Boulder Student Team Works to Eradicate Malaria in Botswana

Boulder Student Team Works to Eradicate Malaria in Botswana

In August 2008 I traveled to Botswana as part of a student lead malaria eradication plan with my fellow Alexander Dawson students; Anika Levinson, Kirsten Baker, Marci Angeles, and Kate Morris. Together we had raised money in Boulder to buy mosquito nets to distribute in Lesome Village, Botswana. We were under the watchful leadership of our teacher Mr. Bill Meyers and our Botswana host Mr. Tommy Hamaluba. This trip was one of the most enlightening experiences of my life, working alongside students from the Botswana Gaborone Secondary School (GSS). I now realize that it is amazing how a noble cause like eradicating malaria can bring people together by overcoming the barriers of language and culture.

Botswana was different than I imagined it. I was surprised, but not shocked to see that Botswana is more technologically advanced, but less urban than the picture I had formed in my mind. The first day at GSS, I was nervous to meet people, and to see what it was like to go to school in Botswana. But everybody was so nice and welcoming, that I soon felt right at home.

The next few days were very busy. To start, we held a Malaria workshop at GSS. In it we were educated further about the science of Malaria, mosquito nets, and how to interact with the families in Lesoma Village, by Dr. Mary Galinski, president of the Malaria Foundation and professor at Emory University. Next, we paid a visit to Rasura English Medium School to give school supplies, toys, sports equipment, etc. They were extremely grateful, and even included us in their end of the year ceremonies to present them with the donations. After that we drove a few minutes up the road to a rehabilitation clinic for disabled kids. We were there to hand out small gifts and toys to the kids there.

For our trip to the Malaria sticken areas, we woke up at 4:30 AM on Wednesday, August 4th to get to GSS, pile on the bus, and start driving so we could get up to Lesoma Village in one day. The trip was about 500 miles by bus on potholed roads the likes of which I have never seen. On the way we stopped at multiple rest stops including Francistown, and saw Giraffes, and even Elephants. After hours of traveling, we finally reached our camp. It consisted of about 20 different tents and cottages in which we slept—pretty nice when compared to some of the places I’ve stayed before in tents. The next day was the start of the Malaria Campaign. First, we went to the village khotla, a traditional gathering held by the head of the village. That was lengthy, but exceptionally interesting. After that, we walked around door to door in groups of 3 or 4 to distribute the nets. My group included: Patience, Omphile, and Solomon. They were all very productive, and our distribution went very well! It felt so great to be helping the people of Lesoma Village fight Malaria, and help prevent it from destroying families. I just wish we could have given more than one net to large families that needed them. After going door to door, we were treated to a fun and exciting boat cruise down the Chobe River. On the cruise we saw Hippos, Kudu, Crocodiles, wild Buffaloe, and lots and lots of Elephants.

Another fun thing we did was to go up to Zambia. We crossed the river on a barge, and got a ride up to Livingston. After a little bit of shopping, we went to the real attraction: Victoria Falls. They were spectacular, to say the least. There is just something grand about thousands of gallons of water, cascading of the edge off a fissure, plummeting hundreds of feet to smash into the earth below. Everybody was equally captivated by this feat of nature. We stayed there as long as our schedule would allow, and caught the last ferry back to Botswana.

The rest of that week was laid back, and there were no further malaria events to attend to. It was on one of these days that my new friend Solomon David showed me around Gaborone. We went to the main mall, the museum, ate pizza, and went to an internet café. I had lots of fun. It was so nice of Solomon to do this, and it was a relaxing, yet productive last day in Botswana.

I was sad to leave—I know we all were, but it was time to get back home. The morning was spent readying my backpack and suitcase for the long trip ahead. We got lunch and then drove to the airport. After saying our goodbyes, we stepped through the security barrier, into the gate, and eventually onto the airplane. After we took off, I got a chance to reflect on the trip; about what a truly incredible experience it had been, and how I learned so much about Africa and her people. But the most important part is the human lives our efforts will save.

-Buck Thompson, buckt1@comcast.net
8th Grade, Alexander Dawson School,
Lafayette, Colorado
Sep 7, 2008