Update #31: Final Photos and Some Big News!

Dear Reader,

It is with great humility that I sit in front of this computer and write you today. For months now I have tried to capture in words the jumble of emotions that leaving my life in Mozambique and beginning anew in the United States have produced. That is to say, that I have been overwhelmed by the task of attempting to quantify – to sum up my experiences there – and to neatly tie it all together in a weblog entry such as this.

Looking back, however, as months have rolled on – wavelike – I have begun to disentangle at least a few reflections. One way that I feel able to share these with you is through the following photos of my final weeks in Mozambique. (Also, please scroll down to the end of the photos to see an update about my life since returning to the US.)

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Bacari and me in my living room - we ran a business together

My friend Edu during a monitoring visit to an elementary school

Hanging with some kids at a school I worked with

A baby pineapple plant I planted in my yard

The front door to my house in Mozambique

Elton

Some friends
Take 2


Ngunga - Our Band!

Xinha

Colleagues Edu and Nhambanga

Neighbor doing some laundry

Brito and Me where we worked together - Department of Agriculture

My friend and band leader Agostinho

At my going-away party - Tomas and Bacari

In the market

Bike Safety - Tuina 1

Bike Safety - Tuina 2

Bicycle Repair Man

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WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?:

I arrived in the United States in late November, delivered into the arms of my loving family. For that I am immeasurably grateful. Since that time I have taken significant time to reflect, play with my nieces, play music (I am learning blues piano), and enjoy the richness of this life.

In addition to that, in February I began working for a very exciting nonprofit organization called KaBOOM!, based in Washington DC. KaBOOM! is the national nonprofit that empowers communities through the building of incredible new playgrounds. It is truly amazing! I am traveling all over the country helping communities build playspaces – and I couldn’t be happier.

Also, to add to the good news, I have just received word that an offer I have put in on a small townhouse has been accepted! That means that starting next month I will be the newest resident of Greenbelt, Maryland! I am especially thrilled to be a block away from my brother and sister-in-love, 5 minutes walking from my sister and her family, and 10 minutes from my mother and father. What fun!

Well, I hope that this message has found you in good health and high spirits. Reader, please feel free to contact me, as I have access to both phone and Internet. I would be happy to hear from you, get an update, or simply share a laugh.

Please take good care of yourself and those around you,

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin


ps. Many thanks to the inspiration of Neil Young, John Lee Hooker, Darryl Davis, Salif Keita, Oliver Mtukuzi, and others during this time.

Update #30: Reflections on Two Years of Service

Dear Reader,

I write you this from my dining room table. It is late afternoon and quiet. I am unaware of the temperature outside. Correction: it is whatever temperature at which the adhesive I have used to post photos on my wall loses its sticky quality - - making my friends and family curl up and drift to the floor one by one in an untimely autumn. It’s way too hot for autumn.

I hope that this message finds you in good health. I hope that you are happy and aware of the good you have in your life. I always need to take a moment to think about such things.

Reader, my intention is for this message to inform you as to the goings on in this, the final quarter of my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mozambique. Much has transpired since last I wrote. I am pleased to tell you that there are many wonderful things happening here. Well, for example:

§ One of the small businesses I consult, a man who runs a private plant nursery – was recently contracted to germinate native trees (20,000 actually) by an organization based in the central region of Mozambique. We worked hard to come up with some sample budgets, making sure that his business would profit and potentially grow with this project. I recently got word from him (and some fresh produce) that the price we came up with was agreed on and that he stands to make a considerable profit while also increasing his ability to do more business in the future (by building a water tank, acquiring a diesel water pump, and building additional shelter to shade plants from the strong sun). That is very encouraging!

§ Also, the young man who sells phone credit (who has worked with me on budgeting and math skills since last year some time, for those just tuning in) continues to turn solid profit. He is quite the businessman now at 16 years old, and has plans for well into the future. That is perhaps the most rewarding part of the many hours we’ve spent together - - hearing his ideas about what’s next. I so admire his hard work, honesty, and vision. It inspires me to work harder.

§ Unrelated perhaps, but two days ago I was offered some hippopotamus meat. It was tasty. Something I have failed to mention up to this point is that the area where I live is home to many hippos. Unfortunately, they are known to leave the water in the evenings in search of grasses to eat. Sometimes they end up eating out of people’s fields and cause quite a lot of damage. Hippos are also quite dangerous to humans. This leads to the occasional killing of a hippopotamus by the local government, in the name of protecting citizens and their crops. As a result one such event, I was offered about a kilogram of an animal that had been shot near the Zambezi river. Hearing about hippos eating people’s crops has lost its novelty to me, but I realized that I had not yet shared that aspect of my life here with you. [NOTE: Reader, there are many stereotypes about life in “Africa”, one being that big wild animals roam the streets and are easily spotted. For the record, I have never seen a live hippo in my two years in this community. This is simply to keep things in perspective.]
[NOTE: Also, I put the name Africa in quotations to remind myself that this is an enormous continent of 50+ countries and countless cultures and languages. I try to keep that in mind – it’s a bit like saying “America” without taking into account that we are 300 million people with all sorts of ideas, backgrounds, and dreams.]

§ Also in August I was presented with the opportunity to plan and implement a training to 11 Peace Corps Volunteers who arrived in late 2007 in the area of Peer Support. I may have previously mentioned that I am a member of PC Mozambique’s Peer Support Network (PSN). Our goal is to support fellow Volunteers and help make sure that people are healthy and happy - - and thus able to do the incredible work that Volunteers do. Reader, as I have also previously described, the stress of being far from your family, friends, familiar culture, native language, comfort foods, holidays, media, pets, climate… you name it! - - this stress is an active factor in our day-to-day ability to function and be productive.
After a lot of preparation, I am quite pleased to announce that the training was a wonderful success. We spent 2 and a half days in Maputo learning about stress and various techniques that can help in relaxation and focus during difficult times. We discussed at length how to support our peers, despite the constant risk of exhaustion and burn-out. This includes dealing with stress and guilt issues related to poverty, HIV and AIDS, overall lack of resources, gender inequality, and corruption. I am further pleased to tell you after this training, I have full confidence that the group of Volunteers that constitutes the new PSN will have no problem helping guarantee the success of Volunteers here and the amazing work they do for their communities.

§ Another positive aspect of late is that for my work with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN), we were recently granted a fund to do an exchange visit with another district (county, if you will) in another province to give 12 of our stakeholders a better of idea of how it is that our program can effectively support children who have been orphaned. The exchange visit was a big success. We got lots of positive feedback, and have already seen some results in terms of energized facilitators and school directors. It was also a chance for me to take a back seat and encourage my colleagues to supervise. I am quite set on making sure that after I’ve moved back to the U.S. the program continues its success and goes on to support our participants even more. More on that in a minute.

§ Related to that also, Reader, was a visit we received here where I live from FAO Maputo (the headquarters in the capital). Mostly it was meetings and visits to schools, but we received praise for our efforts. The coordinator of our program even took me aside and told me he could see how hard we’ve worked and that he liked what he was seeing! Hey, a little acknowledgement goes a long way - - don’t you think?

§ Lastly, as Peace Corps protocol dictates, all of the Volunteers from my group that arrived in Mozambique in 2006 gathered together for a Close of Service Conference in August. At this conference we got a chance to talk about what it means to close up two years of service in a community - - how to begin saying goodbye and making plans for the future. Processing all of these thoughts and feelings is a monumental task.
You see, when I first set foot in my community there were only about two people who had prior knowledge of my arrival. No one knew who I was or why I was here. From that day to this, Reader, I have spent all of my energy establishing a life: a home, friends, colleagues, work, acquaintances… filling in all the details, from scratch. Every greeting in the street, every piece of furniture, every knowing smile. Now, to pack two suitcases and leave that life is an extremely daunting task. [not unlike leaving you to come here in 2006, as a friend pointed out to me yesterday]. I will continue to share my thoughts on this in future entries.

That is to say, that as I write you now, in about six weeks I will be headed back to the United States. I am taking a lot of time to process this transition and what it means to me.

I feel two emotions at once. I am heartbroken to leave my community – I have poured myself entirely into life here for two years, and the idea of not being here to greet a friend or teach a child, well, is unbearable. Simultaneously, I am so excited and energized to be amongst those I love and care so much about (YOU, Reader) - - those who have inspired me and supported me throughout this and many other journeys. I am determined to keep focused on the positive. I will take with me many rich experiences and wonderful friendships (that I will work to maintain). I will bring them back to the U.S. and share them with you. I will use them to inform my life and career, both in the service others.

So in the spirit of that which I have just written, I will tell you the following two items:

1. My plan as of now is to move to the Washington DC area to work and be near my

family come late November. I have already started my job search (despite limited access to internet). I am interested in working in the fields of youth development and/or conflict resolution. I am, perhaps even more importantly, interested in working for a wonderful organization with good people doing good work. (I suppose that means I am somewhat flexible.) Reader, if you know of available positions, have contacts, or ideas that might be helpful to me, would you please let me know? Email me at kevinskolnik@yahoo.com. I have a résumé ready to send to you if it would help.

2. If not job related, please do feel free to contact me. You may have questions or insights about this phase of my Volunteer service – and I want to hear them. Would you like to know more about my community? Should I take photos of something I’ve mentioned in past entries? I would be happy to oblige.

So, in closing, I want you to know that you are very much in my thoughts. Among other things, I am wishing you health and perspective in the weeks ahead. Let’s be in contact - - I will let you know how I am and what is going on here (and I’ll try to post photos if at all possible). In the meantime, do take good care of yourself and those around you.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I would like to thank these musicians for their inspiration: Beethoven, the Resophonics, my brother Benjamin, Cephas and Wiggins, Djaaka, The Who, Kansas, Kanye West, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, and Stevie Wonder.

Update #29: Some Photos For Your Consideration

Dear Reader,

I've manged to post the following photos that refer to my previous entry. Take a look at my life of late!

My mom and dad arrived and our transport promptly broke down

It's ok that we broke down.

We arrived and spent time in my community.

My mom and I, the Zambezi River just under the horizon.

My Birthday! My friend made me this cake.

At Home, My Dad Teaching My Friend to Play Recorder

Mom and Dad With a Friend at His Plant Nursery

Beautiful Swaziland

With my friend Claire and her roommate in Swaziland


Wonderful Concert We Went To In Mbabane

Update #28: Keeping it Moving in the Positive

Dear Reader,

I am so pleased to be writing you this morning. How are you? I wonder where this message finds you – I wonder what you’re thinking about. I do hope that you are well.

I am writing to you from my living room, it is now 8:30 AM or so. I am sitting in my favorite chair, made out of heavy local wood. Under my feet is a mat made of caniço, a bamboo-like material. Across the small room is the bookshelf, decorated with cards sent to me by loved ones. To my left is a small electric lamp, its light fluctuating with the uneven flow of electricity. It is a bit chilly this morning, the sky still overcast. Beyond the lamp is my guitar, leaned against the wall. I just put it there. I was playing it. I was playing it and the motivation came to me to finally sit down and tell you how I am.

Reader, why not make a cup of tea or put on some music and join me for a bit as I tell you about what has been going on here in Mozambique?

[NOTE: I wanted to inform you that I have had no access to the Internet in the last few weeks. This was due to a problem with my telephone (which is how I have internet here where I live). Hopefully by the time this message reaches you, I will have resolved the situation]

· This year, Reader, I was given the most special of birthday gifts. In late May I traveled east to the city of Quelimane, and spent the following morning preparing for its arrival: the plane that bore to me my mother and father for a 3-week visit!!! I received them in the airport in a state of bliss. You see, I was told by many other Volunteers how lucky I was to have them come visit, to experience a bit of my life here. I am lucky.
That day we walked along the water, sitting on the low concrete wall there while we spoke with my brother on the telephone. [We share the same birthday. He’s living in Peru, South America with his wife – they are both incredibly inspiring Peace Corps Volunteers. You should see what they’re up to when you get a chance: http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com]. Then we sat and shared a beer in the late afternoon light. What a start to an amazing trip!
We left quite early the next morning to get on a chapa going to the place where I live. The chapa broke down. This is not uncommon. The next five days we spent in my community meeting the people I care about and exploring. People still ask me how they are, weeks later. We had dinner at a friend’s house, walked to one of the schools I work at, went to the market. We discussed not generally, but the details of life here – and that is what I really wanted them to experience. [I’m telling you Reader, generally is overrated.]
From here we traveled a long way south (10 or so hours) to Inhassoro to spend time near the Indian Ocean. I won’t soon forget getting off that long bus ride, at a cross roads still 20 kilometers from our destination, and the night sky a million times bigger than the ground we stood on, like an islet. Primordial starlight long since faded but made new. – We spent a few days taking in the turquoise water and exploring a different part of this amazing country.
From there we sped to Vilankulo for a day of snorkeling (my first time Reader: is there a way to explain such an experience to someone who has never done it? That a world such as that exists so close yet so removed from my knowledge! It just goes to show that your brain can know things, but perhaps you don’t truly know them…
After that an early morning bus ride all the way down the coast to Maputo (12 or so hours), we spent some time in the capital city as tourists – going to the art museum, wandering, eating meals. Yet another very different side of this complex country.
It wasn’t long Reader before we were crossing the border into South Africa, bound for Kruger National Park. I will try and post some photos for you to see, because this entire trip is hard for me to describe succinctly. What an incredible place! We saw so many fascinating animals in those days – and this is not a zoo – this is where they live! We were the visitors. We saw leopards, lions, giraffe, white rhinos, black rhinos, elephants, buffalo, crocodiles, hippos… but not a few – I saw so many elephants that they began to be commonplace. We saw African fish eagles, lilac-breasted rollers (a family favorite), and even a bee-eater! (Does my brother know his love of birds is contagious?) What a truly unique experience, and all thanks to my incredibly generous parents.
Overall it was about 3 weeks of just solid happiness. There were some early mornings, as it were, but spending time with those you care about most just makes it all worth it. Don’t you think?

· Since coming back from that trip, I have felt extremely motivated. You see Reader, it was during that trip that I came to terms with the not-so-distant end of my service as Volunteer. (More on that towards the end) What I wanted to tell you was that with this fresh energy I have been able to dive into a number of endeavors. For example, I was invited along with a colleague of mine to go spend a morning doing a training for future agriculture extension workers at a nearby Agriculture School. It was a great morning, and I got to have a fairly frank discussion with about 70 students of varying life-experience about HIV and how it affects agriculture (and all institutions) in our communities. Ask me about it sometime, if you like.

· Oh, and an exciting outcome of our visit to the Agricultural School – a year after we talked about it, my organization is trying to organize a scholarship for two students who have participated in our program (teenagers who are considered orphaned or vulnerable) to continue their studies! We’re working out the details so that they would hopefully start at the beginning of the next school year in February.

· A garden update: We are about a month away from fresh tomatoes (68 plants in total) – and just about everyone I’ve had over to my house has laid claim to at least some of the still green fruits. Also recently transplanted in are 5 eggplant. I love to spend time out there and talking with neighbors about the benefits of compost and trading ideas. My hope is to grow an abundance of tomatoes as to necessitate the making and conserving of tomato sauce. Canning (or food production in general) is a concept not widely practiced in many homes in my community – beyond corn and other staples that are pounded and dried into flour. Yet I remember what success we had with preserving sweet potato jam, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity!

· Ah, and a another note about the garden - - the pineapple plants are big and healthy, yet I planted them a year ago and they have yet to produce any fruit. I just thought you should know that some types produce only in their second year. Think about that next time you eat a pineapple Reader… it makes one appreciate the oft-overlooked grace in this world. .

· Another success of late is that with much planning and a lot of time spent, the young man I know that runs a small business venture applied for a was accepted for a small loan by a local organization! This means that he will double the capital he has available to him (meaning simply more profit with no additional effort). More importantly, however, it puts him in a position to continue his business after I have moved on to other activities this coming rainy season. [You see, Volunteers are charged with building capacity and transferring skills – so the idea is to help people to help themselves, and then leave the decision-making in their hands. In my case success would mean that the business continues making money despite my absence.] I can think of few who deserve good news more than this young man.

· Wow what else Reader? I was bribed into teaching a series of computer classes at a friend’s house, which turned out to be a productive little seminar on Microsoft Excel and its many uses. These are skills that are becoming more and more necessary for finding work with the government and other institutions. I was bribed with food. [I once let my sister cut my hair for a snickers bar and a slurpee. Only now, years later do I admit this publicly.]

· The band I play in is moving up in the world! We actually made a little money, which, as far as I can tell is a big step for any musician. We played three gigs in four days. One night we were out until 3 in the morning! It was just so fun playing and dancing. We’re now 8 members. Also, we went into our version of a recording studio to try and lay down a song we’ve been playing for a while. It will hopefully be finished within the next two weeks. I don’t know how but I’d like to post it here for you to listen to. One of our songs plays on the local radio station at least twice a day.

· Also, musically, there was a wonderful group of musicians to came to our town who played the timbila, or marimba (This is the wooden ancestor of the xylophone). They played and played, and their energy was incredible. I especially loved the group of women dancing in circle around them, having a wonderful time and laughing together. I got to join in too! Everyone stomping their feet and laughing and cutting loose after weeks of hard work. I wish you had been there Reader to join in.

· I had a memorable lunch with one of my coworkers this past weekend. I learned that he and his wife take care of some of their neighbor’s children during the weekends. I had a fun time sitting on a mat under a shade tree writing words in the sand with a little girl named Alima. She showed me how to spell it. My coworker and his wife are both HIV positive, and we discuss their health regularly. How can I express my admiration for their openness and their commitment to living fully?

· Lastly, I must admit that (as I noted earlier) I have indeed been thinking about the fact that only four months remain in my contract as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have decided that my goals are to fully commit myself to my community, to learn what many lessons it has to teach, and to have no regrets about my time here. There is a lot that can happen in four months. I will keep you posted on my thoughts about the next step, but for now I am pleased to say that I am happily focused and keeping it moving in the positive.

