?> Katy Murtaugh's Next Big Adventure! » Uncategorized http://katymurtaugh.com Peace Corps in Guinea Sat, 28 May 2011 06:32:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 On Jaaraama naani, Laguinée! http://katymurtaugh.com/2009/11/03/on-jaaraama-naani-laguinee/ http://katymurtaugh.com/2009/11/03/on-jaaraama-naani-laguinee/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:02:07 +0000 Katy http://katymurtaugh.com/?p=769 So, that’s all she wrote for Katy in Guinea. My time there ended abruptly with an evacuation (see brief explanation below) and after a period of uncertainty (see long-winded explanation below), I am off for a bit of travel before heading home to go back to school! I guess my next big adventure is officially done! Fairly shocking really… :)

Sorry I was such a bad blogger, all this site is really good for now is to make sure there’s still easy links to my Guinea photos (and my round-the-world trip photos)!

The latest and greatest news…

In September some friends and I went to Ghana for a vacation-slash-for them to take the LSATs. While we were in Ghana, on September 28, the Guinean military opened fire on a large peaceful political opposition rally in Conakry (the capitol city of Guinea); they were completely “out of control”; there was widespread violence against women and little to no aid for victims of any kind. I say “out of control” because it appears in hindsight that much of the military’s actions were premeditated and facilitated by Guinea’s current Head of State, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (who came to power through a bloodless coup after the death of the previous President in December 2008, which happened while I was in the US for Christmas). There had been political tension in the air for a while as Dadis was suggesting that he would run for President in the as-yet-unscheduled elections, which are supposed to provide a democratic, free and fair way for the people to elect a civilian as their President. The point is that if Dadis runs, there will be zero confidence that the election would be free or fair. In a country full of people as peaceful (and downtrodden) as Guineans, violence wouldn’t be expected, but an unfair outcome would be. The leaders of the political parties had organized the September 28 rally to express their solidarity and the opinion of the people that Dadis should not present himself in the election. In the end, at least 150 people died; some outside estimates put it at over 200. The extreme actions of the military and Dadis’ complicity in them make the future for Guinea a lot less bright than it seemed when he first came to power and promised to ensure a peaceful and timely return to civilian rule.

The end result for me as a Peace Corps volunteer is that Peace Corps evacuated the country and my friends and I were not allowed to go back; on October 9, we flew directly to Bamako (the capitol of Mali) from Ghana where all the Guinea volunteers were being consolidated at a training facility outside the city. And that’s where I’ve been ever since; I think of it fondly as the Land of Limbo. For the first week we awaited word if we would be able to go back to Guinea or if they were going to suspend the program. Limbo #1. That was sad and stressful because my friends and I who had been in Ghana hadn’t gotten to say good-bye to our friends and families and hadn’t gotten to pack up our stuff, but was offset by the fact that there were eggs in the morning, good roads for running and wireless internet! Then the word finally came from Washington that the program was being suspended. Time for Limbo #2. We all had to decide what to pursue next. Most of the people from my group who were supposed to end their service in early February anyway, decided to end their service now and either travel or go directly home. Most of the people from the other groups who still had 6 or 14 or 22 months of their service to go, decided to transfer to other countries. Some people who want to continue their service in Guinea opted to go home and wait it out until the program reopens, which may happen as early as 6 months from now.

