A Month in Ampefy

June 4^th, 2012

It has now been a full month living in Ampefy. It has been a month of many ups and downs, but I have landed in a good place – becoming more and more integrated day by day and beginning to find a sense of purpose in my life and work here. My Malagasy, while far from perfect, has gotten to the point where I am comfortable chatting with people – and an increasing number of friends – in town. With each day, I learn more about life and the people here and about myself. I think I have finally accepted my limits in terms of what exactly I am capable of accomplishing in two years. I felt quite overwhelmed these past few weeks – with learning a new language, integrating into a new culture, and trying to figure out my work here. During that time, I thought long and hard about many things ranging from the nature of development work to the most important things in life. While at times I doubted myself and my decisions, I can honestly say that this is the place where I belong at this moment.

I need to constantly remind myself that Peace Corps just expects us to learn for the first 3 months of service, because my brain is working all the time thinking about the extent and gravity of the problems that affect the people in my town as well as looking for ways to help. The challenges are exacerbated by the fact that the national government is essentially nonexistent and provides little to no support to the population. There has been a transitional government in power since the overthrow of the previous president in 2009, and the country has been in a political crisis ever since – marked by rising prices, growing unemployment and lack of international recognition (and foreign investment). Certain things are clearly beyond my control – I usually bring myself back to earth by thinking about all the kids in town and the potential they hold. Additionally, as I continue to chat with people and learn about my town, I am realizing that people here are very eager to improve their own lives and I am starting to find ways to help them do so.

One of the most exciting but also challenging aspects of my work and life here is the extreme flexibility of it all. While I do have a counterpart and partner organization, they are located in a larger city 20km away. I have yet to have contact with anyone at Peace Corps. For all they know, I could be treating my time here as vacation (and there are stories of volunteers doing just that). Each day, I just have to walk out my door, chat with people, learn about Ampefy and make connections. While in the beginning this was pretty difficult, especially with my lack of language skills, I have begun to establish more of a routine and have started to realize just how lucky I am to be given the opportunity to do something I so believe in – community development. I am also so fortunate to be living in a town with many people that are committed to improving their own lives and the well-being of their community. Not to paint it all as perfect – there are certainly people that might not have the interests of the greater good at heart. But I am doing my best to seek out the ones that do and capitalize on their knowledge, ideas and connections. My role here is really that of a catalyst to motivate action and link to bring people together.

The large majority of the residents of Ampefy farm and/or raise livestock. Therefore, I will likely be working with mpamboly (farmers) and mpiompy (those that raise livestock – is there a word for this in English that I don’t know?). This morning I held a meeting of farmers, mostly of peanuts and beans, and began to learn a little bit about their lives. I have some powerful allies in the President and Vice President of the Fokontany (the name of the smallest political unit in Madagascar, the Fokontany of Ampefy has approximately 3,000 residents) and one of the more respected farmers. They are very mazoto and kind and helped me organize the meeting and get the word out there – I was surprised by a fairly large turnout of over 20 farmers. Next time, there are sure to be more especially once the word gets out that refreshments were provided (some incentives work in any culture). With everyday and each additional interaction, my work here seems slightly more manageable. It’s a roller coaster though – sometimes it all seems possible and sometimes I wonder how a single person can possibly make a difference. But then I think about the 13 year old girl I chatted with last week when her friends were refusing to talk to her (oh, middle school drama – also universal). Or the woman I harvested beans with whom I shed a tear, or the kids that chant my name outside my gate until I go outside and play with them.

Yesterday I took a long walk to the Chute de la Lille (google it!), a waterfall about 8km outside of Ampefy. I was planning to just go with a friend of mine, Hortensia, but we ended up being accompanied by 10 of her family members – ranging from Narissa, the adorable 9-year old who will surely break hearts, to Michel, your typical teenage boy (though typical for Malagasy – chatty and great at harmonizing). It was an absolute blast. The waterfall was beautiful of course, but the company was even better. Sometimes it’s great hanging out with kids because they are so non-judgmental and extremely patient with my language skills. The walk was marked by singing, dancing and just general silliness as well as a very entertaining Photo Chute (I’m very proud of that pun) upon arrival at the waterfall. I’ve posted some highlights here. Upon return to Ampefy, I went to church with my adopted host family and then celebrated Mother’s Day with them (it was on Sunday in Madagascar). They make me feel so welcome and I now have an open invitation to hang out or have dinner with them anytime.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to be better about writing a blog every week or so and then posting when I get fast enough internet access. I love and miss you all very much!