Hello everyone!
With my departure date in a couple of days, I don’t know where to start with my final blog post! How can you summarize such an incredible experience in just one page?
November brought so many incredible experiences with work and our days offs. During work we have been contacting the National Sport Federations to gather their input on the Botswana Long-Term Athlete Development (BLTAD) Project. It was surprising to hear that some were unaware of the frameworks, but it was also amazing to hear that they all want to participate and help move sport in Botswana forward. As our project differed slightly from the projects before us, I believe we have set up a solid foundation for future SportWORKS officers to smoothly transition into this role and make progress with the National Federations.
Watching the President of the BNOC in a press conference about Tokyo 2020
We also had the opportunity to meet with a special advisor from Global Affairs Canada who is currently located in Zimbabwe. While meeting with him we told him all about our work here in Gaborone and he was thrilled with the progress we have made so far. It was also very interesting to learn more about his role representing Canada and his life in Zimbabwe.
I still can not believe how fast these last 3 months have gone by. I have met so many incredible people and made so many life long friends. Professionally, this experience provided me with the skills to work with people in all levels of an organization such as volunteers, committee members and CEO’s. These skills will stick with me forever and will assist me with my career after graduation!
One of the many amazing sunsets in Gaborone
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this program and community. Receiving this scholarship and becoming a SportWORKS officer has truly changed my life. Thank you SportWORKS, Mount Royal University, the Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program, Commonwealth Games Canada and the Botswana National Olympic Committee for providing me with this experience and support throughout this journey.
Me and Lindsay with our friend Stephen at the Gaborone Dam
The experiences from these 3 months have helped shaped who I am and I will always remember my time here. I believe you could say over the last 3 months we all “made and difference and became different”!
Cheers,
Adriane