americanbornglobalvision

I love politics and social policy. A good debate invigorates me. I’ve earned Master’s degrees in Public Administration and International Studies.  But, I have to admit that the political hatred that I am now faced with every day on TV and in public has me spending a lot of time whimpering to myself under a blanket in a dark quiet room. No matter if I think the issue is something that must be…

The Wilds of Tennessee

Tennessee is a wild land.  Anyone who has stepped off a manicured path in the “Volunteer State” during summer months knows this.  Tangled roots turn to tangled leaves netted together with bramble and vine.  Insects traverse this spread as well, present in soil, dangling from greenery and livid in the air.  Cats also permeate this brush, pushing through green blankets to nosily eat, chew, or play…

Which Congressmen will receive your vote this year?

Uncompromising extremists have always served an important purpose in our country. Their passion brings potential ‘wrongs’ to the awareness of society. They rally our citizens to discuss ad nauseam how our society’s actions impact their own and others’ lives. Their drive pushes our leaders through choppy waters by offering new alternatives to traditional means. However, uncompromising extremists…

Why the Carringtons are no longer in Nepal…

Shortly after returning to Peace Corps Nepal in June (after 6 weeks of evacuation), we began having health issues. After consulting several doctors, Peace Corps decided to medically evacuate us stateside, where we could receive medical treatment from American doctors. We were both diagnosed with PTSD related to the earthquakes in Nepal. Since returning to the states for therapy, additional…

The Gorka Earthquake: Day 1

  Nepal is a beautiful land, made mostly of mountains caused by the tectonic continental drift of the Indo-Australian plate crushing up against the Eurasian plate. This pretty violent confluence started well before we were born, and, is apparently continuing today. While the Nepali people are slowly becoming educated about this phenomenon, and science is gaining ground, they still have very…

It’s been less than three months since we were last all together, a matter of a few weeks. But, the beginnings of transformation are evident. Body movements are more relaxed.  The physiques are leaner. New scars haphazardly dot and stitch the skin, from tattoos and piercings to unintentional wounds. Seasoned eyes give preview to the breathtaking, horrifying and culturally eye opening experiences…

Baagh: The Nepali word for Tigers or Leopards. (which have been seen in our village recently. Sightings have resulted in an earlier curfew for the “Americans”. It is now 5:30 pm.)

Apologies for ignoring all of you for so long. We’ve hit the one month mark of living in Nepal. Our internet access has been pretty spotty. But, even if we had non-stop internet access, we have very little free time. We…

It is 4:20 in the morning. A gentle rain has been holding steady since 3, and I have reason to believe that one of the many pigeons outside the window is snoring… as I should be….

… On the last leg of our flight to Nepal, we reviewed our extraordinarily limited Nepalese, visited with tourists from Indonesia, and slowly woke from our jet-lagged stupor. Twenty-two hours in the air with in-between…

We’ve Loaded 16 Tons

We’re currently 20,000 feet above Montana. I can smell the deer and antelope from here, despite the altitude difference. Coffee has just been served….which we hope does a better job of keeping us up than the last cups consumed with this morning’s rush through one of the Seatac airport’s popular breakfast spots. We’ve both been dozing throughout the flight after running on last night’s 3 hours of…

Staring at things seems to help. Kinda… during this last week in country.

We stare at people and cars and planes. We stare at cats. We stare at kids. We stare a lot at kids (they offer entertainment and expect little). In between staring, we are attentive to items that are on “The List”. It gets shorter and shorter, which makes us feel accomplished. Then it suddenly gets longer and a panic attack…

  Julius teaching a class on irrigation scheduling.

