I know you've all been waiting in angst, but it hasn't been in vain
Sunset over the Atlantic (Senegal)
My WAIST softball team, explained below.
Hello again all from Mali! After a nice shout-out from my good friend Grace, in PC Bulgaria, on her blog, I figure it's about time for another update before I, too, slip into the realm of "second-rate PC blogger". The highlights of the last 2 months for me were going up to Bamako for a couple of weeks of additional training in January, deciding on a couple of projects to get started on in Madoubougou, and taking a trip out to Senegal this past month for the West African Invitational Softball Tournament. Oh, and that whole "being cold in Africa" thing didn't last very long, in case you were wondering.
The training- so called "Phase IV"- was much more technical-skills based than that which we went through our first 2 months in country. For Natural Resource Management volunteers such as myself, this meant learning about things like tree nurceries, gardening, errosion control, and local resource management plans. I also learned about bee-keeping, solar-drying of foods, and environmental education. Most of the sessions focused on the basics of the topic and how we as volunteers might be able to help people in our village. Still far from being an expert, I can now at least start to do something resembling work in Madoubougou and know where to look for any needed help (manuels, experienced PC staff, etc.) Being back at Tubaniso, our training center, also gave me a chance to catch up with all of the voluteers from other regions I hadn't seen since our installation.
As far as work goes, I have 2 projects in the making so far. The first is a plan to create a tree lot for the sale of lumber with the men's association. We'll start a tree nurcery from which we can plant the tree lot, and then create the lot itself. The association hopes to sell the wood as planks and poles for construction, and it seems to me like a good way to start talking with them about the importance of planting trees. The second project I'm starting on is helping the women's association to get an engine-powered cereal grinder. My main role in this is to help find funding, but I also want to incorporate some trainings around this project to ensure that they are able to manage the operation of the grinder.
The trip to Dakar, Senegal, was a blast. WAIST is an annual softball tournament of mostly Peace Corps teams and other foreigners. This year PC Mali had 2 teams, both playing in the social league. We got to play 5 games over the weekend, my team making it to the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual champions. The weather was gorgeous, I got to see the ocean, and every day was packed with lots of good food and beer!
So that's all for now. I'll try not to wait 2 more months before another update... but I can't make any promises ;)
The training- so called "Phase IV"- was much more technical-skills based than that which we went through our first 2 months in country. For Natural Resource Management volunteers such as myself, this meant learning about things like tree nurceries, gardening, errosion control, and local resource management plans. I also learned about bee-keeping, solar-drying of foods, and environmental education. Most of the sessions focused on the basics of the topic and how we as volunteers might be able to help people in our village. Still far from being an expert, I can now at least start to do something resembling work in Madoubougou and know where to look for any needed help (manuels, experienced PC staff, etc.) Being back at Tubaniso, our training center, also gave me a chance to catch up with all of the voluteers from other regions I hadn't seen since our installation.
As far as work goes, I have 2 projects in the making so far. The first is a plan to create a tree lot for the sale of lumber with the men's association. We'll start a tree nurcery from which we can plant the tree lot, and then create the lot itself. The association hopes to sell the wood as planks and poles for construction, and it seems to me like a good way to start talking with them about the importance of planting trees. The second project I'm starting on is helping the women's association to get an engine-powered cereal grinder. My main role in this is to help find funding, but I also want to incorporate some trainings around this project to ensure that they are able to manage the operation of the grinder.
The trip to Dakar, Senegal, was a blast. WAIST is an annual softball tournament of mostly Peace Corps teams and other foreigners. This year PC Mali had 2 teams, both playing in the social league. We got to play 5 games over the weekend, my team making it to the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual champions. The weather was gorgeous, I got to see the ocean, and every day was packed with lots of good food and beer!
So that's all for now. I'll try not to wait 2 more months before another update... but I can't make any promises ;)
posted by Rob McCann at 4:10 PM
1 Comments:
Hey bro what the heck is going on over there in the reater Mali Area? I hope all is well and everything that your trying to put together is coming around for you nicely. Just so you know I am super jealous of all the sights that you are getting to see...especially those Hippos are you kidding me that is the shit. Oh and dont even get me started on the waterfalls that is so beautifull. Well I just wanted to shoot you a message since I finally got updated on your blog and all. We miss you over here bro. Take care...oh and sweet pup, Jami and I got new little Hound Mix it is soooocute too.
Talk to you soon Berto!!!!
You dog Chris
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