During her time in Kilolo, she lived in a mud brick house with a Tanzanian helper assigned to her. With no electricity or running water, she learned to cook over a coal fire and carry her own water in from more than a mile away. With most Kilolo residents growing vegetables on small plots of land, the typical diet was a corn flour porridge with vegetables or beans. Rice was available, although too expensive for the average family which lives on about 50 cents a day. The nearest volunteer to Batterman was located in a village 8 miles away, reachable only by walking or bicycling. Despite the rough conditions, Batterman enjoyed her time in Kilolo. When not working on her volunteer projects, she spent a lot of time walking around the village or sitting in the bread and tea shops. She said most local were eager to talk to her and learn about the United States. "One of my favorite things was how everyday socializing and seeing friends is so important to village life," Batterman said. Many times the little children at the village would hang out at Batterman's hut, and draw, play, learn English or even help with chores. One of her fondest memories is when she invited the entire village to a Christmas party. She spent the day cooking at the school and ended up getting 150 people to attend. "We were dancing and eating," Batterman said. One of Batterman's projects was talking to people about AIDS prevention. She said about 10 percent of the Tanzanian population was infected. "Most families knew someone who died of AIDS. There were a lot of orphans where one of parents had died of AIDS," Batterman said. The good news was that people were becoming more open about the problem of AIDS. A volunteer from six years ago told Batterman people were in denial, but when Batterman was in Tanzania people were admitting it was a problem and finding ways to change.
Mary Batterman spent 11 months in Tanzania as part a Peace Corps Volunteer - Although she could have stayed a little longer she felt she would be more effective doing fundraising efforts for Kilolo back at home
Beloit Peace Corps veteran still helping
By Hillary Gavan
hgavan@beloitdailynews.com
Published: Friday, November 6, 2009 3:00 PM CST
One Beloiter lived almost a year without running water or electricity.
Caption: Mary Batterman, a 2003 graduate of Beloit Memorial High School, spend 11 months in Tanzania as part of the Peace Corps. Now she is raising money for the Kilolo Village Fund. Photo provided
Mary Batterman, a 2003 graduate of Beloit Memorial High School and the daughter of Mark and Gillian Batterman, decided to join the Peace Corps after attending Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. An anthropology major who graduated from college in 2007, she had studied abroad in Thailand and wanted to do overseas development work.
Batterman left in June of 2008 for Tanzania to become a health education volunteer. After briefly living with a host family and undergoing two-and-a-half months of intense Swahili training, she moved to a remote village in the southern highlands called Kilolo. There, she worked with local village officials to implement community projects.
She helped to get a health center opened in the village, organized a youth AIDS committee, started a writing club at the primary school and helped with HIV/AIDS treatment and counseling.
During her time in Kilolo, she lived in a mud brick house with a Tanzanian helper assigned to her. With no electricity or running water, she learned to cook over a coal fire and carry her own water in from more than a mile away. With most Kilolo residents growing vegetables on small plots of land, the typical diet was a corn flour porridge with vegetables or beans. Rice was available, although too expensive for the average family which lives on about 50 cents a day.
The nearest volunteer to Batterman was located in a village 8 miles away, reachable only by walking or bicycling.
Despite the rough conditions, Batterman enjoyed her time in Kilolo. When not working on her volunteer projects, she spent a lot of time walking around the village or sitting in the bread and tea shops. She said most local were eager to talk to her and learn about the United States.
"One of my favorite things was how everyday socializing and seeing friends is so important to village life," Batterman said.
Many times the little children at the village would hang out at Batterman's hut, and draw, play, learn English or even help with chores. One of her fondest memories is when she invited the entire village to a Christmas party. She spent the day cooking at the school and ended up getting 150 people to attend.
"We were dancing and eating," Batterman said.
One of Batterman's projects was talking to people about AIDS prevention. She said about 10 percent of the Tanzanian population was infected.
"Most families knew someone who died of AIDS. There were a lot of orphans where one of parents had died of AIDS," Batterman said.
The good news was that people were becoming more open about the problem of AIDS. A volunteer from six years ago told Batterman people were in denial, but when Batterman was in Tanzania people were admitting it was a problem and finding ways to change.
Batterman stayed in Tanzania 11 months. Although she could have stayed a little longer she felt she would be more effective doing fundraising efforts for Kilolo back at home.
Batterman is now speaking to community groups about her experiences and collecting donations. The current project in the Kilolo Village fund is building a house at the health center for a nurse to live in.
"I figured if I came home and did fundraising I could be more beneficial to the community. I want to get more experience in the administrative end of how a non-profit works," Batterman said.
If people are interesting in donating or getting more information about Batterman's upcoming speaking engagements, they can e-mail her at kilolovillagefund@gmail.com. Batterman is still in e-mail communications with the doctor of the village who sends her photos and updates of the building project so she can make sure the funds are being managed properly.
Batterman hopes to look for a career in community development and work with a non-profit organization in Africa.
