Relay Team

I was just reading the newest edition (almost just wrote that as addition - I've got the phonetics of English down but the spelling is slipping as more time passes) of SOMA. The volunteers have a chance to creatively express themselves through stories, poems, new recipes, funny cartoons, and share it with the rest of us in a show of camaraderie. These readings have sparked a few things in my mind, things I need to revisit from previous blog posts.

Awhile ago I wrote about routine. After moving to site my routine was the only thing I could conceivably control. I held onto it with an iron fist until water shortages and coworker visits crippled it, and my sanity at moments. As important as creating some normalcy was at that point in time, the true pinnacle is knowing when to let that go. As service continues, you don't have to rely on that so direly. In fact if you don't let it go and let it flow, then the routine becomes the downfall.

Also, quite a few months ago, I was lamenting that Peace Corps' weakness is expecting one individual to embody so many personality and professional traits. I saw the ultimate success of the program happening with small teams of volunteers, working together geographically and complementing each other. But I had not equated for a huge facet of Peace Corps, which I reminded of at my mid-service conference - the elusive replacement. Peace Corps is a team sport. You just never get to meet your team. The relationships, the reputation, the foundation I build in my community should not be expected to bear immediate fruit. And Peace Corps is very realistically aware of that. I am the second person in a large relay team. The baton I pass is all of that good will I built up and trust I sowed in my community. Maybe a project the next person starts will be followed up in a different capacity by the next one after that. After a group learns a trade, they need management skills, book keeping skills, marketing skills, a way to expand the business. More than that, they need time, fresh blood and new energy. They need the relay team.

Not every site will be replaced and that is the dirty work of the first few groups to return to Rwanda - to find those optimal sites and to nurture them. There will be a lot of wasted effort, a lot of hair pulling out moments aka frustration. But those are the real projects of the first few groups - to build for the future. We are like the first child with the amateur parents. It's time to suck it up and help out the "younger" siblings. Our value is in how great we can make their experience. So good luck next health group. I'm rooting for ya!