On July 31st our Teen Club covered grief and bereavement for the younger teens. We had 80 teens split into 10 groups. After asking them to act out a few feelings as a pictionary type game we moved on to the main activity. Drawing picture boards of the saddest thing that had happened to them. We began by drawing the time when they were last happy before and after the event. Then the worst part of the event and then they filled in the boxes in the middle to tell the rest of the story. More than half of them drew stories of a parent, aunt, or someone close to them who had died. One girl drew about her brother committing suicide which had happened only a few weeks before. She became very emotional, luckily we had counselors on hand and we were able to refer her to the psychologist to be seen the following Monday. Many drew about car accidents or other accidents. It was a very intense activity. I think for many it was one of the few opportunities they have to be open and honest about their feelings as Botswana culture is very private when it comes to emotions. Children are encouraged to keep quiet and not really encouraged to share how they are feeling. In the end a teen leader summarized the activity by saying "we all have challenges and each one makes us stronger."
That afternoon, I went to my first Botswana wedding (one of the nurses at our clinic married his finance who has just returned from getting her MBA in the UK). At Botswana weddings, the entire village is invited, as well as family and friends who live elsewhere. Botswana weddings last all day and people come and go throughout the event. The actual marriage often takes place earlier in the day with just the couple and the family, so everyone else only comes for the party.
For the first few hours people ate and talked, we missed a lot of that thanks to teen club. Then the couple and bridal party began to dance for everyone. They had choreographed dances and all the guests stood around and watched.
The couple changed outfits at least 4 times. From the white dress to the suit to a traditional blue outfit and finally Indian style saris. Apparently all couples change clothes, but the number and type of outfits are dependent on the couple's preferences.
There was also a hired group of traditional dancers
And of course there was plenty of shake shake (the traditional sorghum and maize beer brewed locally).
Plenty of cute children were present
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