What I do

In bundu, I play many different roles. I am a club leader, I am a friend, I am exercise leader, I am a marketing specialist, I am an HIV educator, I am a daughter, I am an ant killer, I am a teacher, I am a sister, I am a peace corps volunteer. But the role I play most is one of a facilitator.

When I came to Bundu, I was inundated with resources. These resources mostly came in the form of people. The previous volunteer, who I will remain forever grateful to, spent a lot of her time training people, especially middle school girls, in areas of health education and self esteem. I quickly realized what these girls needed was not a teacher. They had that in the previous volunteer. What they needed was a place to teach themselves, to teach others, to have fun. They needed support, acknowledgment that their dreams could come true. I think what they needed was someone who would listen to them and say yes.

So with the help of an incredibly supportive principal, I've started clubs. Before school for an hour, and after school for about an hour and a half, a group of about 25 to 40 girls gather in the library the previous volunteer constructed. In the mornings, we do typical peace corps girls group activities, such as self esteem work, goal setting and sharing troubles. The afternoons are more typical club oriented. We've had math sessions, drama sessions, geography sessions and my personal favorite, library sessions. Sometimes I stand at the board and teach.

But most often, I am a participant, letting the girls run the show. They often are the teachers, the older girls sharing their knowledge with the younger ones. In the morning sessions, a few of the girls that were trained to be peer educators by the previous volunteer do all the teaching. In the afternoon, I teach the academics, but sit down for most of the lessons. I perform crowd control when needed (I taught everyone the quiet coyote signal) and also advise. With my gogos group, it is similar. I lead exercise classes, I help with the beadwork and vaseline work, I do some teaching about health but most of it is run by a very awesome woman.

 I don't do much. I say I'm a facilitator. But what I really am is a believer. I believe in the power of these people. And that belief contributes to them doing great things.