Dear Friends and Family,
As I’m sure you’re all aware, I’ve been living in Benin for over ayear serving with the Peace Corps. This next year I will bevolunteering with a camp called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).The camp started in Romania in the early 90’s and spread to Benin in2000. Since then, it’s been held every year in various parts of thecountry.To put it bluntly, Benin is a very male dominated society whereunfortunately, women are not granted many of the same opportunities.Antiquated cultural norms and traditional beliefs still permeate thecountry, especially in the remote villages where many volunteers work. Girls often quit school at a young age to help take care of theirmultiple younger siblings at home. Many of them become marketvendors, are forced into marriages, or even worse, become prostitutes. In extreme cases, those that do manage to stay in school but do nothave the proper marks can advance by sleeping with their professors.Polygamy, although outlawed in Benin, still occurs and the numerouswives, unfortunately, must tolerate their husband’s actions as theylack the power or the education to do anything about it. On thegrassroots level, many are still illiterate and do not even knowFrench, their national language.
In my own experiences, I have begun a girl's club at the middle/highschool in my village, discussing topics similar to what we cover atCamp GLOW. The males outnumber the females by about three to one, andas the levels progress, the disparity increases. When I selected agirl from this school last year the director told me he was in fullsupport of any seminars or support I had for his girls because out ofthe 200 girls who attend, 14 of them were carrying children and onlyfour of those pregnancies being with other students. After elementaryschool, in order to attend school, there is a fee that variesdepending on location and size. With multiple children in thefamily, it’s often only the boys that get to continue with theirstudies, leaving the girls behind with just the bare minimumeducation.
As you can see, there is a great need in this country to educate womenand young girls about the importance of staying in school. That’swhat Camp GLOW strives to do. It’s a week long girl's empowermentcamp where they can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary tobecome better students and more powerful leaders in their communities. Throughout the week, various topics are discussed including financialplanning, sexual health, computer and internet literacy, goal-setting,HIV/AIDS awareness, study and leaderships skills, and malariaprevention techniques. The girls also participate in arts and crafts,sports and games, and take excursions to national governmentinstitutions and museums. All sessions are held by respectedsuccessful Beninese women who serve as excellent role models for thegirls.
The budget for this year’s camp runs close to $6000, so I ask yoursupport in please providing as little or as much as you can. Even adollar in Benin will go a long way. The camp is not set to startuntil June, but the sooner we have the money, the quicker we can startplanning, organizing, and finalizing all the details.
Please consider donating here, you can utilize the link belowhttps://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.donatenowand search for projects in Benin. The grant was just recently sent toPeace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. for final approval, andshould be online within the next week or two. Please continue tocheck periodically if you do not see anything.
The project is calledCamp GLOW – Porto Novo. Also, if this is a motivator, as weapproach the end of the year the donation is tax deductable.Thank you for your continued support and warm wishes. I hope all iswell back home, and continue to check my web posts atwww.laura2benin.blogspot.com for updates.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Little More Clarity
Last weekend was halloween, we had a party at one of the girl's house who lives in Cotonou. I dressed up as a gypsy and my friend Glenna was a marche mama. She carried a bucket of cookies around on her head an sold them and wore alot of different colored pagnes or fabrics. The next night I stayed around and we made really awesome chili. It was more veggies than other but it tasted amazing and I had a Jiffy cornbread mix so we had awesome cornbread.
This week the radio project got approved by my APCD and the director and they sent it to USAID for their approval. Because of the exchange rate the amount of money I am asking for is more. Please pray with me that it gets processed quickly because I need the money by thanksgiving. It is kind of crucial. This weekend we had a 3 meetings this weekend and we went to the opening of an american bar restaurant that had amazing fish and steak fillets. I am looking forward to going back and spending time with my beninese friends at post these last few weeks before my vacation.
I also had a visit from my APCD (who is the person I report to in peace corps). It was a very encouraging visit, and I kept him occupied all day. First we visited my supervisor with the artisans and discussed what I have been doing these past few months and talked about the issues with the payment of my rent. Afterwards I brought him to the NGO that I volunteer with and showed him the work that I trained the accountant and the pharmacy inventory manager to do. It is pretty basic, but no written records were kept before and now they keep written records and the accountant records the revenue and expenses of each day in excel. I played the radio spots for him too while I was filling out forms. He told me that those we were talking with had continued to say I was "useful and helpful to their organization" and that he was also impressed with what I was doing.
I don't always feel like I am accomplishing alot because of the amount of downtime in my life, but when someone tells me that my work makes a difference it gives me that little push of confidence that I need to have joy in my days. Before I was content, but now I also feel confident and excited about what the future holds. As I look towards the future I am realizing that one dream job would be working with refugees, counseling them about their experiences. I would like to do this in Chicago, possibly with Heartland Alliance which is a large organization that focuses on this in Chicago and other countries. It would be pretty awesome to study abroad for a few months in another countries and do field work with refugees. I would like to be based in the states for a long time but if I got married and eventually got offered a job overseas I could see for a short term (maybe 10 years from now). Short term goal after peace corps: hang out with friends and family of course, get a full time job in Chicago, volunteer with Heartland Alliance in Chicago by translating or helping refugees integrate into american culture. tentative other goals, take gre, apply to grad schools in chicago: university of chicago, depaul, loyola... I might start out part time and if I get the research assistant position for the division than I would go full time. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
This week the radio project got approved by my APCD and the director and they sent it to USAID for their approval. Because of the exchange rate the amount of money I am asking for is more. Please pray with me that it gets processed quickly because I need the money by thanksgiving. It is kind of crucial. This weekend we had a 3 meetings this weekend and we went to the opening of an american bar restaurant that had amazing fish and steak fillets. I am looking forward to going back and spending time with my beninese friends at post these last few weeks before my vacation.
I also had a visit from my APCD (who is the person I report to in peace corps). It was a very encouraging visit, and I kept him occupied all day. First we visited my supervisor with the artisans and discussed what I have been doing these past few months and talked about the issues with the payment of my rent. Afterwards I brought him to the NGO that I volunteer with and showed him the work that I trained the accountant and the pharmacy inventory manager to do. It is pretty basic, but no written records were kept before and now they keep written records and the accountant records the revenue and expenses of each day in excel. I played the radio spots for him too while I was filling out forms. He told me that those we were talking with had continued to say I was "useful and helpful to their organization" and that he was also impressed with what I was doing.
I don't always feel like I am accomplishing alot because of the amount of downtime in my life, but when someone tells me that my work makes a difference it gives me that little push of confidence that I need to have joy in my days. Before I was content, but now I also feel confident and excited about what the future holds. As I look towards the future I am realizing that one dream job would be working with refugees, counseling them about their experiences. I would like to do this in Chicago, possibly with Heartland Alliance which is a large organization that focuses on this in Chicago and other countries. It would be pretty awesome to study abroad for a few months in another countries and do field work with refugees. I would like to be based in the states for a long time but if I got married and eventually got offered a job overseas I could see for a short term (maybe 10 years from now). Short term goal after peace corps: hang out with friends and family of course, get a full time job in Chicago, volunteer with Heartland Alliance in Chicago by translating or helping refugees integrate into american culture. tentative other goals, take gre, apply to grad schools in chicago: university of chicago, depaul, loyola... I might start out part time and if I get the research assistant position for the division than I would go full time. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Project Update and skin diseases
So, as America quickly approaches so does my project. I need to get together with the students to practice the skits but the money has not been finalised yet. It will be just bureaucratic paperwork has been standing in the way. I have been looking into starting a girls health club at a school and participating in a sponsorship program that helps to pay the school fees of a girl at the school. I have to form a committee and select a girl and supervise her doing some sort of community service during the year. This can include having her help in the health club that we may be starting so I may kill two birds with one stone.
Other news. I have some kind of exema skin disease that is spreading and may be in my clothes. Its depigmentation on my arms and other places. Prescription: buy and iron and boil my shower sponges or rags and any other cotton stuff and wear sunscreen. They will give me some meds and a soap too, but the pharmacy didnt have it yet. So, its like I have leprosy except no one shuns me like in Bible times. At least no more ecoli! Yay. Toodles.
