Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Breaks over
Summer break is over so I guess that means my extended leave from blogging should be over as well.
I’m going to try my best to update you on the past 6 months of my life (wow has it really been 6 months?!) but as I’m sure you all can imagine a lot has happened. I haven’t spent but a couple weeks in village during the break because of all the activities that were planned for over the summer. I’ll try and give a quick breakdown of each activity along with some photos but as always if you want to know more just ask!
New volunteers!
A new group of Education and Ag/Business volunteers arrived in the beginning of June and started their training in Sapone. Myself along with a group of current volunteers assisted in their training. As current volunteers it was our job to break them in and show them the ropes of living in Burkina. Their training covers everything, French, local language, information on the Burkina school system such has how it works what we are here to help with and the challenges that we face along with cross-sector training (ex. reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, hygiene, nutrition, income generating activities, reforestation, etc.). I loved working with the new group it was refreshing to see them come in with such high hopes and all of the plans they have for their service. After being here for a while I tend to forget why I wanted to do the Peace Corps in the first place so having them around was a great motivation to get my butt back in gear.
Youth Day – Day Camp
My friend Idriss arranged a day camp in his village for a group of students to celebrate African Youth Day. We spent the day playing games and eating and reminding the kids that they ARE kids and they should be able to have some fun and let loose.
FAVL Literacy Camp
The second camp I participated in this summer was a literacy camp with Emily, my good friend/Ghana buddy/partner in just about everything. FAVL (Friends of African Village Libraries) a Peace Corps partnered NGO held several literacy camps in the South-West of Burkina. The specific one we worked at was located in Dimikuy, a super small and completely beautiful village about 7 Km from another GEE volunteer. Unlike most of the other FAVL literacy camps this one focused on the 25 lowest students in CM1 (4th grade). Throughout the week we did all times of activities, the students made their own books, learned songs, went over good hygiene practices, taught them about HIV/AIDS with the help of a story, created animal masks and had group reading along with one on one time. Because they were so far behind a majority of Emily and my time was spent helping the 4 lowest learn the alphabet. The rest of the students worked with the other teachers who were also running the camp. The camp was not at all what I expected, it blew my mind to see how far some of the students had advanced in school without being able to read the alphabet. It broke my heart to see that there were students with obvious learning disabilities that would never be addressed because no one around is qualified to help. Plus the classes are so full none of the students will ever get that one on one attention that is deserved/needed. It was a great experience and had a greater impact on me than I ever could have imagined.
Check out the FAVL website if you want more info on them and please take time to appreciate how lucky we are to be born in a country with the resources that are available to us. Oh and if you have some spare change maybe think about donating, teaching a child to read will without a doubt change their life.
FAVL's Website
Where to buy their books
Camp G²LOW
This camp has been an enormous amount of work and has been months in the making. I have been working for months with a counterpart in village and the two of us alone brought 24 kids from 3 different schools in Ziniare.
Camp GLOW nothing new for Peace Corps it has already been establish and proven successful in plenty of other PC countries but it was the first year here in Burkina. For our first annual camp it was decided that we would have two consecutive camps, one in the South-West and the other in Kaya (just an hour north of me) not only were we going to do two camps at the same time we were also going to double the duration from one week to two and also include young men, thus Camp G²LOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World).
During the camp we discussed topics such as family planning, reproductive health, puberty, decision making, healthy lifestyles, nutrition, future aspirations, negative effects of alcohol and cigarette use, panel of professionals, life skills, HIV/AIDS, and sexual harassment/violence On top of the daily sessions we of course added games and activities such as capture the flag, a showing of She’s the Man, camp songs, yoga, condom games, ice breakers, bracelet making, a talent show, and even a small field trip.
It was a huge undertaking and so much went into the camp. I would love to sit here and tell you every last detail… ok really I don’t that would be way to much work. Instead I’m going to post a ton of pictures and let them speak for themselves.
Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Fair
Speaking of a lot of work…
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps so a group of volunteers formed a committee to organize a 3-day fair in the Capital to coincide with the swearing in of the newest stage. The fair was meant to showcase all the hard work of the volunteers, their counterparts in village and to thank the people of Burkina for their collaboration with us. After months of planning, calling every volunteer in county, raising money to get everyone to the Capital, and working alongside the Peace Corps bureau in Ouaga it all came to fruition. Even with a rainy start it all turned out better than I had ever expected, we had volunteers from all over the country selling/showcasing their work in village, a carnival with a homemade dunk tank (thanks to 2 specific volunteers and 1 bureau staff member who thought it was the greatest thing he’s ever seen), local artisans, performances by volunteers, a mini Camp G²LOW, and so much more. The 3-day event kicked off with the swearing in of the new volunteers and ended with an appearance by the First Lady and a performance by Floby (Burkina’s most popular artist) who generously wrote a song specifically for Peace Corps.
Because I was running around like a crazy person and going on very little sleep there are very few photos of me but we did put together a music video for the Floby song and here are a couple links to youtube videos that were put together after the fair. Check out fellow PCV Scott's blog for more photos and videos!
A fellow volunteer posted to his blog about the fair click here to check it out! He also linked other videos so check those out as well!
Enjoy!!
Well there you have it. The last 6 months of my life. Hope you enjoyed the read, all my love!
I’m going to try my best to update you on the past 6 months of my life (wow has it really been 6 months?!) but as I’m sure you all can imagine a lot has happened. I haven’t spent but a couple weeks in village during the break because of all the activities that were planned for over the summer. I’ll try and give a quick breakdown of each activity along with some photos but as always if you want to know more just ask!
New volunteers!
A new group of Education and Ag/Business volunteers arrived in the beginning of June and started their training in Sapone. Myself along with a group of current volunteers assisted in their training. As current volunteers it was our job to break them in and show them the ropes of living in Burkina. Their training covers everything, French, local language, information on the Burkina school system such has how it works what we are here to help with and the challenges that we face along with cross-sector training (ex. reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, hygiene, nutrition, income generating activities, reforestation, etc.). I loved working with the new group it was refreshing to see them come in with such high hopes and all of the plans they have for their service. After being here for a while I tend to forget why I wanted to do the Peace Corps in the first place so having them around was a great motivation to get my butt back in gear.
Youth Day – Day Camp
My friend Idriss arranged a day camp in his village for a group of students to celebrate African Youth Day. We spent the day playing games and eating and reminding the kids that they ARE kids and they should be able to have some fun and let loose.
FAVL Literacy Camp
The second camp I participated in this summer was a literacy camp with Emily, my good friend/Ghana buddy/partner in just about everything. FAVL (Friends of African Village Libraries) a Peace Corps partnered NGO held several literacy camps in the South-West of Burkina. The specific one we worked at was located in Dimikuy, a super small and completely beautiful village about 7 Km from another GEE volunteer. Unlike most of the other FAVL literacy camps this one focused on the 25 lowest students in CM1 (4th grade). Throughout the week we did all times of activities, the students made their own books, learned songs, went over good hygiene practices, taught them about HIV/AIDS with the help of a story, created animal masks and had group reading along with one on one time. Because they were so far behind a majority of Emily and my time was spent helping the 4 lowest learn the alphabet. The rest of the students worked with the other teachers who were also running the camp. The camp was not at all what I expected, it blew my mind to see how far some of the students had advanced in school without being able to read the alphabet. It broke my heart to see that there were students with obvious learning disabilities that would never be addressed because no one around is qualified to help. Plus the classes are so full none of the students will ever get that one on one attention that is deserved/needed. It was a great experience and had a greater impact on me than I ever could have imagined.
Check out the FAVL website if you want more info on them and please take time to appreciate how lucky we are to be born in a country with the resources that are available to us. Oh and if you have some spare change maybe think about donating, teaching a child to read will without a doubt change their life.
FAVL's Website
Where to buy their books
Camp G²LOW
This camp has been an enormous amount of work and has been months in the making. I have been working for months with a counterpart in village and the two of us alone brought 24 kids from 3 different schools in Ziniare.
Camp GLOW nothing new for Peace Corps it has already been establish and proven successful in plenty of other PC countries but it was the first year here in Burkina. For our first annual camp it was decided that we would have two consecutive camps, one in the South-West and the other in Kaya (just an hour north of me) not only were we going to do two camps at the same time we were also going to double the duration from one week to two and also include young men, thus Camp G²LOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World).