When people hear we volunteered for the Peace Corps, we are often asked what we’re going to do in Nepal. Our answer, “We aren’t exactly sure,” is usually met with a blank or puzzled look, followed by something like ‘Wow…what an adventure!’, or ‘That is a long way to go… especially when you don’t even know what you are doing.” Some people even go so far to comment, “So… if they are sending unprepared people over, who don’t even know what they’re doing, do you really think Peace Corps makes a difference?” Our response varies from person to person, but the definitive answer follows:

The Peace Corps Nepal Volunteers all work under the umbrella of “Food Security”, putting most of their energy into projects that focus on improving agriculture, nutrition and hygiene in rural areas of Nepal. Malnutrition in Nepal is among the highest in the world. According to World Bank, over 40 percent of Nepali children under five are stunted (in some far western areas of Nepal, the percentage is over 60). Nutrient deficiencies are severe. In particular, 46 percent of children 6 months to 12 years, 35 percent of women of reproductive age and 48 percent of pregnant women are anemic. Malnutrition affects everyone there. It slows economic growth and perpetuates poverty through direct losses in productivity from poor physical status, and indirect losses from poor cognitive function, and increased health costs.

“But won’t Peace Corps put you into a specific job with an actual ‘job description’ geared toward increasing food security?” Some volunteers do land in positions that have *some* predetermined parameters and tasks. But most Peace Corps Volunteers only receive general training for the sector they are assigned. (in our case, Stew: Agriculture, Vee: Health). In developing a plan (a job) for an individual volunteer, the mix of the background/skills of the volunteer, the needs of the community they are assigned to, and the capacity of the host population must be taken into account. Each community has unique needs that the volunteer has no way of comprehending without interacting and integrating within the culture and community. During the first year on-site, the volunteer looks for a project that they can successfully implement, that fulfills the needs of the community, and that is supported by local leaders and motivators willing to implement/take over/maintain after the Peace Corps Volunteer has finished service.

Nepali farmers creating a vegetable seedling nursery

Peace Corps Volunteers serve in their community for only two short years. The volunteer may be able to keep a project afloat with their own enthusiasm during the time they are on-site, but for the project to be sustainable after the volunteer leaves, the community must be committed to the project…..it must be THEIR project… invested in and owned by them. They must see the worth and be willing to push forward with the project far into the future.

Peace Corps Volunteers can provide project research, train participants, assist in obtaining financing, and work alongside the host towns. But, the project must belong to the community. We as Peace Corps Volunteers have ideas, hopes, and confidence in our applicable skills before we are assigned to a post, but there is no way that we can know what the community members truly want and need to happen until we are integrated with our community.

A Peace Corps project example: Julius, a current Nepal Peace Corps Volunteer, is working on an irrigation project for his host community. He came to Peace Corps with a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Engineering almost a year ago, but only recently started a project in his village to build an irrigation system for increased water access for higher vegetable production. By developing access to water during Nepal’s dry season, farmers in Julius’ host town will have the ability to use alternative farming methods and grow more vegetables year round, which will potentially improve the nutrient intake of the citizens. Also, with more varieties of crops, farmers will be able to sell more products and generate a higher income for their households. Julius didn’t just jump into this project when he first arrived at his post. The first few months he spent getting to know the town’s citizens, finding out how they farmed, and what would increase their crop production. Then he spent some time training the farmers in making seedling nurseries. He worked to become a part of the community. His work slowly resulted in being able to create a committed farmers project group. (who happen to be all female farmers) http://www.jdnepalilife.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-first-three-months-at-site-life-in_25.html

Once the project was in motion, Julius needed to determine what actions, trainings and materials were needed to accomplish the project, as well as the time, energy, and money required. In addition… where would the materials come from? (No Home Depot down the street)…..where would the money come from? (a big portion of the money and labor is required to come from the community, but assistance must be gained from others also)…..and were there other volunteers or groups working on similar projects? (the more the merrier, so networking is required) http://www.jdnepalilife.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-low-cost-method-to-survey-landscape.html

Now details are in place, time line has been created, and project grant proposal has been approved by Peace Corps. Next up: obtain the money and materials, coordinate the work plan with those willing to contribute, research the trainings and prepare lesson and direction plans(which must be translated and taught in Nepali).

Interesting project process, yes? For those of you who would like to give Julius and this committed group of female farmers a hand with this project in order to improve lives in their Nepal community and create a ripple effect of more positive changes, consider donating a little cash to this worthy cause…..here: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-367-003