Mali Family Letter

Here is a copy of the Mali family letter the Peace Corps sent me.


Dear Families:

Greetings from the Mali Desk in Washington, D.C.! It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Mali training program. During the past year we have received many requests from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest they be handled. Peace Corps service certainly impacts more than just the trainee and we hope that this information will help ease some of the uncertainty which affects the families of Volunteers.

1. Irregular Communication. The mail service in Mali is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. It can take three to four weeks for mail in either direction to arrive via the Malian postal system. From a Volunteer’s site, mail may take 1-2 months to reach the United States.

The following suggestions may be helpful:

• Determine in your first letters an estimate of approximately how long it takes for transit and establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other.

• Number your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one.

• Send postcards in envelopes, as they tend to get lost or stolen.

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Furthermore, with the delay in mail, it is likely that a current problem described in a letter, has been resolved or forgotten by the time the letter is received. The Peace Corps Staff in Mali is available and equipped to assist Volunteers with any need expressed or in an emergency.

If for some reason your communication pattern is broken, and you do not hear from your family member, contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington 1-800-692-1470. OSS will contact the Peace Corps Country Director in Bamako and determine the information or assistance needed. In the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that the Volunteer can be informed.

2. Telephone Calls. Your loved one(s) will not have telephone or email communications for several weeks following arrival. The telephone systems in Mali are not as good as in the United States but improving. Service in and out of Bamako and major towns to the United States is usually reliable. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, the phone service is more limited. Many Volunteers purchase cell phones but networks availability differs greatly. Like letters, you may find it helpful to establish a routine so Volunteers can plan to be within networks areas to receive calls from home. Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Bamako cannot assist in arranging these calls and have limited phone lines for official business only. The Peace Corps Mali office cannot accept pre-arranged calls for Volunteers, except in emergency situations.

The Mali Desk maintains regular contact with the Peace Corps office in Bamako through phone calls and e-mail.

However, these communications are reserved for business only and cannot be used to relay personal messages. All non-emergency communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, personal phone calls, or e-mail. Volunteers may have access to e-mail at Internet cafes on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on their location.

Please note that for the first 8 weeks in Mali, Trainees will be near Bamako where telephone, e-mail and postal services are more reliable and timely. In most cases, there will be a significant delay in communication when the Trainees finish Pre-Service Training and move to their sites. Do not be alarmed if the frequency of letters, phone- calls and e-mail drops suddenly around this time.

3. Sending packages. Families and Volunteers like to send and receive "care packages" through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all concerned due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes, as well as the long waiting periods involved for packages to arrive. We do not recommend that valuable items be sent through the mail. During training you may use the following address to send letters and/or packages:

Name of Volunteers, PCV
Peace Corps
B.P. 85 Bamako
Mali

Following training Volunteers often choose to get local post office boxes. Your loved one(s) will need to share this information with you.

The use of padded envelopes is recommended, if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily. Custom fees for the Volunteer can sometimes range up to $100. For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets, important documents, etc.), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Bamako. If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to:

Peace Corps, C/o Country Director, B.P. 85 Bamako, Mali, West Africa.

The Peace Corps and its Staff assume no liability for any lost or stolen mail, including items sent through DHL. Please call a DHL office nearest you for more information. Their toll free number is 1-800- CALL-DHL or access the DHL website at www.dhl.com.

Sending airplane tickets, cash or checks via international mail is not recommended. Certain airlines will allow you to buy a pre-paid ticket in the US, though, unfortunately, this system is not always reliable. Please call the airline of your choice for more information.

Sending cash or checks is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it and to determine a means of cashing any checks or receiving wire-transfers.

We understand how frustrating it is to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate you using this information as a guideline. Please feel free to contact us at the Mali Desk in Washington, D.C. if you have any further questions. Our phone number is 1-800-424-8580, ext. 2327 or 2328, or locally, 202-692 2327 or 2328; e-mails are mali@peacecorps.gov, nlewis2@peacecorps.gov, and dwarner@peacecorps.gov.

Sincerely,

Nicole Lewis
Mali Desk Officer

Daryn Warner
Mali Desk Assistant