June 4th, 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!
