Trailblazers

I just returned from my IST (in-service training). It generally takes place anywhere from three months to six months after moving to site for all Peace Corps volunteers. It is a great time to get together with everyone from your group, talk about challenges and strategies for success, and receive additional technical training.

It was also an opportunity to meet our new country director and training manager. In the midst of introductory speeches the idea of trailblazers arose. Although we are the third group in Rwanda we were urged to still view ourselves as trailblazers. The Peace Corps program in many countries has been going on for decades. When a Peace Corps volunteer is placed they are often replacing a departing volunteer. The community is aware of the organization and its aims.

Not only are we one of the very few working in a post-conflict country, we are also returning after many years away. No one here understands where we come from or what we are trying to achieve. Most people haven't been able to have a relationship with a Westerner before so it is both startling and challenging. We are making a name for Peace Corps in Rwanda and hopefully starting it out on the right foot. There is so much work to be done both within the Peace Corps Rwanda program and outside it, in the communities.

Fortunately, I am blessed to be placed as the second Peace Corps volunteer in my community. Edison has built relationships and worked in the hospital long before I came. I can now increase the efforts and eventually prepare the village for my replacement. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a long relationship it has with the Peace Corps.