Thursday 1st March
I went to my first ever WI meeting. I was not sure what to expect but I really didn't expect sausage rolls, cut sandwiches and chocolate cake out by the pool in the shaded summer house. There were about 16 women there, all white but from different countries: Australia, Zambia, Russia, Botswana but the most prevalent was British. There were no South African women. Although they make up the biggest number of white women here in the town, apparently Afrikaners don’t mix much with others. There were about two women under 40. By far the biggest group was over 60. The women seemed to fall into two categories: those who follow their husbands cos of mine work and those that follow them for short term contracts.
I have only met two women who came here as part of their own careers. One was a single woman and the other was one of George’s colleagues. Her husband follows her round different African countries very unusual apparently and some of the women commented on it to me asking if I knew anything more. I didn’t. In the WI, very few women work but most do a lot of voluntary stuff. Mainly fundraising rather than direct contact with groups. Those wives that do work set up their own businesses. There is scope for that here but it needs the entrepreneur spirit and I just don’t have that so I don’t think I will be doing that. It is hard to get jobs here if you are white. Botswana has a policy of employing citizens before expats. Quite rightly I’d say. Expats tend to move on, especially women when their husbands do, and organizations don’t want someone to start a job do it for a while build up experience and then move on. It leaves them with a big hole to fill.
We had a guest speaker who has started a project in a nearby village. He used to be a banker but got fed up making mega bucks and now wants to help the villagers create employment (high unemployment here among rural and uneducated people). He talked and then there were questions. It was all very churchy if you know what I mean. The evening was fun. Well ok not fun but really different. I didn't do much except listen (honest I hardly talked at all) cos really I didn't understand a lot about the people or places or things they were talking about. They were mainly discussing who they would give their money to and what they were doing to raise more. (St Patrick’s dinner was going to be the next one. I volunteered to find out about Irish puddings cos none of us knew what was traditionally Irish and I have Access to internet.)
I went away with a bag of wool to knit squares (they make them up for cot blankets for the hospital) and have agreed to help on a committee! What am I like? Looks like I am just falling into the place and decisions about whether to stay or go homeare melting away. I just can't help but get involved. I don't like sitting on the side lines. They have a library every Saturday and I have joined that too cos run out of books to read. To buy them here is horrendously expensive. About twice the cost of back home. When I started the knitting I remembered how to cast on and how to knit but for the life of me couldn’t remember how to cast off. Internet to the rescue and got 6 squares already. I am off to the school for the deaf children this pm to hand out clothes. Never really saw myself as a do gooder. New image! Tell you about that another time.
I went to my first ever WI meeting. I was not sure what to expect but I really didn't expect sausage rolls, cut sandwiches and chocolate cake out by the pool in the shaded summer house. There were about 16 women there, all white but from different countries: Australia, Zambia, Russia, Botswana but the most prevalent was British. There were no South African women. Although they make up the biggest number of white women here in the town, apparently Afrikaners don’t mix much with others. There were about two women under 40. By far the biggest group was over 60. The women seemed to fall into two categories: those who follow their husbands cos of mine work and those that follow them for short term contracts.
I have only met two women who came here as part of their own careers. One was a single woman and the other was one of George’s colleagues. Her husband follows her round different African countries very unusual apparently and some of the women commented on it to me asking if I knew anything more. I didn’t. In the WI, very few women work but most do a lot of voluntary stuff. Mainly fundraising rather than direct contact with groups. Those wives that do work set up their own businesses. There is scope for that here but it needs the entrepreneur spirit and I just don’t have that so I don’t think I will be doing that. It is hard to get jobs here if you are white. Botswana has a policy of employing citizens before expats. Quite rightly I’d say. Expats tend to move on, especially women when their husbands do, and organizations don’t want someone to start a job do it for a while build up experience and then move on. It leaves them with a big hole to fill.
We had a guest speaker who has started a project in a nearby village. He used to be a banker but got fed up making mega bucks and now wants to help the villagers create employment (high unemployment here among rural and uneducated people). He talked and then there were questions. It was all very churchy if you know what I mean. The evening was fun. Well ok not fun but really different. I didn't do much except listen (honest I hardly talked at all) cos really I didn't understand a lot about the people or places or things they were talking about. They were mainly discussing who they would give their money to and what they were doing to raise more. (St Patrick’s dinner was going to be the next one. I volunteered to find out about Irish puddings cos none of us knew what was traditionally Irish and I have Access to internet.)
I went away with a bag of wool to knit squares (they make them up for cot blankets for the hospital) and have agreed to help on a committee! What am I like? Looks like I am just falling into the place and decisions about whether to stay or go homeare melting away. I just can't help but get involved. I don't like sitting on the side lines. They have a library every Saturday and I have joined that too cos run out of books to read. To buy them here is horrendously expensive. About twice the cost of back home. When I started the knitting I remembered how to cast on and how to knit but for the life of me couldn’t remember how to cast off. Internet to the rescue and got 6 squares already. I am off to the school for the deaf children this pm to hand out clothes. Never really saw myself as a do gooder. New image! Tell you about that another time.
posted by George Herd at 8:10 PM
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