I can’t believe how quickly the Race is coming up—I’ll be leaving for training in a month and a week, and in about 90 days for Africa. Whew! I know I’ve been lacking with updates for all of you, and I’m in the process of contacting the people who have supported me personally so that I can find ways to include you better in this process. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you, and how encouraging you all are to me—whether you’ve blessed me with your supportive words, your time, your advice, your finances, or even just your increased interest and awareness about the causes that I’ll be working towards next year. In a financial update, God has provided me with about $7,000 in funding, so I’m almost halfway funded (not including the extra money I can raise towards my gear purchases). Seriously, if you have donated thank you so much, and if you haven’t and would like to, you can simply click the “Support Me!” link on the side of this page, or email me if you’d like to help me purchase any gear.
I also wanted to introduce the countries I’ll be visiting and working in next year. The first month (September) is split up between two countries—Zimbabwe and Botswana. Most months I’ll just be going to one country, but this month is unique in that I’ll either be going to both countries, or one or the other depending on need. The other cool thing about this month is that I’ve searched through the race alumni records, and it doesn’t look like racers have served in these countries in previous missions. I’m excited to build new relationships with the people of these countries so that racers can continue to serve there for years to come.
Well, without further ado—here’s Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Victoria Falls is located at the northwest border of the country, along the Zambezi river. There are mountainous regions along the eastern border as well. With the variety of climate zones, the country boasts a large variety of animals and plant species.
There is much political unrest here under the Mugabe regime, particularly towards human rights NGOs. Since 2000, the regime has drastically redistributed the country’s land, and put in many “national service” camps that are suspected to be centers of political indoctrination. In recent years, the economy has been destroyed, inflation has shot up, informal homes and businesses have been destroyed, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine, together with the disappearance of the professional class and the emergence of mass unemployment. Life has grown miserable for Zimbabweans of all colors, and they have been leaving the country in large numbers. The prospects of change seem remote at present, and speaking against the government (especially if you’re a foreigner) is considered highly disrespectful. In addition, the Marange diamond fields have been reported to produce "blood diamonds," and the country has also suffered from hyperinflation, and has one of the lowest life expectancies.
They are in some serious need of love. We will be paving new paths in this beautiful country, and I’m so pumped to meet and talk to its people.
Here are some alumni posts from blogs that talk about squads previously in Zimbabwe (one is about bungee jumping Victoria Falls, which I would be SO down to do).
"Zimbabwe Collapses" – 07/2007
"5-4-3-2-1 BUNGEE!!" – 01/2011 (written by my awesome mobilizer, Micah Higgins btw)
Botswana
Botswana is also a landlocked country in southern Africa, and 70% of the country is covered by the Kalahari Desert. In addition to the desert, there are grasslands and savannas, along with the Okavango Delta in the northwest (the world’s largest inland delta), and includes part of the Limpopo River Basin, which is the major landform of southern Africa. The country’s rich landscape allows for incredibly diverse wildlife—Botswana has the highest concentration of African elephants in the world.
The country does suffer from drought and desertification, mainly due to overgrazing the land, but economically the people are better off than most in Africa. Since independence, the country has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. This is because of the booming tourism industry (there are a ton of safari and game watching/hunting expeditions offered here), and also because of diamond mining. Diamond mining accounts for 70% of Botswana’s export earnings and about one-third of its total GDP. The government has an impressive economic record—its fiscally responsibly policies and budgeting has transformed Botswana from one of the poorest countries in the world to having a standard of living comparable to that of Mexico and Turkey. In addition, according to Transparency International, Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa.
The government has also made a considerable effort to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country, as they have recognized the social and economic impact that the virus has. Botswana has the second-highest infection rate after Swaziland, which means that approximately one in six Batswana has HIV/AIDs and that there have been many children left orphaned as a result. The government has partnered with many outside relief organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and as of the 2011 UNAIDS Report the country has achieved “universal access” to treatment (so 80% coverage or greater).
Faith-wise, 70% of the Batswana describe themselves as Christian, but this is mainly nominal as there is a lot of drunkenness and illegitimate children there (it doesn’t sound much different from America in this regard). I think it will be really cool to interact with these people, and experience their culture as it has clearly been influenced by the West. It will also be interesting to see our reception, as a Christian mission program, in an area that’s mostly Christian to start. Will they be receptive to us? Or will they think we’re judging them? I guess we’ll have to see! I’m sure we’ll be fine—the country looks incredibly safe for international travelers—but regardless, prayers would be much appreciated :).
Have any of you heard anything about either of these countries? If you have anything to add, please post it in the comments section below!
Okay, LOVE YOU ALL! And next up, I’ll be looking at South Africa! So cool. I’m so excited.
