Peace Corps South Africa

Bridge to Pre-Service Training

Welcome and Introduction
Greetings from Peace Corps South Africa! We are pleased that you have accepted the invitation to join our program, and we are looking forward to your arrival. South Africa is a country going through an enormous transition. It is a First World-Third World country. The government and private sector have created a robust, First World economy. However large segments of the population still live in a Third World economy. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you will be addressing the needs of those still living in a Third World society, threatened by AIDS and enrolled in an educational system that still does not adequately meet the needs of learners. There are well-endowed NGOs involved in HIV/AIDS relief and other NGOs, FBOs, and CBOs, mostly in underserved rural areas, which are struggling to meet the needs for community outreach education and assistance.

Arrival in South Africa

Luggage Tags
Please use the following address for your luggage tags: Peace Corps/South Africa 126 Verdoorn Street Sunnyside, South Africa

Emergency Contact Info

In South Africa Peace Corps Office, Pretoria Peace Corps General Duty Phone Country Director In Washington, DC Peace Corps Duty Officer South Africa Country Desk SATO Travel +27-12-344-4255 +27-79-111-5810 +27-79-111-8356 (202) 692-1470 (800) 424-8580 ext. 2331/2332 or (202) 6922331/2332 (800) 424-8580 ext. 1170 (800) 827-7777

SATO (after 5pm EST)

Suggested Dress upon Arrival

You should arrive dressed appropriately. Men should wear shirts with a collar. Women should wear a dress, skirt, or loose-fitting slacks (no short dresses or skirts) and blouses. Blue jeans and T-shirts are not considered appropriate dress for either men or women during professional engagements. When you arrive, South Africa will be in its winter season, so expect Cold mornings and evenings with Mild days. With the unseasonable rain, bringing an umbrella and/or rain jacket with you would be a good idea. The following Peace Corps/South Africa staff will meet you upon arrival: Country Director: Programming and Training Director: Training Manager: Associate Peace Corps Directors: and McGrath Jean Thomas Lisa M. Jordan Victor Baker Morgan Mthembu Lydia Webber Nthabiseng Dulungana

Your First Days

Accommodation
Upon arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, you will be driven for approximately 2hrs hours to Mankwe FET Campus, Rustenburg in the North West Province. You will stay in a dormitory, which is basic by U.S. standards, and spend 4days or so at a center being oriented to Peace Corps and South Africa. Thereafter you will be welcomed into the home of a South African family who will be your host until 8 September 2011.

Communication
Within the first day or two, you will be given Telkom public telephone cards to notify your family and friends of your safe arrival. However, you will not have cell phones or access to the Internet during most of the first phase of Pre-Service Training, which ends on 8 September 2011. The purpose of training is help you become immersed, without outside distractions, in learning a new language and living in a new culture. Training staff have cell phones and make regular contact with the Peace Corps office in the capital city, Pretoria, which is about 1hour from Makapanstad (village were PST will be taking place). Please ask your family and friends to send letters to you at the following address:

Your Name Peace Corps PO Box 9536 Pretoria 0001 South Africa

**Please use the above address and not the address provided in your Welcome Book.

Money Exchange
During PST, Peace Corps/South Africa (PC/SA) will provide you with a modest walkaround allowance on a bi-weekly basis. Currently the walk-around allowance is about 100 Rand (~$15) per week. This allowance is enough for soft drinks, candy bars, soap, and other small items. PC/SA will provide food to your host family for you during PST. Peace Corps discourages trainees from keeping large sums of money. If you wish to exchange US dollars for use in training, we prefer you do so prior to departure from the U.S. Exchanging money at the airport in Johannesburg is not an option because the group will need to transfer directly to awaiting buses to take you to the PST site. You may not have access to a bank with exchange facilities during the entire course of your stay at the PST site.

