2 days! 2 days till I'm on the plane bound for Kenya. I still can't believe it! I have wanted this since I was 12 and now it's finally happening 11 yrs later. I was talking to someone yesterday about leaving and it still didn’t seem real. It was like I was talking about a fairy tail and not my own life. I wonder when it will fully sink in that I am actually doing this?
So Sunday, November 1st, is the day this crazy adventure of mine begins. I fly to Philly for a day of orientation and then on the 3rd, and if I have decided to not return home, I fly to Kenya to begin my training! Since using the internet will be difficult, I thought to take advantage of it here to give you a rundown of what’s going to be happening these next few months.
Training is located in Loitokitok, I’ll get back to u on how to pronounce it later. The town of Loitokitok is located in the Rift province at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is a small town with a population of approximately 35,000 people( bigger than Truckee at least). During PST(pre service training), I will be spending most of my time( 9 weeks) in the communities around Loitokitok, which is about a 7½ hour drive from Nairobi. I will live with a Kenyan family during this time until I get sworn in as a Volunteer.
Here’s an overview of the training I will be getting
Training is composed of five basic component areas:
• Language training component involves learning KiSwahili or Kenya Sign Language (KSL) and some basic local language
• Cross-culture and inter-cultural learning which involves adapting to life in Kenya, learning who the people of Kenya are, their history, their values, and their traditions. Living with a host family hastens this process.
• PACA (Participatory Analysis for Community Action) training. This involves learning skills for community entry such as community mapping, resource identification, seasonal calendars, gender and development and organizational structures.
• Technical training component, which outlines in general my future job and how to adapt my skills to the needs of the job as well as develop skills to meet the initial needs of my job.
• Health training,
• Safety and Security training that focuses on how Volunteers can develop strategies during Training that they can use to stay safe during their two year service.
Sample Day’s Schedule
A day’s schedule would involve starting as a small language training group in my community clusters discussing my host family experience and getting feedback from my language and cross-culture trainers about my progress, learning new material in language and practicing learned material. Then move to my technical group depending on the calendar of training events. Once every two weeks or so I will meet as a large group at the Outward Bound Trust of Kenya training hub to do large group cross-cultural learning and health training and touch base with the medical or other Nairobi based Peace Corps/Kenya staff.
And to think, I thought I was done with school! hahaha.
So I guess that’s all for now. Just remember, if you do not hear from me in the next 3 months, don’t worry. I am not dead. I’m just really really busy. Also, if you happen to see something on TV or on the internet about something bad happening in Kenya, just remember I am towards southern Kenya, near the Tanzania boarder. Not everything bad that happens in Kenya actually happens all over Kenya. :) Kwa Herii!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
And so the adventure begins
So for those who think Peace Corps is a 2 year vacation, think again.
During my 2 yrs of service, I will be working as a Deaf educator and a Behavior Change Communicator. As a Volunteer, my goal is to facilitate persons with special learning needs to be able to function as productively and independently as possible in their communities and families. Unfortunately, Kenya does not share the same views as America when it comes to people with disabilities. Their views are similar to those America had in the 1940's-1950's. Although Kenya has a population of deaf people, they do not have a deaf "community." Students who are deaf are way behind the students who aren't. They usually have a 4th-5th grade reading level and have low test scores on National exams. Low test scores are perceived as student inability not instructional failure. They rarely go on to secondary school. Only 24 deaf students per year have the opportunity to attend secondary school and far fewer attend vocational training programs. Many deaf children remain at home without skills necessary for productive employment and end up living a very isolated existence. That's where the Peace Corps volunteers come in.
My job as a Deaf Educator consists of preparing the students for the National Exam. However, I am also there for the teachers. Most teachers have limited signing skills and have run out of ideas on how to teach the students. So I’m sort of like a breath of fresh air for the teachers. I help the teachers by thinking up new ways to teach the students and help them improve the communication between student and teacher. As an educator, my job is not only to help the students but the community as well. Although Kenya has a deaf population, they don't have a deaf community. So while I’m preparing the students for their examinations, I’m also preparing them for a life in the community. I am teaching them life skills that will allow them to become part of their community. But it's a two way street. The communication between people who are deaf and the rest of the community is limited. So my job is to help bridge that gap, showing the community that these students can be productive members in society.
Radio is the main way news gets around. This is also the chosen media for prevention campaigns for HIV/AIDS. You can see the problem, right? Little effort has been made to produce training documents or information materials regarding health issues like HIV/AIDS to the deaf population. So as a result, my job as a behavioral change communicator is to develop HIV/AIDS communication messages using Kenyan Sign Language so the people who are deaf can be educated as well.
So now that you know a little of what I will be doing, I’m asking you to please stay in touch with me and encourage me while I’m gone because I certainly will need it.