Well, Reader, that was about as short-winded as I can be about many weeks of
this amazing experience. You know it is not easy - - If you were here we could listen to the sound of drums beating under a smiling crescent moon… watch the orange sun drop through the horizon. But perhaps for now this is the best we can do to remain close to one another.

I will continue to share with you what life is like here in the hopes that it gives you another perspective through which to see the world. But I will also write you because our being in contact lets me share some unique experiences with you - - you see, I’ve come to believe that experiences, like food, taste better when passed around.

Please take care of yourself and those around you. I wish you health in the coming weeks.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. My gratitude to the musical inspiration, beyond that mentioned above, of Stevie Wonder, Cephas and Wiggins, Spearhead, Outkast, Maná, Joni Mitchell, and others.

Update #26.5: Photos of the Last Two Months

Dear Reader,

I have finally gotten a chance to post some photos of the last two months of my time here (see prior entry, #26). Please enjoy, feel free to ask questions.

Monitoring visit at an elementary school in Gorongosa

Youth from JOMA Conference doing Journalism work

Giving a Session at JOMA

The Mural That Was Painted in Chimoio

Team Relay Banana Eating Competition (Truly Epic)

Incredible Beach in Nampula

Sunrise

Where we stayed at above beach

Well I hope that gives you a little better idea of what I've been up to. Meanwhile, please take good care!

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #26: As We Enter The Dry Season

Dear Reader,

I hope that you are in high spirits as you read this. I miss you. I send you my warmest regards from here in Mozambique.

How are you? (Simple question, complex answer right? Why not take a moment to really consider this question? This is a chance to take a deep breath -- amazing how everything slows down.) What is something you’re working hard on these days? What is something that made you laugh recently?

It has been some time since I sat down and told you what has been going on here. Now is that time. Please join me as I recount some recent goings on as I enter my twentieth month in this experience:

Since we last were in contact, the flood waters have disappeared. The work of cleaning up and planting new crops has gotten underway. Things are returning to normal. Now we are entering the dry season.

Reader, because so much time has passed, this update will be written in list format. Here are some noteworthy events, good and a few not so good, from the last two months of my life here:

· I was asked to spend an afternoon running a workshop on teambuilding and HIV-related issues at a local Italian-run organization for the people who work there. The event was a lot of fun, and by using a number of recreation-based games we were able to broach sensitive topics involving HIV (getting tested, in particular). [If the numbers are even close to true, Reader, one in five people in my community are currently HIV-positive. Major obstacle: When we encourage people to get tested in my community, who in the room is not thinking that it’s possible that they are, right now, HIV-positive? The question is: This is a virus that can remain asymptomatic for 10-15 years – and in that period of time how many partners have I had? Not to mention that someone I care about is, by the numbers, also might be HIV-positive. It’s a complex and deeply personal issue.] Well it was wonderful to teach some new games to people that work hard in our community to better the lives of others, to see them laugh and play together. There was a lot of positive feedback. Especially for the human knot, who knew?! My favorite, however, was making kazoos out of papaya leaves and performing the Mozambican national anthem with about 50 adults. The word that comes to mind: epic.

· My work situation continues to improve. [When I refer to my work situation I mean the primary project I was assigned to work with – the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools program funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] The team I am now working with is proactive and interested in the work we are doing. (I tell you Reader, good people - - that is the key to a positive work experience, and often times success. In other words: There ain’t no training you can send someone to to get a better attitude or to like their work any more.) Well anyways we have been charged with visiting elementary schools that are new participants in our program. Our work is even getting praised by our boss in Chimoio! Originally I was intimidated by doing solo monitoring visits, but they have turned out to be exhilarating, and empowering! Picture this:

I catch a ride to a small community about an hour south of where I live to visit a school that’s just joined our program. I step down from the pickup truck onto the edge of the highway. The driver stops me to make sure I know where I’m going. It’s mid morning and warm. All I’ve got is a pen and some paper. I walk down a dirt path amongst the tall grass. I ask where the elementary school is, in Sena, our local language. I arrive at the school, sit with the Director, get the information I came for. We shake hands, I leave heading down a new path towards the main road. I see the local government head, we chat. I sit with some young men who sell chickens and honey on the roadside. It is late afternoon, hold anything up to the light and it is beautiful. I catch a ride home. I get filthy during the trip on some plastic sheeting. I walk in the front door - - and I did it alone, using only the resources I’ve cultivated here.

· Unfortunately, a friend who I met here many months ago passed away. He died of complications with AIDS. I knew he was sick, but knowing doesn’t seem to be preparation enough. I have struggled to come to terms with his passing. I saw him only a few weeks before his death. I won’t go much into detail – another friend, a Volunteer, posted a passage about him on his weblog. If you are interested in hearing more about this, click on this link: http://souaqui.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html .

· While on this topic, I must mention the untimely death of another friend, this one a participant in the Seeds of Peace program I worked with. Mehzabeen, a bright and motivated young woman from India, was killed in a car accident there only a few weeks ago. She was active in peacemaking with her peers and I am proud to have known her. Her memory serves for me as a reminder of how much good we can do with so little effort and with such effortless grace.

· On a more positive note, Reader, during two weeks in April I was fortunate enough to participate in not one but two young men’s training conferences in Chimoio and then Nampula. I participated in this last year, as you may recall. The training is called JOMA (Jovens Para Mudança e Acção). We spend a week learning various techniques in four project areas: photography, journalism, community art, and theater. By empowering young men to think creatively and by teaching them a solid skill set, it is much easier for them to develop a strong identity, think critically and ultimately choose healthy behavior. We also focus on how gender issues affect our communities. Needless to say it is an exciting week and strong bonds are formed in a short period of time. Well Reader, I have the distinct pleasure of running the evening activities during each week. I have to admit I feel lucky to have such a fun job. We dress up in wild costumes and do all sorts of exciting activities to keep our young men excited and engaged throughout the week. My personal favorite? Well it’s probably the nine-member banana-eating relay race. It was incredible, and came down to the last third of a banana… after 44 bananas it was still tied! I’ll try to post photos as soon as I can.

One very positive outcome of the conferences though is that we bring in a mobile HIV testing unit to give our participants a chance to confirm their status in a safe place with supportive peers all around. I am so pleased to announce that of those who got tested (and many did), about 80 percent of the tests were first-time tests. This means that many of our participants were able to take the test for the first time in their lives and discuss with a counselor how to continue down a healthy path for the rest of their lives (no matter what their HIV status). I consider this a huge success Reader.

· I should also add that during the time before these conferences I was asked to help with the manuals for the Theater component of JOMA. I spent hours helping my Volunteer friend compile games and explanations of various theater concepts into a format easily accessible to groups of secondary school students here in Mozambique. We are already hearing success stories!

· After two weeks of nonstop work at the JOMA conferences I was quite lucky to get to visit an area near Nampula called Ilha de Moçambique. After a day on the fascinating island, a friend and I found (with lots of help) an incredibly beautiful beach. We stayed there in a small hut made of wood, palm leaves and grass for 3 days. I will never forget the full moon rising over the calm Indian Ocean, dark orange. I went for night swims alone, read in the shade overlooking turquoise waves, and wrote songs by lamplight. It was extremely restorative and exactly what I needed. Reader I wish you could have been there with me, eating fresh grilled fish bought direct from the fisherman. It was incredible!

· I have had several productive conversations about sexual health with individuals in my community. A young man I work with on a micro-business project (more on that in a second) and I had a frank discussion about proper condom use. (This may seem bizarre, but it is very much one of the main reasons I am here in this community, to disseminate correct information about prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV). Also, in a complete fluke, I got a ride in the same car as our local government leader who is responsible for our entire district. We got into a conversation about sexuality and condom use. This is extremely important, because if our community leaders are not active in supporting health initiatives (including setting good examples for the people to follow) then our work is that much more difficult. I was mildly embarrassed to discuss sensitive issues with him, but I am happy to say it was a rare opportunity to deliver a health message direct to someone with a tremendous impact on my community. [Why am I telling you all this Reader? Well because as a believer in the grassroots approach to helping people live healthy lives, these two conversations are examples of the type of work I am doing here in Mozambique. It’s all small conversations and baby steps, but to me it is the only way to access true change – by finding a way into a person’s thought process during those few seconds in which they are trying to decide whether to use a condom or not. That is one example, of course]

· I am happy to report that the micro-business project I am involved with has been quite successful. The 15-year-old young man who is selling phone credit (we all use a pay-as-you-go cell phone system) as a business venture is making good money! Actually, his mom and dad were forced to move into a resettlement camp after the floods, and he is responsible for paying for his schooling, clothes, food, etc. because they cannot. I am so proud of him for his hard work and his honest efforts. I will keep you updated. Our business plan is for him to have the capital to run the business all by himself within the next six months. Knock on wood.

· Oh, and I would perhaps jeopardize my (self-appointed) title as greatest uncle in the world by forgetting to mention the birth of my niece, Aliya Claire! My sister Shayna and brother-in-love Ramon, as well as their first child Sabina are all healthy and very happy. The night she was born I was playing hand drums in a small concert with the music group I play with under a clear starlit sky. (for photos and further inspiration see my brother and sister-in-love's blog: http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com .)

Well that’s most of what I have been up to. This past week I have been sick
unfortunately, but am happy to report I’m finally feeling better. I should be 100% for the imminent arrival of my mother and father here in Mozambique! I could not be more excited, more thrilled to host them as they visit and see a glimpse of what life is like here. I will tell you more about our adventures together when I have the chance.

And so, between planning for their visit and thinking about the final 6 months of my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I must admit Reader I am a bit overwhelmed. I have done a lot of thinking about my goals for these months to come. I think I have decided to simply keep working hard and take every opportunity to soak in every detail of my life here. [Yesterday afternoon for example, I was tired of staying home sick, so I walked over to the center of town where a traditional music and dance competition was being held. It was amazing! How easily I forget the joys of traditional rhythms. Or better yet, the smiling faces of groups of women as they chant and dance in their matching capulanas.] What I seem to be saying Reader, is that I am so glad I’m here. I am so glad that we can take this time together to catch up and for you to come along with me on this wonderful journey.

That’s all for now. Please take good care of yourself and those around you. I will be in touch again soon. Until then –

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I will try to post some photos soon.

Pps. A brief thank you to the musical inspiration of many local musicians here where I live. I do not know many of their names. Theirs is music heard but once -- much like a tangerine: a gift of nature, unique and once-in-a-lifetime.

Update #25: Some Images

Dear Reader,

I was able to post a few photos concerning this last entry, number 24, which concerned flooding along the Zambezi River Valley. I hope they show you a bit more of what I was attempting to describe.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: These images were taken for you, Reader, to better understand the reality of life where I am living. This is not intended to make you feel one way or another, simply to inform.]

Some images:

Before: this is the Elementary School's field where the kids learn how to grow crops, near a small river connected to the Zambezi River.

During Flooding: This is the same mango tree, that water is where the field used to be.

Before: This is a plant nursery next to the Elementary School,

that last table will appear in the next photo.

During Flooding: The water had reached as high up as those first few tables.

A few more images of the flooding:

Look at the tree in the lower right part of this photo, the water level will then be perhaps put into perspective. Unfortunately, this entire area used to be corn and sweet potatoes.

That same location, a man in a dugout canoe where there normally

are people's family plots of land in which they grow vegetables.

In Black and White

The queue to cross the river, big trucks like these are now waiting up to 5 days in line to get on the ferry to cross the river. See previous entry for more information about these trucks and their drivers in regards to HIV.

In Color

I'm hoping you are doing well.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps.

Update #24: Tempo de Fome

Dear Reader,

It was yesterday evening, walking home that I was inspired to write you. I took a shortcut up a slight hill in the early nighttime darkness. The tall wet-season grass and dark sky laid an ideal backdrop for hundreds of fireflies – winking and shooting like stars. I stood there on the damp path, rapt. I stood there feeling lucky to be alive, to take part in this mystery.

I hope you are well. I hope that 2008 finds you in good health and your family also. There’s much to tell so let’s begin.

I would like to explain the title of this entry. Tempo de Fome, translated directly means “Time of Hunger”. Here where I live, January through April (more or less) constitutes a season in which food is scarce. This is mostly because of the flooding along the Zambezi River valley. When flooding occurs, water invades family plots of land (“machambas”) and destroys crops like corn and sorghum that are dietary staples in my community. The problem is, Reader, that in order to have food to replace what is lost, we have to both wait for the waters to recede (weeks) and then wait another 2-3 months for the new corn that we plant to grow. This is why it’s called the Time of Hunger.

[Now to answer three questions you might have:

1. What causes it to flood almost every year?
   Well the answers I get are twofold. Firstly that it rains a lot far upriver in Zambia, etc. which causes flooding downriver. Secondly that the dam we have, the Cahorra Bassa, opens up to release pressure – sending large quantities of water downriver very quickly [the newspaper said two weeks ago that the dam was releasing 6,500 cubic meters of water per second]. This is why it floods here.
2. Why don’t people just plant their food where flood waters won’t destroy it?
   The problem is water and distance. Rain here is inconsistent at best. If it’s not occasionally raining for days, it stays dry for weeks at a time. This means that many plants need to be watered to grow and produce food. What better water source than a river, right? Well it’s that same river that floods and takes all those plants with it. Also, the distance that people have to travel to find good land that doesn’t flood is long, making it impossible for one to get there (on foot or bicycle), work, and come home in a single day. I might add that one day I was asked to consider which was a greater risk: the possibility of flooding once a year or the possibility of not having enough food every day? I guess this is why people plant their corn near the river anyways – because not having enough food to eat is a greater threat.
3. What, then, do people do for food during these few months?
   That’s where things get tricky. I’m still learning about that.]

Anyways, I tell you these things Reader because they are a part of the reality here, and I consider it my responsibility to show you (in whatever ways I can) more of what this reality looks like. [I’ll comment more on how I’m trying to help the situation a bit later.]

* * *

Well if the flooding is the number-one biggest-impact change that’s happened in the last month, second in line is undoubtedly the arrival of 24-hour electricity here in my community! We were officially connected to the electrical grid just after the new year. [That might explain my being able to write you at a bit after four in the afternoon.] It is very exciting. One of my favorite things about it (beyond a cold drink on a very hot day), is late at night when all is quiet and people are up talking or reading or whatever without the shuddering roar of diesel generators.

I must say though Reader, that electricity means a lot more to us here than what I just mentioned. Now our street lights are on at night, making it safer for everyone. Now we have refrigeration in the hospital necessary for certain medications. Now we have the possibility of electric water pumps to help irrigate our fields. Now we have light to study by at night. Now we have the ability to work on the computer and send faxes during the daytime and be more efficient in the workplace. Now we have a way to keep dairy and meat products safely so we can eat a healthier diet. There is so much more!

[NOTE: I am feeling like this is a fairly historic moment here – it is the first time ever this community has had electricity as such. In my entire life I had never lived anywhere – save perhaps a cabin in the forest – that didn’t have electricity]

* * *

Ok, now you have an idea of the changes facing my community. But what about on a personal level?

Well, the bad news is, I just found out that the counterpart I worked 8 months to bring in just got transferred to a town 100km away. I don’t deny my disappointment. He brought the promise of revitalization to the program I work for, and he will be sorely missed. It came as quite a shock to us both, actually.

The good news is, that lots of other very positive things have been happening of late – making this last development easier to bare. (When G-d closes a door, they say, He always opens a window)

One great success recently was (yet again) food oriented. I had learned from a friend how to make sweet potato jam and made it for some neighbors. Later, word got out and I was asked by a colleague in the Department of Agriculture to teach him so that he could go teach a group of women he works with in his community. Well we got together one afternoon for a jam session, as it were, and they loved it! [NOTE: It actually is a big deal. Remember how earlier we talked about this being a season when people don’t have enough to eat… well learning how to sterilize jars and keep jam for a month or two could make a big difference in people’s ability to eat well all year long. We have plans to do that again.]

Another was just last evening. After attending a meeting with a number of organizations responding to the flooding, a friend and I decided that a good way for us to continue combating HIV would be to gather some resources and talk with the multitude of truck drivers that often wait 3 to 4 days before crossing the river. You see, truck drivers are a good example of what we call ‘mobile populations’ – a fancy term for people who are regularly in transit, thus having the ability to carry the virus from one place to another. Mobile populations might also include construction workers, traders, migrant laborers, workers in the mines of South Africa, and prostitutes, for example. Interestingly, truck drivers are particularly at-risk for being infected and/or infecting others because they typically have money to spend and remain far from their wives and families for extended periods of time. For me the most exciting moments of the experience was talking with seven sex workers who make at least part of their living there near the river crossing. It was an aspect of my community that up until now had been hidden, and I was grateful for the chance to speak openly with a few young women about proper condom and related issues. Actually, it went so well we agreed to go out and do it again this coming weekend!

More generally, I fill my time with a large number of undertakings – most of them one-on-one efforts to build capacity in my colleagues and friends: I visit sites impacted by that flooding and perform informal interviews to better understand the local perspective, I work on organizing the health component of this year’s Seed Fairs (which like last year look like they’ll create an opportunity for thousands of families in this area to receive more information on HIV and condom use while they receive agricultural support from the government), I help put together data and presentations for the Department of Agriculture (a special need during this time of flooding), I tutor up to 4 colleagues in Microsoft Word and Excel, I consult two local businesses on how to expand their profitability (one a restaurant the other a plant nursery), I am teaching a young man I know about budgeting and savings, I investigate new ways to invest in my community (currently manual oil presses and peanut grinding machines), I just re-recorded a few songs with the music group I play with (and apparently they aired one on the community radio station!), I look in on newly arrived Volunteers and make sure they’re okay, I am planning my third presentation on sexual health/HIV at the bridge project, I am preparing for two hectic youth conferences in April (you may remember I get to organize the evening activities and such chaos that goes on there), I work in my garden (now germinating: 45 or so sunflowers!), I spend time with kids and neighbors… I’m sure there’s more that I’ll remember later. I typically make my own schedule though, and love the freedom it gives me.

