Merundoi

I mentioned Merundoi in my last blog. It is keeping me busy, busy, busy! Together Bakary and I have enlisted 6 groups to participate. I will not be facilitating all these sessions; although, I have been going to the initial sessions of each. Bakary has recruited 2 other volunteers in the Region to act as facilitators. The groups I will be facilitating include:
1. Women With Vision, a women's group that does craft and baking and also social type work
2. Leaders of Tomorrow, a women's group that bakes
3. Gladtidings Baptist Church, Men's group
4. Gladtidings Baptist Church, Youth group

I've been working with the first two groups the longest (6 and 4 sessions, respectively). The other two groups I've done intro sessions with. This week, I'll be doing a session complete with discussion and role plays. I am really enjoying these groups. It is so interesting listening to people's thoughts and opinions and challenging them to think about how the story relates to their own lives. For example, at the intro session with the men's group, the episode was about a son (17 years) who wants to become a pilot, but his father wants him to join the army. The father is domineering and the son is stubborn. The main issue is lack of communication. One of the participants (probably in his 50's) said he remembers when he was young that he was in the same exact situation. His father wanted him to continue in technical training while he himself wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He dropped out of school and pursued his own dream. Another participant asked if he thought he would have done better if he had listened to his father. He didn't know, but he felt that if his father would have been able to help him understand why he should continue in school, he might have. Turns out this same man also has a son who is 17! I wanted to ask him what his relationship was like with his son, but I restrained myself. I hope he thought about it when he got home.

I have some other projects sort of in the making, but I don't want to get into them right now in case they fall through.

My Wellness Club keeps growing. It's been so amazing. I started this "group" in January 2007. I just asked if any of the diabetes/hypertensive patients wanted to start walking. I started out with 5 volunteers. The number fluctuated, but I finally got a steady number of 4 persons. Then after I came back from vacation I got two more. Then we started to see people walking on their own or with some friends. I would say that since we started there is now about 15 persons walking! We don't all walk together, but my core group has been commenting about how more and more people are taking up this "ting." Now, I'm encouraged to better organize them into a group with goals and objectives.

Other than work...Nigel is in his second year. He's been very busy himself with studying. He'll get vacation next year in July and August, and I'm very excited to see him :)

Activity Update

So, what's been going on, you ask?


Well...let's see.


Work at the clinic is as usual--I still give talks to antenatal mothers about breast-feeding, stages of labor, nutrition, family planning, etc. I've slowed up a bit with my HIV talks. Last week, I learned that a girl who came to see the dentist heard my talk 3 times! Starting next week, I'll be doing interviews at children's clinic. I'll talk to mothers individually about their child's growth and development. I think this will be good because I'll feel more productive and I can think I'll be able to get important information across in this manner.


Besides the clinic I've been working with a Crisis Corps Volunteer named Bakary. Crisis Corps is a program that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can do in a shorter amount of time (6 months). Bakary and I are identifying groups in which we can play the Guyanese radio serial drama, Merundoi, that promotes behavior change in order to reduce the transmission of HIV. We've already met with two women's groups (both in the village of Zeelugt) who are interested. We'll play an episode of Merundoi and then discuss it. I will help facilitate the discussion.

Just for your information the behavior change objectives of Merundoi include:

1. abstinence
2. faithfulness
3. condom use
4. reduction/prevention of alcohol
5. access to services
6. parent-child communication
7. stigma & discrimination


I had my first LDG today. I played the very first episode of the drama, which deals with parent-child communication. It went fairly well. There are definitely 3 strong personalities within the group, which helped get the conversation going. Plus, they encourage the quieter members to participate. One of them assured me that as the sessions go on the quieter ones will speak up. I hope she's right. After the discussion we did role plays in which I gave small groups a scnario to act out to help them practice what they learned. For example,
"Your daughter did well on her CXCs and got into Queens College (a prestigious secondary school) in Georgetown. She will now have to travel everyday from your home village to Town. You're excited about her furthering her education, but you're also worried about her exposure to men, sex, alcohol, etc. How do you communicate to your daughter about your concerns?"

Tomorrow I'll be doing the same session with another group. Also, tomorrow, I start teaching at Universal Academy. I'll be doing it every Friday. Eventually, I want to do the Merundoi sessions with this class too. I also want to enlist a permanent teacher from the school to assist me so that when I leave he/she will be able to carry on.

