Today I am 26
and as is often the case on birthdays I find myself reflecting on years past. I
have lived in four countries, five U.S. states and one Federal District. I’ve been a Peace Corps volunteer in
Suriname for over a year and by dumb luck have not succumbed to any (fatal)
tropical diseases.Disconnected
from mass media and far away from friends and family, it seems I’m missing
quite a lot: Friends are getting married, societies and governments are
changing, JCrew is having sales on cashmere sweaters and Yogen Fruz has
introduced new flavors and toppings!
But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns in
the land of the free and the home of the brave. My divorce from the internet, newspapers, modern life and
the non-equatorial climate means that I’ve also been spared grief and
frustration from the violence, protests and other general chaos of the rest of
the world: massive rights abuses by authoritarian governments during the Arab
Spring, whatever the Hell the Occupy Wall Street movement was (or is?) about,
hours upon hours of negative campaign ads; snow shoveling, electric bills and, most
recently, the blatant disregard for human life demonstrated in the Colorado
Batman massacre. So when I find myself sweating uncontrollably, cursing the
worms in my durotank water and praying that a hamburger joint, Chipotle or
24-hour CVS will miraculously appear in my cozy little village, I am reminded
that life in the jungle isn’t always so bad. Ignorance is bliss and all that…
Quick Updates
Creche
Slowly but
surely the daycare center is nearing completion. My counterpart Jowanie is
spending most of his free time putting the finishing touches on its
construction. I’m crossing my fingers that once the structure is complete,
there will be more motivation to get the center’s future employees trained and
certified.
Mi Sabi Taki
Engels
I’ve begun
teaching three English classes after hours at the local elementary school. Each
class has between six and ten students ages nine to fifteen. They meet twice a
week for one hour and are learning at a genuinely impressive rate. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that I bribe
them with cookies ;)
UNDP Proposal
A new
community-based organization (CBO), Stichting Landbouw A Sa Boeng, has
submitted a project proposal to the UNDP’s Small Grants Programme. Yours truly wrote the lengthy document,
which the CBO hopes will help them fund a profit-sharing agricultural project
to improve livelihoods and increase their farm capacity. Much to its member’s
chagrin, if Stichting Landbouw receives the grant they will be required to
discontinue the use of all harmful chemicals (i.e. gramaxione and malathion)
for the duration of the project. Bummer for the farmers, bonus for the forest!
Other Project
Support
I’ve also lent
support to other PCV projects in the last few months, including administering a
breastfeeding survey and developing an HIV/AIDS educational film in the local
language. The former, designed by
Peace Corps Suriname’s Maternal and Infant Nutrition Committee, is meant to
glean information about breastfeeding habits in Suriname’s interior. Information was collected by several
Peace Corps volunteers in Saramaccan, Aucan and Amerindian sites. The data will be presented to a
non-profit that promotes breastfeeding education and awareness in Paramaribo to
help them determine the needs, practices and local knowledge of women outside
the capital. The latter, funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR), was designed to help clinics and other community health
workers communicate information about HIV/AIDS in a language understood by
local constituents. A major
problem in Suriname is that public health information is often only available
in Dutch, the official language. If my not-so-technical mind uncovers a way to
post the video online, I will do so.
Upcoming Events
A donor
delegation from UNICEF will be visiting Ricanaumoffo this coming week to assess
the village’s progress toward its water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) goals
and to determine whether funding should be provided for additional projects.
Miscellaneous
·
I’m
auditioning for the movie “Rasta Aliens” next month! Just kidding. The fake dreads took my friend four hours. My derrière was a little sore by the end of our salon session.
- For those residing either in the Washington, D.C. or Detroit metro areas, I will be in the beautiful US and A from December 17th through Jan 9th. Start getting excited!
- I’ve submitted an application to a non-profit in the U.S. that donates soccer equipment to underfunded teams. If they award a donation to the two adult teams in Ricanaumoffo (for cleats and jerseys) I may well be hitting up friends and generous strangers for about $250 to get the equipment shipping to Suriname. I know all of you eager beavers just can’t wait to get out your pocket books, so try to restrain your excitement.
- The children in Rica go through coloring books and crayons like addicts go through smack. So if you feel so inclined, they would love a few of those items. Barbie and Spiderman are big favorites. Pens are also a big hit. I would also love a couple simple children’s books in English for my classes, if anyone feels so inclined. Special thanks to Nick and Sarah Levine for feeding their addiction.
