Summer Preview

Dear Readers,

So here I am, nearing the end of my service (again). This time I really promise to COS though. I am ready to move on with my life to the next phase. As usual, I don't know where that will take me, but I'm trying not to think of the big things too much otherwise I get overwhelmed.

The library was well received and the final step is to catalog the books and form a solid committee to oversee its growth. Thanks again to all the support from family and friends. Without you, it would not have been possible to get the project funded and done as quickly as it was done. I will be doing that over the summer during my few weeks left in village as I will be training the new PCTs again. I am excited about training, much to the bafflement of second year volunteers. I guess I just enjoy helping people become great volunteers... or I'm a masochist, or both.

In addition, I hope to finally travel to other parts of Burkina and also other countries in the region, like Ghana. Something that I've been meaning to do since December 2007. Unfortunately, those plans were cancelled due to personal issues. My friend and I will be making this trip together, hopefully with some other PCVs.

One of my fellow PCVs soon-to-be RPCV will also be getting married over the summer. I missed Bryan's wedding last year unfortunately, but I plan on making it to Jill's.

After I finally COS in September (if all goes well), I will be around for a little while longer to appreciate Burkina from the other side as an RPCV. I will probably be hanging up my malaria prophylaxis hat in mid-to-late October.

For those who have asked lots of questions about my friend. There are obstacles to all good things in life. And I believe what we have is a good thing. Hopefully, we will be able to overcome all of our obstacles. But, once more, we're just taking things one day at a time.

Library Opened

The Director of PC/BF came. Dancing of people ensued and were taken. Summer plans include full and thorough catalogue of all books in the library and a formal list of rules and regulations for its usage. Pictures to follow. In a big town for at least a week.

Back in Ouagadougou!

 
 
 
Bad pictures of my special friend and a picture showing to the whole world that my site has a functional cell tower and I can actually be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 5 full bars!! So, I am succumbing and getting the USB key. This will let me assist in managing our ICT committee's website. Officially launched in December of 2009. Please check it out. The Volunteer side is similar to GoogleDocs and a powerful tool for institutional memory and is powered by Alfresco. Check out our website at http://burkina.ath.cx!

More pictures are now available in the Picasa album for the library construction. I forgot to take pictures yesterday before leaving my village.

Library & Local Realities

Dear Donors, Friends and My Wonderful Family,

Library

Thanks for your financial support. Our construction finally started on February 1, 2010 at 10:00 AM as you can see in the new photos posted on Picasa.

Part of the delay was due in part to a change in the administration of the PTA (APE). For the first time in approximately a decade, the PTA board has been replaced. Convincing everyone of the merits of the project was easy. The difficult part was the old PTA board transferring power officially to the new PTA board. This finally took place at the beginning of December. Right before Christmas, a general assembly was called to discuss how the PTA would fund their part of the project (local materials). Would they bring it in themselves, or would the children bring it in? Alternatively, would they hire someone to haul all of the materials to the work site. Finally, they decided on monetary contributions per student enrolled.

We waited for their money and the materials to show up during the month of January. Finally, all was ready and we had a groundbreaking ceremony. The vice principal (intendant) and I laid the first couple of bricks during the ceremony. Though they aren't in the spot where the library is actually being built. On February 2, the real work started. Will hopefully have more pictures soon.

Thanks again for all of your wonderful generosity! For those of you who are worried about the financial management. I am personally in charge of all of the funds that you have donated. At the end of the project, I do have to do a report with receipts for both the funds that you have donated and the funds or actual work that the local community did to complete the project.

Harsh Realities

So, recently one of the phone companies started offering a USB key that allows you to access wireless internet from your computer. The key is about $90. With the equivalent amount of money, I can feed 30 of my students for a month. That is not a typographical error, my readers. Yes, one (1) student can really eat for just three dollars ($3) a month at our school's "cafeteria" (cantine thanks to subsidies from the school and the government. Many of my students come by bicycle or on foot through the bush from as much as 15 km away (10 miles). They wake up as early as 4 AM to get ready for school and don't leave school until 5 PM, getting back as late as 7 PM. On top of all that, they don't usually have the financial or physical means to go home at lunch time, eat, and come back to school every day.

