July 11, 2003 - Peace Corps Press Release: Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana meet President Bush

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By Admin1 (admin) on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 8:29 am: Edit Post

Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana meet President Bush





President Bush and a guide give the thumbs up as he and first lady Laura Bush with daughter Barbara, far right, start out on a tour of the Mokolodi Nature Reserve outside Gaborone, Botswana, Thursday, July 10, 2003. The reserve is a predator-free home to elephant orphans and endangered rhinos, as well as zebra, giraffes and hippos.


Read and comment on this Peace Corps Press Release that Peace Corps Volunteers met President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Barbara Bush at a game reserve about 15 kilometers south of Gaberone. President Bush greeted and thanked each of the Peace Corps Volunteers for their efforts, as he chatted his way around a semi-circle of eager Volunteers. “The President was warm and friendly and spent time talking with each of us,” said Volunteer Donna Stanislawski. “The President thanked all the Volunteers for their support and commitment to helping Botswana fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS.” Read the story at:

Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana Experience a Visit from the President*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana Experience a Visit from the President

“One of the main reasons I joined the Peace Corps was to experience things,” said Volunteer Kevin Collins. “But never in a million years did I expect to meet the President of the United States.” On Thursday, July 11, twelve Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana were given that opportunity. The Volunteers met President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Barbara Bush at a game reserve about 15 kilometers south of Gaberone.

Earlier in the day, when the President had met with President Mogae of Botswana, President Mogae recognized the Peace Corps for its work in his country. The President took full advantage of getting to know some of these workers up close. President Bush greeted and thanked each of the Peace Corps Volunteers for their efforts, as he chatted his way around a semi-circle of eager Volunteers. “The President was warm and friendly and spent time talking with each of us,” said Volunteer Donna Stanislawski. “The President thanked all the Volunteers for their support and commitment to helping Botswana fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS.”

But the talk wasn’t all serious. Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Talley, a 2001 graduate of Yale University, shared some laughs with the President. Talley reminded the President of his commencement address at their alma mater in which the President said, ‘You, too, can become the President of the United States…with a C average.’ “We laughed together in jest over the comment and he embraced the two of us who were on either side of him,” said Talley. Peace Corps Volunteer Sally Atland, a graduate of Austin College in Texas, had celebrated her birthday the day before. The President gave her a belated birthday hug and kiss on the cheek and wished her a happy birthday.

The Volunteers expressed sincere appreciation for the opportunity to meet the President. “It was a privilege and an honor,” said Stanislawski. Peace Corps Volunteer Key James explained, “I was genuinely pleased with the level of compassion (the President) held for Botswana in helping the country combat HIV/AIDS.” Others were more euphoric in their appreciation, “It will be an event I will never forget!” said Peace Corps cashier Gladys Nlondiwa.

Collins summed up the experience by saying, “We all felt incredibly fortunate to have met the President of the United States. Just a typical day in the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer, right? In a way, yes, because I have new and amazing experiences every day. Peace Corps is a great life.”
More Photos of President Bush in Botswana



President Bush with daughter Barbara at right, pats an elephant on the trunk during a tour of the Mokolodi Nature Reserve outside Gaborone, Botswana, Thursday, July 10, 2003. The reserve is a predator-free home to elephant orphans and endangered rhinos, well as zebra, giraffes and hippos.



President Bush dons a cap as he sets out on a tour of the Mokolodi Nature Reserve outside Gaborone, Botswana, Thursday, July 10, 2003. The reserve is a predator-free home to elephant orphans and endangered rhinos, well as zebra, giraffes and hippos.



President Bush and his guide point to animals in the distance during a tour of the Mokolodi Nature Reserve outside Gaborone, Botswana, Thursday, July 10, 2003, as first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Barbara join at right. The reserve is a predator-free home to elephant orphans and endangered rhinos, well as zebra, giraffes and hippos.



President George W. Bush walks up to African elephants as his daughter Barbara follows cautiously behind at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Gaborone, Botswana, July 10, 2003. Bush, daughter Barbara and first lady Laura Bush went on a safari at the park.



U.S. President George W. Bush shakes hands with schoolchildren upon his arrival at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Botswana, July 10, 2003. Bush met with Botswana President Festus Morae to discuss trade, the war on terrorism and the AIDS epidemic.



U.S. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush are escorted by Botswana's President Festus Mogae, left, and his wife Barbara, far right, as they watch tribal dancers during a welcome ceremony at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Botswana, Thursday, July 10, 2003. Later, in a luncheon meeting with business leaders, Bush plans to focus on trade cooperation as a path to fighting poverty while promoting democracy.



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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Presdient Bush; COS - Botswana

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By William T. Cote on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 11:08 pm: Edit Post

President bush may be interested to know that the culture of the Bushmen, or Kalahari Red People, as they prefer, is being wiped out by a misguided policy of the government of Botswana.

This policy appears to be good hearted and in essence suggests that "we are not the various tribes of Botswana, but instead all Botswana nationals". This policy works well for those in the dominant tribes, which comprise perhaps 90% of the population, but for the Bushmen, who are an underclass and severly segregated and at large abused by the local tribes, it represents a policy of non support direcly and for international donor agencies that wish to help the Bushmen retain their heritage and identity with pride.

The initiatives of these agencies is typically, these days, NOT interested in preserving the culture to the extent that the people live in a traditional poverty for the benefit of overweight, ignorant tourist photo-ops. They are focused on carrying the best of a heritage forward with dignity. There are aspects of this culture, as from all indigenous peoples, that need to be understood and retained for the betterment of our race of Mankind.

An example I found for this "golden thread" from the heritage of the Bushmen is their understanding of traditional medicine to be derived from the plants and animals of their region.

Since their languages are largely uncodified, with the only exception that I am aware being the Bushmen around Ghanzi in Western Botswana, where missionaries have taken on this task, the traditions are lost as generation passes. Children are not taught the language of their heritage, or the medicines or the thought and beliefs that we might consider a religion, which have evolved over several thousand years and passed by word of mouth, in stories and in song. These are great losses indeed to our race of mankind. But it is not self interest for our world community that I write.

The solution is to allow pride in heritage and self, and to support the Bushmen as a national treasure. Fund and host workshops to share culture and create discussions. Not wood carving and basketry. These are curiosities of The West that have become a sustainance of these people, but have nothing to do with their heritage as migratory clans. Take a look at the best of what has been provided for indigenous peoples of the US and elsewhere in the world and cherry pick the best of. Do not prohibit them from expressing their identity and heritage with pride.

I lived with the Bushmen in the eastern Kalahari for 26 months and witnessed for example boiled roots that cured dysentery in young goats in a couple days. They are an amazing people who now will not teach their language to their children for fear that the child will be mocked. Culture is lost without the language. Thousands of years of pride and peace will be lost within the next 20 years unless we are able to open the hearts and minds of the elderly and create a faith that their children have not a right, but a responsibility to carry forward an understanding very different from the locally dominant Bantu tribes and that of the West and Northern hemisphere. It is indeed their responsibility to learn so that they may teach and share and be supported in these efforts by a government policy that acknowledges their value as a people and together creates a possibility of creating value for them within this understanding.

Bill Cote
Botswana 91-93
508.485.8310

By Anonymous (81.199.17.19) on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 1:05 am: Edit Post

Hullo there,
hope you guys are having a nice time volunteering with the truobled people.I am tonny all the way from kampala(u) in east africa and i love giving such services and thats what i want to dedicate all my future doing.
Could you please help me fulfil this dream because i really want to volunteer with you guy and i think a reply is honest.


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