Ready to change Villages!

Yes, it is true…I am staying in Benin a bit longer than my original end of service date.  I’m extending my service for a few months which means I’ll be back “home” in December/January-ish instead of September.  I haven’t set a REAL date yet. 

Why am I staying?  Well, I will be continuing and expanding upon a project that was begun by another volunteer.  The project is focused on the conservation and protection of a Sacred Forest.  This forest is also home to a unique species of monkey.  The monkeys are said to have direct lineage with the villagers…thus it is a very bad omen if one of the monkeys dies because that means that someone in the village will also be meeting their end.  One of the biggest threats to the monkeys occurs during the dry season when the monkeys leave the forest in search of water elsewhere.  People who come across them when they are not in their sacred forest often kill or capture them to sell.  If they stay in the sacred forest they cannot be touched but once they leave it becomes a problem. 

The village I’ll be working in is called Kikèlè and is only about 50km north of where I live now.  Some of the activities I’ll be doing with the villagers include: a forest clean-up/waste management program; enforcing the use of the newly built latrines instead of using the forest as a toilet; sensitizing people in surrounding villages on the importance of the forest and the effects of deforestation; planting trees (!); and trying to make this site more tourist-friendly.  We may even start apiculture (bee-keeping) in the forest to generate some money from honey for the village. 

As sad as I am to be leaving Prèkètè, it is time for a new volunteer to take my place and time for me to start anew.  Benin in general has shown me so many things I never knew, especially about myself, and I’m not quite ready to give that all up just yet.  Thinking back 2 years ago when I was getting ready to leave the US I had no idea what to expect from my future Peace Corps experience and was anxious to begin.  Here I was moving to a French-speaking country when I had just a few weeks of French under my belt, and was pretty naïve about development in general…now, 2 years later I feel like I have come full circle and the fear I once had is long gone; plus I went from the novice low level of French to advanced high!  I always say that a person can get used to just about anything; you just have to learn self-reliance. 

I want to thank my friends and family for their continued patience.  It hasn’t been an easy 2 years for the ones closest to me but knowing you support me has helped me endure more than you can imagine. I am coming home, a little later than expected, but I’ll be there soon. 

Also, Congrats Erin and Jesse on your beautiful, bouncing, burgeoning, bubbly, baby boy Colten :)