A personal note from Perry Borman
After almost 15 years in the Health and Human Services field, I left to rejoin the private sector in early 2020 to help grow a small technology company founded by a friend and former co-worker. While I have enjoyed the change (and am still working with Webauthor), I came to realize that I had lost my connection to a broader mission and purpose which I previously enjoyed in roles with the Palm Beach County Food Bank and the Florida Dept. of Children and Families. Having been inspired by my Uncle Charlie who has twice served in the U.S. Peace Corps, I began to explore the possibilities.
Over a two month period in late 2023, I applied, interviewed and was invited to serve as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Botswana, Africa with a specific focus on community and economic development. In late February 2024, I arrived with 7 other Americans in the capital city of Gaborone. After an initial orientation period, we began our assimilation with a three-week training in Ramotswa, just south of Gaborone. We each stayed with a host family and I was lucky enough to be placed with the Direnyane family who gave me the name “Mohau,” which in Setswana means “grace of god” or “blessing.” Ke bidiwa Perry Borman. Kestwa kwa America. Ke moithaopi was Peace Corps. Mo Botswana, ke bidiwa Mohau.
Following the training, the group split up and I relocated to Thini, a small ward in the village of Tutume, located in the east-central part of the country. While the village has about 25,000 residents, Thini has about 3,000. I live in a small house on the Ndadi family compound. The family is comprised of Ma Polena Ndadi (the matriarch of the family), her niece Mamalu and her two sons, Ofentse and Gifte. Wakada, Mamalu’s daughter, lives with her father. In addition, Byssane (15) lives here and works for the family. For a very brief overview of Botswana, please click on the following link: Botswana.
Most wards within a village have a Kgotla (public meeting space where business is conducted), at least one Kgosi (a chief who is like the mayor) and a Village Development Committee (VDC) which helps to manage the business of the ward. My house is about a 200 yard walk to the Kgotla and VDC office.
In Tutume, I am working with the Thini VDC and am serving as a Project Manager and Facilitator for the expansion of the Community Early Learning Center. My counterparts in the Tutume Social and Community Development Department are Ms. Katlego Mosinyi and Oabaona Kgaswane. I also provide some coaching to a local non-profit organization and have taught some business administraton and digital literacy classes at a local technical trade school.
Tutume is a great village. Everyone here is gracious and welcoming. I have a one-speed bike (called a Hamba) and it is a 20-minute bike ride into the center of the village where I have access to 3 grocery stores, a local bank, and other shops.
Please join me in helping this deserving community. We have an incredible opportunity to enable 60 additional children attend an expanded version of a successful Early Learning Center…as well as help free up the time of 60 parents who can then look for employment.
At the end of October, 2024 I returned home to southeast Florida but have transitioned to virtual support within the Peace Corps and am still working with the Thini VDC. To see more about the partners we have for the Learning Center expansion, please see Partners.