During the camp we discussed topics such as family planning, reproductive health, puberty, decision making, healthy lifestyles, nutrition, future aspirations, negative effects of alcohol and cigarette use, panel of professionals, life skills, HIV/AIDS, and sexual harassment/violence On top of the daily sessions we of course added games and activities such as capture the flag, a showing of She’s the Man, camp songs, yoga, condom games, ice breakers, bracelet making, a talent show, and even a small field trip.
It was a huge undertaking and so much went into the camp. I would love to sit here and tell you every last detail… ok really I don’t that would be way to much work. Instead I’m going to post a ton of pictures and let them speak for themselves.
Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Fair
Speaking of a lot of work…
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps so a group of volunteers formed a committee to organize a 3-day fair in the Capital to coincide with the swearing in of the newest stage. The fair was meant to showcase all the hard work of the volunteers, their counterparts in village and to thank the people of Burkina for their collaboration with us. After months of planning, calling every volunteer in county, raising money to get everyone to the Capital, and working alongside the Peace Corps bureau in Ouaga it all came to fruition. Even with a rainy start it all turned out better than I had ever expected, we had volunteers from all over the country selling/showcasing their work in village, a carnival with a homemade dunk tank (thanks to 2 specific volunteers and 1 bureau staff member who thought it was the greatest thing he’s ever seen), local artisans, performances by volunteers, a mini Camp G²LOW, and so much more. The 3-day event kicked off with the swearing in of the new volunteers and ended with an appearance by the First Lady and a performance by Floby (Burkina’s most popular artist) who generously wrote a song specifically for Peace Corps.
Because I was running around like a crazy person and going on very little sleep there are very few photos of me but we did put together a music video for the Floby song and here are a couple links to youtube videos that were put together after the fair. Check out fellow PCV Scott's blog for more photos and videos!
A fellow volunteer posted to his blog about the fair click here to check it out! He also linked other videos so check those out as well!
Enjoy!!
Well there you have it. The last 6 months of my life. Hope you enjoyed the read, all my love!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Heat and Hostility
Its been two months since my last post and I don't even know where to begin.
I guess ill begin how most conversations have begun here lately, "It's hot today!" "I know, when is the rain coming?!"
Soon I hope! Anyways I'm just going to jump into this...
8 Mars or International Womens Day was another huge event. Especially for me being a Girls education and Empowerment volunteer. Some volunteers in my sector held special events or actives in their villages to celebrate but here in Ziniare, the presidents hometown, they never miss an opportunity to party so there were plenty of things already in place for me to do. I just got dressed up and went around with my co worker making the necessary nazara appearances. There was a parade and rally in the morning where they did skits and recognized womens associations in the area and all of their contributions to the community. After that we went around to other small parties and ate and drank and danced. They year before they held a womens soccer match village womens vs functionaire (government workers) women, unfortunately this year they didn't have it I was rather looking forward to watching but oh well maybe next year. I really love that the women get this day of recognition they deserve it more than anyone. Burkinabe women are hard working and strong and incredible giving. I feel that each and everyone I meet is another mother. They work in the fields, do all the housework, cook all the meals, take care of the children, and many even find time to start small businesses selling local good to make extra money for the household. I may be biased but without women this country would be lost they are an intricate and necessary part of Burkinabe life and deserve to be acknowledged.
Life here has been a little...hmm how should I put it...complicated lately. At the end of February a student was killed in police custody this death has started a snowball effect of protests, riots, and overall dissatisfaction with the government of Burkina. Originally students were protesting in larger cities all over the country. Some protests were peaceful and others were violent. There were deaths, injuries and destruction of buildings. Because of the instability of the situation the government closed schools for weeks and we were told to avoid bigger cities for our safety.
**let me note this now before I continue, no volunteers or foreigners have been targeted or hurt. Everything that has happened has been due to the discontent with the government. Most of the violence has been destruction of property and scare tactics.**
Having the schools closed and being stuck in village has been hard. For the past however many months my daily routine has been to go work at the schools. Not being able to do that has left me with not a whole to keep me busy. Its also extremely hard on the students because they are now incredibly behind on their studies. This will leave them highly unprepared for their exams at the end of the year. As I write this schools have been up and running again but other issues have come to light.
