IST in Ngaoundere - Productive!

This past week was crazy busy and productive. After three months of living at site, each training group comes together for a week of intensive technical training.  The In-Service Training (IST) for the Agroforestry and Health PCVs was held at my site of Ngaoundere, thus, this whole week was a blur as it was spent with Peace Corps staff, volunteers, and administration!

Fellow PCV, Harley Hunner, and I collaborated to donate approximately 300 textbooks to the University of Ngaoundere. Apparently, a few hundred textbooks were left as an unfinished project by a former PCV and were just sitting at headquarters! Needless to say, the University was happy to receive them and we attended a small ceremony with the PC Country Director.

At the Book Ceremony with PC Country Director LaHoma Romocki

With the staff of the University de Ngaoundere

The next day, I had a site visit (PC staff member coming to your site) by Gaston to discuss cross-culture and language integration. Since he was in town, I found it a perfect opportunity to have a translator for my presentation on VSLA to the Agroforestry PCVs and their counterparts.

Presenting a year-long project in seventy-five minutes in two languages was no easy task! Luckily, Gaston understood American slang (when I said “The loan section is usually where people get tripped up,” he translated, “The loan section usually gives people problems”) and from feedback, I believe the fifty PCVs and Cameroonians enjoyed it.

The same presentation was given to two sets of Health PCVs to which I had to promise training handbooks to later as the Agroforestry PCVs took them all!

It’s been a good week, but I’m glad IST is done and over with as I’m exhausted! Whew!