One of the hardest things in my day is seeing how determined my students are to come to school each day and work hard (162 out of 241 of my sixth graders are passing the trimester as of right now) despite their lack of means to eat more than once a day. I do try to encourage them as much as possible with small gifts that I've gotten from you and other local donors such as candy, pens, pencils, stickers, pictures and notebooks and lunch days for the best students. Unfortunately, physical goods have a limit. Of course, I try my best to teach them well, too. Negative numbers, fractions, exponents, order of operations, geometry, general information about the world at large, civic education, and general life skills like financial and family planning. It's the only thing I can give them that will last for the rest of their lives (as long as a I do a good job of teaching it that is and as long as they review from time to time).

Classroom management is tough when you have a minimum of 90 teen-aged students in a classroom. Life isn't easy being a Peace Corps Volunteer because you're not like everyone else. But, I wouldn't trade a single one of my frustrating days of service as a PCV for anything else right now in my life.

Then again, I might be a little bit masochistic. After all, I did get through Tech.

Tomorrow I am taking the GRE. I will be back near good internet in about 2 weeks.

Donate!

http://bit.ly/2ftZ0B

Trying to build a library for my school. Please donate! Remember, all donations are tax deductible. Thanks.

Record Breaking Rains

Hi Everyone,

Long time no blog. I am in Tougan to check my email and work on more stuff regarding the new library we will be building this year. Details later. Was in OHG for a while training the newbies. They all made it and are now settling into their new sites. Luckily I got a few new neighbors out of the deal.

"The 263.3 mm that fell in less than 12 hours in Ouaga on Sept 1 is a record for Burkina and probably would be hard to match in any other capital city in the world." That's the big news. 150000 homeless in Ouagadougou and three dead. Plus it rained again for twelve hours in my village yesterday.



One of the small bridges near me that was washed out.

I will be in Ouaga for a week or so in mid-September, so I plan on really putting up lots of pictures and blogging (seriously).

Squash the Rumors

Well, since I haven't officially made the announcement yet, I might as well...

I am doing a third year! I am staying at my current site, and continuing to teach mathematics, and hopefully other subjects next year. Secondary projects in the works are:

• Making an awesome website which will the tell the world more about Peace Corps Burkina Faso and also enhance the PCV experience by making collaborative resources available;
• Building a school library to better French literacy, and thus, French grades, and indirectly all other school subject grades.

The end of the school year wrapped up well. My sixième (sixth grade) students finally started to understand my teaching style, and did really well this trimester on tests including tough topics such as relative numbers (positive and negative numbers), plotting points on a graph, ratios and orthogonal symetry in a plane. So, I felt really accomplished! The only down side is everyone thought that I had lowered the level of my tests, even though I hadn't (in this class)!!! They didn't seem to understand that the students really stepped it up a notch.

The other math teacher and I also had an Olympiad for our top students in each class to see who the best of the best were. The Olympiad was really challenging, but some of the kids did okay. It's my latest FB profile pic.

I am doing some summer school work with interested students... which isn't a lot right now, but I'm hoping the word will spread, and that others will jump on the bandwagon. The kids who are interested are super bright and motivated, so I am inspired!!!! :D

So, I got selected to be a trainer for the incoming Stage, which is an exciting opportunity to meet new volunteers and also my future neighbors. I will be getting three within a 50 km radius of my village, if all goes well. Also, I get to work and do one of my favorite things: Teaching. Yes, as much as I get frustrated with my indisciplined students and correcting tests in bad lighting, I love teaching.

It's been just darned hot these past few months, but the good news is the rainy sseason started early (compared to the last two years). So things are already green and it's only the beginning of June.

Other exciting news... because you all know how much I love to use certain types of punctuation!!! I will be back in America in July. So, clear your calendar folks because trouble is coming to town.

Well, that's all I got for now... I will hammer out flight details soon, so you all can be ready. :)

Best and love,

AK