Other news. I have some kind of exema skin disease that is spreading and may be in my clothes. Its depigmentation on my arms and other places. Prescription: buy and iron and boil my shower sponges or rags and any other cotton stuff and wear sunscreen. They will give me some meds and a soap too, but the pharmacy didnt have it yet. So, its like I have leprosy except no one shuns me like in Bible times. At least no more ecoli! Yay. Toodles.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I heart CIPRO
So I am in Cotonou currently suffering another sickness: bacterial infection. (cipro is an antibiotic). I had a fever and chills and multiple diahrrea instances starting monday at 2am until Tuesday morning, so i called the doctor and she told me to come down. she said i had multiple white blood cells in my poop sample. well as dicaprio would say TIA (this is africa).
anyways sorry for the graphic display of my sicknesses to those who are not interested in that kind of thing. life has been a little slow lately but will be picking up very quickly very soon. i am organizing a radio project for AIDS and we have to practice and record the sketches within the next month. i also have to put together some questions for the doctor to respond to on the radio. i am also busy trying to finalise the grant so i can get money to fund the project. there are only two things left to do and hopefully she will pass it on to be approved. during the month of november i dont think it will be as busy because the radio shows will be running but i think i will devote myself to listening at the times that they should be playing just to know that they are running. please pray for us that the kids have fun and are motivated to do a good job and that everything runs smoothly. then on world aids day (dec 1) we will be hosting a day of screenings, educational sessions and using speakers in a neighboring village. in short i am glad i got being sick out of the way now so i can try not to be sick these next couple months before i come home during december.
i went to two funerals in the past month. on for the vice president of my artisans group and another for a member of one of the groupements that i work with. my vice president was in a motorcycle accident and since most people dont wear helments here broke his clavicle and hit his head so hard he had a stroke. he was doing better for a while but he must have had another stroke or something. the woman in my groupement had breast cancer and since they dont have alot of the technology that we do in the states, and since she did not have alot of money to pay for treatments even if they did have access to it.
other than that life has been pretty simple. trying to conserve money for possible vacations or after service trips. cooking different recipies in the cookbook. a new volunteer arrived recently in my neighboring village and i have enjoyed getting to know her. she inspires me to want to learn more local language. i have loved listening to the sermon tapes recently from back home. although the tidbits of news are months old, i can still find out what was happening. well a little over two months until u see this smiling face again. i miss you all dearly.
anyways sorry for the graphic display of my sicknesses to those who are not interested in that kind of thing. life has been a little slow lately but will be picking up very quickly very soon. i am organizing a radio project for AIDS and we have to practice and record the sketches within the next month. i also have to put together some questions for the doctor to respond to on the radio. i am also busy trying to finalise the grant so i can get money to fund the project. there are only two things left to do and hopefully she will pass it on to be approved. during the month of november i dont think it will be as busy because the radio shows will be running but i think i will devote myself to listening at the times that they should be playing just to know that they are running. please pray for us that the kids have fun and are motivated to do a good job and that everything runs smoothly. then on world aids day (dec 1) we will be hosting a day of screenings, educational sessions and using speakers in a neighboring village. in short i am glad i got being sick out of the way now so i can try not to be sick these next couple months before i come home during december.
i went to two funerals in the past month. on for the vice president of my artisans group and another for a member of one of the groupements that i work with. my vice president was in a motorcycle accident and since most people dont wear helments here broke his clavicle and hit his head so hard he had a stroke. he was doing better for a while but he must have had another stroke or something. the woman in my groupement had breast cancer and since they dont have alot of the technology that we do in the states, and since she did not have alot of money to pay for treatments even if they did have access to it.
other than that life has been pretty simple. trying to conserve money for possible vacations or after service trips. cooking different recipies in the cookbook. a new volunteer arrived recently in my neighboring village and i have enjoyed getting to know her. she inspires me to want to learn more local language. i have loved listening to the sermon tapes recently from back home. although the tidbits of news are months old, i can still find out what was happening. well a little over two months until u see this smiling face again. i miss you all dearly.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Akon in Benin!
So, last night I went to Akon in concert. It said it started at four but like most Beninese events it didn't actually start until about 6pm. When it did start it was a bunch of different Beninese acts which were decent enough but it was kind of disappointing that they were about a football field away. The concert was held in the stadium for the soccer matches and we were at one end of the football field and the stage was at the other end. There was no one actually on the soccer field either. This was good for the performance of African dances that happened later but it was hard to see. It was still really awesome. When Akon finally came out (1am lame) we were allowed out onto the field. Needless to say I haven't slept much but I will probably take a nap. Overall the experience was pretty awesome. The african dances and performances were awesome and really well practiced.
Blog End of August
Thanks for all of you who continue to read my blog. I apologize for not writing for awhile. Earlier this month, my Grandpa Bretveld on my mom's side passed away. It has been especially hard being so far away. I love both of my Grandparents so much, and I will miss my Grandpa always. I have felt very supported from Peace Corps friends and administration, and from letters and phone calls from family and friends back home. Please pray for my Grandpa as she is currently living in a physical therapy center. About a week before my Grandpa passed away she fell down the stairs and broke her pelvis. The pain is a lot better and she is doing better with the physical therapy but there is a long way to go before she can go back home. The nurses who were looking after her and my Granpa are so sweet and they told us they are looking forward to taking care of her back at home. Please continue to pray for myself as well, that I don't get too lonely and that God continues to teach me in the hard times. I deeply miss all of you, but I will be visiting in a little over 3 months!
Currently, I am finishing up training with a group of artisans in accounting, marketing and personal finance. I taught a training session with the new volunteers on the work I do during their 2 months of training. I also hosted 3 of the new volunteers at my post. I showed them some of the things I cook at post and showed them my work around village. I also found out that a volunteer named Bridget will be placed near my post and 2 married couples will be placed an hour north of me. I am looking forward to cooking with them for a Thanksgiving celebration and to visiting Bridget often. It is crazy to think that Thanksgiving is kinda close. The time moves by quickly now.
I have been also writing a grant proposal through the Small Project Assistance program. A community health worker and I from a neighboring village are organizing a World AIDS Day event (Dec 1) as well as radio dramas and an interview with the Medicin Chef on the radio, all focused on AIDS prevention. I will be putting my business trainings on hold until after the New Year when I come back from vacation at home because there is a lot that will need to be done for that event.
We are in the middle of the rainy season. I planted zucchini but the chickens ate mot of the seeds. There are two plants that look sort of promising. I also made seed starters for tomato, basil and zucchini plants that will hopefully be ready to eat before I leave for vacation. I might donate the starter plants to the orphanage after I see how the moringa trees turn out that we planted soon. It is nice as well that the farm school down the road has lots of vegetables now: cabbage, lettuce, beets, and soon carrots and cucumbers. I never ate beets or cabbage alot before but I have tried a couple recipies from our cookbook and they turned out well.
My girls soccer club is on hold as well. I did not realize that all students go to village to work or to Cotonou to study and spend time with their extended families. We will possibly be trying to start again at the beginning of October when they start again with school.
Well I miss and love you all. May God bless you and keep you.
Currently, I am finishing up training with a group of artisans in accounting, marketing and personal finance. I taught a training session with the new volunteers on the work I do during their 2 months of training. I also hosted 3 of the new volunteers at my post. I showed them some of the things I cook at post and showed them my work around village. I also found out that a volunteer named Bridget will be placed near my post and 2 married couples will be placed an hour north of me. I am looking forward to cooking with them for a Thanksgiving celebration and to visiting Bridget often. It is crazy to think that Thanksgiving is kinda close. The time moves by quickly now.
I have been also writing a grant proposal through the Small Project Assistance program. A community health worker and I from a neighboring village are organizing a World AIDS Day event (Dec 1) as well as radio dramas and an interview with the Medicin Chef on the radio, all focused on AIDS prevention. I will be putting my business trainings on hold until after the New Year when I come back from vacation at home because there is a lot that will need to be done for that event.
We are in the middle of the rainy season. I planted zucchini but the chickens ate mot of the seeds. There are two plants that look sort of promising. I also made seed starters for tomato, basil and zucchini plants that will hopefully be ready to eat before I leave for vacation. I might donate the starter plants to the orphanage after I see how the moringa trees turn out that we planted soon. It is nice as well that the farm school down the road has lots of vegetables now: cabbage, lettuce, beets, and soon carrots and cucumbers. I never ate beets or cabbage alot before but I have tried a couple recipies from our cookbook and they turned out well.
My girls soccer club is on hold as well. I did not realize that all students go to village to work or to Cotonou to study and spend time with their extended families. We will possibly be trying to start again at the beginning of October when they start again with school.
Well I miss and love you all. May God bless you and keep you.
Monday, July 5, 2010
CAMP Glow and Hekame
I apologize if anyone was bothered by my last blog. I know sometimes some of the things I say are sort of on the downer side, but I just want to speak the truth. Everything I said is what actually happens here. It is very difficult for women and girls and I want people to be aware that Africa is not all love and beauty.
On the flipside a couple weeks ago I participated in a camp for girls called Camp GLOW (girls leading our world). There were speakers and volunteers who educated 49 girls on issues such as: AIDS, sexual harrassment, forced marriage, hygeine, good study skills, health and reproduction, healthy eating, as well as making crafts and playing soccer (which they don't usually get to play because they are doing housework or the boys will not include them in their games). We also did not let the girls do any "house work" such as sweeping, which the staff did, and washing dishes and cleaning up, which we did. I think it was good because it gave them more time to think and just interact and laugh with other girls.