Protests have been held by Burkinabe citizens expressing their unhappiness with the high cost of living as of late. Teachers have protested in some cities demanding higher pay but the most serious or destructive of all the protest have been the unhappiness of the military.
Frankly its all a bit confusing and most volunteers are having trouble keeping up with everything but this is what I've come to understand.
Lower lever military officers were unhappy with the biased nature of the government. They were unhappy that the higher ups would be able to get away with things they never would. They also were demanding higher wages. The past few weeks have been a bit unstable because officers have taken to the streets and fired their weapons in the air, attacking government officials, destroying governmental building, etc. The government laid down a country wide curfew that has helped mostly because a lot of the violence has taken place during the night. Due to the continued discontent Blaise dissolved the government and rearranged everything. As of now we are just waiting it out to see if this will be a solution. Protests are still planned for the next week so we will see how serious they end up being.
I obviously have my own personal opinions about everything that has happened within the last few months and left out a lot of my thoughts because I don't feel that this is the most appropriate place to express them. If you want to email me I would be more than happy to share my thoughts, I have plenty to say. Also I will post a few links to news articles but just keep in mind that I'm just posting them for you to go through on your own. Some are not 100 percent accurate and some are also leaving out a lot of information. Its not a black and white situation like most problems aren't it has plenty to do with the history, culture, and daily lifestyles of the Burkinabe and that isn't something you can understand after reading a few short articles or even listening to me rant.
To end on a happier note I'm going to include pictures from some of the actives I've started in the last two months. This is the reason I'm here so I'm going to work my hardest to follow through on my commitments.
Vaccinations at the primary school in Barkouitenga.
Soap making with the AME (school PTA Group for women) in Koassanga.
Meeting with the APE (school PTA) to discuss getting a water pump installed at the primary school in Barkuitenga.
Meeting with AME in Koassanga to distribute money for the women to expand their IGAs (income generating activities)
Planting moranga with the students in Koassanga.
Handing out toothbrushes and going over dental hygiene for the CM2 class in Barkouitenga.
My friend and fellow volunteer came to visit. We went to the dairy farm next to my school and rode horses.
Now here are a few links...
New York Times
BBC
CNN
I guess ill begin how most conversations have begun here lately, "It's hot today!" "I know, when is the rain coming?!"
Soon I hope! Anyways I'm just going to jump into this...
8 Mars or International Womens Day was another huge event. Especially for me being a Girls education and Empowerment volunteer. Some volunteers in my sector held special events or actives in their villages to celebrate but here in Ziniare, the presidents hometown, they never miss an opportunity to party so there were plenty of things already in place for me to do. I just got dressed up and went around with my co worker making the necessary nazara appearances. There was a parade and rally in the morning where they did skits and recognized womens associations in the area and all of their contributions to the community. After that we went around to other small parties and ate and drank and danced. They year before they held a womens soccer match village womens vs functionaire (government workers) women, unfortunately this year they didn't have it I was rather looking forward to watching but oh well maybe next year. I really love that the women get this day of recognition they deserve it more than anyone. Burkinabe women are hard working and strong and incredible giving. I feel that each and everyone I meet is another mother. They work in the fields, do all the housework, cook all the meals, take care of the children, and many even find time to start small businesses selling local good to make extra money for the household. I may be biased but without women this country would be lost they are an intricate and necessary part of Burkinabe life and deserve to be acknowledged.
Life here has been a little...hmm how should I put it...complicated lately. At the end of February a student was killed in police custody this death has started a snowball effect of protests, riots, and overall dissatisfaction with the government of Burkina. Originally students were protesting in larger cities all over the country. Some protests were peaceful and others were violent. There were deaths, injuries and destruction of buildings. Because of the instability of the situation the government closed schools for weeks and we were told to avoid bigger cities for our safety.