* * *

I also might briefly mention that I recently spent a week in the capital city of Maputo for my Volunteer group’s Mid-Service conference. Reader, at this juncture I realize that I may very well have a total of 10 months left in my service here. Just to put things in perspective…

* * *

Well, on that note I think that I’ll end this message to you. I thought, though, I’d leave you with my second-choice inspiration for writing you:

Early this morning, standing at the bakery waiting for bread to come out of the big
brick oven – Everyone still a bit sleepy, morning light leaning in the doorway and lighting the children’s faces in profile. These are the things, Reader, that move me to write you.

Again I hope dearly you are well. Take good care Reader –

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I am grateful to the musical inspiration of Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, John Prine, Gillian Welch, Allison Krauss, Beethoven, J.S. Bach, and most recently, none other than Joe Pugliese.

Update #23: Thinking about 2008

Dear Reader,

I wanted to take this internet opportunity to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday. I send you warm wishes for a peaceful new year. I have been quite well, enjoying the slowing pace of the holiday season as well as some precious rainfall. The end of 2007 has found me reading, cooking, talking with friends, and decorating my house. Not only that though. I have been thinking about you, and how much I miss you.
I’ve also been thinking about the turning of the year. You see, it has become customary that every year I select a short phrase that will serve as my personal motto. This motto is an expression of what motivates me to act, as well as the ideal I strive to live up to. Last year’s (2007) motto, for example, was two-fold: 1. If we don’t do it, who will? 2. Be humble. That motto was an expression of my commitment to learning about my community and building capacity in others so that they might effectively help themselves (rather than me try and do it all alone). But what will it be for the new year?
You see, Reader, 2008 brings with it many possibilities. As I look around my community here in Mozambique, I see that there is a sizeable number of small things that could be done to improve our lives here. I’m not talking about big projects and major funding sources. I’m referring to initiatives that cost nothing and could be accomplished by any organized individual or group of citizens. You see, so many helpful initiatives are simply a product of will and action. Whether it’s picking up garbage, rehabilitating a playground, or fixing local roads, everyone wins (at no cost!).
It is this precise sentiment that drives me to thus cast my personal motto for the coming year. [And don’t think that I haven’t thought about it, at length] My personal motto for 2008 is: Everything is as we make it. In other words, something is special if we make it special; we cannot sit and simply hope it to be so. If we put in the work, take the time to get perspective, ask questions, act thoughtfully, and honestly pour ourselves into what we do – it is bound to be extraordinary. You get out what you put in.
On another level though, ‘Everything is as we make it’ is a statement about the
human-ness of the situation we find ourselves in. I sometimes forget that war, peace, disparity, kindness, unity – these are human constructions. An unfair law that is passed, for example, is the work of a group of individual humans, nothing more. When we view institutions such as law or authority in this light, we may remember that it is inherently within our capacity to shape them, if we will it strongly enough. This is to say that each of us is capable of love or hatred, and we must daily choose how we will impact those around us. The Buddha says:

“For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time;
hatred ceases by love; this is an old rule.”
- circa 520 B.C.E.

That gets me to thinking: what exactly are we waiting for? And I mean ‘we’, you and me, Reader. There are countless ways in which we can reach out, at no cost, and improve things around us. This may simply mean telling our loved ones how we feel about them. It could mean giving someone a compliment and looking them in the eye. Perhaps one could donate some time to a certain young person – read them a few stories or play a game. (We could also go beyond that and reach deeper into our communities. What about bringing a meal to a neighbor? Perhaps volunteering some blood or reading stories to kids at the local library. Writing our local or state representatives about issues dear to us is also an option. Or maybe simply being kind to someone unknown to us.)
The point is that things are as we make them. If we reach out and care for one another, today, we all benefit.
Oh, but I forgot to mention one of my favorite parts! -- That in choosing a motto for 2008, one is also obliged to choose a false motto (a statement that expresses the exact opposite of how you feel and where you would like to go in the coming year). In 2006 my false motto was “Get in, get out, get paid”. 2007 saw the rise of “Every man for himself!” Now, for 2008, I have selected: “If it’s not on television, I’m not interested.” Reader, what are your motto and false motto for 2008? Email me, I’m so curious!
Anyway, I suppose that more than anything, I wanted to wish you a happy new year and encourage you to keep others in mind as you celebrate. Please do take care of yourself and those around you. I will check in again in 2008!

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. Thanks to a few great thinkers/authors for inspiring this message: Cornel West, Colman McCarthey, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Thomas Merton. Musically: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, D’Angelo, Nina Simone, Jill Scott, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, the Persuasions, and Habib Koite.

Updated #22: One Year at Site

Dear Reader,

The first thing I ought to tell you is this: Today I celebrate having lived one year here at my site in Mozambique. In the grander scheme of things, interestingly, it does not seem odd that this personal holiday coincides with a slightly bigger one – the sixth night of Hanukah. You see, Reader, it is such a gift my time here. Not only that. I now see that having the chance to then share with you the details and minute victories is a precious rarity among Peace Corps Volunteers, old and new. Thus I am doubly pleased to sit here and share that gift with you.

The second thing I ought to tell you is: There is much I have to update you on. Please take a minute to make a cup of tea or at least get comfortable in your chair. While you are doing that, you might take a moment to consider how you are doing at this moment. What challenge have you recently overcome? What is a source of joy for you? What is something that recently made you laugh? [I ask you these questions, by the way, because 1. I care about you and hope dearly you are well 2. I realize that it is a series of questions much like this one that I use here to look inward and cope with difficult conditions. I like that I can share that insight with you as well.]

So let’s start from the beginning. The last time we spent some time together here in the written word was early October. I was just leaving for a vacation with my family. Reader, they ask me here how my trip to Portugal and Spain was. My answer is that (at the risk of quoting myself, a lesser pet peeve of mine) even if it had been a vacation in the most awful place on earth – I still would have had the most wonderful time. I was with my entire immediate family... we came from 4 continents to be together. I will add that it was not once agreed upon that I would see either my brother and sister-in-law (in Peru as incredible Peace Corps Volunteers… http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com/) OR my sister, brother-in-law, and niece (in Spain as incredible people… http://www.shaynaskolnik.com/) during this two year period. [NOTE: I am seriously considering lopping of the “-in-law” part of my brother and sister’s spouses’ titles. They are my family now. My sister’s husband once ingeniously mistook the turn of phrase for brother-in-love, which is much more accurate anyway]

I’ll tell you a bit about the trip. I flew direct from Maputo (Mozambique’s capital) to Lisbon (pronounced “Leezh-boa”), Portugal. Yes, I enjoyed the in-flight movie; it was Harry Potter book 5. The flight was nearly empty. I ate everything they served me.

The flight had been delayed, so I arrived in the International Terminal and was delivered into the arms of a tired and wonderful family. We walked outside together, and it was time for MAJOR PORTUGUESE TEST #1! [I had been asking people about whether or not I would be able to communicate in Portuguese in Portugal, and was nervous to find out the truth] Reader, I passed the test. I was able to figure out how to get a taxi and then negotiate the price – and I was understood! [ok I kept saying Meticais (or “contush”) instead of Euros… but still not bad!] We got safely back to a handsome hostel and got right down to the most essential of family business. They had brought me slices of 3 Brother’s Pizza. Reader, you know somebody loves you when they carry a greasy piece of cheese pizza from your favorite childhood pizza place thousands of miles in a bag, then sit with you on an unfamiliar bedspread somewhere in Europe and ask you afterwards if you want to wash it down with homemade brownies. That, my friend, is love.

We made our way east the next day in a rental car to the Alentejo Region. Our destination was a rented farmhouse, which was to serve as home base during a week of exploring and relaxing. Imagine this: Shayna and Ramon and Sabina (the cutest niece you’ve ever seen) have just arrived, late. The farmhouse is white with old wooden floors. The entire family makes their way out to the patio that looks down over an endless green valley of cork oaks. The sunset has slowly melted the horizon into shades of orange and rose. Glasses of red wine clink. “To Family!” The air tastes delicious.

What a beautiful week we had there – running in the mornings, eating extravagant meals, exploring villages, hiking up quiet hillsides. We played a lot of hackeysack and played as much music as possible. My brother, you see, is a fantastic guitar player. Also, I should mention that we spent as much time with Sabina (see earlier comment about “cutest niece you’ve ever seen”) as we could. How she has avoided having her photo posted on this blog for so long I cannot rightly explain.

Well after that week we journeyed to southwestern Spain, to Sevilla. It was just so nice to be back in that city that I love so much. We had gone specifically to attend the wedding of my brother-in-love’s [what do you think?] sister. It was indeed a beautiful event, and I was very happy to see many of the people I got close with while living there in 2004.

After multiple visits to the best ice cream place in Spain, we headed back west for 6 or so hours, just north of Lisboa. We stayed in the area called Sintra for a week, in another rented house. This next week, which represented the second half of our trip, was focused on hiking the coastline, exploring castles, discovering caves, and simply spending time together. I have to emphasize Reader that spending time with the ones you love – waking up in the same room, brushing your teeth together, making dinner, choosing what music to listen to, walking to the store, getting ready for bed – that is where the true love that binds us dwells. My highlight of this entire trip was having the time to be with my family and not constantly worry about them leaving again. That gift of time was given by my generous mother and father. That they might know how special they are to me.

After making plans and saying goodbye, my mother, father, brother, and sister-in-love returned to their respective homes. My sister, brother-in-love, niece, and I drove east to Sevilla once more. There we spent the next few days relaxing in that wonderful city. I also took some time to do some thinking about the future. I’ll let you know when I come up with something concrete. [It may take a while]

Then, it was time to come home to Mozambique. A midnight bus to Lisboa, an afternoon flight to Johannesburg, arrival in Maputo. I stayed a day in Chimoio with a friend, needing a day to catch my breath and put some things into perspective. [It was an afternoon at the park in Sevilla that finally threw me. I was standing watching healthy young children, well dressed, some with snacks, some being helped down the slide by an adult – and I was noticing the safe play area with the foam-padded ground, the well-tended bushes – and I was gripped by the unfairness of it all. Not that I am here going to blame anyone or anything in particular for it, but it struck me more strongly than ever before that every child deserves the chance to have a safe, healthy childhood. I don’t care about “first” or “third” world – (Wikipedia says that that term didn’t even come around until 1952 (Frenchman named Sauvy)) – it seems to me that we live in one world and one world only. I am simply saying, Reader, that different standards for different people in different places strikes me as absurd.]

As I step off of my soapbox, perhaps you might like to stretch your back and neck – perhaps take a deep breath. When you are ready, I would like to discuss a few small victories I am enjoying at the midpoint of my Peace Corps service. Here they are in list form:

My garden is doing very well. Actually, what was originally going to be a demonstration area for vegetables that grow well in the climate here has turned into an experimental area for lesser-known plants. I am now drying sunflowers for the seeds (a special nod to my sister-in-love), growing an avocado tree, a tangerine tree, an orange tree, a passion fruit plant, pineapple plants, and most surprising of all are the 40 or so basil plants thriving in my back yard. The sunflowers attract visitors, and the basil leaves are new to most people and keep them inquiring at my gate. I am proud to say that having used a few techniques of Conservation Agriculture, my neighbors are able to see that food can be grown in small areas of well-tended land.

I was invited to give a second presentation on health issues to a group of construction workers building the bridge over the Zambezi River. I was elated to stand before 180 workers and demonstrate proper condom use, as well as discuss the risks men face when far from home in terms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV. It is a pleasure to talk amongst only men about these issues, as it allows us to speak openly about taboo subjects. We laughed a lot, too.

I also got a chance to make cake for about 60 workers at the bridge project. Carrot cake. It turned out well! One man helping during the baking process was not convinced that carrots and sugar would go together… who knew?! It was lots of fun.

During our frequent sing-a-longs, the local children and I have added something new to our repertoire. Before we start singing (and at this point I am the one being told to go inside and prepare everything), we all have to wash our hands with soap and dry with something clean. I had introduced it hoping to inspire the use of soap at home, and not just during bathtime. It has indeed caught on! Some are even excited about the air-dry dance (despite the urge to wipe our hands on our filthy shirts to dry them). Plus, getting all soaped up with the kids is spiritually fulfilling somehow.

Just this past week, an important visit came from FAO Rome. [Remember Reader that I work for FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based in Rome, Italy) as a part of their Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools program.] I was asked to come down and participate in the visit as a Peace Corps Volunteer working with FAO. I felt very lucky indeed to meet many higher-ups working with FAO and the World Food Program (WFP) as well as journalists from Malaysia and South Korea. I couldn’t help but think once again about how lucky I am to get the chance to learn more and ask more questions. It was an honor for me. [Also the visit to an orphanage that helps undernourished infants was completely inspiring]

I should not forget to mention also that during this time since my return from Portugal in late October I went once again to help with the training of our new group of Volunteers here in Mozambique – “Moz 12”. I spent a week near Maputo participating in sessions, helping them plan activities in the community, and getting to know them. That was the week of Thanksgiving. We celebrated together, and I wasn’t so lonesome for my family and friends (you).

And a major victory of late is the arrival of funds for the program I’m working with to move forward with our vast plans for the 2007-2008 school year! Not only that, but our schools have received supplies that will help them keep teaching our youth farming and life skills. This is huge, Reader, because we have been campaigning with our supervisors for months and it has finally begun to move in the right direction. Even though everything here slows down in December, I am energized and looking forward to helping this program take necessary steps to improve itself.

Other than these items here listed, Reader, I have spent a fair amount of time
recently taking stock of where I am in the course of my two-year service. You see, today really does mark the close of my first year at site. The departing of friends and the passing of a milestone has me thinking a lot about where I am at and where I want to be. I have indeed taken time to reevaluate everything, and I am in the process of setting new goals for 2008. [My motto for 2008 is forthcoming] I ask myself whether this is where I want to be. I am, after all, a Volunteer. The answer, today, remains as such: that I feel blessed daily to be living a reality that was to me before only images and words. I cannot think of anything I would rather be doing (despite living far from my family and friends, despite the hardship) than living every day here, a student of life.

That is more or less where I am at. Today? Today I slept in, read (now working on J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Silmarillion), made use of some fresh basil on a delicious sandwich, played guitar, played music with a friend, and more than anything else, spent time with you here on this page. For that last item I am particularly grateful. You help give a depth to this experience, Reader, that I treasure. Please take care of yourself and those around you during this holiday season. I miss you dearly and am wishing you good health. I hope we talk soon.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I wish to thank Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, James Brown, and Jerry Read Smith for their inspiration of late.

Update #21: Dia da Paz - First Person Perspective

Dear Reader,

Fifteen years ago today two sides of a bitter civil conflict in Mozambique signed an accord in Rome, Italy that officially ended almost two decades of cruel violence. Today, "O Dia da Paz" (Day of Peace) is a national holiday. In celebration I am sitting here in the capital city of Maputo reflecting on how I was ten years old the day the accord was signed. I am also reflecting on the enormous number of people that worked to achieve the peace we have in Mozambique and how thankful I am for their efforts.
Reader, I hope that that this very brief update finds you in good health and doing well overall. I hope that though this Day of Peace may not be celebrated nationally where you are, that you find a moment today to appreciate those around you who strive for peace. My bet is you won't have to look very far!
I write you not only on a significant holiday, however. I write you on the eve of a special personal adventure. Tomorrow morning I begin a three week experience that will reunite my family after having been spread out on four different continents! [Please keep in mind Reader that it was not once guaranteed that in my two years here I would have a chance to see either my brother and sister-in-law or my sister and brother-in-law and their 2 and a half year old little girl... this is huge!!!]
Two quick notes:
1. I told you in my last update that I had helped arrange an exchange visit between two schools that the program I am working for is active in. I have just now had time and internet access enough to post a few photos, and a video(!!!). [Please keep in mind that I took these photos, and I was right there when these things were happening. I say this because it helps me show you that you are indeed coming along with me during these adventures and that you are truly by my side at all times here.]
Okay here they are:
This first photo is of the two schools, their directors, and a few participating teachers
The second photo is of one of our graduates explaining how to use dried grass around a plant to keep in moisture. We were very proud.
This video is of one school performing a dance they learned as part of their participation in our program.

2. I told you in my last update that I had played a concert with the band I am playing with in our community. I managed to take a photo from behind the keyboard where I typically stand when we play. This is really what it looked like Reader!:

Right! Well I have to close up shop here. I am so pleased that we got this chance to catch up, even though it was quick. I am also quite pleased that you get to see a little bit more of my life as I see it!
Please take very good care of yourself Reader. I am sending you strength, then peace, in that order.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #20: September 11th

Dear Reader,

I can’t tell you just how happy I am to be writing to you. It’s a Monday evening. Actually, I was supposed to play a gig with the music group I’ve been playing with, but there seems to be a bit of confusion as to when [and where, now that I think of it] the performance will take place. Ha! Well in the meantime I figured I would sit down and write you an update about just what exactly I’ve been up to recently.
Reader! What a joy it is to be alive! Despite the pain, and the sadness, and the gravity -- I can’t help be but feel blessed to be here. I am hoping that there are some things in your life that when you sit and think about them, make it all worth it. Why not think about a few of those things right now?
I do hope that this message finds you doing quite well and in good health. I wanted to send you my regards before I began…
Reader, I lied to you just now. Well I didn’t tell you the entire truth. Last night as I was starting this note, I got a message from the leader of our band saying that we had to go and start setting up. I finished the sentence, made sure I had everything I needed, and walked out into the enchanting spring evening. Last night the wind was constant and cool. The sky was the darkest blue, stars lighting the silhouettes our enormous leafless trees. I walked the two minutes to the main plaza where they were setting up the equipment in almost complete darkness. After setting up and doing a sound check, I got a chance to stand back and appreciate what was going on. Imagine this, Reader:

The main plaza, a wooden stage build out of rough poles and hand-cut boards. Strewn overhead are fabric flags and three light bulbs illuminating the stage. Take a few steps back and look away from the lights and you will find a giant tree expanding into the night sky. The air is fresh and children are chasing each other, dodging in and out of the growing crowd. There are a few dance groups preparing themselves and shouting excitedly to one another. The celebration is starting soon!