Emancipation Day

August 1st was Emancipation Day. It's the day Guyanese celebrate the abolition of slavery. Many people wear traditional African attire and attend an exhibit at the National Park.
I went with Pam (a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) to the exhibit around 1PM. I'm glad we got there early before the crowds came. I ate a traditional African dish called kanki. It's a sweet thing that's made out of either plantain or pumpkin. They wrap the concoction in a banana leaf and boil it. I also bought some jewelry including a leather band and earrings made out of coconut shells. I'm obessed with coconuts. They're such a cool food. I mean when they're green you drink the water and you can decorate the shell (they call it a calabash). Then when the coconut matures the water turns into a hard jelly--you know the white stuff that American associate as coconut. Anyway, so I'm in love with the coconut which also means I'm in love with anything made out of coconut.

Later we met up with some other volunteers and continued to wander around the exhibit. Then we sat in the stadium area where there was dancing and singing on the stage. It's a great cultural holiday. I really enjoyed myself.

Me in my African (or more specifically, Nigerian) wear at one of the exhibits

Eavette and Me at the Emancipation Day exhibit

A steel band

African art

An African exhibit.

AB Workshop

This is for you, Heather. Enjoy!

The latest thing that has been going on came to a close about two weeks ago (before I went on vacation). I held a workshop at the Parika/Salem Community High School about abstinence and being faithful in relation to HIV/AIDS.

In October of 2006 I and another health center staff (at the time) went to an AB Workshop ourselves. One of the conditions about the workshop is that we in return had to host one of our own.

Technically, we were suppose to do the workshop by March 2007, but if you know anything about developing countries things take a bit more time than originally projected. We did ours Thursday, May 31st and Friday June 1st.

The process was a long and stressful one mostly due to the fact that my community member was less than helpful. Don't get me wrong, I like her as a person and I enjoy her company. But, friends don't always make good colleagues. Luckily, her mother was there to fill in as needed. Plus, she made the snacks and drink, which were yummy.

The actual workshop went...how should I say this...it went alright. That doesn't say much now does it? There were good things and there were things that needed improvement. Let's start with the needs improvement, so that we can end on a positive note.

Needs Improvement
The biggest thing was the fact that I did this workshop mostly on my own. It was suppose to be a joint effort, not only in its planning but also in its execution. During the workshop my partner was unable to come the first day and she was late on the second day. As a result, I facilitated all the activities myself. This is the biggest challenge in Peace Corps--getting your community involved so projects will be sustainable. Not that this particular project is sustainable in itself. But, if my partner would have been more involved she would have learned valuable skills and would be able to apply those skills in the future.
The other major issue was getting the kids to talk about sex. Now I know it would probably be hard for any group of kids to talk about that particular subject with your "teacher" no matter which culture you come from, but this was like pulling teeth. Anyway, it's never that easy to just jump into such a taboo subject right off the bat.

Good Things
The good things that happened were despite my lack of a counter-part, Seeraj, the Voluntary Counselor and Tester came with me on both days. The first day he helped me talk about the technical/medical side of HIV/AIDS, and the next day he was there for moral support. Also, I do think the students really enjoyed having me there. One student wrote on her evaluation that the thing she'll remember for a long, long time are her teachers Adannaa and Seeraj. I know, so cute!
Well now it's done and over with and here are some pictures for you enjoyment.

Happy Easter

This Easter I went to Bartica for the regatta. Well...sort of. There was a regatta, but I actually didn't see any races. We went too late. Although I missed them, I still had a wonderful and relaxing trip. Here are the details, but first, let me mention the key players who took part in the trip.
Liz (PCV in Leguan)
Malane (PCV in Linden)
Andrea (PCV in Linden)
Loraine (Andrea's Guyanese roommate)
Artie (Loraine's friend)
Katie and Paul (married PCVs in Bartica)
Mark (PCV in Essequibo coast)

Good Friday
Liz and I left for Bartica around 7:30AM and arrived at 9AM. We went straight to Paul and Katie's house. Katie showed us this cool hydroponics thing where you grow plants using sand, rice paddies, and special solution. It's really neat. Then we toured the house, gaffed, and played Scrabble while we waited for Malane, Andrea, Loraine, and Artie to arrive. Finally, we dropped off our stuff at the Balkaraan Guest House around 4PM, and took a long walk to see Bartica and pick up some food for dinner. We decided we wanted pizza so we went on a hunt for cheese. It seemed hopeless. The big shops were closed because of Good Friday and every little shop we stopped at didn't have any. It was getting dark and then it started to rain. Luckily, we found some in the arcade. Liz, Malane, Andrea, and I stopped at the guest house to change and collect Loraine and Artie. Then we went to Paul and Katie's and cooked yummy pizzas.