**let me note this now before I continue, no volunteers or foreigners have been targeted or hurt. Everything that has happened has been due to the discontent with the government. Most of the violence has been destruction of property and scare tactics.**
Having the schools closed and being stuck in village has been hard. For the past however many months my daily routine has been to go work at the schools. Not being able to do that has left me with not a whole to keep me busy. Its also extremely hard on the students because they are now incredibly behind on their studies. This will leave them highly unprepared for their exams at the end of the year. As I write this schools have been up and running again but other issues have come to light.
Protests have been held by Burkinabe citizens expressing their unhappiness with the high cost of living as of late. Teachers have protested in some cities demanding higher pay but the most serious or destructive of all the protest have been the unhappiness of the military.
Frankly its all a bit confusing and most volunteers are having trouble keeping up with everything but this is what I've come to understand.
Lower lever military officers were unhappy with the biased nature of the government. They were unhappy that the higher ups would be able to get away with things they never would. They also were demanding higher wages. The past few weeks have been a bit unstable because officers have taken to the streets and fired their weapons in the air, attacking government officials, destroying governmental building, etc. The government laid down a country wide curfew that has helped mostly because a lot of the violence has taken place during the night. Due to the continued discontent Blaise dissolved the government and rearranged everything. As of now we are just waiting it out to see if this will be a solution. Protests are still planned for the next week so we will see how serious they end up being.
I obviously have my own personal opinions about everything that has happened within the last few months and left out a lot of my thoughts because I don't feel that this is the most appropriate place to express them. If you want to email me I would be more than happy to share my thoughts, I have plenty to say. Also I will post a few links to news articles but just keep in mind that I'm just posting them for you to go through on your own. Some are not 100 percent accurate and some are also leaving out a lot of information. Its not a black and white situation like most problems aren't it has plenty to do with the history, culture, and daily lifestyles of the Burkinabe and that isn't something you can understand after reading a few short articles or even listening to me rant.
To end on a happier note I'm going to include pictures from some of the actives I've started in the last two months. This is the reason I'm here so I'm going to work my hardest to follow through on my commitments.
Vaccinations at the primary school in Barkouitenga.
Soap making with the AME (school PTA Group for women) in Koassanga.
Meeting with the APE (school PTA) to discuss getting a water pump installed at the primary school in Barkuitenga.
Meeting with AME in Koassanga to distribute money for the women to expand their IGAs (income generating activities)
Planting moranga with the students in Koassanga.
Handing out toothbrushes and going over dental hygiene for the CM2 class in Barkouitenga.
My friend and fellow volunteer came to visit. We went to the dairy farm next to my school and rode horses.
Now here are a few links...
New York Times
BBC
CNN
Thursday, February 24, 2011
So as of January 26th I’m officially 24 and for the Burkinabe it is now even more absurd that I don’t have a husband and a couple children. Everyday it is a topic of discussion. Seriously, everyday. All my coworkers plus random Burkinabe tell me I need to marry a Burkinabe and live here forever (don’t worry Dad its not going to happen) plus my mamma who only speaks Moore, which I am slowly understanding more and more of, tells me it’s time for me to have kids. How do I know that? Well she grabs her breasts, indicating breastfeeding and then does a motion of putting a baby on her back, which is how they carry their children here. So I pick up on what she is trying to tell me.
I spent my birthday in Ouaga with all the other volunteers in my sector (GEE). We were having our IST (in service training). IST comes after our first 3 months at site; it’s more condensed and hands on training then PST/stage (pre service training). Being that we have been at site for a few months it was an opportunity for all of us to share our site experiences, exchange ideas, and let others know what has worked for us and what hasn’t. We went over all different kinds of topics including, school gardens, soap making, building community libraries with the help of an NGO (non governmental organization), English clubs, teaching critical thinking, violence in the classroom and many others. As well as getting moto privileges! Bye, bye biking in 100+ degree weather!