I myself had already been trying to put together a third-year position and was feeling slightly guilty that if I could put something together in a week (instead of the planned 2 months), then the timing would actually work out much better than before, would get me some time at home in November or December and would get me home in time for Christmas 2011. So, I decided to try for a third-year position, but not just any third-year position, something very specific. Limbo #3. Many of you don’t know that I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and am particularly interested in palliative care in the developing world. I figured if I could find a third-year position working with an organization that does palliative care then the experience would make it worth deferring school for a year. I had already begun the process before all this mess started, pursuing a position in Kenya, but that was dead-ending with no communication from the Peace Corps staff there or from the organization I was hoping to work with. So, I was already going to give up on the idea since my research had not come up with any other options. Then one of the Washington staff who was here to help with the evacuation had some ideas about other countries with organizations working with people living with HIV/AIDS (primarily in Eastern and Southern Africa) that may have what I was looking for. So, I put together this list of about 8 countries (awesome, amazing countries like Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and Lesotho) and we sent out my information to them all (my resume, my description of my service in Guinea and a letter of interest); then we waited. Let’s call this Limbo #4. We hadn’t heard anything and I was starting to get a little tired of all the uncertainty, especially as my friends were making plans and buying plane tickets. I set a personal deadline of Friday, the 23rd; if I didn’t have any concrete offers by then, I would call it quits and end my service and go home. Then, Thursday night, there was the slightest nibble of interest from Tanzania. Really all it was was an email from someone saying that there might possibly be something for me, but they weren’t sure and they were forwarding the email onto the right person. That email alone was enough to get me a little excited and for me to realize how much this was what I wanted to work out and I decided to forgo with that deadline and really put some effort into making something work. Yep, Limbo #5. Tanzania turned out to be a dead end and we didn’t hear from them again. At the point, there was a lot of waiting and a lot of people telling me that I should not be contacting posts myself and that I should continue to go through my various bosses. (Peace Corps is a governmental agency after all.) Then, I hear that Botswana wants me to sit in on an interview with a group of other volunteers being considered for a direct transfer there. So, I do that and it goes well, but they are fairly vague with me about if they have something; they clearly have something in mind, but they don’t know if it will work out logistically, so they don’t give me any specific information. Limbo #6? I was only hearing slightly negative things form the Botswana folks, so figured that was a no go. The next day a position pops up in Mali, which isn’t what I was looking for, but looks like a challenging and interesting opportunity. After some normal West Africa communication delays (when you’re in Limbo #6 waiting a few hours can seem like waiting a few days, especially when everyone keeps asking you what you’re going to be doing), I was finally able to set up an interview with those folks only to discover that the position sounds, well, awful and like I would just be extremely frustrated with the work and the organization. So, that’s off the table. Limbo #7? Then, Botswana gets in touch again and it appears that an offer is still on the table and I finally get the information about the organization and it is exactly what I was looking for and hoping for. I start to feel like I’m coming out of limbo. I start to have concrete conversations about when I would be leaving, who I would be working with, where I would be living. It’s getting a little exciting. There’s some detail-y problems about getting some time to go home in the first couple of months which toy with my psyche a little more, but eventually seem like they will get worked out. So, I’m going to Botswana, yeah! Limbo is over, yeah! I start letting people know, yeah! Thursday night I am on my way to write a mass email with the good news and instead find a cautionary email in my inbox (I don’t even remember what about now), so decide to hold off, just in case. The next day I get the go ahead to go on an overnight outing with the other volunteers who are left, because it looks like everything’s going to work out. That night I get a “I have really disappointing news” phone call. Limbo #8. The organization in Botswana flaked out and there is no longer a position with them. Awesome. In the same breath I’m told there is something interesting in Namibia, though not what I’m looking for and there could be something worked out in Lesotho, but it would take a week or two for it to be worked (if it were to work out at all). That was last Friday night. I spent the weekend wondering about Lesotho and finally realized that the universe was speaking loudly and clearly and I simply wasn’t listening. Apparently, it’s time to come home!

So, as of yesterday, I am no longer in limbo! Unbelievable! I was starting to think it was never going to happen! I could envision a scenario where, if the Mali position had been desirable, I would go home still not knowing if I was staying or if I might be returning to Mali. But, here I am, decided! Here’s the plan as of now: Tonight I fly to Tunisia to meet up with some friends who have been there traveling this entire time, then I fly to Morocco on the 23rd, will travel overland to Spain, probably fly to Belgium and then be home around mid-December! The one productive thing about all this limbo is that it has put me in the mood for travel. Originally when I was thinking about going home, I just couldn’t imagine traveling at all and just wanted to go home, which seemed like a waste given that I’m already out here. So, now I have a couple of months to do with what I will and then, hopefully, it’s off to New York to start school in January!

]]> http://katymurtaugh.com/2009/11/03/on-jaaraama-naani-laguinee/feed/ 1 Hi from Guinea! http://katymurtaugh.com/2009/07/05/hi-from-guinea/ http://katymurtaugh.com/2009/07/05/hi-from-guinea/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:28:56 +0000 Katy http://katymurtaugh.com/?p=499 It was recently brought to my attention that a most recent blog entry from almost a year ago entitled ‘Still Alive!’ doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence! Oops! I am, in fact, still as alive as ever! Life in Guinea is rolling, tout doucement, as they say. Am busy getting ready for our annual Girls’ Conference and if you are so inclined to give us a helping hand (well, a helping dollar really), we need your help. Go to https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=675-139 for a project summary and to donate! Also working on starting up a new Village Savings & Loan in a nearby village, helping organize a new tourism association, picking up a lot of trash with the tourism agents, teaching English, trying to make bricks out of sawdust and banana skins to usefor cooking fires instead of wood, reading about the history of Africa since Independence (depressing), training for a half-marathon in October, helping a couple of small business owners get their finances in order, and wondering what’s going to come next! In short, I’m well and utterly thankful to be busy! Sorry for the communication lag… am hatching ideas for a couple more food entries, will keep you updated! See you in 2010! :)

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