Peace Corps

Wow! It has been almost a year now since I last posted here. When I left Africa last time I didn't know when I would be back at it again, but here we go again. I have almost made it an entire year back in the states, just long enough to let my severe case of wanderlust take its grip on me once again. Life is good.

People have had so many questions about what I will be doing in the Peace Corps and about Namibia itself. This week I will try to give a little glimpse into both of these and hopefully answer many of the questions you all have been asking. I guess I will start at the beginning...

Back in March I submitted my application to the Peace Corps. It was a pretty thorough process involving essays and interviews. I expressed interest in serving in Northern Africa/Middle East as a business development volunteer. A month later I was nominated for just that, business development in N. Africa. This is only an informal invitation with nothing set in stone. From here I submitted my final medical and dental forms and the waiting game began. I was told that I would have two to seven months notice before my departure. So after a couple of agonizing months waiting for the word, I was given one month of notice. My nomination region did not hold and they decided that the program in Namibia would be a better fit for me. A pretty fair trade in my opinion.

The program that I will be taking part of is all new in Namibia. The Peace Corps has been active in Namibia since 1990 with over 1,150 volunteers serving in the education and health sectors. I will be part of a small group that will be pioneering the Small Business Development program in the country. My primary duty will be to provide technical assistance and mentorship to teachers implementing entrepreneurship programs in secondary schools. I will be providing support to the teachers in the fields of entrepreneurship and business. A second aspect of my role as a volunteer will be to provide business development support to entrepreneurs, business owners, and out-of-school youth in the community that I will be living in. I am extremely excited to be part of a pilot program and to have similar tasks to those I had in Ghana. I am also thrilled that I will get the opportunity to work in the education sector. Combined with the exotic location that Namibia is, I am anticipating an outstanding experience (and probably a little bit of adventure too).

More to come on Namibia soon.