Peace Corps Healthy Youth 2014 site assignments were delivered Tuesday, July 15 to us in a wonderfully personal & Inspiring manner. An outline of the national borders of Lesotho was laid out on a simple field & PC staff & current volunteers called us out one at time under the clear blue
Lesotho sky to "invite" us to our sites. Then we each stood on the geographic location of our site on the makeshift map. From this perspective we could see the coverage we were providing across this tiny country, the range of assignments in a variety of programs, & who would be our closest PCV neighbors & where would be our closest meet-up points.
We were all so excited & happy with our assignments yet I could see that many were reflecting on the reality of transitioning from our close knit group of trainees to the responsibilities of an independent Peace Corps Volunteer living & working in a whole new environment.
I was thrilled to get my top choice. We all had to rank our top 10 of 22 potential sites & write essays justifying our preferences. Fortunately our band of 18 trainees has quite a range of interests & skill as 11 of us received our #1 choice while 4 received their #2 choice. The remaining 3 had special skills (e.g., language proficiency) that were needed & they were asked to take special sites.
Here is all I know so far about my site:
I will live & work in a church compound in a village. This is a "semi-urban" village (Lesotho standards) 3km (1.8 miles) from Mohale's Hoek which is the camp town (district capital) of the district with the same name. I will be able to get to the camp town by car taxi easily & I'll be 2 hours away by public van taxi from Maseru, the nation's capital. The village is in the lowlands at an elevation of 1569 meters (5,147 feet'); the climate is typically hot & wet in summer & cold in winter. I'll see my new home next week & find out if I will or won't have electricity & water.
Site: Sisters & Bishop reside in the compound. An outpatient clinic is located within the compound & a hospital is just 5 minutes away. I think there is a school on the premises but I do not know yet if it is a boarding school where the teens live. And, I'll find out what living situations & education the mothers will have after they give birth.
Peace Corps Volunteer expectations: Continue existing programs. Develop programs for teen mothers on HIV prevention & treatment adherence. Help with data collection & reporting. Co-teach life skills & conduct sporting activities. Teach key hole gardening skills. Facilitate support groups & training for teens & their caregivers.
BTW - I got through the mid-point language interview/test. I am not a star pupil but trying hard & will do my best to pass the final language test in time for swearing in mid- August.
Photos include my happy reaction & our country PC Director addressing our group. The PC Director, managers & staff are all wonderful, devoted, kind, and so knowledgable about HIV programs & community development.
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