In 2013 the government donated land, near the village Massembeh, to Peace Corps for a Training Center. Peace Corps has served in The Gambia continually for 50 years, and everywhere you go, it is obvious that we are welcomed and respected. Three PC sectors are currently serving in country, Education, Health and Agriculture.

The 35 trainees in my group were from the Agriculture and Health sectors, and all of us were taught the same skills. There is a lot of cross-over between sectors, and we support each other’s projects.  The Health sector primarily works on malaria prevention, maternal and child health, gender issues, and nutrition. The Agriculture sector emphasizes vegetable gardening, crop production, tree planting, beekeeping, and food preservation. Although, it is evident that the roads and electricity networks still need major improvement, there is still lots of ways a PCV can effect change. PC doesn’t take on the big infrastructure projects, our mission is to work with people and communities, to improve their lives with what is already available.

The first two months in country we were called Peace Corps Volunteer Trainees – PCVT. Our days were filled with language lessons and training sessions, to cover all the requirements to be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer – PCV. The training schedule was to spend about three days per week in Massembeh, where the trainees from the nine host villages arrived for the start of class at 8:30 am.  Some villages were very close to Massembeh and the PCVT rode their bicycles, but my village was 15 kilometers away. Although some trainees in my village, would bike most days, fortunately there was no shame in going by PC vehicle. Biking in the cool of the morning is very pleasant, but when classes were over at 5:30 pm, and the temperature was still in the nineties, riding my bike was not something I was interested in pursuing.

Massembeh is designed to be a center for learning and demonstrations, and workshops are held through out the year for PCVs and community members. There are living quarters for the permanent staff, a row of bunk houses for visiting PCVs, a large air conditioned conference room, a classroom for teaching demonstrations, a medical unit (where we were given more vaccinations), a huge kitchen to prepare our lunch on session days, several storage rooms, demonstration garden plots, and a tree nursery. The whole compound is walled and the entrance gate has guards to protect the facilities.

The sessions covered many topics, including US policies and procedures, because as a PCV we are federal employees. A lot of the gardening techniques were methods I had been using for years, so I was particularly interested in learning about the tropical trees and what they are used for. We learned about tree grafting for better fruit production, and techniques for solar drying the mango harvest. Special emphasis is placed on malaria prevention, recognition of the symptoms, and bed net use. If a person is sick with malaria, they are unable to work and their families income will suffer. Nutrition is another area where there is lots of opportunity for improvement. They are in the habit of overcooking their vegetables, leaching out most of the nutrients. They eat a diet high in carbohydrates, use a lot sugar in the tea drink Attaya (which they consume all day long), and cook with very salty spices. These habits increase the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and goiter because they don’t use iodized salt. The lack of vitamin A is also a concern, and helping them learn to grow the yellow sweet potato, instead of the white variety is a goal. A good method for improvements, can be to work with the youth, so they can take new skills back to their communities. Change can be slow, and often frustrating, but even small changes can make big differences.

Fortunately, it wasn’t all work and no play.  Our Halloween Party was a blast. I came as a hippie fairy princess, complete with magic wand. There was a watermelon carving contest, a horror movie with popcorn, and a talent contest. One guy sung opera, another trainee did hip hop dancing, but the funniest was the stand-up comic who roasted each of us. My roast – “How does it must feel to be older than the country I am serving in?” – The Gambia became independent in 1965.

We spent Halloween night at Massembeh, and the next day we found out where our permanent site location would be. This announcement was a much anticipated event, determining where we will be living, and what our assignment will be for the next two years. My site is near the middle of the country on the north side of the River Gambia, in Farafenni.

We were also treated to a nice Thanksgiving Day meal and a free day to play. The Volunteer Peer Support PCVs did an incredible job preparing a memorable FEAST for all of us.