A Change Is Gonna Come

It’s been two years since I came to Burkina Faso. I have learned a lot and have experienced so much – good and bad – during this time. I have but one more week left in my village, one week to say goodbye, to pack up and leave. As the sands in the hourglass continue to fall, I am feeling good about this transition. I have given a lot to this community and they have given me just as much back, but I am ready to step aside and pass the torch to another volunteer. When I leave, a newly sworn-in volunteer will replace me at my site, bringing another point of view and another skill set to offer, which I think is beneficial to everyone.

Still, it will be very difficult to say goodbye. There are many people in my village – friends, colleagues, and neighbors – that I will honestly miss. As I start telling people I am leaving, the overwhelming reaction is the same: Don’t go. No matter how I explain it, people want me stay here, which warms my heart and makes these conversations all the more difficult. Of course, I know they will embrace the new volunteer just the same.

So what’s the next chapter in this story? Usually, once you serve your two years in Peace Corps, your contract is finished and they send you home for good. Well, my situation is a bit different. I have yet to mention it before as everything was still iffy, but it looks like I will be staying in Burkina Faso one more year. Yep, you heard right. I have extended my contract until January 2012. So what do this mean? I will still be heading home in about two weeks but for one-month vacation, not for good. In mid-January, I will return to Burkina to start my new job in Ouagadougou, the capital, the big city. I will still be considered a Peace Corps Volunteer and still receive my living stipend from PC but I will be working in a partnership with UNICEF and a local NGO called Association Trait d’Union des Jeunes Burkinabe (ATUJB), an organization focused on HIV/AIDS prevention among at-risk youth and sex workers in Ouaga. I will work with ATUJB for a one-year contract, helping to develop prevention activities, to perform qualitative studies on various risk factors, and to creatively document the work of the NGO. All the while, I will be living in a house provided by them in Ouaga.

I have known for several months that I wanted to stay for a third year, but didn’t want to stay anything until I knew for sure. It was a long, long process of applications, interviews, and waiting, but I am happy to say it is finally official. I am really excited to start my new job next year. As someone who is often afraid of change, it feels right. I will be using the skills I have acquired these past two years, technical and language, in a new environment. It will give me a chance to explore development work as a possible career path and keep me from having a panic attack looking for a job in America (at least for one more year). It should also be a nice transition back into American life, as I will be living and working in a large city atmosphere, much, much different from my life in Aorema. All in all, I am very content with how things have worked out and am looking forward to next year. There are also about half a dozen others from my training group who have also decided to stay another year, throughout the country, so I am not alone.

As for this blog, I am not sure what will happen. I know I have slowed down posting this year, but I would consider continuing if people are still interested. So let me know if you want to hear from me next year. Peace.