Written by: Jordan Krauchek and Cliff Miyaji, Canadian SportWORKS Officers, Botswana
We can’t believe it’s time to write our final blog post, and our 
time in Gaborone is almost over. Our 3-month practicum here in Gaborone felt ephemeral.
This last month we finalized our LTAD framework, implementation plan, summary and recommendation documents. On November 18th, we completed our final presentation in front of the BNOC and BoBA executives. When we first started our practicum, we felt overwhelmed. There was a lot of pressure on us as both organizations wanted to use the framework for LA 2028. Now that we have reached the end, we feel confident and proud of our work and hope BoBA will use our LTAD for future planning and programming.
We want to thank BoBA and BNOC for giving us this opportunity to work for such an established international sporting body. They welcomed us into their offices and gave us a chance of a lifetime.
Jordan personal message:
This international experience has opened my eyes a lot. It taught me what it’s like to live alone. It showed me how ready I am for the real world, except I wasn’t prepared. At the start of the practicum, I was stressed from not knowing where things were, how to get to the office, the culture shock and the language barrier we faced at times in the store or the taxi rides. It was a lot all at once. I freaked out about the framework and how to develop it and wondered if it was the right approach. Through research and talking with BoBA, I figured it out. I created a sense of belonging and confidence. Going to work felt like a regular thing; it wasn’t as stressful as it once was; I got used to the culture and felt normal here.
Over this 3 month practicum, I learned a lot about myself. I learned how to be self-sufficient and have to rely on personal responsibility. You’ll have a rough time without the strength to do these things. This experience helped me discover myself and what kind of leader I want to be.
Cliff personal message:
The international experience has provided personal and professional growth. I have experience living alone, but being this far from family and friends for this long was a first for me. Working on a different continent for three months made me comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable. The heat, new language, attention from locals, bugs, imposter syndrome, and culture shock were all things that made me uncomfortable. But confidence comes from repetition and experience. This experience has instilled a sense of confidence that I did not have before. A feeling that I can thrive, work, adapt and make a difference no matter where I am. The experience forces you to be self-sufficient, problem-solve, and rely on personal responsibility.
The practicum has given me many life lessons and memories that I will cherish. It has made me aware of global trends and issues, giving me the tools to become a global citizen. It has helped me discover myself, stand by my values, and become more self-aware of my identity.
Thank you to SportWORKS, Commonwealth Games Canada, MRU, Queen Elizabeth Scholars. We are incredibly thankful for this opportunity to be part of this program and community. Receiving this scholarship and becoming a Canadian SportWORKS Officer has changed our lives. Thank you to the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program and Rideau Hall Foundation for supporting this practicum opportunity and scholarship. We also want to thank Mount Royal University for giving us the opportunity.
We are excited about our trips around Africa.
Though our time here in Botswana has come close, our adventure in Africa continues. Cliff and I plan to explore Namibia to see the desert, dunes, ocean and whatever else Namibia offers. We also plan to visit Cape Town for two weeks to hike, eat, drink, learn and relax.
Signing off,
Bafana ba Canada
(The boys from Canada)