Because of allergies I got a bad cold which has mostly cleared now after lots of sleep. I also took a girl to the hospital who had sickle cell anemia (not a bone disease like she told us). She told us that a medicinal healer performed "gregorie" or vodoun ceremonies on her and it has hurt more since then. Really it has probably gotten more painful and had nothing to do with the vodoun. Anyways, they gave her ibueprofin and some other drug at the hospital. I found out that in the states when the pain is really bad like it was for her they give morphine injections. All in all, I am glad I am covered by US healthcare and will be shipped out of country if anything serious were to happen to me. The hospitals here have rats and there are not enough beds for everyone. Also, the latrines are the most disgusting I have seen in Benin. Okay granted this was a public hospital, private healthcenters have to be in better shape because they rely on their clients for money, not the government.
I have also been working with a groupement in Hekame, training the nuns at the healthcenter to run a savings and loan club with their patients. Every two weeks they meet and give money to the caisse and eventually we will start giving loans. I am not going to go frequently to this place because they are not in my commune and it takes a long time to get to the village, but I am going to keep in touch and do check ups to see that things are functioning well.
Emotionally: Recently I have been getting a little homesick. People from the stage before us are looking forward to leaving and the next group of volunteers/trainees are arriving. I don't desire to leave but I look forward someday to being able to date again and hold meaningful conversations/pretty much just having a regular social life where I can hang out with friends and family. I think these feelings come in spurts here and there when I am alone and have time to think and pray for people back home. I have found things and people and opportunities that I love about Benin, but I have realized how American I really am. I also love community living, aka roommates/cooking meals together. This is my first experience living alone; I like the ability to have my space if I need a break from the culture but I miss people. I like to walk around alot here. Anyways. I like my coworkers, my work partners, i love my friends and the kids; I can't wait to get back to village to see my neighbors new baby. I let you see a little bit of my heart but i will try to not to complain much. I am happy and content here and I most of the time at peace. Okay love you all.
On the flipside a couple weeks ago I participated in a camp for girls called Camp GLOW (girls leading our world). There were speakers and volunteers who educated 49 girls on issues such as: AIDS, sexual harrassment, forced marriage, hygeine, good study skills, health and reproduction, healthy eating, as well as making crafts and playing soccer (which they don't usually get to play because they are doing housework or the boys will not include them in their games). We also did not let the girls do any "house work" such as sweeping, which the staff did, and washing dishes and cleaning up, which we did. I think it was good because it gave them more time to think and just interact and laugh with other girls.
Because of allergies I got a bad cold which has mostly cleared now after lots of sleep. I also took a girl to the hospital who had sickle cell anemia (not a bone disease like she told us). She told us that a medicinal healer performed "gregorie" or vodoun ceremonies on her and it has hurt more since then. Really it has probably gotten more painful and had nothing to do with the vodoun. Anyways, they gave her ibueprofin and some other drug at the hospital. I found out that in the states when the pain is really bad like it was for her they give morphine injections. All in all, I am glad I am covered by US healthcare and will be shipped out of country if anything serious were to happen to me. The hospitals here have rats and there are not enough beds for everyone. Also, the latrines are the most disgusting I have seen in Benin. Okay granted this was a public hospital, private healthcenters have to be in better shape because they rely on their clients for money, not the government.
I have also been working with a groupement in Hekame, training the nuns at the healthcenter to run a savings and loan club with their patients. Every two weeks they meet and give money to the caisse and eventually we will start giving loans. I am not going to go frequently to this place because they are not in my commune and it takes a long time to get to the village, but I am going to keep in touch and do check ups to see that things are functioning well.
Emotionally: Recently I have been getting a little homesick. People from the stage before us are looking forward to leaving and the next group of volunteers/trainees are arriving. I don't desire to leave but I look forward someday to being able to date again and hold meaningful conversations/pretty much just having a regular social life where I can hang out with friends and family. I think these feelings come in spurts here and there when I am alone and have time to think and pray for people back home. I have found things and people and opportunities that I love about Benin, but I have realized how American I really am. I also love community living, aka roommates/cooking meals together. This is my first experience living alone; I like the ability to have my space if I need a break from the culture but I miss people. I like to walk around alot here. Anyways. I like my coworkers, my work partners, i love my friends and the kids; I can't wait to get back to village to see my neighbors new baby. I let you see a little bit of my heart but i will try to not to complain much. I am happy and content here and I most of the time at peace. Okay love you all.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Do Justice
Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
If any of you have ever wondered about the title of my blog, this is where it comes from. Today I want to address the part about doing justice. I recently listened to a sermon that my mom sent me given by Bethany Dudley at my church back home. She read alot of verses about justice and told us that justice is the second most talked about thing as far as number of verses in the Bible (over 2,000 verses). She told us to think about injustices that make us angry in our lives and to let out a loud cry of frustration. Okay so I didn't let out a cry of frustration because the neighbors might have come knocking but I did later start making a list of the injustices that burn me up inside here in Benin.
In Amos 5 it says "but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream".
Another quote she emphasizes is "it is not that doing justice will help the church, it is that we are not the church until we do justice". I am made in God's image, and I believe that when injustices burn righteous anger in my soul it is the Holy Spirit urging me into action. I think before I have just responded by holding the feelings inward in the form of anger at the state of things, but now I realize that I can do something in my own small way to help.
Injustices:
- Men eat sodabi and drink while their wives and children are hungry and malnourished
- Women are treated and talked about as objects, that can be given or traded. Sex and love and
marriage is a joke to men here
-Teachers and men and even students oppress and force girls and women to have sex (they
force sex for grades or just because they can) It is even depicted in their videos that women
have been raped multiple times but their is no real legal consequence for the men. A
satirical comedy I saw showed a woman confessing to being raped by 5 different men and
the punisher was the chef de village. In the end she had difficulty addmitting that even the
chef had raped her but somehow this was supposed to be the joke. What saddened me was
that as you looked around the bus it was not just the men that were laughing but the women
- There is no school past 3eme or sophomore year equivalent in highschool for the girls in
Toffo and probably many other villages in Benin. They have to go to Houegbo where i live
but many girls either cannot afford it or end up with unwanted pregnancies by teachers or
students
- women are constantly harrassed by men
- girls dont get the same advantages as boys in school
- some children live in fear of their parents and/or teachers because they might be hit for
making simple mistakes
- people over all lack confidence and a positive self image to beleive in themselves that they
can succeed and make a difference. this is not all people, but even when I am trying to do
something people constantly doubt me or are overly suprised when i do something they
didnt think i could do
So response... some of it is in the works and i may not do all of these things but...
- CAMP Glow- empowering girls, a week long camp that I am helping with and bringing two
girls from my commune to participate
- Women's groupements- savings and loans... helping women and their children. by practicing
savings and meeting together we can encourage them to manage their money better
- Possible future mentoring and hangout sessions with informal discussions about issues girls
face at school with girls in Toffo. I am hoping that this can be a new development after
camp Glow
- possible soccer club in Houegbo. there is soccer for boys but not girls
- future life goals.... ambiguous but hopefully as I see now.... maybe I wanted to do these things
already but now i see that God gives me knowledge and skills to help people, but what i
choose to actually do can be much more affective if i partner it with my passions
If any of you have ever wondered about the title of my blog, this is where it comes from. Today I want to address the part about doing justice. I recently listened to a sermon that my mom sent me given by Bethany Dudley at my church back home. She read alot of verses about justice and told us that justice is the second most talked about thing as far as number of verses in the Bible (over 2,000 verses). She told us to think about injustices that make us angry in our lives and to let out a loud cry of frustration. Okay so I didn't let out a cry of frustration because the neighbors might have come knocking but I did later start making a list of the injustices that burn me up inside here in Benin.
In Amos 5 it says "but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream".
Another quote she emphasizes is "it is not that doing justice will help the church, it is that we are not the church until we do justice". I am made in God's image, and I believe that when injustices burn righteous anger in my soul it is the Holy Spirit urging me into action. I think before I have just responded by holding the feelings inward in the form of anger at the state of things, but now I realize that I can do something in my own small way to help.
Injustices:
- Men eat sodabi and drink while their wives and children are hungry and malnourished
- Women are treated and talked about as objects, that can be given or traded. Sex and love and
marriage is a joke to men here
-Teachers and men and even students oppress and force girls and women to have sex (they
force sex for grades or just because they can) It is even depicted in their videos that women
have been raped multiple times but their is no real legal consequence for the men. A
satirical comedy I saw showed a woman confessing to being raped by 5 different men and
the punisher was the chef de village. In the end she had difficulty addmitting that even the
chef had raped her but somehow this was supposed to be the joke. What saddened me was
that as you looked around the bus it was not just the men that were laughing but the women
- There is no school past 3eme or sophomore year equivalent in highschool for the girls in
Toffo and probably many other villages in Benin. They have to go to Houegbo where i live
but many girls either cannot afford it or end up with unwanted pregnancies by teachers or
students
- women are constantly harrassed by men
- girls dont get the same advantages as boys in school
- some children live in fear of their parents and/or teachers because they might be hit for
making simple mistakes
- people over all lack confidence and a positive self image to beleive in themselves that they
can succeed and make a difference. this is not all people, but even when I am trying to do
something people constantly doubt me or are overly suprised when i do something they
didnt think i could do
So response... some of it is in the works and i may not do all of these things but...