Saturday
The next day we took a boat tour to this place called White Falls. Other Peace Corps Volunteers joined us. Jason and Jody (who are another married couple in Bartica), Mark (a key player), and Jaq and Erin (from Guy 16). The trip was great!! Our tour guide showed us the where the 3 rivers come together (Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni), the Mazaruni Prison, and Kioverall, a Dutch fort that over looks the 3 rivers. The White Falls is a small water fall with black water. It was beautiful. We stayed til about 4PM. On our return we showered and then went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. The beef there was soooo good. After dinner we went to Ms. Bartica Regatta, a beauty contest. There were 9 contestants. Now this was some interesting entertainment. For the talent competition there was singing, dancing, a poem, and some dramatic pieces. All that could be said about the performances was "Ya'll should have practiced more than just a half hour before the show." We ended up only staying for the swimsuit and talent competition because it ran so late.

White Fall (that's the black water).

Mark, Liz, Me sitting in the falls.

All of us at the Brazilian restaurant.

Easter

We went to breakfast at the Byderabo House. It was nice. We had eggs, bacon, bread, and muffins. Liz and I even went swimming in the pool for half and hour. Afterwards, we barbecued at Paul and Katie's. We spent the whole afternoon making delicious foods like plantain chips, salads, burgers, and calabrese. In the late afternoon we stopped by the regatta, but the boat racing was over :( We walked around the beach for a bit, and then headed back to Paul and Katie's where we had a drinks and conversation.

Me with Flat Brandon on the beach.

Friends on the beach.

Easter Monday
We had gotten chicken for the barbecue on Sunday but didn't cook it. So we went over to Paul and Katie's mid-morning to cook it for lunch. They were leaving for some camp, so we hung out at the guest house until it was time for dinner. Most of the restaurants were closed because Easter Monday is a holiday. But, we were able to find a place where we all had chicken fried rice. The rest of the evening was spent at the guest house gaffing about Peace Corps and so. Then Malane, Liz, Andrea, and I played scrabble til midnight.

Tuesday
We all returned to our respective areas. All in all it was a nice and relaxing vacation.

Leguan Wedding

I went to Leguan to visit Liz again this month (March), but this time for a Hindu wedding. Pam and Tessa also came.

We got there Saturday where they were having a jhandi. We went late, but we caught the end when the mother and father of the bride were making sacrafices to the gods.
Afterwards we ate seven curry in a big leaf. The seven curries include (starting from the left bottom corner): catahar, pumpkin, mango achar, boulange and eddoe, channa and potato, bagi, and dahl (which is actually in the middle and you can't see it very well).
The way they make this stuff is so cool. The use these giant pots and stirers that look like paddles.
That night we went back for a party. At any Guyanese function the music is playing so loud that your ears and head nearly explode. I guess it's a tactic they use to force you to dance. Well it worked. Although it sent Pam and Tessa back to the house, Liz and I stayed and danced to Soca and Chutney music.
The next day was the wedding. It's very elaborate and we didn't quite understand most of the stuff going on. Luckily a cousin of the bride knew a little and helped with explanations. Pictured below is the "thing" in which the bride and groom got married. Later the groom and his male family tore it down :(
We returned again late that night for some more dancing and music. There were these middle aged women that kept forcing us to dance. One even grabbed my hips so she could move them "correctly" to the music. I would show you more pictures, but this blog thing only lets you put up five. What's up with that!?!

Oparanozie Family's Newest Addition

Meet Nnamdi Patrick Oparanozie, III. On January 28, 2007 I officially became an auntie. He weighed in at 7lbs 13oz and measured at 20 1/4 inches. I am super jealous because I haven't personally met him, and I won't get to see him until July. Until then I'll just have to ogle over his pictures. Isn't he adorable!?!