Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Site!

Hello Everyone!

I am pleased to tell you that I am back in communication with the world after almost two months of the painstakingly tedious initiation process which Peace Corps likes to call 'training'. For the past two months I have been living in a rural village with a family and shuttling to a dilapidated campus fifteen minutes away where we spend the day learning about 'culture', 'goal-setting', medical issues, miscellaneous bureaucratic policy, and continuing our studies with the local language. As fun as this may sound to you all, I and many of my counterparts have been more than ready to reach our permanent site which will be our ultimate destination for the next two years.

After having heard many horror stories from past volunteers about traumatic site placements including, but not limited to working organizations which had completely gone under, questionable security situations, and out-of-control homestays, the days leading up to our site announcements were nerve-wracking to say the least. So, as we braced for the inevitability of our future site, many of us saw their fears become manifest, while others were pleasantly surprised upon their arrival to their village.

Thank God, I was in the latter group. Although because of security reasons I am unable to say the name of my village on this Blog (yes, apparently Peace Corps health programs head the list of targets for violent anti-Americans), I can say that I am in a very rural village in northern South Africa. I must say that the village is pretty spectacular. It rests at the foot of jetting green mountains and is split by a bellowing river (it’s actually dry tight now). There are no tar roads although there seems to be active construction to make this a thing of the past (I use the word ‘active’ relative to rural South Africa standards). The houses in the village range from tin shacks to 4 or even 5 bedroom, one story houses. And roaming cats, dogs, goats, cows, chickens and donkeys are common visitors on these superhighways of dirt and rock. So this can give you a brief idea of my new home.

In regards to the organization with which I have been placed, I am also very happy and even excited. Pholoshong HBC (Home-Based Care) was begun in 2001 by a nurse who is my current supervisor and director of the organization. Its initial headquarters were in a tree but, unfortunately due to common and quite malicious lightning strikes, the tree is no longer with us. What began as a community's response to the overwhelming burden upon families of their members who were either very or terminally ill has blossomed over eight years into an umbrella organization which is comprised of Home-Based Care (HBC) activities, Drop-in Centers for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), community advice and dispute settlement, a youth center, 80+ lay counselors for volunteer counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and the beginning of several income-generating activities (IGAs) including a permaculture garden. So as you can see, there is a lot going on.

Saying that my supervisor is driven would not even begin to explain his work practices. His intensity as a trauma nurse has carried over into Pholoshong and I doubt he has ever sat at home for more than an hour for anything other than to sleep. Given his dedication and comprehensive knowledge of the response to HIV/AIDS from a non-governmental and governmental perspective, I am in a place where I can learn a lot about a variety of different initiatives. Pholoshong’s ability to thrive within the funding politics of a notoriously corrupt industry and share their internal transparency with other organizations was also very welcoming and truly somewhat shocking. Understanding that I have only spent a week at site and realize that I still know very little, these first impressions may change, but for the most part things look very positive.

So as for me, there are several places where I could see myself fitting within the organization and using some of the skills I have to strengthen Pholoshong and possibly develop new projects. But more than anything, these first few months will be a time for me to learn, as much about the organization as the language and the community where I will be living.

As positive as I may sound now, a large part of this could be attributable to the contrast of the drawn-out frustration that I have experienced during training. And although I understand that these next three months will be neither smooth nor easy, I am enjoying my situation for the time being and will consider the upcoming challenges when I reach them.

Anyways, life is good, I am still going strong, and I am stoked to become an official Peace Corps Volunteer on April 2, when I swear in and permanently move to site. For now I will stomach the last week of training and take advantage of the people I have gotten to know over the past two months.

For those of you who are interested in calling me, my new phone number is (from the US): 011 27 72 712 9898.

Thank you for all your love, kind words, and support. I look forward to hearing from you and I will try and write again as soon as I can.

Best,
Chris