Sanity Check

Hello my dear friends and family,

It is hard to believe I have now been in country for over 6 months! So much has happened, good and bad. I've started writing down the best and worst moments of each day to keep me sane, or keep me insane, we will see... Here are my entries from last week:

Date	Best of the Day	Worst of the Day
3/19	Seriously moved by the progress of the Women’s Garden	Cold dry millet for dinner every night is testing my gag reflex
3/20	New friend and roommate Ender the kitten	Only 10% success rate for latrine $ collection – can be difficult and awk culturally
3/21	Breathtaking hot red sunset against the silhouette of an enormous baobab Lying on mats with my entire fam under the glowing canopy of stars feels like a big sleepover every night	It is so hot that I can no longer enjoy the taste of food My little brother defaced the journal that Dillon gave me and I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to tell my parents because they might beat him
3/22	My boss Djitte visited my site, was impressed with my projects, and had relevant suggestions for improvement	Massive dust storms + 115 degree weather + no real showers for 70km = hard to imagine ever feeling clean again
3/23	Started working on a food security grant through Obama’s Feed the Future initiative and excited about the potential	The Imam’s wife died today and there is a heavy sadness about the village
3/24	Enjoyed Carl Sagan’s book The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God	I’m pretty sure this is the temperature of Hell
3/25	Mango season is here! And it is so sweet	Sleep struggles: night sweats in an inescapable sauna

Right now I am preparing for my region's Girl's Leadership Camp and I am so excited! 30 middle-school aged girls along with their fathers are coming from villages all over the region for this 4 day women's empowerment camp. We have a panel of working women from the region discussing having a career as a woman in Senegal, along with sessions on sexual health, the importance of education, and fathers working as champions for their daughters. I am in charge of arts & crafts and photo documentation, and will write a blog post on the event when it's complete!

In the Women's Garden

Tambacounda, the hottest place on earth.

Mom and Dad in Senegal

At first I was a little worried about my parents visiting so early in my two years of service. My language skills and the projects I am working on are not as solid and impressive as they will be a year from now. BUT it turned out to be an incredible 10 days and I am so happy that now when I mention my crazy host mom, or doing laundry in front of my hut, or the painfully hot 9 hour drive from Dakar to my village, they will REALLY understand what I am talking about!

They were real troopers and slept in my hut for 3 nights in the 110 degree weather. It was really special for them to meet the people that have become my family here in Senegal and will be taking care of me for the next two years. We through a big party for the village on their last night (complete with a generator and dj blasting scratchy Senegalese music into our hut all night)! They also did a major spring cleaning in my hut and removed all the hanging branches and cobwebs and built me a shelf for my outdoor bucket shower (thanks guys!!).

They visited my regional house and met a bunch of my Peace Corps friends. We took everyone out to Warthog and beer, which was a great time, until both Mom and Dad got epically sick a couple hours later. After throwing up all night they rallied for another 9 hour public transportation ride without air conditioning (hey- welcome to my life!).

We staying at an incredibly beautiful resort in the beach town of Saly. It was SUCH a nice break for me to be able to relax and hang by the pool (and in our ice-cold room) with my parents. Below is a photo from "Obama Beach" in Saly.

I LOVED having visitors and my hut is open to all if you feel the inclination to come explore Senegal!

Lots of Love, Lolo

PC Senegal's Gender and Development Board!

Last month I was elected to the board of Peace Corps Senegal's Gender and Development organization SeneGAD. I am really stoked to be involved with this critical organization! Our mission is to empower Senegalese women, men and youth to effectively integrate gender equality into their daily lives, with the support of Peace Corps Volunteers.

Gene Sperling, one the the President's top economic advisors said, “educating girls is the most important investment in the world [because of] how much they give back to their families”. So far in my service I have found that statement wildly accurate and I long to drive positive change for these women and girls who give so much to their communities.

As Communications Coordinator, I help manage our facebook, blog, twitter, and write press releases and news articles about our organization.

Here is my most recent interview with my friend Connor on the self-defense classes he is starting!

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER STARTS GYM NEGECEE

Peace Corps Senegal Volunteer Connor LaClair starts local and sustainable gym with self-defense classes for girls and boys.

Amy, Asu, Safi, and Sorhna – the first class of Gym Negecee!

An Interview with Connor LaClair

Tell me about the exercise program you are implementing in your village:

I founded Gym Negecee (Bambara for ‘Ironman Gym’) in late January. I built a simple gym structure in the backyard of my hut out of posts and double-thick rice sacks filled with peanut shells. I have a strong background in workout/self-defense methods, and I am currently teaching three self-defense classes for an hour each week to eight girls and four boys aged 9-12.

What kind of classes do you hold?

When I introduced the idea of a gym program to my community there was massive initial interest and the potential for incredible demands on my time. I made it clear I would only accept up to four classes of four students each, and planned to set a number of demanding credentials for the small number of students I wanted to teach. With the aid of teachers at the French school and adults from throughout the community, I chose twelve students who were not only very interested in the program, but also had good reputations as mature, responsible, studious, and committed young men and women. After working with them for almost a month now, I can say that those are the students I received.

I teach proper technique and self defense methods to my students, but Gym Negecee is more than just a gym. I do all my lessons in French, and lecture my students every lesson about morals, mental and physical health, working hard, and living their dreams.

What was your inspiration to start Gym Negecee?

Gym Negecee is a team, and I tell my students to stand up for not only themselves but for each other. The guiding philosophy of my Gym is a well-known quote from Spiderman; ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

Why is it important to include women in your classes?

In my village, and in all of Senegal, there are not many options for girls to be part of a team, and to train and exercise in an environment that has traditionally been the domain of males only. At Gym Negecee, everyone is equal, and Negemusoow (Ironwomen) get just as much attention and opportunity as Negeceew (Ironmen). I hope that my program allows all my students to not only better envision their dreams, but to build their confidence and believe in themselves and their capabilities.

Where do you see this project going in the future?

I am taking the time to build a strong foundation for my Gym so that it may continue when I complete my service, and next year I envision expanding the program to a few more classes each week.

Anyway, at the very least I showed my community that they can easily build an entire gym out of materials that are readily available in just about any Senegalese community. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Connor is a Sustainable Agriculture Volunteer in Botou, Tambacounda,  and originally from Hyde Park, VT.

Please continue to email your SeneGAD updates and stories to your communication coordinators Lauren and Lisa at thomas.lauren.nicole@gmail.com and lisajbacon@gmail.com

If you want to help me out, LIKE our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/SeneGAD/379567262087810?fref=ts 

and check out our blog senegad.wordpress.com for more info :)

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