Here Goes Nothing

FAQs about Africa

Where are you going?
Botswana - Gaborone, its capital, to be exact. If you look at a map of Africa, it is just north of South Africa, between Namibia and Mozambique.

What are you doing?
Not really sure. I will be working full-time for an HIV/AIDS hospice called Holy Cross. So far, I have heard about three potential responsibilities: one, playing with kids who have lost parents to AIDS; two, helping fundraise for a palliative (end of life) care clinic; and three, managing an income-generation project for HIV-positive women.

Who runs the hospice?
As far as I can tell, the Anglican church does, with some help from mostly European money.

When do you leave?
Sometime Saturday.

Where do you fly through?
Shreveport, Houston, Paris, Johannesburg, Gaborone; Gaborone, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Memphis, Shreveport.

Holy cow, how long does that take?
About 36 hours. I don't want to talk about it.

Is it dangerous?
Nah. Botswana has a bunch of diamonds, so they have pretty good infrastructure, in addition to a stable democratic government - one of the few in Africa.

So you're not really roughing it, then?
Nope. In fact, I get to travel and play with kids all day, then talk with people back in the States and ask them to give their money away to a good cause. Not a bad deal.

When do you get back?
Early December.

What are you doing then?
(shoulder shrug).