Parties & Committees

Once again I have drifted from the consistency of a good blogger so I apologize! BUT that just means I have a bunch to tell! :) First of all I just came back from a weekend in Asuncion but before I get into that craziness I want to touch on the few days before that. Last wednesday my friend Karen came to visit me in my site before we headed out to our nearest big town. We joined about six other volunteers who were all interested in helping out another american organization called Amigos de America. It's a program that sends mostly high school students to Latin America for about six weeks so they can work in the schools and do small projects with the locals, specifically in the department that I live in. For the last couple of years the Amigos Paraguay director has teamed up with a RHS Volunteer in the area to organize their introduction on how to build a fogon. Since I had special interest in the area I decided to go and help out. On that Friday Karen and I built a fogon together with six of the 50 kids that came to Paraguay this summer. They were all really great and ready to work the whole 9 hours it took to finish it that day. Since the PCV that has organized this activity for the last two years is leaving soon, Karen and I opted to co-direct that program next winter! So were excited about that! Anyway, after an entire day of dirty work, Karen and I hopped on the three hour bus to Asuncion for the weekend. By the time we got to our hostel everyone was well-prepared for the night :) Let's just say we had a pretty great night! The next day was the 4th of July celebration at the Embassy which really was the real reason we all came. It was SO much fun and the place is huge! There could have been like twelve different desserts that were all served and voted on! So amazing! Here are a few pictures of the weekend!

Happy Birthday America!

G-38 Tug-O--War Team...failure

American Food! Veggie Burgers for me too :)

Emily, Karen and I  

Venue

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As fall turns to winter here in the southern hemisphere, a Peace Corps Paraguay Rural Health Volunteer must begin focusing on specific potential project ideas. Personally I have lightly dipped into a few possible themes to which I can expand on further, like my Fogon and Latrine Committee and teaching English. However, I am now beginning to realize how difficult it is going to be transitioning from the integration period to the project planning and organization phase. I have really enjoyed getting to know my community on a personal and friendly basis, yet I have been really battling with how I can approach my work efficiently and accurate to Peace Corps objectives. I say this only because recently Peace Corps Paraguay has had some recent administrative changes. For example, we have welcomed in a new Country Director and our Program Director will be retiring this coming August. With such movements, many voices specific to the Rural Health and Sanitation sector of Paraguay have declared some concerns pertinent to our project plan and how to fulfill its objectives using sustainable development. Now, for me, this aspect of Peace Corps is one of the most important; it also is a huge reason why I joined Peace Corps. Although I strongly believe that helping people in any way shape or form is what makes a good person, I whole-heartedly trust that the only way that our host country nationals can make an improvement to their own lives in the long-run is solely through the application of sustainable development. Currently, this is where I lie in the process of creating my personal objectives here in my community. According to a memorandum* brought up by a RHS Volunteer who recently COS'ed (Close of Service), many fogon projects in Paraguay (like the one I hope to one day fulfill) have been too heavily focused on the end result and have crutched the communities individuals to foreign aid. For example, some Volunteers have helped their commission/committee members by completing some of the crucial work that is needed in order to receive funding or recognition, including: written requests, trips to the municipality, meetings with other organizations, etc. This inherently excludes the main purpose of a self-sustaining committee/commission and furthermore an attempt to develop work ethic within the community. Consequently, my current problem is how to motivate my committee to one day become a self-sustaining model group. A group of people who, once I'm gone, can continue on independently and serve themselves to solve potential problems. That is the key to honest foreign aid and the path to sustainable development. My conclusion: tiny baby steps; pushing them every meeting to do things for themselves and be more participative. Let's see how it works out!

For anyone who is interested in reading the Memorandum shoot me an email listed on my contact info page!