Welcome to my blog! On September 10th I will be leaving the US to become a Peace Corps Small Enterprise Development Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa. I am sure that this is going to be a wild adventure filled with stories I will do my best to share on this blog (I've never blogged before, so be patient with my incompetence). I will update this blog as much as possible and do my best to upload photos. In the meantime here is a little blurb on Peace Corps and on my new host country (All of the information is courtesy of the Peace Corps website; www.peacecorps.gov)
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.
The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:
- Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
- Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
- Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Part 3 is where all of you come in! on a continent filled with political instability, Senegal has historically been a country with a relatively stable political climate, a free society, and democratic institutions.
Senegal ranks among the least developed countries in the world. Recurrent periods of drought and the impact of desertification over the past four decades have thwarted government plans to increase agricultural production and expand industrialization. Roughly 70 percent of the population remains engaged in agriculture, which contributes less than 25 percent to the GDP. The government continues to exert control over recently privatized peanut oil and phosphate industries, though foreign ownership is dominant. Senegal's four primary sources of income are phosphate mining, light manufacturing, agricultural processing, and tourism.
The Peace Corps program in Senegal began in 1963, primarily with English teachers. An early rural development program set the stage for Peace Corps' important presence in rural areas. Volunteers currently work in projects, focused on the needs of rural people. Volunteers are assigned to small-scale projects helping individuals and communities with needs ranging from improved farming techniques to primary health education. All Volunteers are trained to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS and various other life skills themes.
Small enterprise development (SED) Volunteers (aka Me!) provide training and consulting services in business planning, management, marketing, and networking to individual business owners and associations in towns throughout Senegal.
I look forward to updating you as I begin training and adapt to life in a continent that feels so far away now.
OFF TO SENEGAL!
2 comments:
you'll be a great representative :) Thanks for sharing your blog with me, and bon voyage!
oops the first post was from me, Frances :P
Post a Comment