Finally A Volunteer!
By Harmony | January 8, 2009 | 8:57 pm
Site Placement
I received my site placement yesterday! For the sake of adhering to Peace Corps’ safety and security policy, I won’t specify the exact location here…but I can say that I will be spending my next two years near the ocean! For friends and family…I hope to send out an e-mail within the next week with the name of my village so you can Google it. I may also get a PO Box closer to site within the next month, so stay tuned for an update on that!
My village is very small. You won’t find it on most maps, and there is no mention of it in the travel guides. I am tasked to work with three associated groups - a women’s group, a youth group, and a fisherman’s group - on a variety of projects that is part of a larger programme funded by the UNDP. It’s a two-year project slated to start this month. This gets me excited, because that means that I will have a role from start to finish, and I may even see tangible results by the time my service is over.
I don’t know the full scope of the project yet, but there is a focus on mangrove reforestation. Mangroves are a local resource that has been depleted by years of cutting, for use as firewood and poles. There will also be a project involving cypress planting (a quick-growing alternative to mangroves) and a mangrove nursery. The mangroves are a vital part of the ecosystem in this community, as they grow along the water and their roots help prevent degredation of the beaches.
The focus on this project is not only conservation, but eco-tourism. There is a 300 metre boardwalk for visitors to promenade while enjoying the mangroves. This project seeks to repair the boardwalk and extend it by 100 metres. There are also historical ruins nearby, and the project coordinator would like some ideas on how to bring more tourism to the area.
There are also other miscellaneous income-generating projects, such as beekeeping. I’ll talk more about those later, as I get a better understanding of the project and my role in it. The overall plan will involve the entire community in some aspect or other. This is a community development project, in that it also seeks to improve the livelihoods of those in the community, ideally reducing poverty in the area.
My Thoughts
I am very happy with my placement for a few reasons. First, I was really hoping for a project in conservation, as this is a field I have great interest in. I was also crossing my fingers for a post in Pwani (Coast) Province, as Kiswahili is spoken more frequently in that part of the country (I *really* want to learn the language). I also wished for Pwani because there is a large Muslim community on the Coast and I want to gain an understanding of Islam. In my new village, there are many more Muslims than Christians, so I think I’ll have a good chance at meeting that personal goal.
Finally A Volunteer
Today, I swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. There have been a number of twists and surprises in these last few days. Three people were sent home soon after we arrived in Nairobi, for undisclosed reasons. Another went home today. And more than half of the group will swear in under a provisional contract, due to what Peace Corps deems an inadequate language score on the recent LPI examination. Our training group was a pilot group with shorter overall training and fewer language hours, yet we still had the same language proficiency requirements. I’ll be interested to see how this all pans out. The volunteers who scored below an Intermediate-Low will need to retake the LPI at our In-Service Training in 12 weeks; if they do not meet the requirement, they may be sent home. Something tells me that it will all turn out just fine in the end. But there are 20 very nervous volunteers right now.
The Numbers
43 volunteers on the training roster
1 never showed up for staging in Philly
2 went home for medical reasons
5 went home for other reasons
…leaving just 35 of us who swore in after 8 weeks.
Miscellaneous
Overall, I feel very relaxed right now. I (very luckily) met the language requirement, and I am pleased about my placement. I feel that I am adjusting well and for now, I’m just going with the flow. I am still healthy, mostly. My poor feet have suffered over the last couple of weeks, as I’ve been walking and hiking 15 miles a day on them! Our Peace Corps Medical Officers are truly magnificent, however, and they have me on a regimen of care that will have me up and running at full speed in no time!
Well, this is likely the last time I’ll get to post here in Nairobi, as it is almost time for me to travel to site. Once I get settled in, I’ll be back with more details!
Topics: Pre-Service Training |
January 9th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Congratulations! They are very lucky to have you. We love reading your blog. When you get back, writing might be your thing. I told you, ocean…get to the ocean. Sounds like it is all working out as planned!
Be careful. The bodyguard idea sounds like a good one.
Happy New Year from all of us. We’ll send you a care package. I’ll wait for your new address.
Tricia
January 9th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Congratulations! It sounds like such an exciting time!
I look forward to reading about your projects…and your discoveries regarding Islam in Kenya.