Monday, January 24, 2011

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

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Address update:

This will be my mailing address at the Peace Corps office in Bamako:

Andrew Williamson, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Here it goes...

I realize that many of my family and friends are curious about what it is I'm going to be doing over the next two years while serving in the Peace Corps overseas. So, I thought I'd try and keep up this blog as a way for everyone to keep up with all the goings- on. I don't know as of yet how often I'll be able to update it but I'll definitely try to get around to doing so whenever I'm near a computer. I've never been much for writing but I think this is a good/ simple way to both keep an account of my experience and a way to stay in touch with everyone.

Over the last couple of months I've been doing a lot of research on Mali and trying to get some sort of idea of what the Peace Corps does over there. There are numerous projects that volunteers work on, including education, water sanitation, agriculture, small business enterprise, and youth development, among others. As of now all I know is that my official title is Health Education Extension Agent and over the next three months I'll be going through rigorous training to help me adapt to the Malian way of life and prepare me for my work. I think a majority of what I'll be doing consists of prenatal care, nutritional information, prevention of malaria and other diseases, family planning, and HIV/ AIDS education. Mali has a very high infant mortality rate, mostly due to poor nutritional practices and lack of vaccinations. The overall goal is to design and implement a project based upon my villages specific needs and work with them to get it done. However it is very common for volunteers to collaborate with others in different fields on secondary projects.
Mali is a large land locked country in the northwestern part of Africa. It's bordered by Algeria and Mauritania to the north, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea to the south, and Senegal makes up the western border. French is the main language spoken throughout the country, but there are numerous other languages spoken in various sectors as well as Arabic in the northern cities. I've been teaching myself French for the last 6 months so hopefully I 'll be able to get by. I'll also probably have to learn one of the native languages during my training.
The geography is typical of most north African countries. The Sahara desert stretches deep into the heart of the country and is steadily growing, while the south is mostly savanna. The Niger is the main river that flows through the country and splits off forming numerous deltas throughout the south. The temperature is hot and dry from Feb- June rainy and humid from Jul- Nov, and cool and dry from Nov- Feb.

Believe it or not Mali is actually a very frequented tourist attraction. The desert is home to the fabled city Timbuktu, which also happens to host one of the most prominent music festivals in the world, the Festival au Désert. Music in Mali is heavily influenced by the west, and plays a big role in Malian culture. I bought a few cd's from famous artists and it actually sounds like a hybrid of American folk and blues combined with traditional African percussion. It's really good. If anyone wants to check it out I would highly recommend Ali Farka Touré's album In the Heart of the Moon or Amadou and Miriam Bagayoko's Welcome to Mali. Malians are also extremely friendly and fun- loving people and are very welcoming to foreigners.

My lifestyle as far as I can tell is going to be extremely bare. No running water or electricity is a given, and I'll probably be staying in some sort of adobe hut in a remote village. During my training, and possibly afterwards, I'll be staying with a host family, which usually means a lot of kids and zero privacy. From what I've read, typical villages consist of anywhere between 500- 1000 people. Other volunteers have recommended that I bring a few simple comforts from home to help keep my sanity, such as an mp3 player, laptop, etc., and I bought a solar charger that will hopefully live up to its reputation. However, I'm almost entirely positive that these items will end up broken/ stolen or conveniently misplaced. Food and other supplies I'll be able to pick up at the local market, which may be up to 10 mi away but easily accessible by mountain bike (which they provide me with). Other than that I've been buying supplies that other volunteers have recommended and trying to get everything together. From what I've heard, current volunteers do a lot of traveling throughout the country, so I hope I'll be able to do some long distance hiking and overnight camping excursions. I also accrue 2 'official' vacation days a month which I can use at my discretion. I think it adds up to almost 3 weeks total over 2 years. I haven't decided whether or not I'll come home or do a bit o traveling but I'm leaning towards a bit o traveling.

So that's about as good a summary as I have right now for what I'm expecting. I know its going to be hard work, but I've always felt that most things worth doing are seldom easy. The PC might be a pretty extreme example of this but the overall experience will definitely outweigh any hardships. "True security is not a measure of what one has, but what one can do without." I can't remember where that's from but it seems to apply.

As far as care packages go, they will be greatly appreciated. Mail travels slowly in Mali (anagram!) and I think it could take up to several weeks for anything to reach me, so nothing perishable. I would also love to get a book here or there (not picky), as I think I will have a lot of downtime. I also heard that its best to postmark any packages as gifts worth 0$ to help avoid theft. I'll post the mailing address and other various contact information (cell phone, skype, if available) after I get there on Feb 2nd. Feel free to leave me any comments, questions, grammar critiques, suggestions, etc. on my blog. I'm leaving Jan 31st for DC and then leave to Paris Feb 2nd. I've tried to visit everyone I can before I go and I'll be free the last week before I leave to make more visits. 

I love you all and will miss you a lot. I don't want anyone to worry about me but be excited and keep me in your prayers! Remember, life's either a daring adventure or nothing! (one of my favorite quotes ever, by Helen Keller).