Well, it’s been quite the month. I have been on an emotional rollercoaster; from excited, to sad, to happy, to stressed, to okay, to all the emotions out there. I got to my site on a Tuesday, and right away I knew my host family was amazing. They made me feel right at home. I have three sisters and four brothers in my host family, and for once I am the oldest in the family, which I love! On the down side though, as the big sister, I couldn't cry when I was all up in my emotions because I had kids around me all the time. But on the bright side, they helped me realize I am here for a reason!
I must say; I LOVE MY SITE! However, originally when I was told where my site was after Pre-Service Training, I was not very excited at all. Upon arrival, I felt like I was going to hate it. It was hot and dusty, and very different from living in the city. But after being here for one month, to my surprise, my site is amazing! The community is so nice, and I love it!
Let me mention the friends I have made! My host sister is by far, my best friend, and her friends are lovely girls. I am part of the crew! Plus on top of that, there are other volunteers at my site as well. One is a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, the other is a Volunteer from Africa Directo, and the third is a Peace Corps Volunteer. Trust me these guys are amazing. We all share a common passion to make a difference in the world. I am so excited to work together with them and I am happy my site has these people. It is going to be a great experience.
Thus far, I have gotten to know almost all of my community members. Most of them visited me when I was living at my host family’s home and the rest of them met me at different community meetings held. I have also met with various committees that would potentially like to work with me. I must say, the community is excited to have me here to help better our community!
I love the girls that I have been working with in my community and I think they love me too. The stories shared by these girls have been touching and through our talks, I am better knowing the life of a girl from the village and how our society treats them. Most of the girls are really intelligent or have various sets of skills, but circumstances have forced most of them to just become housewives in their teens, or mothers to babies with ghost fathers. We have managed to create a girls group and in this group we plan to empower each other as women. Wish us luck!