Welcome!

Welcome to 3^rd Goal!

My name is Claire Psarouthakis and I am a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Ramokgonami, Botswana. I wanted to introduce myself and the Peace Corps before I start telling you all about my village. I’m 23 years old and went to Michigan State University and got my degree in Comparative Cultures and Politics. I have wanted to go into the Peace Corps since I was about 10 years old, after my babysitter had a going away party when she left to serve in Peace Corps Namibia. I applied for the Corps half way through my senior year in college and at first received an invitation to go to South Africa. Unfortunately I had some medical issues and was taken out of the training group, but I didn’t give up! After getting things fixed up at the doctor’s I was given a second invitation to go to Botswana and left the US on April 12^th for Gaborone.

For the next two months myself, and 45 other Americans, trained in Kanye, learning about Batswana culture, tradition and language. We call ourselves Bots 12, because we are the 12^th training group to come to Botswana since the program was re-started in 2003. I lived with a host family (I have a host mother, brother and two sisters), went to class from 8:30am-4pm and spent my free time getting to know my fellow trainees and neighbors. After two months of training, I took an oath of office in front of Sir Ketumile Masire, a former president of Botswana and Michelle Gavin, the US Ambassador, and went from being a “trainee” to a volunteer. I moved to Ramokgonami on June 12^th and will end my service on June 12^th, 2014.

The United States Peace Corps was started in 1960 by President John F. Kennedy. Michigan has a special connection with Peace Corps because JFK announced his intention to start the program on the steps of the University of Michigan Union to a group of students sometime around 2am on October 14^th. Peace Corps functions under three principals: firstly, to meet the need for trained men and women on behalf of the host country; second, to create better understanding of Americans on the part of the host country. Finally, the third goal of Peace Corps is to create a better understanding of the host country on behalf of Americans. Somewhere around 250,000 American have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in around 139 different countries. 

There are lots of different jobs that volunteers can be assigned to, and when countries ask Peace Corps to start a program they often request certain types of volunteers. On a large scale Peace Corps is divided into 6 groups; medical, education, community building, agriculture, business and specialties, which are actually a cluster of programs that require specific degrees. These fields are subdivided into more specific job descriptions once you get in country. In the case of Botswana, there are only medical volunteers because those are the only types of volunteers that were wanted. Medical is divided into 4 different groups in Botswana: NGO Capacity Builders, who work with non-profit organizations, Life Skills, who work in schools, District AIDS Coordinator volunteers, who work in DAC offices across the country, and Community Capacity Builders, who work in clinics. This last group is what I work under.  

I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you and hearing any questions you may have for me and my fellow volunteers, and I’m also excited to be using this tool as a way for us to be sharing our experiences with people in the US. Botswana is a beautiful country with lots of really interesting animals, traditions, food and people. I’m hoping to be able to post a few lesson plans from myself and other volunteers every few weeks so that you all can access our adventures from both the classroom and at home. You can even write us mail by using the "author contact" page, and we will try and write you back.

Thanks for checking out the site and hope this finds you well.

Rata Thata,
Claire/Tlotlo