You might know, Reader, that the celebration is one of local pride for our community. From the desk where I sit I can still hear the music being played a few hundred meters away as part of the festivities. It seems to me an interesting coincidence that today should be a holiday where in the place of my birth it is a time of mourning. Ever since September 11^th, 2001, this date has renewed for many feelings of intense sorrow. The coincidence, though, for me is a reminder of an important idea. That the world and the universe alike are larger than I might like to admit. My day of mourning is the day others rejoice – and that I must always remember. I feel as strongly today as ever that when we accept how crucial learning about other people and their ideas is, we may only then begin to conquer our fear and our isolation.
What’s funny, Reader, is that after the wonderful atmosphere around us as we prepared for last night’s concert, we only got three songs into our set before the speakers stopped working. Ha! Well we tried to will the equipment to stay alive, but to no avail. I will admit though that it was a good try… [I didn’t mention that at our last gig, two weeks ago, the District Administrator himself stood up to dance while we were playing. That is a huge accomplishment!]
Anyway, what else have I been doing? Well I am happy to report that I am hard at work trying to establish the new team I’m working with and help them get this school year started right. It is a lot of work. That is mostly true because of the monumental effort it is taking to get support (especially financial support) in a timely fashion. September is more or less the first full month of school here, and we are scrambling a bit to try and keep our promises to the schools we work in. I am excited though, and can already see that our hard work is paying off. [Upon a recent visit I saw students carrying pieces of wood around, and realized that it is a result of the Exchange Visit we organized between the two schools (mentioned in a previous entry). By requiring each student to bring one piece of firewood to school it ensures that everyone gets food to eat – which was not happening before.]
Also, I should mention that I am working hard on the imminent arrival of the next group of Peace Corps Volunteers here in Mozambique – MOZ 12. I just got back from a Training of Trainers in the capital that gave us a chance to make sure that this group of Volunteers gets an organized and well-thought-out training. Actually, they arrive here in just about two weeks! I am enjoying thinking about myself one year ago… and am feeling so grateful to have been here an entire year! I am so lucky to be here.
Other recent projects include the starting of a garden in my back yard. The basil seeds are already germinating! Sunflowers coming soon…
Well Reader, I’m off now to attend the soccer match against another community at our local stadium. I did want to leave you with a quote by Robert F. Kennedy that hangs on the wall in front of me. This piece of paper was given to me by Tim Wilson, former director of Seeds of Peace and Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand:

Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or woman can do against
the enormous array of the world’s ills, against misery and ignorance, injustice
and violence…Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us
can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts
will be written the history of this generation.

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief
that human history is shaped. Each time a man or woman
stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out
against injustices, he or she sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each
other a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a
current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and
resistance.

I leave you with that, Reader. I hope dearly that you are well. Please take care of yourself and others today. You are in my thoughts.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. There are a few additional explanations for my happiness:

1. I have just finished two wonderful books. The first is called Three Cups of Tea. It is the story of Greg Mortenson – and I would highly recommend it. The second was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I finished it this morning and it was well worth the wait.
2. More importantly, I have recently found out that in less that one month’s time I will be seeing my entire immediate family during a trip to Portugal and Spain… Reader, this post-script alone may very well account for how wonderful I feel…
   
   

Update #19.5: A few more photos

Here are a few more I had a chance to upload this evening.

On the road to a school I work with

Old abandoned train station (that's a mango tree)

Happy kids while making music

Aforementioned music (what smiles!)

Amazing vine in abandoned building

Update #19: Photos!

Dear Reader,

Please enjoy a few photos I'm finally able to post on this blog! This will give you a little insight into what it looks like where I live. I hope you enjoy...

Sunset on the Zambezi River

Carrying wood beside the old train yard (hasn't operated since 1982)

Playground

Sing-a-long on my front porch with neighbor friends!

Playing more music!

A view looking out towards the Zambezi river valley

Capulanas for sale

A portion of our market

A beautiful Baobab tree

Some marshland nearby

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps. Many thanks to my guest photographers - Matt R., Kendall Z, Katie A. -- thank you so much!

Update #18: Change at the End of the Dry Season

Dear Reader,

It’s Saturday morning now, and I let myself sleep in. I was up at 7am, which is indeed well after everyone is up and sweeping their yards – starting their day. I sit now with a cup of tea to warm up during a slightly chilly morning. It does seem though that we are at the end of the dry season, because it is getting considerably hotter during the daytime. I can hear the birds chirping outside my window and the ring of bicycle bells warning others of their approach.
There is certainly a lot to tell! Before I do, however, I would like to know how you are doing. I am hoping that you’re reading this message in good health and that the ones you love are also doing well. I’m hoping that this finds you content and reflective.
I have some great news. For the last almost seven months I have been working hard and constantly depending on my patience to sort out a very complicated work situation. Unfortunately, it turns out that the team I was assigned to work with was a bit lacking in motivation and transparency. I will not go into detail. I will simply say that building relationships and having the courage to slowly reveal what changes needed to be made have had a real impact. Some of those members who were overburdened and ineffective have been assigned different duties, and things are looking up. I find myself training new members and getting excited again about getting back to the work I was sent here to do. It was a long battle to assure the basic functionality of the team. [It’s funny, because rereading this it sounds like I was the one who decided all this – but really my role was more subtle than that] That being said, it is a huge victory!
You’ll remember, Reader, that I work for a pilot project that supports Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC’s in development literature) by teaching them agricultural techniques and life skills (nutrition, hygiene, etc.) as a part of their schooling experience. They also receive two meals a day through a World Food Program feeding program. I work for a unit that is responsible for monitoring, evaluation, and supervision of eight schools in four different districts in this province of Mozambique.
Of late, these pretty drastic changes have opened a flood gate of activity. They have meant that I am quite busy with training a new member of our team, reestablishing contact with our schools, catching up on reports to receive more funding, and soon it will mean attending a seminar to help develop a country-wide curriculum for our program before the next school year begins.
On the ground, what this really means is that I am now using months of observation, notes I’ve taken, and ideas I’ve stored away to try to help my coworkers get the ball rolling and get consistent assistance to our program’s participants. It is very encouraging!
Here is an excerpt from an email I sent my sister to give you an idea of exactly what this looks like:

Well I had a great day today. First thing this morning I woke up and finished a song I’ve been working on for a while. Then I got on my one-speed bicycle and rode a few kilometers to one of the schools where the program I work for is working. I spent time there with the kids there, we talked a little about how to protect our school garden against goats and robbers. It’s been a big problem. It was so pretty there this morning! I stood watching the wooden canoes drift across the smooth water in the distance. After throwing rocks at a goat to protect our tomatoes and talking with them, I headed of to our other school in this district. It’s about a 20 minute bike ride through beautiful countryside and small village settings. There’s a marsh with women washing clothes and large white and black birds fishing in the shallow water. The director of the school is really helpful, and has been a great resource as I’ve struggled to try and get this program organized. I left after we sat and talked in a great mood and quite motivated!
I came back home for a quick lunch of spaghetti with oil and tomatoes, green beans, and carrots (both of which come from far away to our market, and are a fairly rare find!). After that I went to the market to stock up for the weekend, because a Peace Corps visit arrives tomorrow morning. I then took off for the Department of Agriculture to try and catch the Director there to keep him informed about my program’s status, and ask a few favors. By then there was only time to get my calendar organized and go home!

[A follow up note to that email is that the Directors of those two schools scheduled a meeting that I was at a few days ago in which they sat and discussed methods to improve their programs and solve problems. They brainstormed about ways to make sure they always had firewood for cooking, as well as dealing with theft from the school’s fields. It is a small but crucial step.]
I will keep you informed Reader as things continue to take shape. Beyond that, however, there is a reason I have not updated this blog in six weeks! I am currently working on a few other projects. I would mention here that my experience has been similar in particular to that expressed recently on my brother and sister-in-law’s blog [http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com]: that our Volunteers’ lists of potential projects are long, and we spend all of our time trying to decipher the available support, viability, and true interest in these initiatives. I also find myself following a number of paths until some of them end and others continue. [It is a constant call back to my personal motto for this year – ‘If we don’t do it, then who will?’.] Please do check out the inspiring work that Benjamin and Libby are doing in the mountains of Peru. Here are a few of those things I’m working on:
· I’m working with traditional healers in this district to explore the possibility of establishing a pharmacy for traditional medicines here. Their idea is to have a central source for common herbal treatments that are now not consistently available. The numbers are changing, but approximately 50% of the population in this country have no access to any form of conventional health care [feel free to correct me – www.WHO.int/en]. This means that the primary source of health care for many are traditional healers. A government-sanctioned pharmacy for traditional medicines, which exists in neighboring countries, could be a vital link for traditional and conventional medicine. Overburdened health posts could lean on approved herbal remedies available locally, and traditional healers could refer patients to get HIV tests and receive critical Anti-Retroviral treatment. It is an idea still in its infancy, but I’ve spent enough time looking into it to let you know about it.
· I’m quietly looking into sources for more Portuguese books for the two small libraries we have here. The structures, personnel, and support already exist – I am simply trying to fill shelves with resources for the community. There are some small grants available here that I’ll be helping the libraries apply for over the next few months.
· Starting in August I have been asked to teach an evening class once a week to professors at our local Secondary School in computer use. I already give occasional assistance to colleagues, but this would be a formal setting to assist professors in more professional, efficient grading.
· Also starting soon – I’ve been asked by another organization to teach small piano/keyboard classes once a week or so. I already have sing-a-longs with my neighbor children most afternoons, but this would be a chance to impart some more knowledge to some youth!

More on those and other projects coming soon. Another thing coming soon: I
was recently treated to a series of visits by other Volunteers! I am pleased to say that my generous friends agreed to take photos of my community for me, and in the next few weeks I am hoping to have the ability to post them here on this blog.
A last few notes for today: Firstly, Reader, I am so pleased that I am able to communicate with you and I am thankful for your support. It is so much easier knowing there are so many people out there working to help those in need, in an infinite number of ways. After checking out my brother and sister-in-law’s blog, you could check out www.seedsofpeace.org, another example of people going to the limit to help people. They are in their second session even as I write, right now.
Well, I suppose I’ll close with a small excerpt from an email I wrote my mother recently, it still sums up more or less where I am at right now:

I am feeling luckier than ever to be here, alive, and healthy. Sometimes I am afraid – of not helping enough, of not understanding what’s going on, of poverty, of injustice, of death – but before and after that fear I feel truly happy.

Please take care of yourself Reader. I will be in more contact soon.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #17: Six Months at Site

Dear Reader,

If I told you that I missed you like I missed my hammered dulcimer would that mean to you what it does to me? Would it connote to you not simply your absence here where I am physically, but some harmonic incompleteness? I am wondering this as I sit here on a Friday evening trying to gather all the ideas I have so wanted to tell you about over the last few weeks. Actually, this is the second time such a thought has entered my mind. I am sitting on a wooden sofa/bench in my living room, listening to my friend Jerry Read Smith play music that comes from the laptop sitting here on my lap. It is 15 minutes to seven pm. There is a slight breeze moving the curtains I hung months ago in the window to my right – a sort of blue and white plaid. Directly across from me is a bookshelf full of recently acquired books. It and this sofa are made of the same local wood, called panga-panga. Under my shoeless feet is a straw mat. As I turn my head from side to side, I notice all the wonderful photos I have hung on the wall. My home is full of smiling faces! I can see all this due to the recent arrival of this single light bulb that glows overhead. More on this exciting development later. I am pausing now to dip locally made bread into some margarine as a pre-dinner snack. It was hot today, so the cool night breeze is doubly refreshing.
As we near the midway point of 2007, I want to send you my warmest regards. How are you faring these days? Reader, how is your family? What is something that you think about just before you fall asleep? I am so curious to know such details of your life – for to me they are truly long distance gold. [You must understand that from a distance things look pretty strange. I view the importance of a piece of news about one’s life as proportionate to the distance that such news is able to travel and at what speed. Or rather the other way around: the distance a piece of news can travel and at what speed directly correspond to the perceived importance of said news.] This, I hope (in about the most scientific way possible) will explain to you, Reader, why it seems to me that all anyone does where you are is be born, die, and on rare occasion graduate from something. I sometimes laugh about the fact that these facts are the ones that most often make the lengthy trip (despite a slew of exciting in-flight movies) all the way here to Mozambique. I also, I suppose I am saying, [at exasperating length] want to know the more intimate details of your life. There are lessons to be learned in every corner of this experience. Every corner.
Right, you get the idea. [Plus, I’m bound to reiterate that in my closing paragraph…]
Anyway, what this message is also about is the last few weeks of my life as a Volunteer here in Mozambique. Quite a few things have happened of note! I’ll start with this afternoon and evening. Reader, I recently discovered that where I live we have not one but two small libraries! For me that is a huge discovery. In my community books are a precious commodity. [Upon seeing my two shelves of novels passed down from another volunteer recently, one friend remarked about my having a library in my house. I counted them later, and decided maybe we had different definitions of how many books it takes to make a library.] Well I had chatted with the librarians, and asked them if I could bring some kids along to read some children’s books someday. Today was that day – and after talking about it all week, four of my neighbors (all either 8 or 9 years old, an important distinction existing between the two) and I walked over to see what they had. They had never been before, so once the librarian said it was okay we walked in and checked out what they had! Ha – library humor, nothing like it!
For me that was an exciting moment, to get excited about reading. [My adult neighbor, in a discussion this evening and after the fact said that she believes that literacy is a “chave para acabar com a pobreza absoluta.” (A key for ending absolute poverty) I agree.] But there’s more! After it was time for the library to close, we took a walk to the market and then home again. On the way home some other neighborhood kids joined our walk and reminded me that I had promised them to sit and play guitar for them. We set up an esteira (straw mat) out on my front porch – and proceeded to sing (if not shout) a few songs together. It was a lot of fun! Once again the homemade kazoo proves itself to be the single most popular instrument with children – ever.
[NOTE: I found it simultaneously pleasing and disquieting that these neighborhood kids knew that I sang and had a guitar. It turns out the fairly central location of my house means that little that I do musically goes unnoticed. Then again, if you have ever lived with or near me Reader, you may know that my lifelong, passionate affair with music is not an especially discreet one, so to speak.]
With all that energy coming from a porch sing-a-long I came inside (after we all lied and said we would go home and take baths) to type up this letter. There are some other things that have been going on that I would like to share with you.
One such thing is that a few weeks ago I was presented with the wholly unique opportunity of getting to meet the Director of Peace Corps. I was quite honored to be asked to come down to the capital city (Maputo, this you might know by now) and participate in a lunch along with six other Volunteers, the Director, and his Chief of Staff. I found it fascinating to think about the Peace Corps on a global scale, and enjoyed hearing the Director’s perspective. I couldn’t help but mention to him that my brother and sister-in-law in Peru were also having an amazing experience – and if you’re into it you too can read about their time at http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com .
Interesting to me too was my reaction to being in a city once again. I found myself overwhelmed for the most part. I think that it is simply difficult to reconcile two realities of such differing access to resources in a short amount of time. Of course I am talking about what many call culture shock. Perhaps I would alternately call it consumption shock, or maybe resource shock. Other Volunteers affirmed that the first time they made that leap they too faced a struggle. Reader, keeping things in perspective is a constant and essential challenge. ----
Another event that involved some travel was a planning meeting I got to attend for the incoming group of Volunteers here in Mozambique, Moz 12 they are called. I was again honored to be involved - - and quickly found that we have a wonderful staff here who are sincerely interested in utilizing Volunteers to their utmost. I am excited about the prospect of bringing another group quickly into the loop and into the family.
Oh, I also celebrated my 25th birthday recently! Such an event was marked by: A. one huge stack of pancakes with bananas and cinnamon. B. the arrival of electricity back in my house after months of candles and a headlamp. This second accomplishment, though slightly less delicious, has seen the return of evening reading, study, and most importantly recorded music! Why just last night John Coltrane and I made a spicy pumpkin stew that my neighbor’s children practically inhaled. [That’s right, my cooking improves with the quality of the music playing] -- Well all this to say that I am feeling very lucky to have the support that I do and this opportunity to reach into the future and see what comes up.
**************
Well at this point in the email I feel like it’s time for a status update:
Despite the fact that the job I am supposed to be doing is moving slower that I might wish, it has opened up a variety of other opportunities. I spend my free time exploring more in depth my community, asking people to tell me about what they do and who they are. How great is that?! One new option is that my host organization has a number of other micro-projects that are being planned right now. That has given me the chance to sit and talk with the leader of a fascinating women’s group as well as a group of carpenters, asking guiding questions to help them plan for the upcoming challenges of getting more organized. More info to come on these and other projects I am either working on or researching.
Personally I am feeling strong and happy to embrace this six month mark at site (1/4 of my service, I suppose). My Portuguese is good, though I still study and try to absorb as much new vocabulary as I can. My conversational Sena (dominant regional language) is getting me into slightly longer conversations each day, though they end predictably at some brick wall of other eventually - - for now at least. Also, I am in the process of saying goodbye to some good friends whose Volunteer service is now over – and gaining inspiration from their humility and drive. I raise my glass to all those on this planet who are in whatever way looking out for someone else. Lastly, I can feel it in my blood that Seeds of Peace is on the verge of starting their groundbreaking summer program. Despite it being the colder dry season, the last three years have taught my heart to expect a summer in Maine working with amazing youth, amazing colleagues. If you’d like to know more about them I suppose you could visit www.seedsofpeace.org .
More than anything I am grateful for my chance to have walked alongside some incredible spirits thus far in my life. You, Reader, are among these individuals. I hope that this message finds you doing well. I am so happy to have shared a piece of what my life is like here. I have said it before, but writing to you helps me express just how rich and textured this adventure is. I thank you for listening.
Again, take care, and I will write more when I have the opportunity.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank Wynton Marsalis, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Taj Mahal, The Persuasions, Otis Clay, and a host of others that I wonder how my neighbors who are passing by my window interpret as their sound floats out into the warm evenings.
Pps. I have been able to receive small packages that do not claim to contain anything of real value, which has been exciting. More than anything though, I am wont for two things:
1. The finer details of your life, whether it be letter or email or phone call. I, and not only because I am farther away than perhaps before, want to hear the things I think you think I don’t have time to want to know. Like I mentioned earlier… I am even considering making a graph about it.
2. photos of your life. Maybe even more important -- They will find their place on my wall for all to see, that I can guarantee.
3. okay I did it:

Update #16: More Photos!

