University of Botswana
On Tuesday afternoon, we drove
about five hours northeast to Botswana. Once you leave the
sprawling city of Johannesburg, the roads are mainly two lane
(paved), surrounded by low brush and dusty terrain. On our
journey, we saw three baboons crossing the road and a small
gazelle hidden in the brush. Crossing the border into Botswana is
a complicated process! First, we stopped at a low brown building
on the South African side to declare our intentions and fill out
the required paperwork. Then we got out of the car again on the
Botswana side to show our passports and go through another couple
of required steps, including dipping our shoes in a murky
solution to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease. I’m
always so grateful for my colleague Max who can seamlessly
transition to the local languages in both countries.
Our hosts at the University of Botswana (UB) were equally gracious. We started our day with a brief meeting with Vice Chancellor George Ekosse and his Executive Assistant Dr. Emmanuel Moswela. Vice Chancellor Ekosse noted how impressed he is with UC Davis and mentioned that he knows our Dean of Letters and Sciences Estella Atekwana! We also had the opportunity to meet with Deans and Directors from the Counseling, Career Development and Disability Services programs to discuss opportunities and current barriers for students with disabilities. Later in the day we continued our conversations, joined by representatives from several local Non-Governmental Organizations (equivalent to private nonprofit agencies in the US) who support individuals with disabilities and two UB students who are vocal advocates and members of the “Disability Awareness” Club on campus.