- CAMP Glow- empowering girls, a week long camp that I am helping with and bringing two
girls from my commune to participate
- Women's groupements- savings and loans... helping women and their children. by practicing
savings and meeting together we can encourage them to manage their money better
- Possible future mentoring and hangout sessions with informal discussions about issues girls
face at school with girls in Toffo. I am hoping that this can be a new development after
camp Glow
- possible soccer club in Houegbo. there is soccer for boys but not girls
- future life goals.... ambiguous but hopefully as I see now.... maybe I wanted to do these things
already but now i see that God gives me knowledge and skills to help people, but what i
choose to actually do can be much more affective if i partner it with my passions
Visiting Tanagou and Fish weekend (a tribute to my father)
Well I will be talking about fish weekend later but first my Tanagou trip. This was a much needed breath of fresh air to my life in Benin. I took a spiritual wellness weekend and went to visit my friend Jeremy in the vrai north of Benin. He has one of the most beautiful posts in my opinion, being within 10minutes walking distance from the waterfalls. This is where we spent alot of time and where I searched for God in meditation, which for me turns to singing. I am trying to practice just sitting quietly, but I find that when I pray music just starts coming out of my mouth. If I don't sing it I feel like my head will explode unless I let it out. Sometimes it is praise, sometimes other feelings of yearning or pain or frustration. It is amazing how much feeling I can give to God in song prayers and how many songs I actually know. Besides visiting the waterfalls Jeremy showed me his village and introduced me to the women that he works with in the garden. He also pointed out the dam that the community is building and explained how right now there is a meandering river so they are creating a dam that can be eventually moved in the case that the river would again change course. I enjoyed hanging out with the Senegalise guys as well. They gave us tea which they brew with lots of sugar. For muslims in Benin this is their form of sodabi or chuke...(the local alcohol). One of the guys stopped by one night when we were watching episodes of the office on my computer. He enjoyed watching the screen and seeing our expressions when we laughed. I figured it would be more interesting though if I got out some french movies that Sam had given me and so we watched Babylon which was actually in English but with french subtitles.
The last day I was in Tanagou we experienced part of a 3 day fete that only comes every 2-3 years. The whole village as well as many of the surrounding villages go out to the lakes in the hunting zone and fish for three days. Now dad, this is not fishing like we are used to, they use spears and a basket that has a hole at the top. The baskets are designed in that you trap the fish by forcing the basket into the water and then reaching your hand in the top to see if you have caught anything. Now before the fishing could actually commence, people set up camp, searching for firewood and waiting for the fettishers to arrive. The fettish had to make a sacrifice on one side of the lake, wade through the middle of the lake, make a sacrifice on the other side of the lake and wade back. The goal of this ritual is to evict evil spirits and animals that wish to cause harm to the people as they fish. This was important because as the people fish they dont stand on the side of the lake casting in lines, but instead walk directly into the water, right into places where animals and diseases live. Jeremy and I took pictures and attempted to fish with a spear that a guy let us borrow. Oh yes, we were also approached by one of the fettish guys and he was acting his usual crazy self in front of us. Usually you are supposed to give him money but we didnt have little change. Jeremy bought him sodabi which the guy then gave a little back to Jeremy. He said that women cannot drink sodabi but he said he would buy me chuke which is like a fermented rice wine i believe. Well needless to say that after wading through the muck as we "fished" we were both filthy. We were able to get a lift back to village with some German tourists. I packed my things and ran to the waterfalls, rinsing my clothes in the waterfall and changing up there. It was so refreshing.
As I got ready to leave Tanagou I realized that a burden of frustration and anxiety seemed to have been lifted. I am taking it one day at a time, seeking God and it is amazing, because I have found that as I pray it becomes easier to deal with the things that usually aggravate me. I love how God knows how to meet me and when i will listen the best.
The last day I was in Tanagou we experienced part of a 3 day fete that only comes every 2-3 years. The whole village as well as many of the surrounding villages go out to the lakes in the hunting zone and fish for three days. Now dad, this is not fishing like we are used to, they use spears and a basket that has a hole at the top. The baskets are designed in that you trap the fish by forcing the basket into the water and then reaching your hand in the top to see if you have caught anything. Now before the fishing could actually commence, people set up camp, searching for firewood and waiting for the fettishers to arrive. The fettish had to make a sacrifice on one side of the lake, wade through the middle of the lake, make a sacrifice on the other side of the lake and wade back. The goal of this ritual is to evict evil spirits and animals that wish to cause harm to the people as they fish. This was important because as the people fish they dont stand on the side of the lake casting in lines, but instead walk directly into the water, right into places where animals and diseases live. Jeremy and I took pictures and attempted to fish with a spear that a guy let us borrow. Oh yes, we were also approached by one of the fettish guys and he was acting his usual crazy self in front of us. Usually you are supposed to give him money but we didnt have little change. Jeremy bought him sodabi which the guy then gave a little back to Jeremy. He said that women cannot drink sodabi but he said he would buy me chuke which is like a fermented rice wine i believe. Well needless to say that after wading through the muck as we "fished" we were both filthy. We were able to get a lift back to village with some German tourists. I packed my things and ran to the waterfalls, rinsing my clothes in the waterfall and changing up there. It was so refreshing.
As I got ready to leave Tanagou I realized that a burden of frustration and anxiety seemed to have been lifted. I am taking it one day at a time, seeking God and it is amazing, because I have found that as I pray it becomes easier to deal with the things that usually aggravate me. I love how God knows how to meet me and when i will listen the best.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Aïdokpo Nounagnon (When we are united, we can do much)
The name the group of women I work with chose for themselves. It inspired me and I was excited to write about this. When we are united, we can do much. For the past two months we have been united in saving money and the past two meetings we have been united in giving loans to each other. This week we are going to be united in planting seeds, Moringa to be exact. Please pray for these plants. If they grow, we will be able to sell the powder that can be made out of the leaves from this tree. The powder from the leaves, the flowers, and even the pods themselves all has great nutritional benefits. The grains hold most of the vitamins and minerals that need to be consumed in a day; which is why it is a great tool in fighting malnutrition in children, giving nutrients to breastfeeding women, and helping the elderly. As I look at these seeds, I think of the mustard seed faith in the Bible. I pray that this year my faith will continue to be like a mustard seed, that I can look at the things that are before me and see the great potential that is in store for them. God please see the hope that we have in you, unite us and help our group. Bless the ground and the preparation of the land that we are about to undertake. When we are united, with you, we can do much.
I miss communion. This word has multiple meanings as I have come to find out.
First, I miss fellowship. I am thirsty to pray in a circle with my friends, be it over a meal or at Bible study ending in Britta’s awesome song that I grew to love and now miss. The communion of the spirit: enjoying uplifting, encouraging, theological, challenging discussions. I miss crying, not that I want a reason to cry, but if I have one I miss being able to cry on someone’s shoulder and for them to tell me some story that will possibly lessen my pain. I feel like if I am able to cry in front of someone they should feel privileged that I was able to let my guard down in front of them. Pain is avoided at all costs here. I am not certain if they do the same with Beninese people as for me, but people are very uncomfortable if you cry here, making it sometimes hard to express when you are struggling. Maybe they have other ways of expressing it here, but I wonder sometimes if they are really suppressing it. On more than one occasion I have seen the neighbor girls and boys, younger than 12, go outside to hide their tears from arguments or painful punishments.
Okay so secondly, I miss the religious sacrament of communion. I go back and forth from attending the Catholic mass Sunday mornings (in French), to attending the little church next to my house Christian Renaissance (in Fon). I respect Catholic tradition so I have never taken communion in a Catholic church. One of the main reasons I wanted to go to a Protestant church though was that I could take communion (also I hoped the music was better). I only gained on the latter in of my wishes. When Easter rolled around I thought surely we would be taking communion together. It ended up that they would be going to a big worship service with churches from all over. The service lasted all night, which my friend forgot to mention until we were almost there. In talking with my friend at the service I asked if they were serving communion. She said yes, but she went on to say that only a certain group of select people would take it. In describing this group I am now convinced that the church is on a very Calvinistic mentality of Christianity. Those who can take communion are those who have reached the point in their spiritual walk when they no longer sin. The Holy Spirit guides them, and they no longer sin? Okay so if I have any pastors or religious leaders who read this please tell me if this is accurate because if so I think I have been committing sacrilegious acts by partaking of communion in the states. Well all this to say, two years from now will probably be the next time I take communion with my family at First Pres and it will be very special.
