Life Skills Workshop

Last Sunday I had the privilege of attending the third day of the three-day life skills workshop for out-of-school girls. The workshop was sponsored by the National AIDS Secretariat and hosted by the Lower River Region Branch of the Red Cross Club. There were four participants each from six villages in the Soma area. The first day of the workshop focused on HIV/AIDS education and the second two days focused on what development workers call "life skills" (e.g., self-esteem, goal-setting, role models, critical/creative thinking, decision-making). While the workshop could have been a bit interactive and included games and activities, the girls seemed to be very receptive and enthusiastic. At the end of the workshop, the girls were all told that they were now "ambassadors" and given the assignment to go back to their villages and teach at least five other girls what they had learned. We have yet to see how effective that strategy will be, but it's certainly an interesting approach.

Group picture

Fatou and Hawa...two of my favorites :-)

Spontaneous running races during break (in skirts of course)

Umi, my hilarious neighbor

Back in sessions

Listening attentively

Video of a girl leading a spontaneous song at the end of the workshop (914)

Another birthday! (May 11)

The birthday girl happily cutting up cheese. Thanks for the cheese Mom!!!

Manchego and aged cheddar...typical Gambian fare ;-)

Wine and cheese = happy people!

The ladies (minus Kelsey)

Goofballs

Lick the cheese plate? Gross! Who would do something like that?!?

Me and Lindsay, hard at work

Spicy ginger chicken noodle deliciousness

The birthday girl wanted a picture of dinner on our pretty new mat

Happy birthday to youuuuu...

All smiles :-) This doesn't look like much, but it was layered coffee cheesecake and chocolate cake. Very decadent!

Josh, Kelsey and Lindsay stuck around for an extra day, so the next day we had time to play some board games (we're playing Settlers of Catan here). Note the fascinated and yet baffled Gambians in the background.

World Malaria Day (May 8)

On World Malaria Day there was a BIG event in Soma. Apparently this was Soma's year to have the big event for the country. All sorts of ministry big-whigs and not were there. The event included everything from a parade to speeches to singing and dancing, and it even included a guy jumping through a flaming hoop. I took a ton of pictures and some video:

Parade

Again

Traditional dancing group

Video of the group

Musicians

More dancing

Video of the dancing (863)

People watching the dancing

Drama (play)

Picture update (April 30 - May 7)

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but Jacob ran off to South Africa with our computer, so that made things a bit more difficult.  But never fear!  I've been taking pictures and now that Jacob is all healed up and back in The Gambia, (!!!) I can post them :-)

Malaria "Field Day" event where health staff gave presentations about malaria prevention, how to recognize symptoms, etc, then did a sort of game show afterwards with prizes like buckets, bats, umbrellas and baby baths for correct answers.  Right before rainy season (which is also malaria season) every year, the regional health teams conduct these events in one village per region.  This year our village was the lucky village for our region!

Again

Attempt #2 at cheese.  Definitely getting closer!

 Lisa in action.  Frying for a few seconds over a gas stove is sort of like microwaving for 45 seconds, right?

 Evidence that our mozzarella was, in fact, a ball at one point. It had completely disintegrated into tiny curds by the time we got to Farafenni...

 ...but that didn't stop us from making some amazing bruschetta!  Fresh basil, fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and homemade (albeit crumbly) mozzarella.  Yum!  And we even had wine to go with it :-)

  Stevo was a bread-toasting champ.

 Leah helped too.  I swear!

Finished product.  So good!!

 Self-portrait...attempting to capture my new braids

 Better shot

Sarah's Project Plan

There has been a bit of confusion around the project plan post Jacob made a while back.  The plan he posted was his personal plan, not mine and not a joint one.  My personal plan is as follows:

-I am now working in the public health office at the Soma Major Health Center three days a week, supporting the public health team with reproductive and child health clinics, inspections, health education, and information management.  During my time here, I hope to improve their nutritional counseling practices for mothers of under- and mal-nourished children, expand outreach to the local schools (which provide very little health education), and improve data collection and analysis. This work is an excellent opportunity for me to experience public health practice on the ground in a developing country.  It also gives me an entry point for providing suggestions on a wide range of public health activities in the region.

-I am working with Jacob on developing a proposal and finding funding for a solar-powered well and pump in a nearby community.  We are currently working with the community to to apply for a Peace Corps small project assistance grant.

-I am interested in working further with the Rural Development Institute, but I haven't figured out yet what my entry point(s) will be (beyond the above-mentioned club, sitting in on classes, and going along on treks to visit students on practical).  One option is helping to develop resources for the stuents to take with them when they graduate.  Another is teaching basic computer skills.  Another is participating in their upcoming curriculum redesign.

-When the new school year starts in the fall, I hope to start several school-related clubs, including homeworks clubs for girls (hopefully meeting at our village skill center, which has solar power and plenty of tables and chairs) and possibly a gender club at the Rural Development Institute.

-There are a variety of other smaller things that could potentially grow into bigger projects, including, but not limited to: encouraging people to make, sell, and use neem cream (a local insect repellent); solar drying fruits and vegetables; ongoing informal health education at the village level; working to improve Peace Corps/The Gambia's gender work (I am the health sector representative on the Gender and Development committee); and working to improve Peace Corps/The Gambia's data on PCV skills and project work (this surveys are being distributed as I write this).

Please keep in mind that this list is HIGHLY subject to change, but it should give you all some idea of what I'm working on over here :-) 

I'm going to post a lot of pictures and even some video next week, so keep an eye out for that!

On the Mend

I just saw my surgeon and he had a bunch of good news....

- The lab confirmed that what he cut out was actually a pilonidal cyst and not something more scary.
- Everything is healing up well.
- I can go back to The Gambia next week.

I have no idea how complicated it will be to get a flight back but I will be back sometime next week.