Dear Reader,

I find myself with the unique priviledge of having a solid internet connection and the time to finally post some photos of my experiences here in Mozambique. I hope that they bring some visual aid to a number of the subjects and adventures I have discussed over the last few months.

Please enjoy!

(1. temporary home after flooding, 2. group of workers after a presentation on HIV I got to do, 3. some members of the music group I'm playing with as we prepare to record a few songs)

Update #15: Photos!

Landscape at Sussendenga

Cabeça do Velho, Chimoio

Broken Down

Resettlement Camp after Zambezi River Flooding

Me and Some Fruit

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #14: Hard Work Pays Off

Dear Reader,

I am hoping that this message will find you doing quite well. As I write this to you, I am tired. I have just finished a marathon week - and am sitting in this Internet café in Chimoio reflecting on my life here as a Volunteer. Before coming to any uplifting conclusions (I can feel one coming on...) I do think it is important to say to you that I am happy, healthy, and had cheese twice yesterday. [Cheese, of course, being an indicator of the luxury I have enjoyed here in the city, as well as being an indicator of my satisfaction with my own hard work - resulting in a dairy-related treat.] So, in a nutshell, I am feeling satisfied.
Let me get right down to business though by telling you about this last week. Last year a number of Peace Corps Volunteers organized a large conference of young men and their teachers in the southern region of Mozambique. This year, the second annual JOMA (Jovems para Mudança e Acção) [Youth for Change and Action] conference was being held in the central region, here in the city of Chimoio. Most of the Volunteers are either involved in the planning and implementing of this week-long conference, or they are teachers around the country who accompany two of their students and one of their professor peers to sessions regarding mainly Gender concepts and the planning and implementing of Microprojects (projects that schools start and run in their communities with their students, etc.). This year the four microprojects involved were Community Art (mural painting), Journalism, Theatre, and Photojournalism. Students spent sessions being introduced to concepts in these areas, and throughout the week got a chance to start honing their skills [by taking photos, writing articles, sketching and ultimately painting a mural, writing and participating in theater pieces].
In particular, a main focus of the training was focused on incorporating a discussion about gender roles in the community into these vehicles of expression. For example, the photojournalism group talked about poverty and gender roles after going out into the city and letting the participants take photos of what they deemed interesting subjects. The theater project too discussed what role a theater piece could have in helping people reevaluate some expectations that are placed on men and women - and came up with a brilliant one-act play about questioning modern and traditional stereotypical gender roles in Mozambican society. There are other examples I am leaving out, but for the sake of time...
Well originally, Reader, I wasn't going to be involved in this training, because as a health worker (not a teacher, who, by the way, are some of the hardest working Volunteers and incredibly dedicated to their students) I don't necessarily have consistent access to a group of youth that I would be able to go back to my community with and help them implement a program. A few weeks ago, however, after some seemingly innocent conversations about what kinds of activities the students and teachers might participate in in the evenings, I was asked to develop a week's worth of evening activities to help keep the group motivated, learning, building their relationships, and having fun. I did that, still under the impression that someone else would be there to run these activities. That was naive. I was asked, and I came down to implement this portion of the training. As matter-of-factly that I am expressing the idea, it was very exciting!
What I'm trying to tell you Reader, is that the organizers of this huge event let me come up with games and activities to do every evening - and I got to dive right back into that now-comfortable field of youth work, teambuilding, and giving youth an opporutnity to express themselves in a safe environment. In other words, it was more or less like going back to summer camp. Except, I suppose I am obligated to say, it was like going to summer camp with participants who had never ever seen anything like it, nor ever heard of anything like it. How incredible!
Reader, I'm going on and on about this because what they let me do was play one night of trust-builing type games, and then launch into a four-night ridiculous competition that incorporated all sorts of wacky activities taken from years at Seeds of Peace, among many others. [photo scavenger hunt, egg drop (!!!), bat spins, banana eating relay race] We split 40 students into two teams, based on the idea that by putting students from vastly different parts of the country on the same team, they would have an opportunity to make friends from places they have never been before (Mozambique is big and transportation is tough). For those who read the first entry on this blog, or are already familiar with my life before the Peace Corps, it was a sort of toned-down Color Games. The kids LOVED it. I can say with confidence that these teenagers got to experience something completely new and take home new ideas, friendships, and memories.
On a personal level, it felt wonderful to be able to bring another element to this program that helped them reach their overall goals. I was left with that feeling - - how lucky am I to be living in Mozambique, learning at every turn, playing games with kids and laughing hysterically - - and it's all what I'm supposed to be doing!? And, I should mention, the fact that during these wild evening activities we got to incorporate messages of teamwork, honesty, introspection, self-worth, creativity, and identity... well that is simply the glaze icing on the sour cream chocolate chip cake of being a Volunteer.
[ok my birthday is coming up, I can't help it - - my biological clock is simply in tune with such things.]
Anyway, with an unbelievable amount of work and patience, everyone involved made the JOMA training a big success. I am exhausted but feeling great about going home to go back to my life of supporting HIV information and programs in our community. That feels wonderful.
Well I did say that I was going to eventually come up with some rosy summation of my recent work, and having done so, am ready to pick up two packages from the post office (my second and third to arrive!!!) and get on a chapa headed first east, then north. Reader, thank you for your support - without which I would not be motivated to push as hard for the people that really deserve some support. You are in my thoughts constantly.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps. I wanted to also mention my personal favorite part of this week's conference. The organizers brought in for two afternoons a HIV testing counselor to give our participants the opportunity to get tested. They foresaw that doing so in a safe environment would perhaps for some give them an opportunity to learn of their situation away from prying eyes of their community. more than 50% of all participants got tested, and many of them (especially teenage students) for the first time. All throughout, teachers were accompanying their students for moral support. Also, because we had these two teams for evening activities, some brilliant volunteers and participants were going around rallying support for all the Pirates and Ninjas (long story) to go get tested. I was approached thursday evening by a young man - he said to me "eu sou pirata negativa" - "I am a negative Pirate". Tell me this isn't worth it...

Update #13: Days in the Life

Dear Reader,

I am bursting with things to tell you. It is 7:21 in the evening, Friday the 30th of March. I am writing from the computer where I work, which is open in the evenings because that (as you may recall) is when we have electricity in our community. I may have mentioned earlier that we have a large generator at the center of our community, and when it turns off after three hours or so – at nine thirty or ten in the evening - - that’s one of my favorite times. I’m not sure why, but I feel it’s distinctly easier to see the [endless expanse of] stars when only the sounds of children playing and bedding being arranged can be heard. And dogs howling, I suppose.
On this evening of cool wind after a hot day, I extend to you, Reader, my warmest of greetings (pun actually not intended). I hope that you and your family are well. I also hope that you are able to keep things in perspective no matter how confusing the world seems to be at times.
On my part, I admit that I’m holding onto my opening because I am intimidated by the task I have set before me: Give you a detailed look at what my daily life in Mozambique is like. Maybe I’ll give you a sample - - two days this past week, from start to finish. Let’s see what happens.


This past Saturday I…:
6:00am: woke up after amazing dreams I think I am having from my favorite Malaria prophylaxis ever. [as of now I am on a comfy mattress on the floor, and I really do love the vivid dreams, always have] - Ducked under mosquito net, and after stop in bathroom (inside) I went to my temporary kitchen (which has a light bulb, while other is getting installed [a long process, despite seemingly simple nature]) to prepare a breakfast of peanut butter from Zimbabwe and honey made locally on bread made even more locally. With water out of my drip filter, I hydrated and then took a quick bucket bath.
7:20am: left house in hurry to meet up with musicians I’ve been playing with, for our second gig! Met up with them outside the NGO’s office (that’s providing the musical instruments), loaded two guitars, keyboard, drumset, hand drum, small amps and microphones into back of pickup truck. We drove out of the center of town to one of the numerous resettlement camps where people are living after the flooding here. Rows of grass-covered huts about one meter by two. We arrive to find many people already gathered, and an array of recording equipment and speakers set up. We set up, and the ceremony – which had to do with a response to the flooding – started promptly with lots of speeches (mostly in Sena, the dominant local language spoken here – that I am slowly picking up!). There were speeches, dances, a group of women that performed songs and danced, school children that performed dances, a dance competition, and almost lastly we got to play two songs. The music I’ve learned in this group is what they’re calling ‘traditional’ though the origins I have yet to clearly ascertain. It is great though to play keyboards with them, and being in a band feels more natural than many other things. [I maintain here that some things, no matter where they take place, don’t seem to change much due to the fact of our unrelenting human nature]
***I have to tell you more about this event. While I am waiting to play music, I am sitting with the other members of the group and the man with the stereo equipment under an enormous tree. Its thickness and grey bark and stubby branches make it dominate this picture. Around the tree there is a rectangle of blue rope tied to sticks to keep people out of the center. Maybe it is seven by eight meters in size. Like the rope, a large group of people, predominantly children, stand four to six people deep with no gap between them. A tree at the center, a rectangle, walls of people. In a tree as we look to our left there is what seems to be another, smaller tree. Though instead of many leaves and branches it has three thick sections of trunk, out of which there seem to grow the men and boys sitting there watching this ‘espectaculo’. The sky, peeking out from the protective shade, is a rich blue. I stood up to take a 360 degree look. I sat down having breathed in, having acknowledged my luck at being there.***
11:00am: As we are breaking down the equipment, having played our two songs (and people danced!) – a man from the radio station comes over to interview a member of the band. That is quite exciting just to be see people getting recognition. [it turns out that today, as I am writing this, I heard they are going to broadcast that whole event on the radio tomorrow afternoon!]
12:00pm: Arrive in my home after helping unload the instruments and walking home with the other band members. I took a well-deserved bath, then set out to the market nearby to buy some provisions for lunch. [If you have just joined us here on this journey, Reader, I should mention again that I love markets. The colors, smells, and action of it! Just wandering through is often enough to get me feeling great]
1:30pm: Arrive back home, cook lunch. I am enjoying the liberty of preparing my own meals – especially in the sense that often I will make something I would eat with my family, and somehow it transports me there with them briefly. It might have been spaghetti sauce this time…
I read for the rest of the afternoon – Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses – ok and maybe took a nap.
6:00pm: I walk to the Department of Agriculture to help our Director edit a document of his. I am on occasion helping him master the basics of computer use, and he is a motivated student. I am constantly learning from him, and couldn’t be happier to do him this small favor. (by the way, this editing I’m talking about is essentially taking directions and dictation all in Portuguese… which for me feels like a huge accomplishment!)
8:00pm: Our “30” minutes takes the two hours that it must take to get the work done, and as payment I am given a ripe avocado by my Director. I note here and in my personal journal as well that I left with that miracle fruit in my hand wholeheartedly convinced that it was I who had walked away the luckier of the two. I am, by the way, still convinced thusly.
9:00pm: After a light supper by candlelight (the process of having some electric light in my home like many of my neighbors have is moving, just not very quickly) I took a bath and went straight to bed. There, beneath my mosquito net on my mattress on the floor, I remember feeling satisfied at a day full of hard and fulfilling work. Reader, I am here to learn, participate, and support my peers here. This I had done.



Today I…:
5:45am: woke up. Cooked two eggs for breakfast, quickly. Washed, combed hair (it’s true!)
7:00am: went to center of town to get my bicycle tires filled with air (1/26th of a dollar per tire). Strapped on my Peace Corps issue Bicycle helmet (which, by the way, I have gotten numerous offers on… I mean to say people have offered to buy it from me.) and rode out of the center of town to an elementary school/middle school where one of my program’s schools has its sessions. When I arrived I found 27 youths being lead by three facilitators under the shade of a huge mango tree. Mangos are not in season right now. I was introduced, and we played a name game. Then I got the grand tour of the school’s machamba (garden). Our program’s participants were busy watering plants as I was taught about the different crops being planted. Lettuce, spinach, onions, tomatoes, corn, another cereal named mapira, and others. We also talked about eating well, because it makes you strong. We showed our muscles. It was great.
11:00am: I left happy, and took advantage of already having been close to the school to go to the nice market they have there. Two things on my agenda: 1. stop in and see some men who sell their corn there who let me sit with them and teach me Sena. It had been a while, and I wanted to show them what I had learned. We sat together and talked. They have been very kind to me. 2. buy some of the things I can’t always get at my market – uncooked peanuts and homemade sugar and peanut sweets that are delicious. Now that is a successful market trip! (I also bought some empty sacks to put bricks in for doing a little weightlifting in my house. I’m excited to get into a routine)
12:00pm: Arrive home and prepare a quick lunch, then head back to the Department of Agriculture. Study in office while coworkers are out on other errands.
3:30pm: The end of the work day – walk home and greet my neighbors. Change clothes, decide that tonight is the night to make Guacamole for my Director (who says to me that he thinks I’m crazy to mix tomato and avocado - - normally here people mix avocado with sugar and lemon juice and eat, also delicious!)
6:30pm: After preparing guacamole, I brought it over to his house. He and my other coworker from my host organization were both there. They loved it. They raved about it. They demanded the recipe…! We then stood and had an insightful conversation about what Mozambique and our region in particular need to continue improving the quality of life for its citizens. (Education and Food Security were on the top of the list, among others) Standing there, almost full moon above us in a clear night sky, I was left feeling, well, happy.
8:30pm: I went to sleep after a long and productive day. I may have read some and done some dishes as well.


ADENDUM: Well, Reader, I am actually finishing this message to you a few days after what I was referring to as ‘today’ this past Thursday. There are a few things that have happened since that will enrich these entries, give them fuller meaning. The word I should highlight in this section is: Guacamole. Believe it or not, the next day my coworker came in, sat down, and asked me to tell him how to make it. He then went to the market, bought the supplies, and made it. He then came back beaming from ear to ear and boasting about how great it was! Not only that, Reader. This magic guacamole also inspired my Director to give me a document to read that I had been wanting/asking to see for months! Who knew!?
Also of consequence (and now that I think about it… perhaps having to do with the guacamole…?!) I had a great success today (April 2, 2007). The Department of Agriculture is having four days of “Feiras de Semente” or Seed Festivals to promote a variety of seeds and sell them to farmers in a number of regions in our district. I went with the Director to help him edit a document in our Administration building in town (they have a generator during the day for computer use). Afterwards, on the walk back, I asked him if it would be okay to also have literature about HIV and maybe some condoms available during the festival so that farmers who don’t often come into the center of town might be able to have some more information. He said yes, and I ran off to the small hospital we have to ask our Doctor [the only one in the district, actually, of approximately 100,000 residents] if he would be able to provide the materials. Not only did he say yes, but he also provided a trained activista, or activist, to come along and distribute the info to an estimated 11,000 attendees!! He also agreed to give information to the president of the district association of traditional healers to give out to the almost 400 members of his group (a huge need, linking conventional medical care with local healers – who are highly respected and often a first stop for health care).
I am feeling great, and confident that after taking the time to build relationships and do favors for people, I am able to ask for the things that could help people in my community better protect themselves and their families. The real credit goes mostly to our Director of Agriculture, who clearly sees the linkage between Agriculture and Health – Food Security and Personal Well-Being.
So, on this note I will end this entry. Not without frustration and setbacks, hard work and diligence pay off.
I send you once again my greatest hopes for your health and, as always:

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin


Ps. I’ll be traveling to the city to pick up a table and chairs, as well as a bed (provided by my host organization) this coming weekend when I expect to send this message. That is also a step in a positive direction!
Pps. Don’t forget that if you want some more perspective, you can see what life in Peru as a Peace Corps Volunteer is like by joining my brother Benjamin and my Sister-in-law Libby on their blog at: http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com .
Ppps. I also found out recently that I´ll be having the honor of helping out with a week’s worth of evening activities during a conference for young men having to do with leadership, gender roles, and societal responsibility - - very exciting! That’ll be next week.