I am now going to risk people thinking that I am going crazy. A little while after the Easter service I had an interesting dream. I was walking through a forest and I had sat down with some friends in a clearing. It was night, and out of nowhere a lion appeared. For some reason I was not afraid, the lion was walking towards us but he did not seem all there. As he approached he was crawling army style towards us, but not in the semblance that he wanted to attack but almost as a dog seeks attention. He had a bluish, silvery glow like I would imagine a ghost to look. When he was next to the group he rose and passed through the middle and we parted for him. He left a trail of pita bread between us, and while we were wrapping our minds around what had just happened we didn’t have time to notice the lion had disappeared and a hooded man was hovering with the same bluish glow. He said take, eat and remember me. The rest of the group took and ate. For some reason, out of my Peter like motives of trying to please in the moment I told them to stop eating and that we should bless the communion by reading passages of scripture. Somehow I found myself in a dark sanctuary and someone from the group was reading from the pulpit. I ate.
First, I miss fellowship. I am thirsty to pray in a circle with my friends, be it over a meal or at Bible study ending in Britta’s awesome song that I grew to love and now miss. The communion of the spirit: enjoying uplifting, encouraging, theological, challenging discussions. I miss crying, not that I want a reason to cry, but if I have one I miss being able to cry on someone’s shoulder and for them to tell me some story that will possibly lessen my pain. I feel like if I am able to cry in front of someone they should feel privileged that I was able to let my guard down in front of them. Pain is avoided at all costs here. I am not certain if they do the same with Beninese people as for me, but people are very uncomfortable if you cry here, making it sometimes hard to express when you are struggling. Maybe they have other ways of expressing it here, but I wonder sometimes if they are really suppressing it. On more than one occasion I have seen the neighbor girls and boys, younger than 12, go outside to hide their tears from arguments or painful punishments.
Okay so secondly, I miss the religious sacrament of communion. I go back and forth from attending the Catholic mass Sunday mornings (in French), to attending the little church next to my house Christian Renaissance (in Fon). I respect Catholic tradition so I have never taken communion in a Catholic church. One of the main reasons I wanted to go to a Protestant church though was that I could take communion (also I hoped the music was better). I only gained on the latter in of my wishes. When Easter rolled around I thought surely we would be taking communion together. It ended up that they would be going to a big worship service with churches from all over. The service lasted all night, which my friend forgot to mention until we were almost there. In talking with my friend at the service I asked if they were serving communion. She said yes, but she went on to say that only a certain group of select people would take it. In describing this group I am now convinced that the church is on a very Calvinistic mentality of Christianity. Those who can take communion are those who have reached the point in their spiritual walk when they no longer sin. The Holy Spirit guides them, and they no longer sin? Okay so if I have any pastors or religious leaders who read this please tell me if this is accurate because if so I think I have been committing sacrilegious acts by partaking of communion in the states. Well all this to say, two years from now will probably be the next time I take communion with my family at First Pres and it will be very special.
I am now going to risk people thinking that I am going crazy. A little while after the Easter service I had an interesting dream. I was walking through a forest and I had sat down with some friends in a clearing. It was night, and out of nowhere a lion appeared. For some reason I was not afraid, the lion was walking towards us but he did not seem all there. As he approached he was crawling army style towards us, but not in the semblance that he wanted to attack but almost as a dog seeks attention. He had a bluish, silvery glow like I would imagine a ghost to look. When he was next to the group he rose and passed through the middle and we parted for him. He left a trail of pita bread between us, and while we were wrapping our minds around what had just happened we didn’t have time to notice the lion had disappeared and a hooded man was hovering with the same bluish glow. He said take, eat and remember me. The rest of the group took and ate. For some reason, out of my Peter like motives of trying to please in the moment I told them to stop eating and that we should bless the communion by reading passages of scripture. Somehow I found myself in a dark sanctuary and someone from the group was reading from the pulpit. I ate.
John.. dirty feet
‘Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only gut also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet but is completely clean…..
‘You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am, if I then, you Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things blessed are you if you do them.
Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet but is completely clean…..
This statement was not actually deeply theological, it was a blatant fact about living in a dirty, sandy world. Africa like Egypt is full of sand. It seems impossible to keep the floors of my house clean as I have to sweep them at least once a day. When I take my bucket shower, no running water, if I forget to wear flip flops I will inevitably have dirty feet within the next 20 minutes.
I love Peter’s enthusiasm and the way he stumbles over his words. I relate to him so much; I forget that God has a plan when he is doing something that he knows the end of the story; but he does not tell us. If he told us everything where would be the lessons in which we learn how to trust him? Jesus tells him if “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” I think this has two parts. It is first a message to everyone, if God does not cleanse our spirits and wash us, if we do not let him humble himself, take off his outer garments, humiliate himself to the point of death; if we don’t let him wash us through his innumerous acts of service and excepting our inability to do nothing to be able to wash our selves than ‘we can have no share with him’. In another light, Jesus knew Peter’s spirit, his pride, his need to be in control and in the spotlight, Jesus’ go to man. By Jesus acting like the house servant, washing his feet He was lowering himself below Peter and this was hard for him to grasp. “You will never wash my feet”, you have to give it to Peter he thinks he is saying the right thing, God; you are greater I am less, how can you humble yourself below me? But again, Jesus knows the purpose and the end of the story. The bowl and the basin; the wine and the bread, they are all predecessors to the hill and the cross. He knows the story, he wrote it all so we could be in communion with him through his acts of service.
He then goes on to tell us, that we should also wash one another’s feet. I have never seen the practice of foot washing in this part of Africa, but in a sense I hope that I am practicing foot washing everyday. Through talking with children and women in local language, through helping women take care of their children and fight malnutrition, through teaching business people to better manage their money so they can hopefully find more of a monetary benefit… all in the name of foot washing. Just like Simon Peter I struggle with one statement, ‘a servant is not greater than his master nor is a master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him’. In Benin, cultural differences are pretty strong. Every day children and adults point out that, indeed I have white skin. It is very difficult to get people to attend meetings on time if at all. My cynicism and frustration has always been a stumbling block for myself. I pray that I will keep my mind in check, so that my thoughts would be positive and would seek to love people despite our cultural differences.
‘You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am, if I then, you Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things blessed are you if you do them.
Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet but is completely clean…..
This statement was not actually deeply theological, it was a blatant fact about living in a dirty, sandy world. Africa like Egypt is full of sand. It seems impossible to keep the floors of my house clean as I have to sweep them at least once a day. When I take my bucket shower, no running water, if I forget to wear flip flops I will inevitably have dirty feet within the next 20 minutes.
I love Peter’s enthusiasm and the way he stumbles over his words. I relate to him so much; I forget that God has a plan when he is doing something that he knows the end of the story; but he does not tell us. If he told us everything where would be the lessons in which we learn how to trust him? Jesus tells him if “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” I think this has two parts. It is first a message to everyone, if God does not cleanse our spirits and wash us, if we do not let him humble himself, take off his outer garments, humiliate himself to the point of death; if we don’t let him wash us through his innumerous acts of service and excepting our inability to do nothing to be able to wash our selves than ‘we can have no share with him’. In another light, Jesus knew Peter’s spirit, his pride, his need to be in control and in the spotlight, Jesus’ go to man. By Jesus acting like the house servant, washing his feet He was lowering himself below Peter and this was hard for him to grasp. “You will never wash my feet”, you have to give it to Peter he thinks he is saying the right thing, God; you are greater I am less, how can you humble yourself below me? But again, Jesus knows the purpose and the end of the story. The bowl and the basin; the wine and the bread, they are all predecessors to the hill and the cross. He knows the story, he wrote it all so we could be in communion with him through his acts of service.
He then goes on to tell us, that we should also wash one another’s feet. I have never seen the practice of foot washing in this part of Africa, but in a sense I hope that I am practicing foot washing everyday. Through talking with children and women in local language, through helping women take care of their children and fight malnutrition, through teaching business people to better manage their money so they can hopefully find more of a monetary benefit… all in the name of foot washing. Just like Simon Peter I struggle with one statement, ‘a servant is not greater than his master nor is a master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him’. In Benin, cultural differences are pretty strong. Every day children and adults point out that, indeed I have white skin. It is very difficult to get people to attend meetings on time if at all. My cynicism and frustration has always been a stumbling block for myself. I pray that I will keep my mind in check, so that my thoughts would be positive and would seek to love people despite our cultural differences.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hope for girls in Toffo
Problem: what if your school stopped at the freshmen year of highschool? What if the nearest school was 40 minutes away on a motorcycle which you do not have money to pay for? This is the state of things for the children in Toffo. Children who want to stay in school; finish their diploma and even possibly go on to college have to rent an apartment in Houegbo or if they are lucky they will go to live with an aunt or uncle. This is especially hard for girls because if they do decide to rent an apartment and go to school here many of them find themselves with unwanted pregnancy. The father? Usually either a teacher; sexual favors equals better grades; or another student. If you thought it was hard to get child support paid in the states do not think it is any easier in a third world country. So the result is that most girls in Toffo do not finish their diploma and probably most boys either but their chances are a little better.
