coming out of college, i thought long and hard about the Peace Corps. i even had the chance to talk to former ambassadors and a former national security advisor about the government program. what ultimately kept me from going? a girl. well, that's love for ya.
three years later, i no longer had the girl but i had 'should have' running around my brain. in Aug of 2007, i got the amazing honor of meeting President Barack Obama (then just Sen. Obama in an underdog position in the primaries) during his trip to Utah. out of that encounter, i gained a renewed vision. i wanted to be proud of what i was doing with my life. service abroad seemed the way.
now i'm six months into my two year stay. i live in a small village named Rambo in the north of Burkina Faso, a west african country. hearing the name for the first time, i had laughed. my friend Kait even remarked on how she thought i'd end up being the volunteer to such a place with such a familiar name. well, she was right and i couldn't be happier.
my village is the head of its department but is not very large, definitely deserving the 'village' title. in village, i am a math teacher at a local C.E.G. (school) that goes through the equivalent of 10th grade. i teach somewhere around 250 students all in french, a language i only started to really learn in the last six months.
village is a challenge that keeps me on my toes. i wake everyday to something new that is broken and has to be fixed, normally without proper tools. but, as Grandma says "poor folks have poor ways". the kids make sure i'm always thinking. if i can gain their respect and be a mentor to them, then perhaps i can make a difference. the language is trying but rewarding, as is the rest of life in village.
in future blogs i'll try to let you know my ideas on development and progress. also, i'll explain more about life in village and teaching.
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a little about burkina faso
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Current President Blaise COMPAORE came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then.
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km
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