Personal Items
It is advisable to insure your personal items. Peace Corps will not reimburse you for personal affects that are stolen, lost, or damaged. Your personal items are strictly your responsibility. At staging you will be given information about insurers that are commonly used by Volunteers. If you are not prepared to insure or lose something special or expensive, please do not bring it with you.

Agenda
Your initial orientation is designed to provide you with an overview of Peace Corps, South Africa and your training program. Medical and programming staff will be available for individual consultations. The schedule of your first days is as follows: Friday, July.8 Arrival in Johannesburg Drive to Mankwe FET College Get a good nights sleep youll be tired! Peace Corps Staff Introductions Introduction to Language and Cross Culture Greetings in Setswana One-on-one interviews with Programming Staff & CD Welcome by Country Director Overview of PST Week One Medical Session 1 & Injections Administrative Matters (e.g. ID photos, walk-around allowances, collection of passports) One-on-one interviews with Programming Staff & CD Language: Greetings Education Project overview Appropriate Social Behavior

Saturday, July. 9

Sunday, July. 10

Monday, July. 11

One-on-one interviews with Programming Staff & CD Tuesday, July. 12 One-on-one interviews with Programming Staff Greetings in Setswana Crime in SA, PST EAP, Urban and Rural Safety Food, Water Safety, Diarrhea One-on-one interviews with Programming Staff & CD

Wednesday, July. 13

Depart to Homestay Families Handover to Hostfamilies

Training Site

Pre-Service Training

You will begin your training at Moretele office Park. Language training will be conducted in small groups of 3-4 individuals, and programming staff will meet with you individually to better understand your desires, abilities, and possible fit with available assignments that they have developed. Medical staff also will meet with you individually to review your health background and to give injections as needed. You will convene in large group sessions for administrative, health, safety/security, and crosscultural topics.

Living Arrangements
After initial orientation at Mankwe college, you will live with a South African host family in homestay villages. Families have been carefully selected and oriented to hosting Americans and should be seen as a cross-cultural resource. Many Volunteers develop friendships with homestay families that continue long after moving to their permanent sites. Homestay placements take into consideration family structure and the familys preference for the gender of the trainee. Married couples will be placed together with the same homestay families. All meals and day-to-day living activities (e.g., cleaning, bathing, washing clothes, etc.) will take place at your homestay. You are expected to become an integral part of your South African family, including joining them for your meals. The staple food is maize (corn meal), prepared as a thick porridge called pap and eaten with vegetables or a sauce. Fruits and vegetables are seasonally available. You will learn to enjoy the staple foods of South Africa. South African Language/Cross-Cultural Facilitators (LCFs) also will be living with host families near you in the homestay villages. They will assist you with learning the language and help you with cross-cultural adaptation.

Vegetarians

Although South Africa is a meat eaters haven, vegetarians are able to eat well after becoming familiar with local food items and their preparation. Being a vegetarian in South Africa will take a lot of adjusting, as most South Africans do not understand vegetarianism; however, a sensitive explanation of your preferences will be accepted. You should talk with your host family about your dietary needs and preferences.

Basic Methodology of PST

PC/SA uses a Community Based Training (CBT) model, which almost immediately immerses you in the culture of the village. Most activities take place in the community. This type of immersion has been found to be successful in preparing future Volunteers for the realities of service and accelerates language acquisition, hastens cultural adaptation, and provides invaluable skills for successful entry at their future permanent sites. Training is real-life based. This means that you will be engaged in hands-on, experiential activities in the community. PST is also based on the principles of adult learning, which means that training is largely designed to have individuals take responsibility for their own learning.