My birthday actually fell on a day where we were doing our counterpart workshop. Each volunteer was asked to bring a counterpart from village, someone who is to help us with our projects at site. It’s impossible to do everything by yourself here, you need someone the community knows and respects to back you up. Plus they have a much better knowledge of the protocol and can give insight on what the village truly needs not just desires. So for 3 days of the 2 week long IST each of us worked with our counterpart to come up with an action plan for our next couple months or even our whole service. It was nice to be able to do this in a formal setting because sitting a Burkinabe down and trying to get work done is almost impossible. They will come up with any kind of excuse to get out of it plus the language and cultural barrier is always difficult. Some villagers just expect us to shell out money and don’t really understand that as Peace Corps volunteers were here to act as a liaison and a motivator. We are here to educate the village and help them become successful using the resources they already have. Over and over again we are told to do projects that are sustainable. For example help the teachers learn better teaching strategies so their students can succeed versus teaching for them, or more specifically for me my one primary school doesn’t have a water source so they want a water pump, I am trying to help them find the resources themselves within Burkina rather than just getting money from the US. Granted this may not work so within the next two years I may be asking you all for money. :)
I got a little off track so getting back to my birthday. It fell on the last day of counterpart workshop so I was lucky enough to spend it with all of my friends from GEE and with my counterpart. That night we ordered pizza from an American woman who is a missionary here and later went to a bar in Ouaga that has pool and beer on tap. It’s owned by a French man so it’s not like all the other bars here. It was exactly what I wanted/needed, beer and pizza. Very American. IST continued until the 29th and after that I made a quick stop to see a new neighbor and made it back to site at the beginning of February.
February didn’t start off too well for me because of the heartbreak on the 6th. A weekend in Ouaga to see my Steelers lose to the Packers was not the weekend I wanted. Although it was nice to see the game. Obviously I would have preferred a win or to be able to watch the game back in the states but oh well I have plenty more years ahead of me to do that. So now its Cubbie season and ill get to focus on that, but if they make it to the World Series I will most definitely be on the first flight back to Chicago! Other than the tough loss at the beginning of the month February has been a good month, my village has been keeping me extremely busy. Looking at my calendar I have had something everyday which is great, the worst thing in village is to have nothing to do. Those days with nothing to do I get a lot of reading done (aka all 3 Chelsea Handler books in 2 days).
Friends of Burkina Faso, an organization of returned Peace Corps volunteers from Burkina (http://friendsofburkina.org/), has had their President, Mike Lavoie, touring the country for the month promoting/celebrating the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. I haven’t went to an event yet but he will be in Ouaga at the end of the month so I may make a trip then. Other than that here is a list of the things I have going on right now in village:
-I’ve been teaching groups of women how to make liquid soap. It’s a great income generating activity for the women. It is really cheap and easy to make and sells VERY well. Plus getting more soap out in a country where they do everything with their hands, for example hands being used as toilet paper as well as hands being used as an eating utensil (different hands though, they do absolutely nothing with their left hand because it is used to wipe).
-I have started a study group for the CM2 class (5th/6th grade) in Barkuitenga to help them prepare for a test the will have to take in June to move on to the Lycee (HS). We meet for 2 hours twice a week and go over anything they have had difficulty with during the week. This group is on top of me sitting in on classes’ everyday at Koassanga and Barkuitenga.
-At these two schools we have decided to plant 100+ trees of Moringa and other local variations of trees. I think I mentioned this before but moringa leaves are a great source of nutrition and I plan on having the cooks for the canteen add this to the rice and beans the students have for lunch everyday. The other trees also can be used to generate income by using their leaves to make oil to sell or add to sauces for meals, and of course all of the trees give the school courtyard much needed shade from the overwhelming sun.
-I have begun working with one of the English teachers in Ziniare. I go with him to his 4eme class (8th/9th grade, but the kids are a bit older 16+) and help with his 50+ students. Mostly I help with pronunciation and also serve as the answer lady for all things American aka “Do women in America hunt and fish?” or “Who chooses to get married the man or the women?” For the Burkinabe women don’t really get a choice in marriage the man chooses his wife and that’s that. So the boys didn’t like it to much when I told them in America it is up to the couple to decide if they want to get married and that it’s usually the woman who gets to say yes to a proposal. And when I told them that even though it’s not extremely popular some men even choose to stay home to take care of the children and do the cooking there was an uproar and it took a few minutes to get the students back on track.
-A few times a week I do one-on-one English tutoring with local lycee kids. They will come by my house in the evening and I will help them with pronunciation and comprehension. It’s actually a lesson for me too because it helps me with my French vocab.
