In this interview, we hear from Ngoun Lay. Ngoun is a Peace Corps volunteer working as a Health volunteer in Botswana. What Ngoun shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Ngoun talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Ngoun’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity during Service
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Can you tell us more about serving as an Health volunteer in Botswana?
My role as a Health Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana is focused on HIV/AIDS capacity building. I am placed with the District AIDS Coordinator’s (DAC) Office, where I help with planning, implementing, and organizing HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Beyond HIV, our office also works on other pressing health issues in the district, such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), gender-based violence (GBV), and teenage pregnancy. A big part of my role is coordination and capacity building, and making sure that government bodies, NGOs, and grassroots partners are working together and aligning activities with the Botswana National Framework.
Partnered with DREAMS
Earlier in my service, I partnered with the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) project, which was funded by USAID/PEPFAR, to support HIV/AIDS interventions and also provide young women with financial literacy and community economic empowerment opportunities.
Working with junior secondary school students
In addition to my primary assignment, I also run a secondary project with junior secondary school students. I mentor students on health, leadership, career advice, and personal development. Through my community assessment, I realized that while there were strong programs supporting girls, boys were often left behind. To address this gap, I started a boys’ mentorship group using Grassroot Soccer and Life Skills curricula. The goal has been to give boys a safe space to talk about challenges they face, while also building leadership and resilience.
A typical day
A typical day for me might involve being at the office supporting planning meetings, going out for community outreach, and then spending afternoons with my youth groups at the school. No two days are the same, which is one of the things I love about this work.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Botswana?
I’ve always been drawn to service and to gaining real, on-the-ground experience in public health. With my background in Public Health (MPH) and a BA, I wanted to apply my skills in a meaningful way while also learning from another culture.
When I was considering the Peace Corps, I spoke with one of my professors, who is both American and Motswana. She told me, “If you really want to understand public health and HIV/AIDS work, Botswana is the place to be.” That conversation really stuck with me. Botswana has made tremendous strides in addressing HIV/AIDS and is a global leader in this field. I knew serving here would give me the chance to both contribute and learn professionally, personally, and culturally.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
To start off, I would like to say that I am extremely lucky with my site placement and living arrangement. I live in a rural village on the eastern side of Botswana. My village is larger than most and serves as the administrative center for the district, so while it’s rural, it’s quite active. We have two large grocery stores, which makes it easier for me because I love to cook and bake!
Since my village acts as an administrative village for the rest of the district, it has a really good transportation system. There are buses that leave hourly until 2 P.M. to the capital city (Gaborone), which is about 6/7 hours away, and lots of kombi (small vans) that go to other villages around my village.
My host family
I live with my host family mainly Nkuku (grandmother in Setswana) and her two young granddaughters, but in a separate small house within their compound. That setup has been the best of both worlds. I have my own space and privacy, but I’m also part of a family. They’ve been incredibly supportive and welcoming. The layout of my house is called a bachelor pad. It has a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen and all are connected with a small hallway. While outside on the compound, it has a few plants, but the rest is lots of space for children to run around.
Staying active
In terms of lifestyle, I try to stay active. My village has a running club and a small fitness club, mostly made up of teachers, nurses, and other government workers. I sometimes run in the evenings with the group because it’s safe and social. We normally run on a tarred road that leads to another village. It was only recently that I started going to the fitness club as well. The equipment is limited, but the community there is amazing, and we always find a way to make the best of what we have.
Cooking my own meals
I enjoy cooking my own meals. It’s a lot of pasta, rice, and noodles. Whenever I get the chance to travel into the city, I stop by an Asian grocery store to pick up extra ingredients to experiment with. I also try to eat plenty of fruit. Bananas and apples are available year-round, but the real treat is when seasonal fruits come in like oranges, pineapple, grapes, and especially pawpaw (papaya), which is the best thing to enjoy cold during the summer heat of around 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit!
I’ve also grown to love Setswana foods. My favorite is magwinya (fried dough), which I often grab in the morning near my office and enjoy with coffee. Another favorite is madombi, which are like plain steamed dumplings or bao buns. They are amazing when paired with a rich stew.
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
It’s always memorable when I go on outreach in other villages with my co-workers and counterparts. Each trip teaches me something new about local culture and traditions. One time, my colleague encouraged me to try mophane worms, a local delicacy, and another time, I got to taste mokolwane (palm wine) collected from the palm tree (really hard to come by even here in my village).
