Beginning of a New Year of Service

Mama Esse et moi!

As I have said to some friends and family before hand, I am super pumped about my second year of service here in Benin. I just completed my mid-service medical examination (and I am perfectly healthy, thankfully), and so I feel like I am officially cleared to mentally prepare for my next year. This summer was a departure from last summers pre-service training, and then the school year that followed, as this summer I was able to participate in PCV initiated camps (girls, English), travel, see my parents, and just hang out at post with friends and neighbors and the community without the stress of any work. But with my personality, that cannot last for too long! For those who know me, I really like to be busy and productive. This last year was a good experience for me to try to understand my community and the students and not take too much on, but this year I want to really work hard on making more of an impact and  creating sustainable activities.

            After the big “swear in” in Cotonou, I was unfortunately only at post for a week or so,  before I went up North to do some work. I first stopped off at my friend Megan’s post in Kobli to work on English  National Spelling bee stuff, and finally got a glimpse of her post. Kobli was absolutely magnificent in beauty, a real departure from the Couffo region where I live, haha. No, I think the Mono-Couffo and the South are beautiful in its own way – with its green, steep valleys, and lush green terrain; however, the north of Benin has more of an open beauty. Kobli is surrounded by mountains and she lives in a rather tranquil village where people say “bon arrive” (welcome) habitually, instead of “yovo” (foreigner/white person) at the sight of me, even if they do not know me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my post, but the attitudes of people in the South and the North of Benin are clearly different towards foreigners.  I almost feel that I can breath a sigh of relief in the north when going into areas with people I do not know, because for the most part, I won’t be pointed out as different. It is a strange contrast. Kobli is also calm with one main road on “terre rouge” (red terrain – not main road), where Azove is on the “goudron” (cement, main road), and a contrast to Azove bustling little town of probably around 25,000. So there is lots of diversity among posts, villages, and town here, and I always like seeing all of the different kinds of settings within the country.

            I then headed to the Parakou workstation, where I have been a few times before, for trainings and another GAD (Gender and Development) meeting, to work on GAD committee projects and take part in an important GAD meeting. Parakou is central-east of Benin, and although somewhat north, it truly feels like a combination of the north and the south of Benin. I think it is considered the biggest town in population after the economic capital of Cotonou. Before the meeting, I was working on a database for PCVs to access past and current GSP (GAD Small Projects) to help them with ideas for projects, and to better streamline applying for new ones. I am now the GAD Finance chair, with the main responsibility of helping approving GSP projects, but I am  trying to put together more resources for people when turning in projects through a “wiki” (an online database of information). But with unreliable internet anywhere outside of the Peace Corps office in Cotonou (so therefore, in Parakou), and just software problems, I don’t know what will actually happen. We had an important GAD meeting to discuss how to raise funds for the GSP for the upcoming year, as a result of our All- Volunteer conference being cancelled, where we usually have our biggest fundraiser.  This is because of lack of Peace Corps funds worldwide.

 

            Peace Corps funds are being cut worldwide in almost every country, supposedly as a result of inflation, the terrible state of U.S. economy, and the bad exchange rate between the CFA (Central African Franc, which is the Beninese denomination), and the U.S. dollar. The consequence of this are many volunteer perks being cut right and left, and also a cut in  the number of people coming in as trainees in the upcoming year (next year they plan to have about 51 versus 65 or so this year who originally came in – however 10-15 usually terminate after this). To me, this does not pose  a huge problem – we probably get too many things anyways, it is just bad timing and planning in terms of cutting the event where we raise the most money for a volunteer initiated grant project like the GSP funds, which benefit so many projects. So we brainstormed and are in the plans of putting together smaller fundraisers in Cotonou and Parakou to hit expats and volunteers for money – cuz its gotta continue!