Overview of Training Components

Pre-Service Training is divided into three phases: Phase 1 Community-based training from July 8 - September 8, 2011. Phase 2 The first three months at your permanent site. You will be given assignments that will help you explore your community and assess technical aspects of your work. Phase 3 In December 2011, you will be brought together again for 1 week to review what you have learned and to engage in additional training. The sessions and activities throughout the initial PST program consist of five major components: Language, Technical, Cross-Cultural, Health, and Safety & Security all within an integrated approach to working and living in South Africa. Four languages will be taught: Setswana, Sepedi, TshiVenda and XiTsonga. You will learn the language of the area in which you will serve as a Volunteer. Every effort is made to place you in a host family that speaks the language you will be learning, although this is not always possible. In addition to language and cross-culture training, our medical and safety/security staff will provide training on how to maintain a healthy and safe lifestyle. Technical training will begin during Phase 1, but technical learning will be enhanced by completing assignments provided by staff and by engaging in self-directed learning during Phase 2. Through the three-phase PST process, you will develop the necessary skills to work in your organization and contribute to your community.

Sample Days Schedule During Phase 1

Below is an illustrative community-based training day. The days, of course, vary. For example, there may be days fully dedicated to technical sessions, although every effort is made to include some language every day. Time
7:00 - 7:55 7:55 - 8:00 8:00 - 10:00 10:00-10:30 10:45 -13:00 13:00 - 13:30 13:30 - 15:00 15:00 - 17:00 17:00 - 19:00

Education
Breakfast with host family Walk to the LCFs host family house or a public venue Language Tea break Community walk to identify community landmark and depict community resources Break for lunch under a tree somewhere in the community. Regroup to complete your AssetBased Community Map Language Review or Self Directed Learning Return to host family home for Dinner

Comments
Each LCF is assigned to 3-6 trainees and lives near his/her trainees.

In some instances you will pack a lunch rather than return to the house of your host family

Language or cultural observation homework usually is assigned by LCFs

Saturdays activities usually involve doing household duties with your homestay family and participating in family or community celebrations and social activities. Saturdays also are used to attend to personal needs (e.g., washing clothes, writing letters home). However, language training community-based activities will be scheduled on Saturday mornings.

Learning Assessment
Language homework and daily sessions provide you and your LCF a way to gauge how well you are progressing in learning the local language. All trainees must take an oral language proficiency exam towards the end of Phase 1. Those who do not reach the level of Intermediate Low will be required to engage a tutor at their permanent sites at Peace Corps expense and will be re-tested during Phase 3 of PST in December 2011. PST comprises of structured self-assessments and staff feedback. The process allows for two-way decision-making about the extent to which Peace Corps service appears to be right for you. On a daily basis you will be engaged with fellow trainees in processing what you are learning and feeling. This helps training staff ascertain how the group in general and individuals in particular are adjusting to life in South Africa. Sometimes before engaging in an activity, the planned experience is previewed and observer guidelines are provided to help your learning. However, in community-based training social events simply happen (e.g. there is a wedding, a funeral, a sports event, a civic event) and then you, fellow trainees, and training staff process what you have experienced and learned.

You will be encouraged to maintain a personal journal, which often becomes the basis for starting scheduled progress reviews with training staff. Programming staff members, who are responsible for developing assignments for Volunteers, will interview you at scheduled intervals during the first eight weeks of PST. Several Volunteers currently serving in South Africa will be invited to participate in formal sessions and, more frequently, simply to interact with you on an informal basis. Many trainees find this interaction helpful in re-examining their motivation and commitment to living and working in South Africa for two years. Towards the end of Phase 1 of PST, the training and programming staff will make a final recommendation to the Country Director as to which trainees should be sworn-in as Volunteers. After the successful completion of Phase 1 of PST, trainees will officially become Volunteers at the swearing-in ceremony on September 8, 2011.

A Final Word
Please dont forget to bring the following with you: a sense of humor, including the ability to laugh at yourself; a willingness to explore, evaluate, adapt, and possibly be transformed by two years of living and working in a different culture; a very large measure of patience, which may be needed to temper possible frustration with your progress in language learning and adjusting to and to help you live in a culture that adheres to time less strictly than do Americans; and a desire to make a contribution towards the transformation of South Africa, recognizing that you may realize this only one person at a time.

Peace Corps South Africa staff and Volunteers are eagerly awaiting your arrival.

Welcome!