On top of all this I am on the Camp GLOW committee in Kaya. I have another meeting with volunteers this weekend. After the last meeting I went around to 3 of the Lycee’s here in Ziniare to talk to the principals and ask if the would choose 8 students to participate, 2 girls in 5eme and 6eme and 2 boys in 5eme and 6eme. I also had to ask for money to pay for their transport which is around 3,000 CFA ($6) roundtrip per student. So far things are going well. We are still somewhat in the early stages of planning and things here work slowly but so far so good. I will be sure to write more about it later once I get more details and also check out my post before this for a video on the camp that was held by other PCV’s.
I hope you all have had a great winter, some of you may hate this but I am very jealous of the huge snowstorm that hit the Midwest. I would do anything for snow right now. Every day just gets hotter and hotter, April is supposed to be the worst and I’m scared to death!
*Personal note*
I’m not sure of how many of you saw the report on the Peace Corps on 20/20 but frankly I was personally very upset with how the report decided to describe Peace Corps. I feel a deep sadness for all of the young women who had such horrible things happen to them and cannot imagine what they have been through. With that being said each country is run by very different people and are not at all the same. I have complete confidence in the safety and security personal that work at the office here in Burkina. I have never felt unsafe and I know if I did they would take action immediately. Our safety has always been a priority and I have never doubted the lengths our staff would go to keep us safe. I hate that Peace Corps was shown in such a bad light on the brink of their 50th anniversary. I hope that you will all recognize the great work volunteers have done in the past 50 years and the work they will continue to do in the future.
I spent my birthday in Ouaga with all the other volunteers in my sector (GEE). We were having our IST (in service training). IST comes after our first 3 months at site; it’s more condensed and hands on training then PST/stage (pre service training). Being that we have been at site for a few months it was an opportunity for all of us to share our site experiences, exchange ideas, and let others know what has worked for us and what hasn’t. We went over all different kinds of topics including, school gardens, soap making, building community libraries with the help of an NGO (non governmental organization), English clubs, teaching critical thinking, violence in the classroom and many others. As well as getting moto privileges! Bye, bye biking in 100+ degree weather!
My birthday actually fell on a day where we were doing our counterpart workshop. Each volunteer was asked to bring a counterpart from village, someone who is to help us with our projects at site. It’s impossible to do everything by yourself here, you need someone the community knows and respects to back you up. Plus they have a much better knowledge of the protocol and can give insight on what the village truly needs not just desires. So for 3 days of the 2 week long IST each of us worked with our counterpart to come up with an action plan for our next couple months or even our whole service. It was nice to be able to do this in a formal setting because sitting a Burkinabe down and trying to get work done is almost impossible. They will come up with any kind of excuse to get out of it plus the language and cultural barrier is always difficult. Some villagers just expect us to shell out money and don’t really understand that as Peace Corps volunteers were here to act as a liaison and a motivator. We are here to educate the village and help them become successful using the resources they already have. Over and over again we are told to do projects that are sustainable. For example help the teachers learn better teaching strategies so their students can succeed versus teaching for them, or more specifically for me my one primary school doesn’t have a water source so they want a water pump, I am trying to help them find the resources themselves within Burkina rather than just getting money from the US. Granted this may not work so within the next two years I may be asking you all for money. :)
I got a little off track so getting back to my birthday. It fell on the last day of counterpart workshop so I was lucky enough to spend it with all of my friends from GEE and with my counterpart. That night we ordered pizza from an American woman who is a missionary here and later went to a bar in Ouaga that has pool and beer on tap. It’s owned by a French man so it’s not like all the other bars here. It was exactly what I wanted/needed, beer and pizza. Very American. IST continued until the 29th and after that I made a quick stop to see a new neighbor and made it back to site at the beginning of February.
February didn’t start off too well for me because of the heartbreak on the 6th. A weekend in Ouaga to see my Steelers lose to the Packers was not the weekend I wanted. Although it was nice to see the game. Obviously I would have preferred a win or to be able to watch the game back in the states but oh well I have plenty more years ahead of me to do that. So now its Cubbie season and ill get to focus on that, but if they make it to the World Series I will most definitely be on the first flight back to Chicago! Other than the tough loss at the beginning of the month February has been a good month, my village has been keeping me extremely busy. Looking at my calendar I have had something everyday which is great, the worst thing in village is to have nothing to do. Those days with nothing to do I get a lot of reading done (aka all 3 Chelsea Handler books in 2 days).