Week-long boot camp
Another one of my favorite memories was when I spearheaded a week-long boot camp for students in partnership with three other Peace Corps Volunteers. We brought together students from four different villages in the district. Watching their growth in just one week, as they learned, lived, and supported each other, was unforgettable. Seeing their friendships that they built and the confidence they gained made me realize how powerful youth empowerment can be.
Small, joyful memories
There are also small, joyful memories that stay with me. For example, on outreach days, my counterpart and I would stop by the roadside and throw stones at a mogagolwane (monkey orange) tree just so I could taste the indigenous fruit of the region. I was so happy cracking open the hard shell and suckling on the sweet yellow seeds inside. Another time, while greeting the Kgosi (chief) of a village, we noticed a marula tree heavy with ripe fruit right in the kgotla (the village meeting place). My counterpart and I squatted under the tree to gather fruit, and when the Kgosi saw us, he kindly brought out two plastic bags so we could take some home.
These moments, whether big like a boot camp or simple like eating fruit with my counterpart, are what make my service so special. They remind me that the Peace Corps is not just about projects, but about relationships, cultural exchange, and everyday life in the community.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Botswana?
What surprised me the most was how challenges aren’t always about resources, but often about cultural attitudes toward health, as well as the complexities in policy coordination between sectors such as Health and Education. For example, HIV/AIDS awareness is high, and almost everyone knows about it. However, that doesn’t always translate into behavior change. Issues such as stigma, gender roles, sex, or cultural silence around certain topics can make it difficult to address health openly, especially in rural villages where traditional culture and practices are deeply rooted.
Challenges working with restrictions
Botswana actually has a strong national framework in place promoting school health, which can be referred to as the Comprehensive National School Health Programme. This program relies on collaboration between Health and Education and through the Health Promotion Team and partners. However, in practice, it does not always flow as smoothly.
While the Ministry of Education allows health talks and sexual education in schools, there are restrictions on what can be demonstrated or provided. Condom distribution isn’t allowed in schools, and even something like a condom demonstration can only be done off school grounds. That’s a challenge because in my district, there are still cases of teenage pregnancy and unprotected sexual activity in boarding schools.
Seeing the bigger picture of public health
Being on the ground as a volunteer and seeing how public health being implemented, it really does surprise me to see sometimes how progressive-sounding policies can be limited by institutional boundaries and cultural hesitations. For me, this has been a reminder that public health isn’t just about knowledge or resources, it’s about navigating systems and finding ways to build bridges between them.
Integration matters more than you think
On a personal level, I was also surprised by how much integration mattered. In the beginning, I thought my work would be all about health projects, but I’ve realized that building trust and relationship in the community is just as important, if not more. Something as simple as greeting everyone, attending community events, or even eating local food helped me integrate and made my professional work more effective.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Health projects?
Navigating the policy restrictions
One of the biggest challenges I have faced was navigating the policy restrictions between the health and education sectors. For example, schools allow us to give health talks and even cover sexual education, but we are not permitted to distribute condoms or do condom demonstrations on school grounds. That’s particularly difficult in a district where teenage pregnancy and unprotected sexual activities are still a big concern.
To work around this, I have learned to focus on what I could do within schools, like teaching life skills, decision-making, and leadership, while partnering with local health facilities, youth-friendly service (YFS), and guidance counselors for more sensitive topics like condom use. This way, students still had access to accurate information and services in an appropriate and policy-supported setting.
Community engagement
Another challenge has been maintaining community engagement. Sometimes enthusiasm is high at the start of a program, but it can fade if the community or your counterparts don’t feel ownership. I overcame this by involving counterparts and community leaders early on, making sure projects reflected their priority rather than my own.
For instance, with the boys’ mentorship program, I asked teachers and the community what issues they felt were most pressing, and I would build my lessons around those issues. From these experiences, I have learned that challenges often push you to be more creative and collaborative. Restrictions actually made me a stronger health volunteer. It helps me to strengthen partnerships and find new ways to reach youth.
Limited resources for HIV prevent efforts
Additionally, the closure of USAID and PEPFAR-funded programs has further strained HIV prevention efforts. Prior to the cessation of these funds, the Government of Botswana covered approximately 2/3 of its HIV response costs with remitting on international funds, including the U.S. The withdrawal of this external funding has led to the shutdown of several NGOs and other agencies that were pivotal to the delivery of HIV services.
