May 18, 2004: Headlines: COS - Saint Lucia: Internet: Blogs - Saint Lucia: Personal Web Site: Lindsey Wolf's Peace Corps Site

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Saint Lucia: Peace Corps Saint Lucia : The Peace Corps in Saint Lucia: May 18, 2004: Headlines: COS - Saint Lucia: Internet: Blogs - Saint Lucia: Personal Web Site: Lindsey Wolf's Peace Corps Site

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-43-253.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.43.253) on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 12:17 pm: Edit Post

Lindsey Wolf's Peace Corps Site

Lindsey Wolf's Peace Corps Site

Lindsey Wolf's Peace Corps Site

05.18.04 | I Start to Teach at Vo-Tech

Two things happened in the past week. First I had a very frustrating meeting with the other National AIDS Program volunteers and the effective leader of the support group, Tender Love and Care. It is the consensus that we cannot do much work with the group until the ARVs (HIV drugs) are available, and the date the drugs will supposedly arrive has been pushed back from June to July. (The group leader believes that clients need the incentive of either the drugs or free food to come to the meetings. Since the group has started and stopped meeting several times in the past, he wants to be prepared to start meetings and sustain the group.) My idea for a leadership and self-esteem building camp for the children of HIV-positive parents got rejected. Too much stigma, the group leader said. The group income generation project is not a priority right now, he said. Drugs are the priority. But I can't do anything about the drugs coming! Furthermore, a lot of organizational tasks need to be completed by the nurse in charge of the Voluntary Counseling and Testing program before we can begin. We also learned that she may be leaving the country in June, coinciding with the (new) projected start date for the program! But we are told "not to worry," that the program will start as planned. It is very frustrating to see tasks that I am easily capable of doing go undone because the person in charge isn't motivated to get things started. Also, because the NAP only has two staff members (the director and the nurse in charge of VCT), my assigned "boss" is the nursing supervisor in my region, who doesn't have any connection with the NAP. So, not unusually for a PCV, no one is directly responsible for me. So I have to go out looking for work on my own, which is what I did.

I am going to be teaching three weeks worth of classes to the highest form (3) at the Vieux Fort Technical School. The school is a new idea in St. Lucia - it is designed to teach technical skills to students who don't pass the common entrance examination to enter a secondary school. I started yesterday, with a class on Sexually Transmitted Infections. I was pretty nervous to teach a room full of 16 and 17 year old boys about STIs, especially since the teacher told me, "maybe they will listen to you because you're a new face." It was a bit of a struggle to get everyone to participate in the lesson, but afterward the teacher told me she thought it went very well. I taught another class this morning and have discovered that I enjoy teaching them. Hopefully they are taking something away from it. You should have seen how wide the first student's eyes got when I asked him to read the STI symptom he had been given (yellow-green or white discharge from the penis or vagina). Just helping them grow up (and recognize gonorrhea)!

Also coming up, I have two talks scheduled with different youth groups - one in Laborie and one in a community outside Vieux Fort. Actually, the one in Laborie was "rained out" yesterday. Lucians don't like to go anywhere in the rain. As the rainy season begins, I am wondering how that affects productivity...





When this story was posted in November 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Birth of the Peace Corps The Birth of the Peace Corps
UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.
Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes
Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.
Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying
Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.
Your vote makes a difference Your vote makes a difference
Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.
Kerry reaches out to Returned Volunteers Kerry reaches out to Returned Volunteers
The Kerry campaign wants the RPCV vote. Read our interview with Dave Magnani, Massachusetts State Senator and Founder of "RPCVs for Kerry," and his answers to our questions about Kerry's plan to triple the size of the Peace Corps, should the next PC Director be an RPCV, and Safety and Security issues. Then read the "RPCVs for Kerry" statement of support and statements by Dr. Robert Pastor, Ambassador Parker Borg, and Paul Oostburg Sanz made at the "RPCVs for Kerry" Press Conference.

RPCV Carl Pope says the key to winning this election is not swaying undecided voters, but persuading those already willing to vote for your candidate to actually go to the polls.

Take our poll and tell us what you are doing to support your candidate.

Finally read our wrap-up of the eight RPCVs in Senate and House races around the country and where the candidates are in their races.
Director Gaddi Vasquez:  The PCOL Interview Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL Interview
PCOL sits down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before.

Plus the debate continues over Safety and Security.

Read the stories and leave your comments.






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Story Source: Personal Web Site

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Saint Lucia; Internet; Blogs - Saint Lucia

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