Bop?

Today, we toured Old Naledi, a squatter settlement in Southern Gaborone. There are over 60,000 people living in about a 2 mile radius, with only ONE health clinic. The average number of people per household in this area is 5, with one latrine that is not cleaned regularly. The average size of a house, I’d say, is the size of an average kitchen. The dumpsters are constantly overflowing with garbage, and sewage flows through the village, downhill into the Gaborone dam, which provides water for much of the city. If this water remains un-purified, it is impossible to drink and live healthily. While the government has provided the building components for the infrastructure of the neighborhood, incredibly dangerous health concerns persist, and the community continues to become more densely populated.

It was pretty obvious to see how an area like this can contribute to the 25%(adult population) incidence rate of HIV in Botswana. For my proposal here, I am going to try and set up a study of strategic locations within Old Naledi to place Health clinics and HIV testing centers, while at the same time considering the cost of building facilities like this.

We woke up at 4:30 am on Saturday morning at the BerryBush lodge in the Kalahari desert, and drove 3 and a half hours in 35 degree weather in a safari truck with no windows and no doors to our game drive at the Transfronteir National Park. This is one of the only places where you can move freely between 2 countries ( South Africa and Botswana) without having to go through customs. You can actually drive easily through both countries without even noticing. You can also stand in 2 places at once i DID IT I DID. The desert was really awesome; I was surprised that there were so many shrubs and animals because of how arid it was. I saw! Springbock, Gasbock, Wildebeast, Secretary Birds, Land squirrels, Meerkats, and a really big bug. It was an awesome day.I am really syked, though, to see all the crazy wildlife next week in Northern Botswana by the Okavango River.

This morning we woke up and rode camels.