Ok, dont worry, i did not run off and give birth; however, I have basically taken over the mother figure role for one of the children in my family. His name is Ablaye and i just love him to death. He is extremely neglected by most people in the family and has been quite sick lately. I spend time with him every single day and have made it my personal duty to get him healthy. I recently created a online photo album and he is in many of those photos. In the past two weeks baby Ablaye has opened up to me and has even started talking. He is going on 3 years old and is tiny and can barely talk. I am hoping that this will change in the next year or so....
Things have been going well in the village. This week i was invited to attend a village meeting at a local elementary school. I a planning to put a well and a garden in this school. The director came to me the night before the meeting at aroun 11 pm and said to just stop by the meeting the following day if i had time and he would possibly mention my project. So the next afternoon, I was really busy and barely made it to the meeting but indeed, i was there. The meeting commenced and i noticed that there was one chair in front of the room.... the next thing i know, i am being summoned to sit in the chair and was told to explain my project. THE MEETING WAS FOR ME AND NO ONE EVEN TOLD ME. About 50 men from the village showed up and luckily i was prepare and had the budget for the new project with me. This was the first time i have led a meeting in Sereer. I was quite surprised at how well i did on such short notice. The meeting lasted almost 4 hours total. After the first fifteen minutes, i just sat there and listened to the men discuss and argue the details of the project. They were trying to figure out where they were going to come up with the contribution to the project (they need to contribute 25%). The meeting was great and everyone approved the project. I am currently rewriting the budget for a garden that is 50M-50M and a well that is 15 M deep. This garden will be used by the students in school as a way to teach gardening and business skills. Most village families are supported by earnings from gardens and field crops. I heard that the school has been trying to get garden going for years. I am praying that this project i a success....
Work has been picking up lately and i have been quite busy. I am in the process for applying for a job within the peace corps community. I am applying for a leadership position among volunteers. The Peace Corps Volunteer Leader is someone that acts as a liason between the Peace Corps offces in Dakar and the volunteers in the village. The leader is also responsible for the regional house in a given region. This is a big job on top of regular volunteer duties but i am up for the task. Theposition will not be available until August but applications are due friday. I finished mine today. In general, this position usually goes to a third year volunteer... i will only be going into my second year in August but am keeping my fingers crossed that the director will give me a chance... say a little prayer for me :)
Tomorrow I am heading to Dakar to see the doctor. I have been quite sick for about a month and am almost certain i have a parasite or amoebas or something of that nature. I will keep you updated. Again, dont worry.... im not dying... Peace and Love-Can