Our efforts: June 20 we are holding a week long camp talking about sexual harrassment, hygeine, health and medical topics, and most of all encouraging them to stay in school. We are also taking two field trips; one to a farming school that produces and sells alot of products besides the vegetables they grow and also a trip to the national assembly. This should be an awesome experience for these girls. I am taking two from Toffo and other volunteers across southern Benin will also be taking girls from their areas. Please pray for these girls and also for myself as I think of ways to council these girls in the future.
Other news: my accounting and marketing formations are going well. I am currently working with three new trainers. We will be finishing up in the next two weeks. They are a great group and really seem to be absorbing the information. Contrary to many in their culture; they show up on time... I was so amazed one day when I showed up late because I could not find a taxi and they were all sitting waiting for me. I am kind of discouraged with one of the other trainers from the last group who had taken the course and did not follow through with finding participants. I know that he was using the information but we could not get people from his area to come.
Microfinance projects: I am so happy with the womens group in Toffo. Those who can have been continually bringing more money each week to save. We have been able to give out 6 loans. The women are also receiving loans from a local ONG. The value of their money has been increasing too as they pay fines and as interest is paid back on loans. As I may have said before, we are trying to grow moringa. Please continue to pray for our starter plants. Not many of them took; about 10percent. There is still a chance that more seeds will grow... pray that they will. One of the Catholic sisters that I work with told me that there is another Sister in another city... that wants to do the same kind of project with the women who come to her center. I will be going to visit them in a couple weeks.
Side projects:
_a local health clinic that I work with has been pestering me to help them more with accounting. I love when people are seeking to improve; the pharmacy tech who works there seems to soak up the tools that I give him.
_I also am looking to working with the radio; their accountant asked me to come help her with the computer. She makes her charts in word instead of excel which takes alot more time.
_I also gave a little advice to our president. She used to have a cook that would make european as well as African food. She only cooks african food now because he was stealing money from her. She never rehired a new cook. I am pushing her to put an ad on the radio and advertise other places too. Also, she told me that before i suggested it she had never thought of asking for references or contacts from previous employers when hiring.
Okay; i will post again sunday night. Please pray for my friend. She owns a boutique and was robbed may 8. She sells alot of stuff and almost all her stuff was stolen. Friends have given her a little money here and there but it will take her a while to build back up to what she had.
Our efforts: June 20 we are holding a week long camp talking about sexual harrassment, hygeine, health and medical topics, and most of all encouraging them to stay in school. We are also taking two field trips; one to a farming school that produces and sells alot of products besides the vegetables they grow and also a trip to the national assembly. This should be an awesome experience for these girls. I am taking two from Toffo and other volunteers across southern Benin will also be taking girls from their areas. Please pray for these girls and also for myself as I think of ways to council these girls in the future.
Other news: my accounting and marketing formations are going well. I am currently working with three new trainers. We will be finishing up in the next two weeks. They are a great group and really seem to be absorbing the information. Contrary to many in their culture; they show up on time... I was so amazed one day when I showed up late because I could not find a taxi and they were all sitting waiting for me. I am kind of discouraged with one of the other trainers from the last group who had taken the course and did not follow through with finding participants. I know that he was using the information but we could not get people from his area to come.
Microfinance projects: I am so happy with the womens group in Toffo. Those who can have been continually bringing more money each week to save. We have been able to give out 6 loans. The women are also receiving loans from a local ONG. The value of their money has been increasing too as they pay fines and as interest is paid back on loans. As I may have said before, we are trying to grow moringa. Please continue to pray for our starter plants. Not many of them took; about 10percent. There is still a chance that more seeds will grow... pray that they will. One of the Catholic sisters that I work with told me that there is another Sister in another city... that wants to do the same kind of project with the women who come to her center. I will be going to visit them in a couple weeks.
Side projects:
_a local health clinic that I work with has been pestering me to help them more with accounting. I love when people are seeking to improve; the pharmacy tech who works there seems to soak up the tools that I give him.
_I also am looking to working with the radio; their accountant asked me to come help her with the computer. She makes her charts in word instead of excel which takes alot more time.
_I also gave a little advice to our president. She used to have a cook that would make european as well as African food. She only cooks african food now because he was stealing money from her. She never rehired a new cook. I am pushing her to put an ad on the radio and advertise other places too. Also, she told me that before i suggested it she had never thought of asking for references or contacts from previous employers when hiring.
Okay; i will post again sunday night. Please pray for my friend. She owns a boutique and was robbed may 8. She sells alot of stuff and almost all her stuff was stolen. Friends have given her a little money here and there but it will take her a while to build back up to what she had.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
little piece of america
so i am lounging on a couch, drinking wine, eating tarts and crab pasta with marinara sauce, talking on ethernet internet. where could you find all this wonderful goodness? an expat house in Cotonou where I am spending the night at the house of an employee of the embassy. the house is something that i would love to have even in the states. there are so many ammenities, comfy couches, and the couple who is housing us is giving us the works in cooking us meals and providing whatever we need. they were once peace corps volunteers too so i think they understand. it is beautiful to bask in the comforts of the could be's that rest at home in america. i haven't slept that well in some time; i haven't spent a night in air conditioning i quite sometime. i passed out immediately.
so why am i here? there is a big event at peace corps, the memorial of kate puzey, a peace corps volunteer who died last march here in Benin. they don't have enough room to house all the volunteers who are coming down to honor kate. I did not know her but everyone who did speaks fondly of her. i want to show my respect for her and help support the other volunteers who knew her so well. Her memory is well preserved here through her friends and those who loved her at peace corps.
so why am i here? there is a big event at peace corps, the memorial of kate puzey, a peace corps volunteer who died last march here in Benin. they don't have enough room to house all the volunteers who are coming down to honor kate. I did not know her but everyone who did speaks fondly of her. i want to show my respect for her and help support the other volunteers who knew her so well. Her memory is well preserved here through her friends and those who loved her at peace corps.
It is interesting that my diseases feel like the roadblocks I used to come up against when playing the
Well, we experienced something like the plague of bugs in
It is interesting how differently your body adapts to the changes in temperature. When the rains were over the morning air was not the normal hot and humid but definitely just felt like a summer breeze from back home. Nonetheless people had brought out their long sleeves and pants and I saw considerably fewer naked babies running around. The infants from next door ever were wearing crocheted hats that I would think of putting on a baby in the dead of winter while wrapping it in a thick blanket. I on the other hand was up eating my breakfast and wearing shorts and a t-shirt as I sat on my porch step.
I think African children help me appreciate life and the simplicity of it. Children are so happy with the littlest gifts. They love the notepads and pens that people sent from home and the little dinasour figures. All the candy that people send definitely isn't going to waste either. I realize that when I was at home and we would take trips, we would always stop and buy a drink for everyone in the car at the gas station before taking off, sometimes even if it was a short trip. I felt a guilty twang when a couple of the neighbor children spotted my empty can of fanta on the floor and tried to shake the last remaining drops from it. I also am saddened by the lack of quality school books, and the non existence of toys. Children really do play with trash if anyone ever had that thought, and so I have to watch out for what I put out in the trash pile, which is really just the field across the street. I keep crayons and coloring books in my house for the neighbor kids to use and eventually I want to get them interested in frizbee.
Well its getting harder to keep my eyes open. I love u all, and thank everyone who care to read this and hope I can write more soon. Starting to think about Christmas, it is a ways off but I am looking forward to seeing everyone and time will pass quickly until then.
Monday, March 1, 2010
sickness strikes again
i went to nikki this past week. there is a very big festival that is based around these kings from history. there is one king and alot of princes and they all ride in on horses. i helped in designing banners for a tourism booth in which we were promoting alot of the tourist sites in benin that people who came to the festival could visit. i was not able to see the main activities because i was passed out on my friends couch or running to the latrine for the entire day saturday. it is suprising how comfortable peace corps volunteers become in talking about diarhea and other sicknesses that i may have felt embarressed about in the past. i wont go into the other details but i am on some pretty strong antibiotics and taking oral rehydration salts. i feel better already but still get exhausted really easy. i cant wait to get back to post and sleep.
tomorrow i have my first meeting with a groupment in Toffo. we are talking about starting a savings and loans club. i love the nuns there that i work with. they are very compassionate and always have their hands d0ing something for the people who come to the center. we may be adding a health aspect to the group in which my friend, another peace corp volunteer, and/or her homologue would help in giving seminars on basic health or teaching the women about moringa. moringa is a plant that has alot of nutritional benefits that when used in food can help older people fight diseases and rehabilitate children who are malnutritioned.
in a couple weeks we are having a memorial for a volunteer from the previous group named kate who was killed at her post. i actually found out about this before leaving for benin. it is very sad and although i did not know kate i can tell she was loved by the way the volunteers and the staff hold her in memory.
at the end of the month i will be going to the GAD dinner. there will be a talent show, where i possibly may be swing dancing with a friend, the dinner, and a date auction. i am excited about that and may be getting a special dress made. it is interesting how cheap it is for people to tailor clothes here as compared in the states. anyways, until the next time friends, hopefully soon.
tomorrow i have my first meeting with a groupment in Toffo. we are talking about starting a savings and loans club. i love the nuns there that i work with. they are very compassionate and always have their hands d0ing something for the people who come to the center. we may be adding a health aspect to the group in which my friend, another peace corp volunteer, and/or her homologue would help in giving seminars on basic health or teaching the women about moringa. moringa is a plant that has alot of nutritional benefits that when used in food can help older people fight diseases and rehabilitate children who are malnutritioned.
in a couple weeks we are having a memorial for a volunteer from the previous group named kate who was killed at her post. i actually found out about this before leaving for benin. it is very sad and although i did not know kate i can tell she was loved by the way the volunteers and the staff hold her in memory.
at the end of the month i will be going to the GAD dinner. there will be a talent show, where i possibly may be swing dancing with a friend, the dinner, and a date auction. i am excited about that and may be getting a special dress made. it is interesting how cheap it is for people to tailor clothes here as compared in the states. anyways, until the next time friends, hopefully soon.