 

            Anyway, directly after the GAD meeting I headed to training for Project Amour and Vie (previously Project Panther). It was a week long, and consisted of information sessions on health and effective communication, and offered an opportunity to get to know our teams a bit. It is a co-project between the Peace Corps and an organization called PSI (Population Services International), an international NGO. My PCV friend Lauren is now working there as the liason and an organizer (she was previously a TEFL teacher in Dogbo).

 

             I am involved in this because a few months ago, both my postmate and I were approached by a member of the community to take part in this project. Allison, my postmate will have a team in Kinkonhoue, a nearby village, and I in Kissamay, another village. The teams consist of 1 Peace Corps Volunteer, two Peer Educators (most of which are not presently in school, but have reached a certain level of education), and a “Community Conseiller” (Community Counselor -many of which work at health centers). The point of the project is to do “sensibilizations” ( there is no good English translation for this I am convinced, but essentially it is awareness raising sessions, in sum), to descholarized youth between 15-25 on “SIDA/VIH” (AIDS/HIV), malaria, diarrhea, and reproductive health/family planning. In the past, it has just been focused on AIDS, but this year they are expanding the reach of the project. We will be targeting different “groupements” (groups), and “ateliers” (workshops) and focusing the “sensibilizations” according to the needs of each group. The “sensibilizations” are to include role-playing, discussions, resources, etc – basically a method of raising awareness on critical health issues in Benin to mostly village populations. My Project Amour and Vie team is based in Kissamey, which is about a 20 minute bike ride away from Azove towards the bigger city of Bohicon, and is definitely a village in comparison to Azove’s town size. However, we are not supposed to just focus on Kissamey, but on other villages as well. I am really excited to be working on this project and work out of the structure of the school system and with groups and other community targets. But it is great to be working near my community,  but to be doing work in more village settings. The “Community Conseiller”, Marc, works at the “Centre de Sante” (Health center) in Kissamey, and Nadage and Basile, the Peer Educators, are young “commercants” (sellers), and iron workers, respectively. We are supposed to identify our community targets in October, and have our team “lancement” (launch) at the beginning of November to introduce the work to the community, and have all the officials there –  and then on we go! I have heard really good things about the impact and sustainability of this project, so I hope it is a worthwhile endeavor for all.

            Back at post for a few days included lunch at Mama Flo-Flo’s in the village of  Djakatomey, postmate dinner dates, and time spent with neighbors/freinds and my friend Jocelyne (the woman who hosted my parents when they came). I was extremely excited to hear that Mama Flo Flo’s family will be moving back to Azove for the year, as I am becoming closer to her on a one-on-one basis, and I just really love her family and her kids.

            Now past this one year mark, I feel like I am really solidifying my relationships at my post and building new ones, which is exciting. I feel much more accepted and feel that my Adja is really improving. I am very content with it all.

           

            Next week, as TEFL teachers, we are supposed to have the “rentree” (first week of school, kind of) of the new school year, where I will plan my schedule for the year and potentially attempt to start teaching. Usually, students end up coming and cleaning up the school for a week or so and teachers do not start till the next week at least, but I am going to make every attempt to start. So we will just see what happens. Maybe there will be a teacher meeting this weekend?

            And next week a meeting with the NGO PLAN to see if we got the funding for Camp Glow (girls leadership camp) that we (Allison and I, the coordinators) applied for for June 2009. Keep your fingers crossed!! Seriously. And then there is Life Skills training next weekend – more HIV/AIDS training! The fun truly never stops, haha.

 

(I truly hope my blogs are not boring people. Sometimes I do not write about a whole lot, because it is my life here now, and it more routine and normal to me. So I hope that it still peaks some interest. Please let me know if there are things you would rather hear about or know about – that would give me some ideas!)      

 

 

Write me! Write me! I love letters!

 

Jordan Steiner, PCV

B.P. 126

Azove, Benin

Afrique de l’Ouest (West Africa)

AFRICA

 

Write: par avion/air mail

 

Also, I hope that the next US elections are safe and successful, whichever you swing! It’s kind of crazy not being in the United States during this historic time!

 

Peace and love,

 

Jordan