Update #12: The Way It Is

Dear Reader,

It is my hope that this message finds you doing well, and feeling able to imagine how sincerely I mean that. I am not sure I could mean it more, to be frank. For reasons I will unfold within the contents of this message, I have recently been reminded of just how precious every moment we have together on this planet is. Not just because of that, I send you my warmest greetings.
Being that I have the luxury of time, I thought I would ask you to take a moment and consider where you are and what you’re doing right now. How are you? How are you feeling? This really would be a good opportunity, Reader, to look away from the screen, take a deep breath, and be honest.
Actually, I will answer those questions I have asked you for myself here on this page: I am relieved, firstly, that I finally have a chance to sit and reflect on all that has happened in the last month. Secondly, I feel small. Small in the sense that I am aware that there are things in this life much larger than I can imagine, more complex than I can solve – and how at times the knowledge that I am not in control of anything beyond myself is liberating, a release. I admit that at times, we just have to sit down, write it down, and magically the universe seems to conspire to start playing that classic Lucky Dube song I like so much. (Prisoner, great song!)
I also feel, and strongly, that to wait another minute to treat myself to that square of 72% cocoa dark chocolate that arrived recently from my handsome, witty, and beautiful family would be at best unjust. (I promised myself hours ago)
[Did I mention that my family is a family of truly inspired individuals? Real genuine loving people? Amazing examples of human generosity? Stunning leadership and admirable affection? Paragons of virtue and humility?]
Anyways, I think it’s about time that I told just what is going on with me here in
Mozambique. Believe it or not (I dare you), in just four days I will be marking off my third month living “at site”, and approaching my sixth month in this amazing country. I am going to refrain from making sweeping generalizations about life here, I think, and focus on telling you just what I am doing, thinking, feeling, and subsequently doing about those first three.
February was a challenging month. I wonder now if that’s why of all the months it’s the one with fewer days… a few more days of that month would perhaps have been problematic for me (not to mention the Roman Calendar). Not to say it was a bad month, because I’ve already said that I wasn’t going to be making any sweeping generalizations, but I will admit that I have been tested. [the optimist in me is saying “but without getting tested, how will you know the results?” and the realist is saying “just write what happened and look for silver lining at the end of the email, because that’s a much better place to sum things up - having learned important lessons and being ready to move forward”]
Right. Well whether I like it or not, I am thinking that diving head-first into some of the events that have shaped this past month seems to be the most effective way of giving you an overall idea of what has been going on. Good and bad alike, here goes:
· I officially moved into my house. It was a relief to have room to move (pun intended) and it was enjoyable experiencing the simple pleasure of having no idea what to fill it with and being shocked at the realization that I really was starting from scratch. [As I write there is one chair in this sizeable house, and I have borrowed it from work. Why do I get satisfaction from that? There is something wrong with me.] With some thrifty budgeting I have managed to get some carpenters working on basic furniture, and now even have a compost bin!
· A dear friend of my parents, and someone who had become a family friend over many years died suddenly. An internet blog is not the place for anything more than my saying that his passing has filled me with grief and renewed reverence for the absurd nature of human life. I am thinking about him daily.
· Unfortunately, the same evening I was to hear about this above loss, I also learned that a very old friend of mine also lost someone.
· I got to participate in a planning meeting with the Department of Agriculture (where I am working), in which I found out that the new Director is including in his proposal a training for all Agricultural Extension workers in the area of HIV and AIDS… which is phenomenal due to the wide reach of the extensionists into the farming communities. It makes me feel like issues I am trying to keep on the table are indeed being considered.
· I had a chance to call my brother and sister-in-law in Peru. Hearing their voices briefly was uplifting, and reminded me of just why I wanted to commit my time, energy, and soul to this experience. I couldn’t be more proud of them. Their blog, is you want to compare Volunteer experiences, is http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com/ . They have photos, whereas I have been unsuccessful at uploading from Internet cafés here.
· I was in Chimoio for another meeting, which was quite interesting and helpful to me in learning more about just how we can better run this program and how we can successfully let it grow. [Not to mention the fact that it also meant eating cheese, which we do not have where I am living – for lack of electricity and refrigeration… hey, simple pleasures right?!]
· I received an unbelievable gift from my family (per chocolate high earlier in this message), and the videos of my niece in particular made me a prouder uncle still, though many thought it was impossible.
· I met some local musicians! I have practiced with them a number of times… and here is the best part: not only is there a functioning keyboard in my community, but a drumset as well!!! This familiar and newfound source of joy and expression for me could not have been more needed and found at a better time. I am busy a few nights a week when I have the time learning new music, smiling broadly, and teaching a few things about music that I know and can barely grind into Portuguese.
· A cyclone hit the coast of Mozambique at a category 4 strength. That, I have learned, is more or less equal to the strength of our own Hurricane Katrina. It devastated many communities, and for the first time I can begin to imagine what that really means for the people there. It was quite far from where I live that this all took place.
· The region where I am living was hit hard by flooding in the Zambezi river valley. This was perhaps the backdrop of my month, the theater set within which all other events entered and exited. Many thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and watch their fields quickly get destroyed. I had a chance to ride my bicycle to a resettling camp, and was confronted with just what it means when people with severely limited resources and choices are victims of a flood (or other disaster). I have never before understood just what exactly it means, and now I have the image of that reality in my memory forever. Where I am living was unaffected by the flood waters.

--

I am not sure, Reader, if it was my original intention to unload a laundry list of
my experiences over the last month in this message, but in a way I am glad to have it all out there for your consideration. I am having to spend time of late making sure I remember just how lucky I am to be here and just how brave each of us are for getting up in the morning, every single one of us, and striving to answer the questions we have no choice as humans but to ask. Though at times sad and weighed down, I will not conceal that there yet burns inside me a hope that drives me to keep working and to never give up.
I encourage you, Reader, to look inward. I will also be reflecting, learning, and trying to heed the life advice of comedian Martin Lawrence:
“You’ve got to ride this motha$#%&@ till the wheels fall Off.”
Please please please take care of yourself and those around you. Know that I am truly in my element, and despite being able to choose otherwise, would rather be nowhere else.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. Thanks to the music of Lucky Dube, Bob Marley, Wynton Marsalis, Luther Allison, Kirk Franklin, the Beatles, U2, and friend Dan Masterson for inspiration this month.

Update #11: Written in Early February

Dear Reader,

I’m not sure that this is going to be an especially long message, as I have only some time in this internet café in Chimoio (“Shih-moi-ooo”), located in eastern central Mozambique. I suppose that it’s pertinent to tell you, however, that I am happy to have a moment to share what my life has been like recently with you. No doubt it is one of the most important things I could be doing right now.
What brings me to this low-key city relatively near the Zimbabwe border? Well I have spent the last two days at all-day meetings with the organization I am working with. The meetings have been focused on trying to clarify some of the goals of the program we are running and try to coordinate the rapid growth in the number of sites we are working in. [I’m sure I would I would love to write here that I play an integral part in these talks, but the truth is that I am deeply committed to observation before action, and am simply trying to know who’s involved where so that I can start taking the tiny local steps a volunteer in my position can take to support people who are running the program.]
As I don’t have much time, I’ll cut right to the chase: I learned an unbelievable amount of information in the last two days. I got to meet people involved on all the different levels of the organization, and began to see where someone like me can fit in. It was quite challenging at times to wrap my brain around a program 3 years old and expanding quickly (and all spoken in Portuguese), but I have come away from the meetings with a much clearer vision of where we are and where we are trying to go. How exciting!
I won’t deceive you though, Reader. The last two days were very challenging. It was the first reality check for me in terms of where we stand and just how much work has to be done to get to where it’s envisioned that we’ll go. For example, our program is doubling in size this year – and there are still some major organizational issues still being hammered out… which is frightening in the face of such massive changes.
On the other hand, it is indeed so much better to see laid out before us the path we need to climb instead of being unsure what the next step is, at the very least. I am happy to report, I guess I am saying, that I feel I have been placed into a situation where I can give needed support to a program that is truly worthwhile.
I know it’s worthwhile Reader, because I had the chance to visit some of the schools that the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools run for what are being called “Orphans and Vulnerable Children” between the ages of 12 and 17. These programs are teaching agriculture techniques and other life skills to youth who sometimes have no source for such information and support. Last week, for example, I got a chance to visit a few schools and see the participants in action. Many were knowledgeable about the plants they were growing and excited to present what they’d learn. Straight up, Reader, I cannot say with any certainty that without a program such as this they would be getting consistent solid meals and companionship. [Actually, they were singing and dancing. I also was given a chance to talk with a few groups. How can I express what it’s like to teach a group of 50 young teens how to give themselves a hug? I’m shaking my head in disbelief now, thinking as I write just what an opportunity I’ve had indeed. Incredible.]
Well, work is quite time consuming these days. When I am not in meetings I am trying to ingest as much information about this program as possible. That involves reading, listening, and asking lots and lots of questions! It’s funny how quickly we slip back into being students. A Catholic priest I was speaking with not long ago said it this way: “Andar tambêm é escola” (Walking is also school). I take this to mean, of course, that we are students, whether inside or outside a classroom. I realize, Reader, that you may already know this.
A bit of good news: I am not far from having a house to live in! It has been an extra pressure to not have a place be settled, no doubt, but that time will end probably this coming week. I will be moving my belongings in and starting the hilarious task of furnishing a house on a shoestring budget. The task is just silly enough for me to get really excited about. (i.e. making my own chairs, special hiding places… secret passage-ways?!)
A bit more good news: Despite the roller-coaster nature of this experience (highs that are very high, lows that seem suspiciously low), today especially I am doing wonderfully. I am feeling this way because of many small successes, and knowing myself well enough to know how to take care of myself when things get tough. I can’t stress how key this has been. Also though, I have received a few wonderful phone calls and letters of late that have come at crucial moments. I can’t say how fulfilling it is to know that I don’t have to sacrifice the entirety of my dearest relationships in order to be doing the things I truly believe in. The support has been, well, essential.
A final bit more good news: I sit here in Mozambique thinking about just how strongly I hope that you are doing well. I hope that you can find small things to be happy about, and appreciate the challenges we each face. I hope that when you walk out the front door, millions of unseen atoms are sent careening outward as you set out to ply your way through towards accomplishing the task at hand.
Please know that I am well, working hard, and smiling, right now.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin


(written 02/02/2007)

ps. I am healthy and doing well, though challenged by events in my district such as flooding and its longer-term effects. Please know I am ok, and hoping to post another update with more information and perspective as soon as I am able. I hope you are well!

Update #10: New Address

Dear Reader,

I dearly hope that this message finds you doing well. I have recently acquired a new address that will be more accessible to me over the next two years. The following is my contact info from this point forward:

Kevin M. Skolnik, PCV
Corpo da Paz/Peace Corps
C.P. 241
Chimoio, Mozambique
AFRICA

My cell phone number remains:

(011)-(258) then 825966100. Tell me what works and what doesn't.

Please feel free to contact me, as I can always use support and updates on loved ones far away. Know that you are in my thoughts.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin


ps. Life here is unbelievable. So much to do, so much to work on, so much to be excited about. My brain is full from learning so much so fast. I know that I wouldn't want it any other way.

Update #9: 2007 Begins

Dear Reader,

I’m sweating as I write this message. In point of fact, I have learned over the last four weeks to sweat and do lots of things! Eat, sleep, read, play guitar, brush my teeth, and my latest accomplishment: sweat and write in my journal – which takes careful placement of clothing to prevent page saturation. I couldn’t be happier, however, to be writing you right now. I am sitting in front of a computer in the Department of Agriculture, where my office is located. Our community has a diesel-powered generator that gives us about 6 hours of electricity every evening. By now I know the drill, and showed up at the office five minutes before they fired up the huge machine at the center of town.
I realize now that it has been about four weeks since I was last in contact. How are you? I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season, and an exciting New Year. What new adventures does 2007 have in store for us? I am finding all the time that some of the most challenging and rewarding adventures in my life don’t require long trips or extreme circumstances. My latest discovery? The cashew tree. Cashews grow on broad-leafed, attractive trees in abundance in this region of Mozambique. I have just learned by observation that the nut, or castanha (“cah-shtan-yuh”), that we know and love grows one at a time at the end of a base of five or so leaves. Also, to my surprise, the nut grows in a separate pod from the cashew fruit – which right now is bright green. Amazing! [In addendum, have you ever seen a pineapple growing on the plant, Reader? I finally got a chance here to see pineapples growing, rising out of the ground like the stamen of a punk rock flower, an earthen king’s spikey scepter guarded by swordlike leaves. How intimidating and delicious!]
Right. If you don’t mind, let me now fill you in on some details of my life here. As of yet the house that I will eventually live in is not ready. There is still work to be done, and I am hoping to move in before the end of January. In the meantime, I am living in a room, and eating all my meals with my supervisor and his family. In a way that has been a blessing in disguise, because I get to play all the time now with his four adorable children. We run around, chase each other, draw things in the mud, and have recently (today January 5, 2007, actually) discovered the subtle art of making faces when mom is not looking.
Well ours is a district capital, so it houses buildings for the district administration, and departments of health, agriculture, social action, etc.. Beyond the concrete buildings at the center of town, houses quickly switch to simple mud-brick and reed construction. A five minute walk sends you over a ridge overlooking handsome rectangular homes with tidy thatched roofs. The main mode of transportation is of the human variety – foot or bicycle, though we do have some pick-up trucks rumbling around, carrying directors and officials to and from projects. Up the highway a ways, they are building a bridge across the major river we have here, so that explains lots of hard hats and coveralls. One thing that strikes me about my new home is the huge sky. Looking out you can see the rain falling over the Zambezi River seven kilometers away. At night, especially after the lights go out, the stars are stunning.
I am listening now. Thunder just started rumbling loudly in the distance. Crickets are chirping, and children are talking in their outdoor voices. I also just heard the mysterious shriek of owls in the enormous tree 50 meters from where I sit. Apparently this shrieking noise has little meaning, but when the owl begins to ask questions – it is an omen of death in the family. That is something that I think about, Reader.
So most of my time I work. I am working with a program called the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools. In its essence, each school (of which there are 23 in this country, I think) consists of 30 youth between the ages of 12-18. These youth are either orphans (some due and some not to the high prevalence of HIV and then AIDS in this region, an estimated 26% by some numbers) and other youth who are considered ‘vulnerable’. [I encourage you to check my facts at www.unaids.org and www.who.org, then update me.] The program is based on teaching farming techniques in an experimental growing field, while also teaching important life skills. There is a focus on relating the life cycle of plants with the human life cycle. Also, the experimental fields are places where the youth can try new things without having to sacrifice food production at home. It is a very interesting program, and only came to this province two years ago.
Having just arrived, my primary objective is to observe. Long before I might hope to help out on a project or make some sort of contribution, I desperately need to learn about the people here, their needs, what programs already exist, what programs have failed… I am keeping two lists close at hand:
1. List of Questions Not Yet Answered
2. List of Things Accomplished, However Small
I’m not sure which one I like more, but the second one is helping me to keep
focused and stay positive.
I spend a lot of my time being presented by my coworkers (the custom here) to the different departments and to other organizations doing work here. When not at work, I go back to my room, play guitar, read, listen to music, and take naps. It’s a simple life that, while challenging, is very exciting.

[Note: It has started raining again. It has rained every day of 2007 where I live, and the people here couldn’t be more excited. There is a strong dependence on agricultural productivity, and the three weeks of dry, 35 degree (Celsius, 95 or so Fahrenheit) [Why do we use Fahrenheit… can ANYBODY explain why we so distinctly honor someone crazy enough to make the freezing point 32 degrees?! Honestly!] weather was seriously threatening corn crops in particular, a staple food. People go hungry here, they tell me. Well it was also just plain hot, and the rain is a welcome relief.
Another Note: Beyond Fahrenheit, do some animals strike you as insane? Two large beetles just flew in the door from the main office, and I can’t shake their striking similarity to the noise and energy of that circus event where the motorcycles all drive around in that tiny metal sphere? What is that called? The globe of death or something? Well, sort of similar at least.]

Anyway, I have had some wonderful opportunities come my way lately. I got to spend the Christmas, etc. holiday in a lovely place called Gorongosa with some volunteer friends. It was a chance to rest, relax, and reflect. There was good food involved, a long and lively Catholic Mass the night of the 24th, and lots of laughs. Interestingly enough, some classic Christmas Carol tunes found their way into that service with much livelier rhythms that, to be honest, have changed the way I will sing them forever.
[Beetles again: Do other animals look at us and think that we are as crazy, bumbling, and lost as I do when I look at this beetle stuck here in this one-exit room?]
From Gorongosa (Google the National Park there, if you get the chance) I headed straight to Nhamatanda (“Nyah-mah-tahndah”) for a three-day training/meeting of the various Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS). It was a three days so full of learning that I may not be able to put it into words. I got to ask some questions, make many observations, network with the people I will be connected with for the next two years. The plan is to have one of these meetings once every month – which for me is an exciting prospect.
Well after three days of being bombarded with information I was ready to get back home and celebrate the passing of 2006 into 2007! It turned out to be as quiet a night as any I’ve spent here -- and looking up at the almost full moon, I decided there might not be any better way to usher in a new year.
Since that time I continue to work hard, study, learn about my community and organization, and plan for the next few months.
My first month as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Reader, has turned out to be what I had tried so hard not to expect it to be but hoped it would be anyway. Every step is a small step, every challenge a big challenge, every reward honey-soaked in the afternoon light of life experience.
One of my two goals for 2007 is to be humble. I am humbled by the support I have received, and motivation you give me to keep learning. For that, thank you. Please take care of yourself and those around you.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps. My other is not a goal, but a motto for this year: “If we don’t do it, who will?”

pps. I give thanks to the random inspiration provided by Jerry Reid Smith, Martin Lawrence, Boston, Ben Harper, Kurt Vonnegut, Aldous Huxley, and some Skolnik Family recordings that help me miss my family with a little less sadness.

ppps. The one piece of news that I have heard in the last month since arriving is both sad and unexpected. I was eating grilled chicken when I found out that one of my heroes, James Brown, passed away. It is my sincere intention here to tell you that few others, if anyone, had the soul and musical vision he had. Much of the music we enjoy, he influenced. No doubt there are jokes abound, but I will truly miss him.

Update #8: So beautiful (Thoughts from today)

Dear Reader,

I. I would like to describe the central region of Mozambique, as I saw it from behind the window of a minibus for the first time. Riding north on the Estrada Nacional 1, the vegetation begins to get more and more densely green – a blur at best. South of Gorongosa the small mountains begin to jut upwards into the sky in odd shapes of stone. The road, the finest I’ve seen yet in this country, carries you past farming villages, lumber camps, and steep embankments. My supervisor leans forward to discuss how this region of the country was one of the most deeply scarred by years of violence that I will not here further discuss. I begin to see how lush forests I might admire could hide armed men awaiting terrible fates, terrible deeds. Still – it is beautiful. Deep purple on the horizon rises Mount Gorongosa, the back of a stone whale swimming east towards the sea. Vendors along the side of the road sit by large sacks of charcoal and hold up bottles of local honey for sale. Eventually we wind around a turn to reveal a slender bridge that crosses a shallow gorge and flowing river. The bridge was rebuilt in 2001. We climb briefly through green groves of trees, the only one of which I can identify is mango. I am still thinking about armed bandits and innocent people. The man behind me mentions he escaped by running alongside a road for two days without stopping. He drank rainwater in puddles to sustain himself. Now he works in a program teaching teenagers better agricultural techniques and various life skills.