Currently, the Botswana Government has attempted to step in, but still faces challenges such as limited resources and the need to reallocate funds from other health priorities. In order to adapt to this challenge, I have focused on leveraging available local resources and fostering community partnerships to continue delivering essential health services, aligning with the Peace Corps Policy and the need of my community. The situation really underscored the importance of community resilience and innovation in the health sector, especially for those working grassroot.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
DREAMS program
In addition to my primary role at the District AIDS Coordinator Office, I have been involved in several secondary projects focused on youth development, particularly with boys and other health issues such as malaria, sanitation, and other non-communicable diseases. Through a community assessment, I realized that while programs like DREAMS provided extensive support for young girls, boys were often left without similar opportunities. To address this gap, I started working directly with junior secondary school boys in my village.
Grassroot soccer and life skills
Using Grassroot Soccer and Life Skills curricula, I mentor boys on health, leadership, personal development, and career planning. The mentorship sessions provided a safe space for boys to discuss challenges they have, build confidence, and develop skills that will help them navigate adolescence and young adulthood. By focusing on boys, this work complements existing girls’ programs, ensuring that both genders have access to support and empowerment opportunities.
Youth boot camp
One of the most impactful projects I’ve been part of was spearheading a week-long youth boot camp in partnership with three other Peace Corps Volunteers. We brought together students from four villages in the district. Over the course of the week, students lived together, engaged in team-building exercises, and participated in workshops on leadership, health, and personal development.
It was amazing to watch the boys grow. From shy and reserved to leading presentations and supporting one another. This boot camp was a direct response to the gaps I have observed with my counterpart in youth development, and it has become one of my favorite memories of service.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Health volunteer in Botswana?
Be patient, flexible, and open
I would say first be patient, flexible, and open. Things don’t always move at the pace you expect, but that doesn’t mean progress isn’t happening. Building relationships and showing consistency in the community is often the real work on the ground. If you are placed in a bigger village, be open to going into different NGOs, organizations, schools, and government sectors to seek for opportunities to contribute. Put yourself out there.
Research the country
I would also recommend doing thorough research about the country before you arrive. Learning about the culture, the landscape, the environment, the food, and the traditions. Ask yourself: Can I picture myself living in this country? Will I be okay living in a rural village and eating the food that the community eats? These are important questions because adapting to the lifestyle is a key to successful service.
Connect with other Botswana Health PCVs & RPCVs
It is also very helpful to connect with Peace Corps Volunteers who have served in the Health Sector in Botswana. They can share insights about the realities of the work, and the health situation in the country, and their day-to-day.
Read the post description carefully and understand the local context will make the transition smoother.
And this is really important. When you get to Botswana, and you will receive your site placement. Don’t compare your site to your peers. Every site is unique, and every PCV experience is unique and different. Comparison is the killer of joy for a PCV.
Botswana itself is a beautiful and peaceful country, with incredible wildlife and welcoming people. The country is shifting from a strong HIV/AIDS focus to a broader health approach, which provides a lot of opportunities for volunteers to gain diverse public health experience.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
Pre-Service Training (PST)
Pre-Service Training (PST) was invaluable in preparing me to live and work in Botswana. It provided foundational Setswana language skills, cultural knowledge, and practical strategies for integrating into the rural community. During PST, I also learned a few tricks for the day-to-day with my host family. For example, which products to use for housing cleaning, how to do laundry by hand, grocery shopping, and how to adapt to the household routine. These small lessons made daily life a lot smoother once I arrived at my site.
Equally as important were the relationships built during these times with my cohort and the Peace Corps staff. Those connections made during PST are a vital support system throughout my two-year service. This can be navigating challenges in the community, figuring out logistics for projects, rely on advice, encouragement, and just lending their ears to listen to your situations, as well as lending you their ears to listen to their situations at site.
In-service training (IST)
In-service training (IST) was especially useful because it allowed me to connect real-world experience with training concepts. Life skills and Grassroot Soccer became essential tools in my youth mentorship sessions at schools and around my community. Those training helped me structure lessons, provided me with guidelines, engage students, and integrate messages effectively.
