Starting All Over

It’s a little overwhelming to try and put the experiences of the past month or so into a blog. I settled into my village and was able to meet some great people and find work to do. I continued to work at the dispensary, helping with their maternal and child health programs. I met with several community groups, the most promising one being a group of Mamas who cares for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). They decided that they wanted me to teach them more about HIV and they would, in turn, teach their neighbors, friends, and those who they cared for. I began to work more closely with a Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) and had plans to shadow her to observe the women in my village give birth in their homes. I made great friends with an older Tanzanian woman who introduced me to lots of other friends in the village and would always bring me fruit and nuts to eat. There have also been lots of challenges, especially learning to work within the Tanzanian system. One week I had scheduled 5 different meetings with various people and groups and only one of them actually happened. I got really excited when some Secondary school students approached me about starting a peer educator group. We had a great first meeting planning a syllabus but they didn’t show up to the next meeting and I learned later that they no longer wanted to participate because they weren’t going to be paid. There was also lots of petty village gossip and misunderstandings about why I was in the village that was difficult to deal with. Everything in perspective, these past two months have been incredibly challenging but I have been able to learn and grow in ways that are necessary to be happy and successful living in a Tanzanian village.

I learned this past week that Peace Corps has decided to put me in a different village, mostly due to the fact that I was having such a severe allergic reaction to the burning of cashews. It has been difficult because this entire situation is completely out of my control but I take comfort in knowing that everything happens for a reason. I am incredibly sad to leave behind my village, my villagers, my fellow Peace Corps friends in the “dirty South,” and all the plans I had made for the next two years living in that area. In ten days I will be moving to the Iringa region to start over again in a new village. I’m trying to focus on the opportunities before me which include working in the region of Tanzania with the highest prevalence of HIV, living in a more developed area where it may be easier to relate to villagers, living close to other Peace Corps volunteers, being less isolated by living near a good road in a more central area of Tanzania, continuing the work of 3 other Peace Corps Volunteers who have worked in this village before me, and being able to start over again having learned from mistakes I made in my first village. It’s all part of the adventure and I look forward to this fresh start. I hope everyone is doing well... I will have more access to internet and cell phone reception in the next week as I wait to move so please be in touch and let me know how you're doing!

LOVE,
Katie