As the seasons are changing in Mozambique, my plans have also been changing.
Unfortunately, my counterpart and I decided to cancel the agriculture and nutrition project we had been working on since September. There were various reasons we decided to cancel the project including: a lack of volunteer participation, problems with seeds, an abandoned garden, lack of organizational support and a lack of community support. It was not the community-led, community-driven project that we had imagined. Instead it felt more like I was trying to run the project almost single-handedly, which is not sustainable nor what should have been happening with the project. So it was the responsible and necessary decision to terminate the project. In the end, the money we did not spend, can be applied to other worthwhile Peace Corps projects. As I have experienced before in Peace Corps, not everything works out as planned. I have learned countless lessons along the way. But, as I told my counterpart, there were unfortunately too many forces working against us. So we will take what we have learned and hopefully he can apply this experience to a project in the future. We still successfully educated eight volunteers in the area of perma-gardening and conservative agriculture. We also will continue to offer our nutrition classes through May 2nd. We are just cancelling the project before the volunteers go out and teach conservative agriculture to families in the community and host health fairs. Even though, we are cancelling the project at this point, I still think that they may be able to teach families in the community and even host the health fairs in the future someday. All of the volunteers involved in our project now have agriculture and nutrition manuals so the information is in their hands to use as they wish. As the president of my organization told me when we decided to cancel the project, "Paciencia" (Patience). Similar to my own mantra, so it goes...As I said, it was a tough, but necessary decision.
That wasn't the only big decision I made recently. After countless pro-con lists, phone calls home and long walks working it all out in my head, I accepted an offer with Peace Corps to serve as the National Malaria Activities Coordinator in Maputo for the next year. I will be working as part of the Peace Corps Stomp Out Malaria Initiative. Additionally, I will be working with Peace Corps as a PCV Tech Trainer for the new group of Moz 22 volunteers expected to arrive at the end of May.
Last weekend, my Peace Corps friends visiting my house made a game out of killing the mosquitoes against the walls of my home. These little pesks carry the evil killer: malaria. Malaria is a big issue not only in Chicumbane, but continent-wide. Malaria is the number one killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Mozambique, malaria is responsible for 45% of deaths in children under 5 years old. However, malaria is a very preventable disease if people sleep with mosquito nets, stay inside at night, use repellent and are aware about prevention and treatment. As the national coordinator, I will be responsible for ensuring that Peace Corps Volunteers are informed and educated about malaria nationwide and are sharing this information with their communities through projects and activities. While I have worked some with malaria in Chicumbane, I am excited about this opportunity to work more closely with this preventable disease, eradicating malaria one mosquito at a time.
It is going to be a busy next couple of months. I am leaving tomorrow on vacation in Northern Mozambique for the next two weeks. From there I will be going to my Closure of Service Conference April 27-30, the last time Moz 18 will all be together in country. I will then go back to Chicumbane for two weeks before going to Namaacha to plan out Moz 22 training May 14-30. During June and July, I will be back and forth between Chicumbane and Namaacha, wrapping up projects at site in addition to helping out with training for Moz 22. The last week in July, I will go down to Maputo to "COS", which basically means have my yearly medical check-up and then move into my new house in Maputo, complete with flushing toilet and shower, just a few of the serious upgrades I can look forward to. September 9-20th I will go to Senegal for Stomp Out Malaria Boot Camp, a ten-day intensive hands-on malaria training. From there, I hope to fly to AMERICA for the one month trip home Peace Corps includes as part of my year-long extension.
So... see you in September or October?
Unfortunately, my counterpart and I decided to cancel the agriculture and nutrition project we had been working on since September. There were various reasons we decided to cancel the project including: a lack of volunteer participation, problems with seeds, an abandoned garden, lack of organizational support and a lack of community support. It was not the community-led, community-driven project that we had imagined. Instead it felt more like I was trying to run the project almost single-handedly, which is not sustainable nor what should have been happening with the project. So it was the responsible and necessary decision to terminate the project. In the end, the money we did not spend, can be applied to other worthwhile Peace Corps projects. As I have experienced before in Peace Corps, not everything works out as planned. I have learned countless lessons along the way. But, as I told my counterpart, there were unfortunately too many forces working against us. So we will take what we have learned and hopefully he can apply this experience to a project in the future. We still successfully educated eight volunteers in the area of perma-gardening and conservative agriculture. We also will continue to offer our nutrition classes through May 2nd. We are just cancelling the project before the volunteers go out and teach conservative agriculture to families in the community and host health fairs. Even though, we are cancelling the project at this point, I still think that they may be able to teach families in the community and even host the health fairs in the future someday. All of the volunteers involved in our project now have agriculture and nutrition manuals so the information is in their hands to use as they wish. As the president of my organization told me when we decided to cancel the project, "Paciencia" (Patience). Similar to my own mantra, so it goes...As I said, it was a tough, but necessary decision.
That wasn't the only big decision I made recently. After countless pro-con lists, phone calls home and long walks working it all out in my head, I accepted an offer with Peace Corps to serve as the National Malaria Activities Coordinator in Maputo for the next year. I will be working as part of the Peace Corps Stomp Out Malaria Initiative. Additionally, I will be working with Peace Corps as a PCV Tech Trainer for the new group of Moz 22 volunteers expected to arrive at the end of May.
Last weekend, my Peace Corps friends visiting my house made a game out of killing the mosquitoes against the walls of my home. These little pesks carry the evil killer: malaria. Malaria is a big issue not only in Chicumbane, but continent-wide. Malaria is the number one killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Mozambique, malaria is responsible for 45% of deaths in children under 5 years old. However, malaria is a very preventable disease if people sleep with mosquito nets, stay inside at night, use repellent and are aware about prevention and treatment. As the national coordinator, I will be responsible for ensuring that Peace Corps Volunteers are informed and educated about malaria nationwide and are sharing this information with their communities through projects and activities. While I have worked some with malaria in Chicumbane, I am excited about this opportunity to work more closely with this preventable disease, eradicating malaria one mosquito at a time.
It is going to be a busy next couple of months. I am leaving tomorrow on vacation in Northern Mozambique for the next two weeks. From there I will be going to my Closure of Service Conference April 27-30, the last time Moz 18 will all be together in country. I will then go back to Chicumbane for two weeks before going to Namaacha to plan out Moz 22 training May 14-30. During June and July, I will be back and forth between Chicumbane and Namaacha, wrapping up projects at site in addition to helping out with training for Moz 22. The last week in July, I will go down to Maputo to "COS", which basically means have my yearly medical check-up and then move into my new house in Maputo, complete with flushing toilet and shower, just a few of the serious upgrades I can look forward to. September 9-20th I will go to Senegal for Stomp Out Malaria Boot Camp, a ten-day intensive hands-on malaria training. From there, I hope to fly to AMERICA for the one month trip home Peace Corps includes as part of my year-long extension.
So... see you in September or October?
Holy cow! Hard choices and big decisions! So proud of all that you are doing and will continue to do! I was excited and surprised by the one year extension - what a wonderful experience and opportunity! I knew leaving MOZ wouldn't come easy! Xoxo - Sara
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like canceling the agriculture and nutrition project was a hard decision, but that it was a good one.
ReplyDeleteCongrats again on your position as the National Malaria Activities Coordinator! Hopefully we can connect, at least over the phone if not in person, when you are back in the US. Safe travels!