Monday, February 22, 2010
current projetcs
so work....
i had a meeting with my groupment that went really well. we are getting more organized. march 2 i have a meeting with a second group of women to discuss doing savings and loans. i am excited about the second group because it is a group of women who come to this catholic run orphanage/center for helping the poor. they may not be able to save as consistently as the other group or give as much money, but it is cool because i am helping to form the group instead of working with an existing group.
training of trainers. i am teaching people how to teach others accounting and marketing. so not teaching yet technically, i am creating a guide so they know step by step of what to say/ what to put on the tableau. once i finish the guide they are ready to go.
i just got a pack of letters from a school i am corresponding with from back home. the students i am tutoring here are going to write letters in response to the students back home and then i will mail them off. i think they are excited about this and i hope they will be too.
i am leaving tomorrow for the fete de ghani in nikki. we are going to publicize different tourism locations in benin. i am helping my friend to create posters and i printed alot of brochures for him. it is a big cultural event that lots of people attend and they put it on the television.
i had a couple dreams recently. one was that we had to evacuate the country and i read the message wrong and didnt bring anything to cotonou. the other was that was home with swing dancing friends... josh and mike. mike picked me up and dipped me pretty low. all that to say i miss home but i also like it here. there are alot of things that suprised my expectations such as the rudeness of men, and the yovo calling (foreigner), but everyone asking for me to give them things i am wearing or holding... but i love the respect and partnerships i have made with some people, i love learning languages, and i love the kids. Children especially but also women work very hard. This is not something against men in america but men her definitely dont work at home alot. there are some but they are few and far between.
i had a meeting with my groupment that went really well. we are getting more organized. march 2 i have a meeting with a second group of women to discuss doing savings and loans. i am excited about the second group because it is a group of women who come to this catholic run orphanage/center for helping the poor. they may not be able to save as consistently as the other group or give as much money, but it is cool because i am helping to form the group instead of working with an existing group.
training of trainers. i am teaching people how to teach others accounting and marketing. so not teaching yet technically, i am creating a guide so they know step by step of what to say/ what to put on the tableau. once i finish the guide they are ready to go.
i just got a pack of letters from a school i am corresponding with from back home. the students i am tutoring here are going to write letters in response to the students back home and then i will mail them off. i think they are excited about this and i hope they will be too.
i am leaving tomorrow for the fete de ghani in nikki. we are going to publicize different tourism locations in benin. i am helping my friend to create posters and i printed alot of brochures for him. it is a big cultural event that lots of people attend and they put it on the television.
i had a couple dreams recently. one was that we had to evacuate the country and i read the message wrong and didnt bring anything to cotonou. the other was that was home with swing dancing friends... josh and mike. mike picked me up and dipped me pretty low. all that to say i miss home but i also like it here. there are alot of things that suprised my expectations such as the rudeness of men, and the yovo calling (foreigner), but everyone asking for me to give them things i am wearing or holding... but i love the respect and partnerships i have made with some people, i love learning languages, and i love the kids. Children especially but also women work very hard. This is not something against men in america but men her definitely dont work at home alot. there are some but they are few and far between.
to my friends (and family...included in friends)
i love all u guys. i love hearing from all of you, letters, packages. thank yous....
1. jackie i got your letter and i love the longness, i didnt finish yet but when i do i will write u back, that doubles for brad only jackie's letter triples yours.
2. my deacon family. i love the package you guys sent and thanks mrs vanmeter for the monthly letters
3. mom--everything... packages, phone calls, love, letters
4. larry and sandy, christina and ryan, Grandma and grandpa....
5. younguns and church peeps for all your prayers
how i live, my daily routine:
get up, talk say hello to the neighbors, hug my little neighbor sister, pull a bucket of water (i take bucket showers), sometimes wash clothes (by hand, same bucket, getting more water from well). make breakfast or eat bwee... it is corn flour with sugar boiled... it is actually very good.
Going to work, work varies but right now i bike across town to explain accounting to people and use their computer to type documents.
Otherwise take a zemi (motorcycle taxi) to visit with groupments and give formations on savings and loan groups.
Come home for repo (12-3). Eat, read, take tiny nap.
Take 2nd shower. It is hot now and i can take 2 or 3 showers in a day to rinse off... sexy i know.
sometimes i will talk with artisans in village.
Preparing dinner. I cook by candle light. The electricity doesnt always work; and there isnt a light in my kitchen. Main foods: rice, noodles, yams...mostly rice... tomatoes, onions, peppers; fish. Problems with cooking: i don't have a fridge so everything has to be eaten within that meal or the next one.
Then i will visit with my neighbor friend or his sister. In answer to someone's church question from before... i was going to the baptist church for awhile but then i started going to the chuch around the corner from my house with some of my friends. it is in local language, but someone usually tries to translate for me. It is suprising how often they talk about bad spirits and praying against voodoon. I am also potentially teaching a song that i translated from english into french to the choir. i am trying to learn some songs in fon.
Killing coackroaches. This is a nightly ritual. I go to the bathroom in one of three holes in the grounds... latrines. i put gasoline in the latrine and they left. they are starting to come back but i know the secret now.
sleep. crawling into my mosquito net covered bed, sometimes reading a book, or the Bible, saying my prayers and going to bed.
so there are alot of other things i do for work... visiting my homologue, talking with different businesses, typing a manuel for this training program i am creating, talking with people and making connections that turn into something more for work. all in all this is me, more to come.
1. jackie i got your letter and i love the longness, i didnt finish yet but when i do i will write u back, that doubles for brad only jackie's letter triples yours.
2. my deacon family. i love the package you guys sent and thanks mrs vanmeter for the monthly letters
3. mom--everything... packages, phone calls, love, letters
4. larry and sandy, christina and ryan, Grandma and grandpa....
5. younguns and church peeps for all your prayers
how i live, my daily routine:
get up, talk say hello to the neighbors, hug my little neighbor sister, pull a bucket of water (i take bucket showers), sometimes wash clothes (by hand, same bucket, getting more water from well). make breakfast or eat bwee... it is corn flour with sugar boiled... it is actually very good.
Going to work, work varies but right now i bike across town to explain accounting to people and use their computer to type documents.
Otherwise take a zemi (motorcycle taxi) to visit with groupments and give formations on savings and loan groups.
Come home for repo (12-3). Eat, read, take tiny nap.
Take 2nd shower. It is hot now and i can take 2 or 3 showers in a day to rinse off... sexy i know.
sometimes i will talk with artisans in village.
Preparing dinner. I cook by candle light. The electricity doesnt always work; and there isnt a light in my kitchen. Main foods: rice, noodles, yams...mostly rice... tomatoes, onions, peppers; fish. Problems with cooking: i don't have a fridge so everything has to be eaten within that meal or the next one.
Then i will visit with my neighbor friend or his sister. In answer to someone's church question from before... i was going to the baptist church for awhile but then i started going to the chuch around the corner from my house with some of my friends. it is in local language, but someone usually tries to translate for me. It is suprising how often they talk about bad spirits and praying against voodoon. I am also potentially teaching a song that i translated from english into french to the choir. i am trying to learn some songs in fon.
Killing coackroaches. This is a nightly ritual. I go to the bathroom in one of three holes in the grounds... latrines. i put gasoline in the latrine and they left. they are starting to come back but i know the secret now.
sleep. crawling into my mosquito net covered bed, sometimes reading a book, or the Bible, saying my prayers and going to bed.
so there are alot of other things i do for work... visiting my homologue, talking with different businesses, typing a manuel for this training program i am creating, talking with people and making connections that turn into something more for work. all in all this is me, more to come.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
so where to begin
this is going to be long but i apologize. i have been getting slack from people for not writing blogs.
december...
we had a pre Christmas party at the us ambassador's house. free food and drinks and getting to meet a lot of cool people. the ambassador is opening the pool up on saturdays from 2-5p as long as it is working. i have been giving some accounting formations that have went well but i am frustrated that it is hard to motivate people. also, i have had a lack of attendance at the savings and loan groups in one of my villages. we are planning to start again in january.