II. You know why I like writing you so much? I like writing you because it gives me a chance to look back at how lucky I am to be alive and then to share all these reasons I feel that way with people that make me (in the first place) feel lucky to be alive. And it’s an ever-ascending spiral.
I hope that this message finds you doing well. I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a tranquil and fulfilling holiday season. Tomorrow is the beginning of Chanukah, for example – a time that makes me think fondly of family, friends, food, candles, gifts, and having another excuse to spend time remembering what is truly important. Actually, that’s what I would wish you, during this season.

**As I only have a few minutes left in this Internet Cafe where I am in Chimoio (to go to the ATM), I will give you the basic details:
- I love the place I am living for the next two years, small, quiet, and full of mystery
- I am not sure how much Internet access I will have, as the liklihood of my using it regularly has only gone down since getting to site. I will do what I can to keep you informed. This includes telling you much more about my new home after I have been there for more than a few days.
- I do not have a home to live in yet, as we are still a few weeks of rehabilitation away until I can move into the house I'll be singing in for the next two years. The prospect of helping the builders, doing the painting, building a fence, and building secret hiding places into the house are so exciting!
- Got to go hang out at the big bridge-building project near the Zambezi River the other day to talk about what kinds of HIV prevention programs are going on with the workers there. Reader... well, please see Roman numeral two.

Okay, time to get moving, back north tomorrow morning first thing. I love you.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #6: Site Placement!

Dear Reader,

As I write you now, it is just after 4 am. It is raining. It has been raining since about midnight, with spectacular thunder that rolls across the skies overhead. There is something to be said for a metal roof and how it amplifies everything into a great elemental chorus. There is, coincidentally, also something to be said for trying to sleep and sweat at the same time. Personally, I find that I like to keep those two activities separate whenever possible. [This is the point in this update where if in person I might tack on the phrase: ‘You know what I’m sayin’?’]
How are you? I think it would be appropriate for me to ask after your family as well. Are they well? I certainly hope so. I hope also that when the sun rises where you are as it is for me right now, it finds you content. I am indeed content, as there are many wonderful things I’d like to share with you (see previous message I posted about how much I like sharing with you, Reader).
Okay, I was sort of understating that. I have some HUGE news to share! I found out two days ago where I’ll be working and living for the next two years!!! (In retrospect, I have been waiting to find out this information since I began the application process to the Peace Corps in October of 2005 – over a year ago!) They call it ‘site placement’, and after several interviews and some observations, the staff here places health volunteers with organizations that they will be working with during their service.
I was nervous, to be honest Reader. As the date approached I found that it was more a feeling of eagerness rather than anxiety, yet still somehow the thought of opening an envelope that would so heavily influence my life for, well, the rest of my life, was enough to leave me at least somewhat unsettled. That goes doubly for the length of my previous sentence… what am I doing?!
Anyways, yadda yadda, I am obviously adding unnecessary commentary to further build the suspense.
I am going to spend my time as a volunteer in the very northeast of the Sofala Province here in Mozambique! By the sound of it I will be quite near the Zambezi River, and a few hours north of the famed Gorongosa National Park. (google it) I will be working with an organization called the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)(also to be googled), though in what capacity I am as of yet unsure. Reader, I can’t think of a place I’d rather be! When I opened that envelope (which they insisted we wait for and open before our huge Thanksgiving celebration meal - - in my world a major misplacement of priorities, if you catch my drift), I was satisfied.
Whew. So a few other things to catch up on before the battery on this laptop that I have borrowed for a second time runs out:
1. Firstly, I had my Mozambican national television debut! I did indeed get to perform two original songs on a children’s program called Pirlim Pim Pim. It was brilliant, Reader. I went with a friend one Sunday Morning into Maputo to go to the studio where they air the show. They let me enter, and I stood with the guy who plays the music for the show a few minutes and played him my songs. Then, after I got to warm up the crowd a little (about 200 kids from ages 2-17), I got to perform live! It was great – really. I was thinking to myself as I left the studio and it was all over (quoted from my journal): “I made some kids smile, and clap, and sing today… isn’t that what it’s all about? And if it’s not what it’s all about – shouldn’t that be what it’s all about?” Looking back I feel lucky to have had the opportunity. [editor’s note: upon returning to the community where I live, a number of people said they saw the show and liked the music. I even heard a few kids singing one of the songs! Believe me yet that music is powerful?]
2. Another piece of information that I would like to share is what happened yesterday. This week, Reader, is the the week ending on World AIDS Day (December 1). This entire week there are activities going on here to help get people informed and empowered regarding HIV and AIDS. People in this community had planned a number of events, and I had the opportunity, along with some colleagues, to participate. There was a parade in the morning, followed by a children’s play, a speech, and two soccer matches. Sometimes, Reader, I feel so proud to simply be where I am, doing what I am doing. Even though I may be sad, it is possible to be sad and happy to be alive at the same time. I wonder when I’ll come across the book Man’s Search For Meaning again, it comes highly recommended. - - How will you honor this sacred week, my friend?
3. Forgot to tell you that during our Thanksgiving celebration our Country Director pulled out his Banjo and we all got to jam! Man can he play! I find that it’s good omens not only that my boss is a very talented player, but also that the name of the province breaks down quite readily into a three note progression – so fa la. Think about it… (if you missed it, my eyebrows were moving up and down for that last comment.) Well, all that to say we got to sing a couple of songs for the entire group, and it was stellar.
4. Maybe it’s not deserving of it’s own number, but this last point I simply wanted to share before I go. Last evening, after a full day of this list’s number 2’s activities, I was feeling drained. I was grumpy in the morning, uplifted by the kids and activities, exhausted from playing and getting sunburnt, brightened by crackers and juice, frustrated by a changing tutoring schedule, then delighted by ripe mangoes and fresh sugar cane (!!!!!). I was tired out, but determined to attend my host-sister’s choir rehearsal, and couldn’t avoid it anyways because this week they are practicing in our front yard. I have been trying to have a conversation with this group about health for several weeks, but things keep coming up. I know that one has to get back on the horse after falling off - - I sometimes feel that some horses are more cooperative than others. I went outside to listen to the practice. I was sitting there on the porch, under a smiling half moon - - and as much as I tried I couldn’t be sad. This is perhaps the last time I’ll say it in this message Reader, but if you are open to it, there is no end to the amount of beauty to be found in this world. Last night I found it in the faces of young musicians’ smiles and the cool night air heavy with song.

Well it is time for me to wake up, according to my alarm clock. I have a full day ahead of me. My colleagues and I are headed into the capital city one last time before moving into our new lives as Volunteers all over this country. For my part, I’ll be sending you this message, sending a few letters, buying some serrated knives, and perhaps a gift for my host family. I will stay about another two weeks here before flying north to Sofala.
Not simply because I can, I wanted to let you know that I miss you. I will be in contact as soon as I can after arriving on Site.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. I am grateful to the music of the Beatles, Martin Sexton, Stan Rogers, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, and to many artists whose music I have heard here but whose names I don’t yet know.

Update #5: Painting the Picture

Dear Reader,

It is currently 4:44 in the morning, and I am wondering how you are. Here in Mozambique, the sun is just now sending its rays over the horizon for all the roosters in town to see. I am borrowing a laptop computer from a friend so that I can give you an update as to what is going on here in the southeastern section of this continent. Surely, though, before I begin I have to take a moment and ask after you and yours. I truly hope that this message finds you doing well. It might even be appropriate to look away from this screen for a moment and contemplate the question in earnest. Maybe even take a deep breath…? Just a suggestion.
The fact of the matter is that every time I sit down to write you, Reader, I feel wonderful. I am not sure why that is, but I think when it is finally time to sit and reflect on what experiences I have been exposed to in the course of my time here thus far, I realize how lucky I am. I certainly try to appreciate each moment of this life as it happens - - yet somehow sharing it with you brings it back, and makes it real. Thank you!
I am at the end of my sixth week here in Mozambique. Reader, so much is happening, and so much of it worth telling you about. I think that I will start with the training that we are doing. I have previously discussed the family that I am living with, but now I would like to go a little more into how I am spending my days during this 10 weeks near the capital of Maputo.
Every day I spend between two and four hours learning Portuguese (the official national language of Mozambique) in a class of 5 people, all trainees like myself. We are all at different levels, but the goal is to get as much foundation as possible before heading off to our sites where we will serve a community for two years. There, of course, is where a great deal of the learning will happen. That being said, I have been quite pleased by the amount of progress I am making with the language. I love the sound and feel of Portuguese. Our classes range over all topics, but recently have been more focused on health issues, including transmission of HIV.
That subject, as well as other diseases affecting the community here are topics we cover in our technical training sessions, which usually represent the other 3-4 hours of the day. We gather information, perspective, and training techniques as to how to accurately and effectively disseminate information. This is where the two components of my day combine, because if I cannot understand the history, culture, and context of the people I hope to help – then I will not know how to deliver information that will not languish in midair, but effect positive behavior change. This notion, by the way, is one of the inherent challenges perhaps most important in serving others. That, for me, is why I am here. I am interested in taking the time to learn first. Indeed, there are plenty of us willing to help, but how to help in a way that people truly need and is sustainable (able to be reproduced and sustain shocks without failing)… that is worthy of a lot of time and energy!
That being said, I would like to go back to training and HIV. As a health worker here in Mozambique, I am learning in depth what issues communities face. During our sessions we go into great detail. [NOTE: there are 15 of us that train together – a few of whom have parents that are familiar with this blog, and have apparently openly expressed to their sons Mark, David, and Aaron their disappointment in having to read someone else’s blog to get information about their own children. If I might have a word: if you are indeed reading this, esteemed parents, please tell your sons I am sorry for your communication issues - - they are, your sons I mean, bigger than I am, and now more than ever I am feeling that this is somehow pertinent to my overall wellbeing.]
Anyway, I wanted to take a minute to talk about HIV here in Mozambique. It is my personal goal to bring information back to you, Reader, so that you too can gain from this amazing experience I get to have here. Mozambique is a country with a population approaching 18 million. The national infection rate currently is just under 17%. That is, more or less, one in five people. I will say that again for clarity. The national infection rate of HIV in Mozambique is just under 17%, which means that (by the numbers, of course) a little less than one in five people out of that 18 or so million are currently infected [the infection rate in the United States is under 1%, though exact data is not available to me right now]. This changes by region here, so some regions have higher and lower regional rates of infection. I will not go into too many numbers, but I will discuss the issues.
What do we need to know about that infection rate? Well, first of all, there is no cure for HIV. AIDS, the syndrome in which other infections (called Opportunistic Infections) take advantage of a weakened immune system, is now responsible for entire groups of populations disappearing. Actually, it’s complications with AIDS that kills, per the literature. Second of all, infection rates are estimates. The estimated number of people in the entire world with HIV right now is estimated at just over 40 million people. The thing is, testing is a tricky subject. 1. The test available for people here in Mozambique looks for antibodies that the body forms to try and fight the HIV. The problem is that after infection, it often takes the body anywhere from 8-12 weeks to start producing said antibodies. What does this mean? Well it means that a person who is indeed infected but gets tested before their body is producing antibodies (three months), they will receive a negative result. That result, if they are infected, is called a false negative – and they got tested in what we are calling the ‘window period’. 2. Getting tested is socially not openly accepted in certain places. Why? Well first of all, there is a perception that contracting HIV is a death-sentence. Despite the fact that there are many people on this planet living positive lives with HIV or AIDS, that does not always come across in the presentations. Fear has long been a tactic for trying to force people into some sort of behavior change. Additionally, there is quite a lot of misinformation and incomplete information going around. How the disease is transmitted and what behaviors put one at risk are not clear to many. [Blood, Semen, Vaginal Fluids, Breast Milk] (I can now discuss those in Portuguese as well!) This lack of understanding and feeling of fear creates a stigma against those with the disease. Thusly, why would I want to go and find out if I have a disease that if I do have it, it means that I will be shunned by my family and friends and die alone? That is the perception of some, anyway. Also, going to get tested or asking your partner to get tested may carry the insinuation that someone is not being faithful inside your relationship. Using condoms, by the way, also carries that implication inside of purportedly monogamous relationships. How do you ask your husband to use a condom without risking, well, everything?
A last point about the infection rate. After HIV enters the system, two things seem to happen. One is that immediately the virus reproduces itself (it is a retrovirus) in high quantities. The second, and perhaps most dangerous (in my opinion) thing that HIV does, is nothing. The virus can be alive in your body and you can be completely asymptomatic (not showing any signs of sickness) for as long as 10 or more years! Years! Years! . . . I apologize, but this means that if I get tested today and find out that I am HIV-positive, it means that I could have contracted the disease in 1996! I am done with exclamation points, but no wonder the disease has spread so quickly and is so hard to control. Well, that and it is spread through sexual intercourse. [NOTE: I suppose it’s not apt to happen, but on the off chance that HIV is keeping up with reading this blog, I would want it to know that I feel it is inexplicably evil that HIV is spread through not only sexual (vaginal and anal) intercourse and exchange of infected blood (transfusion, needle-sharing, unclean cutting instruments), but from mother to child through birth and also through breast milk. Breast Milk!? You should be ashamed of yourself.] I am becoming more and more familiar with the work of HIV.
One of the days of training that I won’t soon forget was the day two people living with AIDS came to speak to our group. Translating from Shangaan (dominant ‘local’ language) to Portuguese to English, they told us their stories. I think that for me, up until that point this situation had been merely numerical. The woman that was so brave in speaking with our group (see earlier discussion of stigma) has lost multiple children, and her husband refuses to get tested – even though he has local access to a hospital (something not true for around 50% of Mozambicans). She was tested in 2003. When did she contract the disease? Good question. More important though, without a doubt, than the sadness of her situation, is the truly incredible feat of going to get tested and joining a support group. She is taking Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, and trying to get enough food to have a healthy diet (So important for living with AIDS). I was so moved by this woman’s (and another man who came to speak as well) courage in facing what some paint as a hopeless picture. I wouldn’t hang that picture on my wall.

***********I was hoping for a good segue, but the weight of this past section made it too tiresome to come back and act like nothing had happened. So for me, this is a good point for a deep breath, a stretch of the arms, and a change of subject.*************

I realize I haven’t spoken about some of my side projects. Reader, I am so excited about having a guitar here. I brought one along (if I hadn’t mentioned that elsewhere), and have been playing daily. My progress has been encouraging, enough that I am now writing music. Most of the music I write has to do with my life here, and is mostly silly. If you get a chance to ask my family near Washington DC, they will tell you about the first song I ever wrote on the guitar, entitled ‘Milk Time’. I dedicated it to my baby niece, it was in the key of C. I am now the proud intellectual property owner of five more songs. One of my personal favorites is called ‘Machamba Não’ – a lively tune about not playing in the small field (“Mah-shahm-bah”) of corn and mandioca growing next to the house I am living in as to not kill the plants. Não means no, and is pronounced “now”. Another one, that I am hoping to perform on Mozambican television this Sunday (it turns out that there is a staff member for Peace Corps here that is a television host of a children’s variety show, and I am not the first trainee to perform on the air!), is about being a vampire in southern Mozambique. (My favorite line is about how frustrating it is that when I go into a bar and order Blood Soda – Fanta Sangue – they never have it in stock.) Actually, I am just elated it is in Portuguese and that my host family sings along! I would to be able to record some of these songs for you Reader, and will do so if ever I gain the capability.
Well, believe it or not a week from tomorrow (Saturday the 18th of November) we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with all the Peace Corps trainees and staff. We’ve got lots of cooking and baking intentions, the thought of which get me excited. Thanksgiving in my family is a special time. I have memories of amazing food, long conversations, and cool weather. Apart from being content in shorts and a t-shirt and enjoying the nice November heat, it’s not that different. I know that when the time comes, I will be thinking of you Reader, that much more.
I want to send you off with, more than anything, my final thoughts on my life here and HIV. I am so blessed to be here, and to be humbled by the courage of those around me. I am inspired daily to serve others, and despite discomfort, am able to see the big picture. HIV is a global emergency. It is the product of many things perhaps, but one of them may very well be negligence. When I go to sleep at night, I guarantee you, Reader, that I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else, working on any other project. At least, I tell myself, I finally get to do something about it! That alone is so encouraging, that I know no matter what happens I will keep moving it towards the positive.
I love you and wish from the depths of my heart that you find a way to be content today. I am thinking about a hug, right now.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. As references and for accurate information, please indeed go to the WHO website (http://www.who.int/en/) or to UNAIDS (http://www.unaids.org/en/). Also, the book I just finished – Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder – looks into the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer. Inspired! Lastly, thanks to the music of Beethoven, Jimmy Cliff, Outkast, and my friend Khalil Sullivan for inspiration for this message.

Update #4: Phone Number

Dear Reader,

Before the power goes out for the third time in the Internet cafe: The cell phone number that I can be reached at during reasonable evening hours (before 9:30, 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time) is: (country code 0258) then 825966100. WARNING: Though it is free for me to receive calls, it will not be cheap for you. Perhaps www.skype.com might have reasonable rates?
Here are a few photos I have managed to throw in so you can see a little of what my life has been like recently! Sorry for the rush.
1. The beach in Inhambane City where I am doing my site visit to see how other health volunteers live and work. Beautiful!

2. Seeing a live training of large rats from Tanzania in an amazing demining project! www.apopo.com

3. Okay, I've been working very hard... I needed some time to appreciate how beautiful this country is.

4. Oh, and I've also gotten to hang out with this little guy for the last few days.

5. My host brothers eating pancakes and maple syrup. Delicious!


Allright! Please have faith that I am doing wonderfully. I am. I will post more when I can.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps. it looks like some trainees have been receiving packages in the mail. The issue is that if sent not by DHL or UPS, it costs me to pick up the packages... that said, if you do send something, please undervalue (alot!!!) the costs of what you have included. Also, to keep it from being tampered with, please put lots of religious paraphanalia on the outside. It's cheap, but it helps me receive them.

pps. It took me 2 hours to post this. I am loving having to relearn patience...

