A Call for Collaboration

Dear friends and family,

I hope that as you are reading letter that all is well for you and your family.  I can say that my Peace Corps adventure over the last nine months within The Gambia has been challenging, exhilarating, and life-changing on so many levels.  My work at the Seno Bajonki Lower Basic School continues to be a source of great joy, in large part due to the great staff and students I am blessed to work alongside of.  Since last October, school administration has been dedicated towards fundraising to establish a Community Library and Learning Center which will be a joint resource for the lower basic school and community of Seno Bajonki.  Our hope is to complete construction of the Community Library and Learning Center by the end of the current academic year on July 15, 2016.  The Community Library and Learning Center will be utilized for a variety of uses.  These uses include housing the Early Child Development class for the 2016-17 academic year, centralized library space for all students at the lower basic school, utilization of the library outside of school hours and over school breaks by both students and community members, locally facilitated skill trainings, and for meetings and programs coordinated by community groups within Seno Bajonki.  Local fundraising efforts have yielded 17,900 Gambian dalasis, $447.50 USD.  The remainder needed to fully fund this project is $1,167.38.  Any donations made on the Peace Corps Partnership Program webpage,

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/community-library-and-learning-center471/, will be tax deductible. If you are able to give it would be greatly appreciated if you could donate by April 1^st in an effort for the funds to be dispersed by our tentative construction start date of April 15^th.  I cannot thank you enough for your consideration of this project and all your support of my Peace Corps service here in The Gambia.

With hope,

Stephen

Of Updates and Baby Pictures

Time continues to move oh so quickly here in The Gambia.  The second term at school has already reached its half way mark, mango trees are starting to blossom with mangoes likely to be ready by next month, and "cold" season only has a few weeks to go.  My work at school continues to go smoothly.  I am so thankful that I have a quality staff that I get to work with day in and day out.  My language learning has hit a plateau, but I have been told by several volunteers in country they experience a similar plateau during the same period in their service.  My older host brother Sambaya and his wife had a baby boy last week.  The naming ceremony will be on Monday (will update this post when I know the name).  This past month I began my work as a committee member on the anti-malaria task force.  Yesterday, we conducted a malaria survey and follow-up discussion with the grade 3 students at school which, inshallah, was very informative for both staff and students.  This upcoming week I'll be headed to Massembeh for a week of training, of which two of my teacher counterparts at school will be attending over the course of the week.  Local fundraising for the Community Library and Learning Center is in full swing this month.  The efforts of my head teacher and Village Development Committee chairman in coordinating follow-up visits to the fundraising letters sent out last December have been amazing to see.  Hoping that all is well for you all wherever you may be reading this from.  Enjoy the baby pictures!!

Nene Carol (named after my mom in the U.S.)

Sembaya's baby boy (born 2/8; to be named 2/15)

Adventures of Abu and Lamin Lamin

As I believe I have previously mentioned I have five younger siblings in my compound the youngest of which are Abu and Lamin (whom is now commonly called Lamin Lamin), both of which are now two years old.  One of my great joys is to watch these two little ones chase livestock that saunter into the compound with great gusto.  It was recently that this warrior-like behavior hit its crowing achievement.  Abu and Lamin Lamin shooed away a full grown male cow. Pictures of all parties involved are pictured below.  I am in a transition phase in my service as one of my mentors and closest friends within Peace Corps, Jacy, is now in the process of heading back to the United States after a successful two and a half year service.  I am thankful that I have such a great support network within my host family, school staff, Peace Corps The Gambia, and friends and family back in the States that ease this transition time in my service.  If you are reading this and would be interested in a Skype chat I will be available to video chat February 5-8 while I am in the capital area for a few days. Stay amazing!!

