Remembering Cathy Saltwick

On Saturday Brian and I got news that a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, Cathy Saltwick, was killed in a car accident. The official Peace Corps news release is available here. Automobile accidents are the second leading cause of death in Botswana. Only AIDS kills more people. The two leading causes of accidents are 1) people swerving around livestock in the road and 2) drunk driving (it's not unusual to see people openly drinking in th car. I don't think there are open container laws like there is in the US.)

While Brian and I were not super close with Cathy we knew her and like her very much. She had a very calming presence, a great laugh and got a long with everyone. She spoke at the COS lunch this year and gave her speech entirely in Setswana along with two other volunteers. Since Peace Corps returned to Bots in 2003 less than a dozen volunteers have been able to speak Setswana that well. It was a testament to her hard work to be a part of her community. What I think is especially tragic about Cathy's death is that she just finished two-years with Peace Corps and was getting ready to extend for one more. She will be missed not only by her family but by her community and friends in Botswana.

A website her memory is available at: http://cathysaltwickmemory.blogspot.com/