During my 2 yrs of service, I will be working as a Deaf educator and a Behavior Change Communicator. As a Volunteer, my goal is to facilitate persons with special learning needs to be able to function as productively and independently as possible in their communities and families. Unfortunately, Kenya does not share the same views as America when it comes to people with disabilities. Their views are similar to those America had in the 1940's-1950's. Although Kenya has a population of deaf people, they do not have a deaf "community." Students who are deaf are way behind the students who aren't. They usually have a 4th-5th grade reading level and have low test scores on National exams. Low test scores are perceived as student inability not instructional failure. They rarely go on to secondary school. Only 24 deaf students per year have the opportunity to attend secondary school and far fewer attend vocational training programs. Many deaf children remain at home without skills necessary for productive employment and end up living a very isolated existence. That's where the Peace Corps volunteers come in.
My job as a Deaf Educator consists of preparing the students for the National Exam. However, I am also there for the teachers. Most teachers have limited signing skills and have run out of ideas on how to teach the students. So I’m sort of like a breath of fresh air for the teachers. I help the teachers by thinking up new ways to teach the students and help them improve the communication between student and teacher. As an educator, my job is not only to help the students but the community as well. Although Kenya has a deaf population, they don't have a deaf community. So while I’m preparing the students for their examinations, I’m also preparing them for a life in the community. I am teaching them life skills that will allow them to become part of their community. But it's a two way street. The communication between people who are deaf and the rest of the community is limited. So my job is to help bridge that gap, showing the community that these students can be productive members in society.
Radio is the main way news gets around. This is also the chosen media for prevention campaigns for HIV/AIDS. You can see the problem, right? Little effort has been made to produce training documents or information materials regarding health issues like HIV/AIDS to the deaf population. So as a result, my job as a behavioral change communicator is to develop HIV/AIDS communication messages using Kenyan Sign Language so the people who are deaf can be educated as well.
So now that you know a little of what I will be doing, I’m asking you to please stay in touch with me and encourage me while I’m gone because I certainly will need it.
I made it in!
Peace Corps has always been something I have been interested in. I went to my first Peace Corps informational meeting when I was 12. Then I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and thinking for sure they wouldn’t let me in, Peace Corps was forgotten. During my senior year of College, I started to plan my life after graduation. However, I kept running into the same problem, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Did I want to go into teaching, ASL interpreting, or just take a year off? My dream of serving in the Peace Corps kept coming up. But not knowing if they would accept me, I pushed it back down. Graduation was drawing closer and closer and my stress levels were rising. Then one day, I decided to forget everything I was worried about and just focus on what I wanted. I applied for the Peace Corps. So what if they didn’t accept me with the epilepsy. I was at least going to try. I knew I could do it and this was something I had wanted to do since I was 12.
So after…
a 29 page paper application (due to my procrastinating, took 2 months to finish)
250 Question Health Survey
Personal interview
Finger prints
Physical
Blood tests
X-rays
EEGS
Psychiatric screening
Numerous trips to Truckee (where my Doctors were)
And a year of torturous waiting….
On November 1st, 2009 I am headed to Kenya!
Some basic facts about Kenya:
The Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the 2nd highest peak in Africa. The country is in Eastern Africa, lying along the Indian Ocean. It is bordered by Somalia (NE), Uganda (W), Ethiopia (N), Tanzania (S), and Sudan (NW). The capitol of Kenya is Nairobi with a population of 3 million people. Kenya’s population as a whole is about 38 million people. Kenya itself is a diverse country with many religions and cultures. The main religion is Protestant, followed by Roman Catholic and Islam. The spoken language is Swahili ( which I will be learning) and English. However, in some parts, different tribes have their own language.
Well that’s all for now. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you.
Kwa heri (goodbye),
Danielle
So after…
a 29 page paper application (due to my procrastinating, took 2 months to finish)
250 Question Health Survey
Personal interview
Finger prints
Physical
Blood tests
X-rays
EEGS
Psychiatric screening
Numerous trips to Truckee (where my Doctors were)
And a year of torturous waiting….
On November 1st, 2009 I am headed to Kenya!
Some basic facts about Kenya:
The Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the 2nd highest peak in Africa. The country is in Eastern Africa, lying along the Indian Ocean. It is bordered by Somalia (NE), Uganda (W), Ethiopia (N), Tanzania (S), and Sudan (NW). The capitol of Kenya is Nairobi with a population of 3 million people. Kenya’s population as a whole is about 38 million people. Kenya itself is a diverse country with many religions and cultures. The main religion is Protestant, followed by Roman Catholic and Islam. The spoken language is Swahili ( which I will be learning) and English. However, in some parts, different tribes have their own language.
Well that’s all for now. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you.
Kwa heri (goodbye),
Danielle
Welcome
The world is a lot smaller than we like to believe. We watch the news and see what's happening all around the world and yet we don't feel connected. We talk about WORLD peace and not US peace and yet there is still a gap between America and the rest of the globe. This blog is the first step in closing that gap. Part of my job as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to act as a liaison between Kenya and America, educating both countries about each other. As you read my posts, you will get an inside look at what, I think, is one of the most magical and intriguing places on earth and hopefully after two years, you will too. So enjoy. This is your bridge to Kenya.
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