as soccer or dance, volunteer work, or whatever it may be. The goal is for the youth to stay engaged in the community.
After hearing my role, the Indvuna and constituency members voiced having the youth learn business skills such as plumbing, sewing, and more. I know I cannot do this alone; thus, I encouraged them for their support and involvement. I was so encouraged when the Indvuna responded he could assist in finding volunteers who can help teach the youth on the business skills. I left the meeting super hopeful. While nothing concrete was set, it was exciting to know the community wants to support and be involved with their youth.
One organization I visited was the Neighborhood CarePoint (NCP). There are NCPs located throughout Eswatini, providing free meals to children who may not have meals back at home. Either their family is economically struggling or they are orphans. For some kids, this is their only meal (or second meal if received a free lunch from school) for the day. The NCP in my community operates Mon-Fri from 12pm-3pm. This is all voluntary work, from the food itself to the people serving it. The NCP receives about 250 kids per week. In addition to an NCP, the owner has a House of Kids with 24 orphans. He does not want to make it feel like an orphanage, hence, each room has 2 kids at maximum. He does a wonderful job in making the kids feel at home. He teaches them skills from house chores to farming, and running a business. I really appreciate how he equips these kids in preparation for independence/adulthood. There is a difference between charity work versus taking the time to teach people skills to become self-sufficient.**
Another community leader I met was the umgcugcuteli, the health motivator. She goes around to the different homesteads to check in on their health. She encourages younger kids who are not in school to attend the free primary education. She can also detect signs of abuse and will take the necessary measures to ensure the child’s safety. She reminds elders to go to the clinic for their checkups and to receive vaccinations. Additionally, she encourages those who are diabetic or with HIV to pick up their medications at the clinic. She does work with the World Food Program to help register names of those who experience food insecurity. She also goes to the schools to educate students and their parents on family planning, Moreover, she leads different sessions in the community such as navigating pregnancy for pregnant women, different health diseases, and more Truly, I am beyond amazed for all that she does. I know the youth have such a wonderful resource to utilize in navigating different aspects of their health.
This is only the beginning! I know I have more community members I have yet to meet. Most importantly, I need to build relationships. I can only be effective through gaining the trust of the people and the youth. Only through conversations can I meet people where they are and hear their needs/aspirations/dreams. I cannot do this on my own and I would need support. Moreover, the goal is mobilize the youth and create sustainability through teaching them skills and skills to be leaders! With my potential clubs, I would need people to be on board to attend. Only through sharing ideas, dreams, realities, struggles, can there be a connection and something to focus on.
* Disclaimer: Despite PC Volunteers being involved with community leaders and the chiefdom members, PC Volunteers are not allowed to engage politically. This includes political conversations!
** This topic reminds me of the United States foster care system. I remember in college researching about Youth Transitioning Out of Adulthood in my social work class. Here are two resources you can read in learning more about it! Without the proper support, these youths are at risk of homelessness, further exacerbation of existing mental health problems, lack of continued education, inaccessibility to health care, and more. Foster care youths are like any other youth who still need support and community as they enter adulthood/become independent.
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