Update #3: Training - The Simple Life

Dear Reader,

I so hope that this email finds you doing well. Hopefully you have been able to find some inspiration recently, even if in small places. My challenge for you today is that you have to do something kind for someone else and keep it a secret. [I'm raising my eyebrows up and down while posing this challenge]
I am currently in an 'Internet' as it is called here in the capital city of Maputo. This has been my first chance to contact you via email since leaving the hotel we were staying at in Maputo and moving outside of the cities to live with host families for ten weeks of training. It is difficult to even begin telling you about the enormous amount that has happened over the last almost two weeks, but I will give it a good shot. I have about 45 minutes to say what I can.... Let's do it!
Perhaps I ought to touch on two central (and dominant) themes in my life here. Firstly, the host family that I am living with. The second, that I will discuss forthwith (whatever that means), is training to be a Health Volunteer. [Please note: I am omitting names of places and people specifically, there is a reason to do so, I am told].
I was honestly excited about moving in with a host family. The challenge of only communicating in Portuguese (and the occasional hand gesture) as well as getting the inside perspective on home life in Moçambique was enough to make me jump out of the Peace Corps van and into the arms of my host mother. As it turns out, I have a vibrant family of a mother, father, sister and three brothers. I am the eldest, which is awesome. I can finally understand all the bizarre birth-order issues my older sister always was talking about. Okay that's not totally true, because middle children are still big bundles of mystery to me...
Let me outline my daily experience: I wake up at about 5:30 in the morning in order to get up, take a bucket bath [meaning I walk outside to our casa de banho - "ca-zah dee bahn-yo" - having heated some water on the stove (gas or charcoal at our house)and mixed it with cold water, then using a coffee can with holes punched in the bottom to shower, soap up, scrub, and rinse], come inside to iron some clothing for the day, pack my backpack, eat a breakfast of usually friend egg on bread with Milo (vaguely like hot chocolate) that is way more than suits my basic needs, brush my teeth outside, then walk to a stop where the van picks us up to go spend the day doing sessions of training. By the time I get home from classes there is maybe an hour of daylight left, and I either help with preparing dinner, play soccer with my brothers and the neighbors in the front yard, or continue working on making a straw mat called an estera (esh-tair-ah) that my brother taught me how to make. Then it's dinner time and off to bed! I usually am studying 30-60 minutes daily as well, to keep the portuguese coming.
Now let me comment thusly: As mundane as that day might seem - every moment holds such enormous opportunity for learning that it is almost difficult to believe. Take for example that morning routine... waking up as the sun is starting to peak over the cement and corrugated tin homes in our community - hearing roosters crowing and mothers sweeping debris from their dirt front yards. I get to drink directly from the well of my host family's experience [granted I am drinking from my own cup, which will be a permanent limitation] and simply taking in every detail. The afternoon especially is such a rich time for me.
As I do not have a whole lot of time left to write, allow me to list for you a few very special experiences I've had in the last two weeks:
1. Believe it or not I was able to prepare pancakes and maple syrup for my host family a week ago (with a little cinnamon...) from some supplies I packed in my bags. They loved it! My favorite moment was when my host father asked for some bread after he had finished to sop up the extra syrup from his plate. That for me spelled success. Oh, also, I shared some of the granola that my Aunt Penny and I had made before I left with my host family. The results were mixed. That is, it was an instant hit, but caused a little bit of controversy because my host mother in particular tried to hide it and horde it for herself. Haha, it was so funny trying to explain where cranberries come from...!
2. Special moment two was without a doubt the evening that my host brother taught me a childrens' song in portuguese. I had out my little guitar, and we put it to some music... and the whole family joined in! I sing for them once in a while, and my guitar skills are slowly filling in the gaps. Singing together, and laughing at the silly song was a dear moment for me. Later my host mother taught me a song that they sing as grace before meals, as well.
3. Not many nights ago I was trying to ask my host mother and father a question over dinner. I was asking them about local sayings and proverbs - because I like to know how a culture expresses some commonly held beliefs. My host mother, though, did not take my question as maybe I internally intended. She started to tell me about her childhood and what it was like growing up. (maybe because I asked her about things her father used to tell her when she was a girl). She told me about her life in the central part of the country. Then she went into her life as a teenager during the civil war here in Moçambique. She told me how when they were living in the bush to escape the violence - her father lit a fire because it was so cold. The soldiers saw the fire, came to their family, and took him away. They killed him with knives, she said. My father, also, told me of how he was shot in both legs and the arm in the late 1980's. This, Reader, is the real thing. That is why I am here, to hear the stories and see what is really happening in the world around us.

Well I have to end here. There is much more to tell, and I will do so next chance I get. In the meantime, I hope that you will indeed have a wonderful day today. Please know that I am doing very well, and that my spirits are very high. Take good care -

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Update #2: Arrived in Moçambique!

Dear Reader,

I hope that this message finds you doing very well. I also hope that there is something that you can do today that will be fulfilling in some way.
I write to you from a computer in the hotel where we have stayed for the past three days here in Maputo, Moçambique (locally pronounced 'Moh-zam-bee-kee'). This won't be a long post, but I will try to fill you in on the details. By the way, I am so excited to be here! When I think about it, I started my application for the Peace Corps about one year ago, and had been thinking about it for long before that time. Today is the day that my experience begins in earnest.
It took about 17 hours of flying time to get from JFK airport in New York City to arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa. The group of 55 trainees (I didn't know it was that big until I arrived for our two days in Philadelphia) stayed the night at a fancy hotel near the airport there. The next morning we went back to the airport to fly about 40 minutes at most to Maputo (pronounced 'Mah-poo-too'). The flight was exciting as we chattered nervously, looking out the windows and threw around elementary phrases in Portuguese. Ha, our high spirits alone could have carried that plane all the way to the capital city!
We landed, walked through customs, and stepped outside the airport after finding our luggage. (I have a lot of luggage, two huge bags a backpack and a guitar... which I'm not sorry I brought). It's not like me to pack too much, but for two years I'm hoping to give myself a good chance at succeeding. The air in front of the airport smelled familiar to me - - like something burning in the distance. My imagination would love to have it signify some distant adventure, or some inner burning personified by the breeze blowing across the predictably modest parking lot - - but perhaps not. It smelled like some other places I've been, and liked, and that alone was thrilling.
We boarded a chapa (pronounced 'shah-pa') [not unlike the classic trotro from Ghana, dolmus in Turkey, etc.] and went straight to the fancy hotel where we would be living for the next three days. In fact, we were not to be leaving that hotel for the next three days. We have lived here, participated in workshops, trainings, receivedinoculationss [if you couldn't identify us by our western style of dress or by our overall amateurPortuguesee, you could just life our sleeves to reveal red welts from our friends rabies and tetanus]. We have eaten a buffet-style meal every meal, slept on comfortable mattresses, and taken hot showers.
That, however, has come to an end. Today, as I previously alluded to, we move in with our host families! I will be living with a family outside of Maputo for the next 10 weeks (give or take), spending the days in training for language, technical [health], and culture. Meanwhile, I'll be spending all my extra time with a family, learning about their home life, sharpening my Portuguese (which I am happy to say is coming along relatively quickly), and simply drinking deep for the first time of the Mozambican experience. That, is one of the primary reasons I came here. That and assist the people of this country in however miniscule a manner that I can in being more apt to assist themselves.
I also came here, Reader, to share with you these experiences - as to enrich our knowledge of who we are as members of an international community. I am so pleased that you are here with me, even if in spirit alone. My intention is to learn what I can, do good work, and bring back to you any insight that might be useful to us all. I hope to have done that just now, also.
Well I will update you when I can, but in the meantime please take care of yourself. I will miss you as I take the next step along this path I have chosen.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin


ps.Iff you are interested in my brother and sister-in-law's adventures with the Peace Corps in Peru, South America - - simply see their web log at http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com . Exciting!

Update #1: Seeds of Peace and Beyond

[Note: If you're in a rush and need my current address in Mozambique (through November 2006), skip to the bottom of this message, otherwise, enjoy!]

Dear Reader,

As this is the first official update to this web log, I suppose I would like to start things off right. How are you? Is your family well? Have you found something today that makes you smile? I with all of my heart hope so.
I am writing you this message from the comfort of Greenbelt, Maryland - - just northeast of Washington DC. I arrived here after a third and final summer working for Seeds of Peace in Maine. If you are not already familiar, Seeds (as it is affectionately known) is an organization of the non-profit variety that brings teenagers from a few conflict regions around the world together to coexist on a lake in rural Maine for three weeks at a time.

The short answer to your question is: It was amazing, and I feel so very lucky to have been able to be there this year. The long answer, however, is as follows:
Things are so bad in some parts of the world right now. So bad, and who is able do anything about it? More on that in a minute - -
Originally, I was not really thinking that I would be able to go to Seeds of Peace at all this year, being that I had committed myself mentally to starting my service in the Peace Corps during the summertime. The invitations to come back and work at Seeds (for me a third summer) came in January/February, but I was not able to give them a solid yes or no until May when my invitation for Peace Corps arrived. [Sadly enough, the packet arrived the very day that our family dog, Jonah, was to be put down. Reader, a friend used to say: When G-d closes a door, he always opens a window. At the time there only seemed to be a draft. I was there with Jonah when it all ended. The truth is that I am so glad I was there to see him, a noble and humble creature. That we all might pass as peacefully, with those who love us.]
Well when I found out that I was both able to work for Seeds of Peace and serve in the Peace Corps, I knew that the next two and a half years were going to be terrific. I felt that for that period of time I was going to be able to do exactly what I wanted to be doing only! What a feeling!
I left family and friends behind (most notably my brother and sister-in-law, who left for their 43-day canoe trip in the Arctic - www.nofalling.com) to go north to Maine, at this point a third home to me. I ended up driving someone else's vehicle north, stopping to spend time with my dear uncle, aunt, and cousin. Kids are cute, Reader. After that it was north to Otisfield, Maine. I was so excited to see my friends from summers past and to meet the new staff for this year. I strongly believe that in this (and any) line of work if you have a solid team supporting your initiatives, then there is no obstacle you can't overcome. This staff in the end turned out to be one of those teams. It's not by accident, though - - Reader it takes planning and a commitment to bring the entire team up to speed. This summer, we needed every ounce of strength.
It was during our first session of camp starting in Mid-June that the violence broke out in southern Lebanon. With delegations of Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Indians, and Pakistanis - - all were somehow deeply affected by violence at home. You may remember, Reader, that in early July there were explosions in Mumbai. I'm not sure I can capture just how frightened a lot of our Seeds were, calling home as often as possible [nor how courageous they were for sleeping in the same rooms as the people who they were taught were responsible for such tragedy]. We spent a lot of our time during the first session making sure everyone knew what the news was and everybody's family was okay.
That first session the overall energy was very low in the whole camp. My opinion is that many of the Seeds could only be half in Maine because they were so often thinking of home and hoping their families and friends would not be hurt or killed. [It brings home much of the violence and suffering when you live with those whose families are in CONSTANT threat of harm] - - - and by the time that the end of the first session rolled around, I was not sure that our message of co-existence was getting through.
It all came down to Color Games. [Reader, Color Games is a three-day extremely intense competition we hold on camp where we divide camp into two teams - Green and Blue - and compete in everything from soccer, baking, bed-making, running, and music that culminates in a 2 and a half hour relay-race known as Hajime (Hah-Jee-May)] Even at the beginning of the competition the energy was pretty low and there was a lot of Green-Blue mixing (we try to recreate the team identities from perhaps national to local identities, redrawing the lines between people. Mixing between teams usually means people from the same delegation on different teams are still trying to be together at camp). By day two however, the entire camp looked completely different. This I attribute to three key factors: 1. The work the kids had done all session prepared them to finally open up and use their immense courage to fully invest in the experience (They're amazing!) 2. The coaching staff (six coaches on each team of about 75-90 teenagers) were positive, creative, and astounding motivators. They put in the work and their teams saw it and follow their strong example. 3. The supporting staff who ran the activities and did set-up/break-down were very strong.
With all of these elements working together the end of Color Games was unbelievably moving. Imagine, Reader, about 150 teenagers who have given every drop of energy, creativity, and passion - - waiting to run into the lake at camp (the winning team runs in first, followed by the second team seconds later). The single greatest moment is when both teams merge in the water and both Blue and Green link arms to sing our camp theme. Listen to the real event, HERE (my favorite part is the splashing at the end...). [Man, great segue into the next great thing that happened this year at camp!]
You see Reader, this year the Seeds of Peace Music Program celebrated its third year of existence with a number of amazing projects. The most visible project we accomplished was our recording project. This project was aimed at documenting and sharing the large amount of music that brings our teenagers together while in Maine. I personally believe that music and the arts have an enormous advantage in overcoming conflict because they do not depend on spoken languages. I have now spent three summers watching/listening as music brings our Seeds together, and now after countless hours of recording and editing, it's all here for the world to access! This has never, by the way, happened in the history of this organization, and I am so honored to be among the people who finally made it happen. (this includes a number of donors who so selflessly provided funds and equipment, without which we would not have achieved nearly anything). Just click on one of the songs and it will play in your browser. [NOTE: you are listening to teenagers from places where they have never been able to even meet someone from the 'other side' of the conflict, here at Seeds of Peace look what they have accomplished]. Now imagine in ten years after these teenagers have served in the armed forces or are representing their peoples, that when they listen to a song from their time at camp they will be transported back there - - and they just might remember some of the feelings of what it's like to live without fear of the other.
Saying goodbye to that session's teenagers Reader was heartbreaking. How can we protect them when they are out of arm's reach? How can we be sure that they will be the ones who were not at home, who had just left when it all happened? I have now hugged and let go of hundreds of these teenagers over multiple years, and I tell you it only gets more difficult. My resolve to send them home to a safe set of circumstances only gets stronger, however.

***********Brief Intermission******************

Let's take a quick stretch, and then we'll discuss second session and beyond. I mean it Reader, take a deep breath, and think about an experience from your teenage years that really helped define who you are. Go ahead and stretch your back and shoulders. One last deep breath...

*********************************************

Well second session saw an entirely different group of about 180 teenagers arrive (though there was a lot of talk that they might not because of how rough the situation was in the Middle East). It is a reminder, meeting those teens, of just how much responsibility we who reach out to others have. Our motivations must be pure and we must be willing to listen. That is the only way we may somehow help those who seem to need it.
While the energy of the camp was considerably higher second session, it looked a lot like the first. One marked difference for me, though, was this session I had the privilege of being a coach during Color Games. Not everyone is able to coach, and please believe me that there are many more qualified staff than available positions. To coach is a lucky thing because you get to see first-hand these teenagers at their very limits, as they are forced in the heat of competition to learn about who they are and how they will react to an unforeseen challenge. Yours is the example they look to for three days, and they are watching to see how you will handle overwhelming pressure. Your bond with each individual is fused so tightly during Color Games, and that is something almost nobody on the planet gets to experience. How lucky is that?
I wanted to share a glimpse of why this Color Games was so special: I was coaching the Blue Team's climbing team on the second day of Color Games. We selected four boys to climb. It was well known that we had the best climbers on camp, but talk is pretty cheap. It became apparent very early on in the competition that the other team had a few climbers with little experience, as well as limited English. This presented that team with almost insurmountable odds at winning the competition. It also presented our teenagers with a potential lesson to be learned. The blue climbers dominated the competition, cheering for one another as they made their way up the climbing wall. The Green Team was struggling. That is when the Blue Team started to encourage the Green climbers, helping them in English and Arabic to find holds out of their line of vision. Even though they were on different teams, the teams worked together and encouraged each other to finish well. That, for me, was a living example of how we can overcome hatred. Every day is an opportunity for making peace (both internally and externally), if we are open to it. Every experience, my mother would say, is a learning opportunity if we are open to it.
Man, it's so hot up here on this soapbox!!! Well anyway, it was an amazing opportunity to coach during my last session with Seeds of Peace, and I could not be more proud of how the Seeds responded. Saying goodbye to the teenagers was predictably near impossible. Saying goodbye to camp after three summers was, well, uplifting. I have poured myself into that place for all that time, and now I am going to go and pour myself entirely into my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I can't think of a better progression.
I stayed in Maine for a short time after camp ended, visited a dear friend in Portland, ME - and then eventually made my way back to the Washington D.C. area. I have been here for a little while packing up all my belongings, doing lots of reading, and spending as much time as possible with my family. My brother and sister-in-law have just taken their leave to do their two-year service in the Peace Corps in Peru, South America. I suppose it's time for the Skolnik family to start moving around again!
I leave for my 27 months in the Peace Corps on Sunday, September 24th, 2006. I am more than anything mentally and spiritually preparing for an opportunity I have dreamed about for many months if not years. I am trying to acquire a working history of the country, develop some contacts there, and focus my energy on how wonderful the people in my life are. [For the record, I will be doing Health Education work in probably rural southern Mozambique].

Okay! I will be around until Saturday evening, the 23rd - and then it is off to this unbelievable adventure! Please know that I will update this Web Log (Blog) whenever I get the chance. My goal is to share as much of my experience with you as possible - you are a major reason I am able to go and do this work you know! If you have any comments for me, please mail them to me, as email and comments on this blog may go unread for two years based on lack of internet access. My mailing address up until early December will be:

Kevin M. Skolnik, PCT
Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, Mozambique

You will need to affix an 84 cent stamp to the envelope, write 'Airmail' and 'Par Avion' on it, as well as numbering the envelope in large numerals on the back so we can make sure that we have received all of each other's letters. [It looks like letters only for the next two years, packages aren't reliable to arrive unopened... I'll tell you if I find out otherwise.]
Again I look forward to the next time we are in contact. I love you, and can't wait to hear from you. Please find a way to do something special (however small) for someone else today.

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

ps. In messages past I have listed the music that has helped me to get through the long writing process. Today I can honestly say it was Aaron Shneyer, Daniel Masterson, Laura Einhorn, Rob Tessler, Howie Kislowicz, and the spirit/talent of all the Seeds of Peace family that inspired this letter. Well, and believe it or not a little bit of the Scorpions too. Please don't tell anybody.