I grew up on the Street...Sesame Street!

Often in Peace Corps, or any development work really, you plant a seed that’s shade you will never rest under. In other words you put your blood, sweat and tears in projects that you don’t know what the outcome or effect will be. But every once in a while you do a small tangible project that seems silly at first and becomes more rewarding than expected. About two weeks ago two of our PCV friends Emily Bergling and Carissa Cartas came to help Nate and I liven up our Maternal and Child Health unit by adding some Sesame Street characters with health promotion slogans on the walls. It was a full weekend activity that was successful in adding four murals to the once blank walls. The process was pretty simple of projecting the pictures onto the walls with a projector and then painting them in. Carissa, a pretty awesome volunteer, has been travelling all over Guyana and helping other PCVs add art to schools, health center’s, youth friendly spaces (like a YMCA) and even libraries. She spent a whole week guiding and helping us through the process. Just a little bit of art goes a long way.

 

Till next time.

We need your help…

Let me first preface this post by saying that we are so grateful for all the support we have received from our family and friends and all the work we do in our community is really thanks to you. Now, less than 10 months before we close our service, we have identified what we feel is a very important project: the renovation of the Mabaruma Regional Conference Centre (or MRCC). The purpose of this renovation is to create a suitable venue for community activities. In development work, capacity building is the keystone to helping a community and this building would be a big step in that direction. 

Mabaruma is a small hinterland community in the northwest part of Guyana.  It is not accessible by land from the capital city of Georgetown, instead it is only accessible by air, which is very expensive or by water which is very dangerous and time consuming. Despite the challenges, many aid organizations are present in this region and do their best to supply the area with resources. Unfortunately because of lack of training, many of these valuable resources go unused, programs stagnate, and needy people are left without help. The most common reason that trainings do not occur is because there is not a suitable meeting space.  "We", Nate and I, believe that a "meeting of the minds" is an important function of any organization that's interested in finding consensus and making decisions for the future. That's why we feel the renovation of the MRCC is really needed for the development of our community. 

Presently the MRCC is in a state of disrepair in that it lacks shelter from the elements, electric current, adequate furniture, adequate ventilation, adequate sanitary facilities, and secure storage facilities. 

By helping us reach our goal of $9,582.20 you are directly helping the capacity building endeavors of the education and health departments, regional administration, religious organizations, as well as other public service organizations that require meeting space to conduct the advancement of their programs. 

Also, it’s a tax-deductible donation! Click Here to help us and our community. 

We thank you for your support and hope that you will pass on the message to your friends and family. 

Thank you,
Nate & Ilana 

Romance in the Peace Corps

I normally don’t post blog postings on the day to day occurrences of Nate’s and my life, and even less about intimate or romantic happenings, but this story I would like to share is mostly for me to remember the details of this night, as our blog is very much a journal of our Peace Corps experience, and also to share how romance doesn’t need to be an expensive gesture, just a thoughtful one.

Early last week, Nate had told me that the shop that we buy all of our dry goods was having a family dinner and that they had invited us down after 5:30pm to come and eat with them. I was excited to hear that we were invited out for dinner, because our weekends are often pretty mundane and we also didn’t have to cook or clean a meal. Awesome! Friday morning rolled around and as Nate was leaving for the river he reminded me that I needed to be ready by 6pm sharp to go down to dinner. I wondered why so punctual, nothing ever starts on time. 

Nate arrived at 5:20pm and quickly got changed and started packing a bag. He told me we needed to bring our own silverware and plates as this dinner had turned into quite the event and they wouldn’t have enough plates and silverware for all the guests. I was a little surprised that the shop that sells dry goods didn’t have enough plates, but I didn’t think anything of it. I got dressed and as we began walking outside a neighbour of ours called Nate and told us to stay put, he came and picked us up in a car and took us down to the market where the party was supposed to be. Once again, didn’t think anything of it, just thought we got lucky with a free drop. When we arrived at the shop, I saw our wonderful dry good ladies Auntie Joan and Auntie Kay still working at the shop. They told us to go ahead and head upstairs for the gathering. I was a bit confused why the two women who were hosting the party weren’t at the party, but I figured we were just early as usual. 

On top of the shop, there is a really nice space that used to be a little restaurant. It is no longer in use, but it still has all the amenities of a restaurant. Nice table, chairs, a full kitchen, fridge, sound system etc. As we walked upstairs I heard music, but I didn’t see anyone or anything set up. I turned around and told Nate, that we must be really early because there is no one here. He smiled and said, “Happy Six Years Baby.” I looked back at the space and then back at him with a very confused look on my face since our wedding anniversary is in December and it’s the end of May, and we have only been married for 3 years.  Before I could get any words out, he hugged me and said “Today six years ago we began dating. I wanted to take you on a date today to say that I hope we continue dating for at least another six years.” As we continue walking inside there was a table set with candles, slow jam music playing on the stereo and a few ice cold beers waiting for us to drink. He had set it all up.  Our neighbour who picked us up was catering our dinner; he had made chicken curry, roti, fried rice, channa and awesome rum cake.  Our dry shop lady’s had given us the space upstairs for the night and even gave us a sweet appetizer of fresh watermelon. 

It was truly one of the most thoughtful gestures. It is not often that we get to go on a “real date” here in the Peace Corps, but Nate used our community of friends and neighbours to make a really memorable night. I know I am gushing mushing love stuff, but Friday night will be one of my most cherished memories of Peace Corps with my incredible partner. Thank you for bringing romance into my life, even in the jungles of South America. I love you.  

P.S. There are no pictures since Nate carrying a camera would have tipped off the surprise. If you know me, you know I love to ask questions. 

Till next time.