meaningful work all over the region. And while I'm exhausted and have
wished many times that I was just sitting at site, reading, relaxing,
hanging out with people in my village, and digging pits for latrines,
I've also never felt more like a Peace Corps Volunteer. I joined the
Peace Corps envisioning that I would travel across an African country
working on cool projects, seeing cool things, and enjoying the
process. The first couple months of service, including training,
aren't really like that: it's a lot of language learning, getting
comfortable at your site, and slowly building your skill set. But
now, my experience is a lot more like I envisioned. Here's what I've
been up to:
1. Radio Broadcasts in Ambanja
Katie and I are hitting the microphone every other Monday in Ambanja
to bring health messages to Ambanja and the surrounding areas
(including our sites, Siranana and Djangoa). Our last two broadcasts
were on malaria and safe motherhood. The dialogue is all in Malagasy,
intermixed with some American music. Luckily for us, my counterpart
in Siranana and Mama Peace Corps in Ambanja proofread our work before
we go on the air. Specific songs available upon request, haha.
2. Cook-stove Construction and Map Making in Maromandia
In mid-April, many of the volunteers of the region descended upon
Maromandia (Katie Browne's site) for a couple days. We built
fuel-saving cook-stoves out of dirt, ash, and water with about 200
students from her local primary school and painted a map of the new
National Park near her site. It was great to see Katie B's site,
interact with the students, and learn how to construct a good
cook-stove and map myself.
3. Cook-stove Construction and Latrine Digging in Siranana
Excited from learning how to build a cook-stove in Maromandia, I came
back to my site and got people interested in building them in
Siranana. After spending a few days making a sifter and gathering ash
and dirt, I set a date with my neighbor and then invited Josh up from
Ambanja to help out since he was on Easter Break. Bringing Josh to
site was great. Not only was it a lot easier to build a cook-stove
and dig for my latrine because of his help, but my town really
appreciated it too. It's like when you introduce your friends from
college to your family. Your family sees just how much they mean to
you because of how excited you are to show them off. And that's what
I did: Josh and I walked up and down my town, meeting my friends,
seeing the various spots, and hanging out. We even filmed for my
Peace Corps Cribs (tour of site) Video. I hope to post that when I
get to Diego.
4. HIV/AIDS and Family Planning Teaching in Nosy Be
This past week, Katie and I were in Nosy Be at Molly's high school
teaching about HIV/AIDS and Family Planning. It was actually my first
time teaching in a classroom about AIDS, but Katie, Molly, and I put
together a thorough lesson plan beforehand and it went really well.
We made the classes interactive: playing true or false with blown up
condoms instead of balloons, teaching about the biology of HIV through
a cow thief game, and demonstrating correct condom usage with a little
help from a now well lubricated candle. A couple amazing things came
out of our classes. First, before we started class, we asked the
students whether or not AIDS was in Madagascar. Nearly, 50% believed
that AIDS was only on mainland Africa. And, it's true that the AIDS
rate in Madagascar is low, but due to foreign tourists and the rapid
rise of the commercial sex worker industry, there are people with AIDS
living in Madagascar. The scary thing too is that AIDS weakens the
immune system, but doesn't have extremely visible symptoms. So, the
only way to really know if you have AIDS is to get tested or you'll
realize it only after you're really sick. And because the Malagasy
people don't like to use condoms and don't get tested, it's really
just a matter of time before the virus spreads. By the end of class,
I think the students were pretty convinced that they needed to use
condoms, get tested, and tell their friends and families, but it's
tough to know that we were only able to reach a small fraction of the
population. Second amazing thing that really made our trip
worthwhile, after class, a few students came up to us and told us that
they were going to get tested to STIs and talk to their doctor about
birth control options. It felt really good to know that our work was
going to push a few students to brave the fear of going to the local
clinic for the test. Finally, Katie and I took a little time to enjoy
the tourism of Nosy Be, taking in the beaches and the food. Can't
have all work and no play, right?
And now…I need a nap. Maybe when I get back from Anjiabory on
Saturday (Jonathan's site); we're making cook-stoves and doing
nutrition talks. Hope things are warming up in the US and you're all
doing well!
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