Child of Vision

I'm finally back home after 2 1/2 weeks in Thies. I may have already mentioned this, but I had the All volunteer conference and then IST (my 2nd round of technical training). The conference was 2 days of presentations from older volunteers in all of the west african countries on successful projects. It was formated really well, ie I could pick from many different sessions, and I learned a lot. I also met a lot of other volunteers, which was great for getting a better idea of what I want to do with my time here. Just like the involvement fair at OSU, I came away with way too many projects I want to tackle. I know i won't be able to do them all, but it feels so great to have a sliver of an idea. Here are a few of the projects that stuck out in my head, (these are also the more exciting ones)...Radio show, eco tourism classes, murals, nutrition training, girls camp, reforestation, and meranga meranga meranga. (this is a mirical tree that has super nutritious leaves, i plan on growing some and putting it in everything).
When all vol was over, just my stage was left at the center for IST. There is not much to say about it except we did more technical learning, like accounting for the illiterate, computer classess etc. It was great to be with my friends for 2 weeks, but the hightlight had to be the beans at everymeal. I probably ate more than my weight in beans, no joke i had a cup for breakfast, then one at pause cafe and more for lunch and dinner. It was wonderful, and solidified my conviction to cook dinners for myself so i can eat bean everyday. Now, i know you all are probably thinking, beans really?!?!?! that is all it takes to get kelsey excited, well it's true. They are healthy, delicious and best of all not rice!
Besides the bean situation, I was really happy to have an Eco-T day where we worked on the insiders Guides to Senegal, and made an action plan for the future of the Eco-T program. It has been apart of PC Senegal for about 5-6 years now (i think) but there has never been a clear direction. This has meant that there is also very little training, specific to this sector, and the volunteers are left to just make everything up. That's not always bad, I really enjoy the freedom I have, and the duel role i get to play as an Eco T/SED volunteer, however the lack of support/training means it is easy to flounder and fall back on basic SED work. We decided on some over arching goals, the most exciting of which is an Eco-T seminar for locals. This will take a lot of work and probably not be completed till the mid to end of my service, but I am really excited about the idea. After all i've learned about development work and being here for a bit, i really believe that education is the most important work we can do. So if we can put together a college esq seminar that teaches a combination of business and hospitality skills, then we will really be helping our communities. No matter how much marketing I help with the tourist won't continue to come, if the campements aren't professionally ready.