Transparency

The last month of my Peace Corps Service will hopefully be the low point of my service.  Following an investigation into the violation of Peace Corps zero tolerance drug policy, eighteen Peace Corps Volunteers were sent home, abruptly ending approximately one-fifth the volunteers currently in country.  What made this loss even more difficult was the manner in which the investigation was conducted.  Investigators from the Office of Inspector General, previously having served as military investigators in Iraq and Afghanistan, conducted what could be best described as a witch hunt. Volunteers were unable to have legal council or other representation during questioning, were told if they failed to comply with the investigators requests could be federally prosecuted, and were interrogated with open hostility leading many volunteers to tears and anxiety (many of whom were not found in violation of the drug policy).  This process led me to an introspection on whether I could continue my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer, with a loss in trust in the structure in which I found myself working under.  After a large group meeting between volunteers and staff in addition to a one-on-one meeting with the country director of Peace Corps The Gambia, I feel some of that trust has been restored.  Currently efforts are being made to rectify two areas of concern: 1) The manner in which the investigation was conducted and 2) The environment in which drug use became so widespread.  It is in these efforts that I have found myself hopeful that the values to which Peace Corps holds paramount will be upheld here within The Gambia throughout the rest of my service so that volunteers can focus on partnering with the Gambian communities in which they live.  I am thankful that through this valley of my service I have had such amazing support from my Gambian family, my head teacher to whom I hold dear as a brother, and the community of Peace Corps Volunteers who have walked this difficult road alongside me.  Inshallah my next post will be of a more positive nature, but I felt it important to share this experience as best I can with you all.  Know that I hold each of you dear in my heart.

A Week of Celebrations

Life here in The Gambia is starting to cool off a bit (I'm sleeping under a blanket now for the first time since my arrival in June).  This past week the Seno Bajonki Lower Basic School celebrated its 3rd birthday with a program that was well attended by both students and members througout the community (pictures 1-3 below).  I also had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Gambian family (picture 4 below).  We had a feast of benechin, chicken, potatoes, onions, bread, juice, and cookies that was also shared with the teachers at school.  I also learned that a newborn within the community was named Carol, after my mom in the United States!! One of my newly found favorite parts to my day is putting my little siblings to bed in the evening after dinner.  I really am blessed to undergo my Peace Corps journey with my Gambian family at my side.  I hope that this message greets you well.  Thank you so much for all of your support.  It means the world to me!!

Meet Abdulie Quiateh

Two weeks ago a baby boy was born in my neighboring compound.  After the naming ceremony (Pembugal) the little one was named Abdulie, which makes him my second tokara (a person who shares your name) born since I have arrived in Seno Bajonki.  I am enjoying my last couple of full weeks in village before I'll be traveling in country for trainings and workshops.  Next month I will be running for the regional position within the LRR for Peace Corps The Gambia's Volunteer Anti-Malaria task force, which I am excited for that potential opportunity.  My work at the Seno Bajonki Lower Basic School continues to be a delight between classroom observations, data analysis, and collaboration with the village leadership on the development of a Community Library and Learning Center (CLLC).  Within the next couple of weeks we will begin fundraising effort in village and with local business men and women within the greater Soma area.  More details about the CLLC will be in my next post.  I hope that this message greets you well wherever you may be.  Enjoy the pictures of little Abdulie and his family!!

At the Intersection of Cookies and Jenga

Hello everyone!!  I hope that as you are reading this all is well for you.  Time here in The Gambia seems to move faster and faster as the months go on.  I am greatly enjoying my work at the Seno Bajonki Lower Basic School.  The head teacher and the rest of the staff have been welcoming since day one, of which I am so thankful to have experienced.  We are beginning a joint school-community initiative in what inshallah will lead to the building of the Seno Bajonki Community Library and Learning Center (CLLC).  Current discussions have led to a variety of uses for the CLLC including housing the school library (with access to community members as well), meetings and programs for currently existing community groups (Village Development Committee, School Management Committee, and Mothers' Club), and as a space for local skilled labor workers (masons, carpenters, electricians, roofers) to teach informal courses to interested community members in learning a new craft.  Over the last couple of months as visitors within the community and fellow Peace Corps Volunteers have visited I have enjoyed providing them with refreshments (mainly cookies, milk and/or tea).  The finished cookie boxes accumulated have led to a makeshift Jenga set which will continue to grow as the months go on.  The first game played yesterday is depicted below in which my dear friend Sembaya was victorious.  I am nearing completion of my three-month challenge which will end on November 14th, of which my goals of visiting each compound of Seno Bajonki and staying within the Lower River Region have been either successfully completed (goal #1) or on track for successful completion (goal #2).  Next weekend I will be celebrating Halloween with fellow PCVs Jacy and Dan with a tasty treat of caramel coated roasted corn.  My next post I will make sure to post sooner than the gap between this and my previous post.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  Stay amazing!!