We started out with 43 trainees in the Omnibus 99 arriving in Quito exactly 2 years ago today. We ended up 29 at out “Close of Service” (COS) Conference last week. Most of the 15 volunteers who terminated their service early did so for health or family/personal reasons, very few left early because they found out that this experience was simply not for them. This omnibus 99 was packed with talented and devoted volunteers who did amazing work during their service. It was great to see the group again, many of them I only get to see during those Peace Corps get togethers.
The program of the conference mainly focused on all the paperwork that has to be submitted before officially wrapping up and most importantly on the post-Peace Corps life. We were all given a package with a bunch of career tips and had a chance to talk with a panel of RPCVs who had interesting experience transitioning into a new life. I learned about the UN Volunteer’s program that might be a good lead as I seek a new experience in an African country. However after discussing post-PC plans with my fellow volunteers I decided I was going to put the job search on hold and travel for a little while. We all deserve a break after 27 months in Ecuador.
My travel plans are to head north: Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and more for a month or so. In the meantime I would send applications here and theer but try not to stress too much about it. On the contrary, I hope to get a chance to kick back and reflect on these past two years and where I want to go from here. Anyways I still have a couple months to plan this out and finish my work here.
I’ve been extremely busy lately with the Baboso community solicitating my help to find funding to implement an intergral development project there in the areas of education, health, production and organization. The teacher Manuel Taicus came to my house and we worked together until early the next morning putting the proposal together. The community had done a great job brainstorming their needs and priority and apparently the authorities in the Carchi Province responded positively to their request.
A tragic incident occurred in Awá Federation as the FCAE’s president’s father died in a tree felling accident. Hannibal Nastacuaz was a very important and charismatic leader and the Awá people feel this terrible loss. The president is back at work though and is counting on me for several proposals. The FCAE hired a new social development coordinator but unfortunately he seems to be completely incompetent in addition of being rude and impolite. The general project coordinator they were supposed to hire finally turned down the offer because the salary was not enough for her. This is not the first time this happens: conditions must be made clear from the very start to avoid such situations.
Only two more months to deal with this crazy office situation. I miss community work and hope to get some action next week helping a small NGO operating from Otavalo. They asked me to faciliate three days of workshops on water conservation and the use of dry latrines to a Kishwa highschool in a community 40 minutes out of Otavalo. This should be fun.