My advice is to participate fully, ask questions, and just be mindful throughout the whole training. It might not make any sense at the moment of the training, but it will when you are implementing your projects and living in the community. Sometimes, you just have to adjust and adapt what you have learned in training and tailor it to your needs. Again, be open, be flexible, and be willing to make changes as the occasion arises.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Botswana volunteers?
Unfortunately, when I got to Botswana, I didn’t pack any spices or seasoning at all. I would definitely highly suggest to pack some of your favorite spices and seasonings if you have a palate for different spices. You can find Indian and East Asian spices in the capital, Gaborone, or larger towns, but it’s nice to have your favorite from home when you arrive.
In terms of personal care and hygiene items, most of what you need can be found in Botswana at local pharmacies and similar stores. I recommend bringing just enough for the first three months during PST, but after that, you will have access to most essentials unless you have a specific brand you prefer from the U.S.
One thing that I have learned is to bring fewer white clothes. Botswana can be very dusty, and handwashing white clothes is a real challenge. I recommend sticking with darker or more durable fabrics. If you love to exercise, I would recommend bringing a set of resistance bands. They were a lifesaver for me during the first three months and while settling into my site, while I figure out what is available in my village. Having that option kept me consistent with my workout and gave me a sense of routine.
11. How has learning the language been?
Learning Setswana has been really fun and rewarding. You don’t need to know the language before staging. The Peace Corps will provide excellent instruction right from the start during PST. The language training team does an amazing job of breaking it down and helping you feel comfortable using the language. You will also have a chance to get a language tutor when you settle at site.
Living in your community is where the real practice happens. The more you engage and are willing to speak and make mistakes, the faster you will pick it up. People in the community truly value your effort to speak their language. They are always open to teaching you new words and correcting you gently.
By trying to speak the language, it has helped me built stronger relationships and feel more integrated in the community. It’s one of the best tools to connect with my community.
Social Identity during Service
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
Being Asian American has definitely shaped the way I experience service. In my workplace and immediate community, my identity doesn’t affect how my colleagues or host family view me at all. They see me as a Peace Corps Volunteer, as an American, and as their colleague, and family. But in the community or where there are a lot of people, my identity does play a role in how people first perceive me. Sometimes people call out “China” or “China man” when I walk by. There are times when some people go further than that, which can feel uncomfortable.
What I have found, though, is that building relationships makes all the difference. Once people in my community got to know me, they began to see me for who I am, not just what I look like. In fact, community members have stepped in to help when others were being disrespectful, which showed me the power of connection and relationship.
Another common term that I hear is lekgoa. In Setswana, it’s a word used to describe foreigners, and historically it has also meant “English.” As a Cambodian American, this resonated with me because in Khmer we use the word barang to describe foreigners, especially those from western countries, and it can also mean “French” or “Frenchman” because of Cambodia’s colonial history. Understanding this parallel helped me realize that lekgoa carries no negative connotation, it’s simply a term to called a foreigner. That perspective has helped me engage with more empathy and patience.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
The biggest challenge has been navigating those first impressions and community labels. Being called out daily can be overwhelming, but I learned not to take it personally. For many people, it comes from curiosity or habit rather than malice, especially with children.
The triumph is in what happens next: once a relationship is built, people see me as part of the community. And when others might cross the line into disrespect, my community often steps up to defend me. That sense of support and belonging of being looked after by my community is one of the most meaningful parts of my journey here in Botswana.
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
For Asian American volunteers, or anyone with an identity that might stand out, my advice is to come with patience and curiosity. Expect to be noticed and sometimes labeled, but also expect that over time, your community will come to know you beyond appearances. Use those moments to connect, to share, and to open conversations about diversity and who you are.
Also, remember, you are not alone! There is a community of us out there. Peace Corps staff, fellow volunteers, and your counterparts can help you process these experiences. And sometimes, your community itself will be your greatest ally. Your identify can be a bridge that deepening cultural understanding and strengthening your impact as a volunteer.
Final Thoughts
Ngoun’s story shows what it means to serve as a Peace Corps Health volunteer in Botswana. His work highlights the importance of patience, flexibility, and community relationships in making real change. From supporting HIV/AIDS initiatives to mentoring youth and building trust through daily life, his journey reflects both the challenges and the rewards of service. Through it all, he demonstrates how volunteering abroad is as much about personal growth and cultural exchange as it is about public health.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Ngoun’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Botswana Government.
