I am back (again) in West Africa. And how good it feels to be back. I was especially thrilled with the welcoming
party that was waiting for me at the airport. Along with fellow Guinean RPCV
Jensen Daniel, and current Senegal PCV Ian Yau (whom I worked with while WWOOFING
in Ségou, Senegal earlier this year), I was greeted by Yama, my angel from
Guinea, who is the Safety and Security officer in Peace Corps Guinea. I say
angel because she was instrumental in helping me when I suffered a superficial
head wound my first night in my village (Guinea, January 2014). For the uninitiated, head wounds bleed… A
LOT. She is currently in Senegal
covering for the Senegalese Safety and Security officer who is on vacation.
Though I am not in Guinea (yet), I will start the
application process later this month to re-enter the country as a Peace Corps
volunteer. Ebola has lingered way longer
than anyone could have imagined, and it is nearly (finally) extinguished. Peace Corps Guinea has begun the long,
tedious process of re-starting a program that has much work to be done. Word is that Peace Corps Response positions
in Health, Education, and Agroforestry will arrive in July 2016. The regular cycle of volunteers will (unofficially)
begin after that (Agroforestry PCV’s arriving near the end of the year, as is
custom.)
So for the next year, I will be in Senegal as a Peace Corps
Response Volunteer (PCRV), working with the non profit Trees for the Future. I will be aiding in the monitoring and evaluation
of their projects in Senegal and teaching permaculture techniques. My orientation and training is short (1 week)
and as I am the sole volunteer on this project, I have no classmates to share
this experience with. Unlike pre-service
training with the 2 year Peace Corps program, where each volunteer was placed
with a host family, I am staying at a rather nice “African” hotel, with air
conditioning, running hot water, electricity, and the internet. I will try not to get used to it, as once I
get to my village, life will be much different.
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| Goats in Dakar, Senegal |
A Little Bit About
Senegal
Senegal is much like Guinea, but it is further along in its
development. Streets are relatively clean,
the commercial real estate looks modern and there are even snazzy multimillion
dollar office buildings that would not look out of place in large American
cities like Chicago. However, this is
still a third world country, and you quickly get in the habit of being firm
with overly aggressive salespeople.
Despite spending time researching, designing, and contemplating
effective aid strategies, it is a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times. Each region in Africa, even within Senegal,
is diverse and has its unique set of problems.
I am not sure if I want to scream or to cry. The reasons people do or do not do is
sometimes unfathomable. In many cases, I
wonder if anything can be done.
Apparently, starving animals are a bigger problem here in Senegal than
in Guinea, especially closer to the Sahara… I've heard stories where cows (generically speaking) become so weak that they can no longer walk and they eventually die. It makes me wonder why people would
insist on living in areas that struggle to support life. Again, can anything really be done for
someone who refuses to change.
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| When you're hungry, you're willing to try anything at least once. |