Friends of Burkina Faso, an organization of returned Peace Corps volunteers from Burkina (http://friendsofburkina.org/), has had their President, Mike Lavoie, touring the country for the month promoting/celebrating the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. I haven’t went to an event yet but he will be in Ouaga at the end of the month so I may make a trip then. Other than that here is a list of the things I have going on right now in village:
-I’ve been teaching groups of women how to make liquid soap. It’s a great income generating activity for the women. It is really cheap and easy to make and sells VERY well. Plus getting more soap out in a country where they do everything with their hands, for example hands being used as toilet paper as well as hands being used as an eating utensil (different hands though, they do absolutely nothing with their left hand because it is used to wipe).
-I have started a study group for the CM2 class (5th/6th grade) in Barkuitenga to help them prepare for a test the will have to take in June to move on to the Lycee (HS). We meet for 2 hours twice a week and go over anything they have had difficulty with during the week. This group is on top of me sitting in on classes’ everyday at Koassanga and Barkuitenga.
-At these two schools we have decided to plant 100+ trees of Moringa and other local variations of trees. I think I mentioned this before but moringa leaves are a great source of nutrition and I plan on having the cooks for the canteen add this to the rice and beans the students have for lunch everyday. The other trees also can be used to generate income by using their leaves to make oil to sell or add to sauces for meals, and of course all of the trees give the school courtyard much needed shade from the overwhelming sun.
-I have begun working with one of the English teachers in Ziniare. I go with him to his 4eme class (8th/9th grade, but the kids are a bit older 16+) and help with his 50+ students. Mostly I help with pronunciation and also serve as the answer lady for all things American aka “Do women in America hunt and fish?” or “Who chooses to get married the man or the women?” For the Burkinabe women don’t really get a choice in marriage the man chooses his wife and that’s that. So the boys didn’t like it to much when I told them in America it is up to the couple to decide if they want to get married and that it’s usually the woman who gets to say yes to a proposal. And when I told them that even though it’s not extremely popular some men even choose to stay home to take care of the children and do the cooking there was an uproar and it took a few minutes to get the students back on track.
-A few times a week I do one-on-one English tutoring with local lycee kids. They will come by my house in the evening and I will help them with pronunciation and comprehension. It’s actually a lesson for me too because it helps me with my French vocab.
On top of all this I am on the Camp GLOW committee in Kaya. I have another meeting with volunteers this weekend. After the last meeting I went around to 3 of the Lycee’s here in Ziniare to talk to the principals and ask if the would choose 8 students to participate, 2 girls in 5eme and 6eme and 2 boys in 5eme and 6eme. I also had to ask for money to pay for their transport which is around 3,000 CFA ($6) roundtrip per student. So far things are going well. We are still somewhat in the early stages of planning and things here work slowly but so far so good. I will be sure to write more about it later once I get more details and also check out my post before this for a video on the camp that was held by other PCV’s.
I hope you all have had a great winter, some of you may hate this but I am very jealous of the huge snowstorm that hit the Midwest. I would do anything for snow right now. Every day just gets hotter and hotter, April is supposed to be the worst and I’m scared to death!
*Personal note*
I’m not sure of how many of you saw the report on the Peace Corps on 20/20 but frankly I was personally very upset with how the report decided to describe Peace Corps. I feel a deep sadness for all of the young women who had such horrible things happen to them and cannot imagine what they have been through. With that being said each country is run by very different people and are not at all the same. I have complete confidence in the safety and security personal that work at the office here in Burkina. I have never felt unsafe and I know if I did they would take action immediately. Our safety has always been a priority and I have never doubted the lengths our staff would go to keep us safe. I hate that Peace Corps was shown in such a bad light on the brink of their 50th anniversary. I hope that you will all recognize the great work volunteers have done in the past 50 years and the work they will continue to do in the future.
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