To reiterate, my program is Rural Community Development. A lot of people have asked what that means and what I will do. It's hard to give a clear answer because it is different for each person. All the sites are (as the title says) rural. Which means they are small and may not have a lot of resources. At this point, I don't know enough about my community to know specifically what I will be working on, but here are some examples of possibilities:
- Working with the Asociación de Desarrollo (Association of Development)
The organization is responsible for nearly all general community improvement (fixing roads, forming new committees for projects, health and water issues, etc) - Working with existing Women's Groups or forming new ones
- Forming Youth Groups and other recreation for children
- Organizing continuing education for children and adults (workshops/ sessions on health, nutrition, AIDS, micro-enterprise, baking bread, accounting... whatever seems necessary)
- Fundraising for projects like building (or rather finishing) the salon comunal
- Teaching English, to children or adults
I may help with some of these things or all at one point or another. There is plenty to do, it's just a matter of finding the resources and providing the motivation and organization to follow through. So it's not a single project and there's no single objective. Strong emphasis lies in sustainable development. Which means that I am here to help the people help themselves. The whole point is that I work with my community to form projects that will continue after my departure, thus generating the need for my community to trust me and form a bond.
For a little clarification, the overall experience goes like this:
Staging: 2 days in Washington DC before arrival in country
Training: 3 months living with a family about an hour outside of San Jose which includes:
- Spanish classes
- Various excursions to rural sites around Costa Rica - visiting volunteers, etc
- Trips to San Jose office for technical training, safety & health issues, and cross-cultural understanding
- Swear-In and Juramentación!
Service: 2 years (this is the long one!)
- First 3 months: Community Entry (Basically means I will learn the ropes in my community - get to know the people, the organizations, the benefits, the problems, etc. The idea is that we don't go in and impose our own agendas, but rather work with the ideas and needs of the people.)
- Afterwards: Incorporate all the things I learned in training with the needs of the community, adapting knowledge, resources, and organization to create sustainable projects and other good stuff...
2 comments:
hi mari! I know what you're thinking... long time, no post. WELL HERE I AM. I'm back, and sadly, I still remain to be the only regular comment leaver. Why am I the only one? Maybe I should just send you e-mails instead so I could write more personal things, like your true reason for joining the peace corps and wanting to be assigned to a Spanish speaking country...your love for rice and beans. after you lived in costa rica, you thought long and hard on how you can live on that special delicacy and the peace corps was your solution!!! Anyways, thanks so much for the bday wishes, it was a raging party!! (just like your comments on this blog - we need to spice things up)! maybe i will impersonate some of your fans and post as them, and maybe this will encourage more people to comment! haha... but anyways, as always, best wishes out there, so proud of what you're doing!!
HEY MARY SMITH,
I hope you are taking all my teachings out into Costa Rica. I know they don't want you to "impose" your own agenda, but let me tell you, there are only two words you should live by out there, "SELL SOMETHING!" So don't short change yourself, or you might be a crazy woman that falls out of a wheelchair in Lullwater Park!
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