Christmas i visited from friends up north in kandi and they had a very different Christmas from what i am used to. I was able to talk to alot of my family members and at least touch base as to what they were doing. My Grandpa Bretveld has been in and out of rehab and the hospital. Currently today, in January he is in the rehab portion of the hospital and does three hours of rehab work a day, hopefully he will be even stronger than before and will be able to go home and stay there. Please pray for my Grandma as well, being home alone. My uncle is there to help her and my mom goes to visit alot as well but it is still a difficult time.
I took a break at Christmas time, going up to Kandi and then visited the parks in the northwest side of benin. It was so beautiful and it actually gets cold at night because it is closer to the desert as opposed to my post which is in the valley where it is always humid even during the dry season. We spent a three days in the parks, seeing wildlife: lions, elephants, monkeys, lots of deer and antelope, some very colorful birds, and beautiful sunsets. We were definitely scared on multiple occasions because the lions almost charged the car. It is a cool story because I am able to say almost and I am here to write you all this post. The last day we stopped at the waterfalls and got to go swimming in the pool and jump of a little clif. There was a guy who could climb the entire cliff and jump off the very top in the time it took me to get a third of the way up. He made it look so easy and he looked so fearless when he jumped.
Back at post I spent New Years with my village. I ate and drank so much i thought i would burst. They were definitely excited for me to spend the "fete" with them. We even killed the concession goat. I have some pictures of that, i am going to try to put up pictures tomorrow. I even went to a dance party at my friend's house. I cant remember if i mentioned the all night dance party i had with my church but that was awesome too. I am learning to mix my style with some of the african moves.
So now to the past couple weeks. The monday after newyears I was called into the office because i had forgotten to turn in my form for vacation until quite late. I didnt realize it was a big problem but let me say I almost came home to see all you lovely people. I got a little punishment which i can deal with but it was very stressful. I also cannot work as a trainer for the next group of volunteers which doesn't mean much to you guys but it is a big deal here. I accept it though, it was a violation of policy and they needed to do something.
Anyways, last week we had a week long training session with my group of small enterprise volunteers. Our Beninese counterparts were with us and we were able to discuss our goals for the coming year and our action steps for the next 3 months. I think it was pretty productive and helped me to get on the same page with my counterpart. It was also an awesome time to catch up with other volunteers and hear about the projects they are getting involved in. We learned about possible fundraising opportunities and grant proposal options. For all of you who read my previous posts I will probably be posting a proposal on the peace corps website that you can donate to. I am looking into helping my community build latrines in the schools that don't have them. I will post the link on my blog when i find it. They are also looking for funds to help support girls coming to a girl's empowerment camp. I will be working as a counsler and hopefully be bringing some girls from my community.
So thursday of the training sessions i ended up going to the hospital. I was allergic to the black mold that was on the ceiling of our room and had been having difficulty breathing the first couple days. It got worse on thursday and i tried taking my inhaler but it didnt help. My breathing got pretty respirated and my knees and hands were cramping up. My diagnosis upon discharge can directly be translated as "nervous anguish". So in other words they thought i had a panic attack brought on by asthma. I ended up getting oxygen and drugs in a mask and was eventually fine. I spent the night there and have to say that i highly recommend the nurses and doctors who were all lovely people. I went back to the last session on friday because we were supposed to be presenting in pairs.
Then there was saturday. not all of you are affected by this but Kathy Porter who went to my church back home passed away this week from cancer. i found out saturday night but i guess it had happened earlier this week. This is really hard on me but i think it helps to write it out here. She was an awesome, amazing, prayer warrior, kind hearted, caring woman of God. She fought the good fight and stood up for justice and the unloved. She was a radical Christian and I know that God must have missed her an awful lot to take her to him now. She was an incredible witness for everyone. I am staying in cotonou for a couple of days to work and to process this death. Although she is not direct family i think it make things real when death hits close to home and i am so far away. i hate not having closure, but i thank God for how Mrs Porter supported me even while i was here. she cared about me and even sent me a letter to africa and i know that i made it to her list of prayers that she kept so devotedly. Please pray for the family she left behind and all the friends who loved her so much.
december...
we had a pre Christmas party at the us ambassador's house. free food and drinks and getting to meet a lot of cool people. the ambassador is opening the pool up on saturdays from 2-5p as long as it is working. i have been giving some accounting formations that have went well but i am frustrated that it is hard to motivate people. also, i have had a lack of attendance at the savings and loan groups in one of my villages. we are planning to start again in january.
Christmas i visited from friends up north in kandi and they had a very different Christmas from what i am used to. I was able to talk to alot of my family members and at least touch base as to what they were doing. My Grandpa Bretveld has been in and out of rehab and the hospital. Currently today, in January he is in the rehab portion of the hospital and does three hours of rehab work a day, hopefully he will be even stronger than before and will be able to go home and stay there. Please pray for my Grandma as well, being home alone. My uncle is there to help her and my mom goes to visit alot as well but it is still a difficult time.
I took a break at Christmas time, going up to Kandi and then visited the parks in the northwest side of benin. It was so beautiful and it actually gets cold at night because it is closer to the desert as opposed to my post which is in the valley where it is always humid even during the dry season. We spent a three days in the parks, seeing wildlife: lions, elephants, monkeys, lots of deer and antelope, some very colorful birds, and beautiful sunsets. We were definitely scared on multiple occasions because the lions almost charged the car. It is a cool story because I am able to say almost and I am here to write you all this post. The last day we stopped at the waterfalls and got to go swimming in the pool and jump of a little clif. There was a guy who could climb the entire cliff and jump off the very top in the time it took me to get a third of the way up. He made it look so easy and he looked so fearless when he jumped.
Back at post I spent New Years with my village. I ate and drank so much i thought i would burst. They were definitely excited for me to spend the "fete" with them. We even killed the concession goat. I have some pictures of that, i am going to try to put up pictures tomorrow. I even went to a dance party at my friend's house. I cant remember if i mentioned the all night dance party i had with my church but that was awesome too. I am learning to mix my style with some of the african moves.
So now to the past couple weeks. The monday after newyears I was called into the office because i had forgotten to turn in my form for vacation until quite late. I didnt realize it was a big problem but let me say I almost came home to see all you lovely people. I got a little punishment which i can deal with but it was very stressful. I also cannot work as a trainer for the next group of volunteers which doesn't mean much to you guys but it is a big deal here. I accept it though, it was a violation of policy and they needed to do something.
Anyways, last week we had a week long training session with my group of small enterprise volunteers. Our Beninese counterparts were with us and we were able to discuss our goals for the coming year and our action steps for the next 3 months. I think it was pretty productive and helped me to get on the same page with my counterpart. It was also an awesome time to catch up with other volunteers and hear about the projects they are getting involved in. We learned about possible fundraising opportunities and grant proposal options. For all of you who read my previous posts I will probably be posting a proposal on the peace corps website that you can donate to. I am looking into helping my community build latrines in the schools that don't have them. I will post the link on my blog when i find it. They are also looking for funds to help support girls coming to a girl's empowerment camp. I will be working as a counsler and hopefully be bringing some girls from my community.
So thursday of the training sessions i ended up going to the hospital. I was allergic to the black mold that was on the ceiling of our room and had been having difficulty breathing the first couple days. It got worse on thursday and i tried taking my inhaler but it didnt help. My breathing got pretty respirated and my knees and hands were cramping up. My diagnosis upon discharge can directly be translated as "nervous anguish". So in other words they thought i had a panic attack brought on by asthma. I ended up getting oxygen and drugs in a mask and was eventually fine. I spent the night there and have to say that i highly recommend the nurses and doctors who were all lovely people. I went back to the last session on friday because we were supposed to be presenting in pairs.
Then there was saturday. not all of you are affected by this but Kathy Porter who went to my church back home passed away this week from cancer. i found out saturday night but i guess it had happened earlier this week. This is really hard on me but i think it helps to write it out here. She was an awesome, amazing, prayer warrior, kind hearted, caring woman of God. She fought the good fight and stood up for justice and the unloved. She was a radical Christian and I know that God must have missed her an awful lot to take her to him now. She was an incredible witness for everyone. I am staying in cotonou for a couple of days to work and to process this death. Although she is not direct family i think it make things real when death hits close to home and i am so far away. i hate not having closure, but i thank God for how Mrs Porter supported me even while i was here. she cared about me and even sent me a letter to africa and i know that i made it to her list of prayers that she kept so devotedly. Please pray for the family she left behind and all the friends who loved her so much.
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