July 12, 2005: Headlines: COS - Niger: Muscatine Journal : Stephanie Munday of Muscatine is embarking on her mission with the Peace Corps to the country of Niger, Africa
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July 12, 2005: Headlines: COS - Niger: Muscatine Journal : Stephanie Munday of Muscatine is embarking on her mission with the Peace Corps to the country of Niger, Africa
Stephanie Munday of Muscatine is embarking on her mission with the Peace Corps to the country of Niger, Africa
She will wear, as she puts it, "western garb," until she feels comfortably integrated with the people she is there to serve. Then, she plans to gradually take on their dress. Stephanie says she will not be required to wear a veil or a head wrap, in accordance with the culture, but she plans to wear hats as a protection from the extreme heat.
Stephanie Munday of Muscatine is embarking on her mission with the Peace Corps to the country of Niger, Africa
You go, girl
By Sally Exbom
Muscatine Journal
Muscatine, Iowa
July 12, 2005
As you read this today, Stephanie Munday of Muscatine will be embarking on her mission with the Peace Corps to the country of Niger, Africa.
In this desert country, with an average temperature of 120 degrees and no electricity, I think we can all agree this will not be the most comfortable place to be for the next 27 months. With the substandard living conditions and more than 50 percent of the people suffering from AIDS, I think we can also agree that only a person with a strong desire to serve would take on such a project!
Stephanie, on the other hand, is very excited about the coming journey and looking forward to it with great expectation. She has become very knowledgeable about the people and the country which she'll be visiting.
There are no churches, except in the town of Niamez, which is not close enough to where Stephanie will be living for her to attend. She won't likely attend church as she knows it until she returns to America.
I asked if she would visit the Muslim mosques, and she replied possibly, but only as it would seem acceptable by the people she is assigned to befriend. It is important to gain their trust in order for them to be open to learn new ways to prevent the AIDS epidemic and encourage them to become more literate.
The majority of the population is black, so she will be in the minority as she works to gain acceptance and present ideas to improve their way of life.
I think it is an interesting coincidence that she is headed this direction at a time when group consciousness is causing many people to be concerned about the impoverished living conditions on much of that continent.
TV's Oprah began her brand of aid several years ago in Africa and last week there were live concerts (The Live 8 benefit concerts) being given all over the world to spread knowledge of the plight of the African people. Also last week, President Bush attended the G8 Summit in Scotland, where one of the purposes was to discuss increased financial aid to Africa.
Hopefully, this international attention will help to turn around the African problems even within our lifetimes.
Stephanie says the country is currently a democracy.
She will wear, as she puts it, "western garb," until she feels comfortably integrated with the people she is there to serve. Then, she plans to gradually take on their dress. Stephanie says she will not be required to wear a veil or a head wrap, in accordance with the culture, but she plans to wear hats as a protection from the extreme heat.
Stephanie is the daughter of David and Natalie Munday. She credits the giving nature and devotion of her parents as having helped mold her desire to serve others. Her mother is a special education teacher for preschool at Garfield Elementary in Muscatine.
She says the hardest part of the 27 months she will be gone with no time off will not be so much missing her family, because they are always in heart. More so, it will be missing the little trials and triumphs of her young nephews, who will no doubt have made many changes during the time she is away.
There is a portion of a Walt Whitman poem that seems so appropriate to Stephanie's mission that I cannot resist quoting here:
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."
By remembering Stephanie in our daily prayers, we can all support her as she leaves her footprints in the sands of Niger.
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Story Source: Muscatine Journal
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