Dog Days

Home in New England the dog days are in August. So named because Sirius, the dog star, is very prominent. The term, however, has come to mean a stretch of hot, humid weather which makes one want to do nothing but lie down and nap all day, like dogs.

Here in Bénin dog days has a different meaning. (At least for me since I haven’t heard anybody else here use the term.) I and the group of volunteers I arrived here with are nearing the end o our service. We have reached a point at which we begin to think about going home and what we are going to do when we get there. It is still too early however, to start any serious planning as of yet. Except, that is, for those of us who know what we want to do. Several volunteers have, or are about to take, heir GRE’s and LSATs in preparation for graduate school. A few others already know the jobs they are going to be applying for. For most of us though, we just spend a fair amount of time between work and other commitments daydreaming about, or wondering what, we are going to do next. Sort of like dogs in August in New England.

As I said we are all continuing with work. I, myself, am still giving formations in accounting, marketing etc. as often as I can. I am also trying to form another group to begin classes with. I have also spoken with the newer volunteer I Kétou about doing some projects together. (As regular readers know Steve has COSed, completed service.) I may not have welcomed Ryan to Kétou in this forum yet. Welcome Ryan.

We have also begun the preparations for Camp GLOW which will be held in June or July this year. Camp GLOW is a worldwide Peace Corps program designed to help young girls through skills and confidence acquisition. Although said to be a Peace Corps program it is actually organized, operated and funded through the work of volunteers with minimal assistance from administration. Volunteers have consistently asked family and friends for donations to fund Camp GLOW but it appears that, here in Bénin at least, we have found an NGO to provide all necessary funding this year and perhaps for some time to come. Thank you to everyone who has donated in the past. Hopefully you won’t have to be asked again and can put your money toward some other well-deserved program.

We want to also thank those who donated clothing, toys and other things to the Christmas parties volunteers assist in giving each year for orphans and poor children in the Bohicon area. This is another volunteer led effort. We receive funding form local organizations to be able to supply a good meal to the children but it is also nice to be able to give a toy and at a least a piece of new clothing. In fact, we were able to give most children a new ensemble this year. This is a fairly new program which hopes to continue to be done with some new volunteers each time, including this year. We were able to serve over one thousand children at three locations, up form about six hundred last year. Hopefully this program can continue and grow as it is very rewarding to work with the Beninese adults and children as well as serves a useful purpose for the community and Peace Corps.

I have done one other thing worth noting recently. I went to London for a short family reunion. Rainy, windy and cool (January in London, duh.) it was still nice to see people I have only heard from, or of, for the past year and a half. My mother, two sisters, two nieces, aunt and two cousins showed up to help me enjoy good food and public services again for a short-term change of pace. (As I’ve said before food in Bénin is good but somewhat lacking in variety.) The hot water showers I enjoyed by myself. We did the usual touristy things, visited the Tower of London, St. Paul’s etc., and caught up on family news. Not as exotic as a trip to Timbuktu but still enjoyable. Maybe the next trip will be a little more exciting.