His mission to Senegal began in Philadelphia in March 2006 with a three-day briefing of what he would be doing. From there he flew to Dakar, Senegal's capital, for two months of intense training where he learned to speak Pula Fuuta, the language spoken in his eventual destination, the village of Pelel Kindessa. The name refers to the mountains in southern Senegal near Guinea. Arriving by car, Schmelz soon became acquainted with the family with whom he would live and spend most of his time. They made their living off farming. The husband, his three wives and children accepted Schmelz with open arms, he said. "Immediately you're a part of a family that you didn't know 24 hours earlier," he said. "It's scary and exciting, and a moment I could never forget."
Patrick Schmelz just returned from a two-year Peace Corps mission to Senegal
Trek made man grateful for his life
Volunteer's African journey aids change
By J.D. Williams • jdwilliams@courier-journal.com • July 7, 2008
Caption: Schmelz displayed one of the weavings he brought back from Senegal. Besides the cultural keepsakes, he returned to the United States with a new appreciation for the opportunities he has at home -- as well as the knowledge of the value of the Senegalese land and the families who worked it to grow crops to feed themselves -- and him.
The first time Patrick Schmelz's feet made contact with Senegal's rich soil, he knew his trip would be an eye-opening experience.
Schmelz, 28, was one of nearly 30 Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, sent there by the program that helps people in Third World nations improve their education, health and other aspects of life.
He returned last month after two years in the country. While there, he learned the value of the land and the families who worked it to grow crops to feed themselves -- and him -- while he was there.
Looking back, Schmelz said, he feels "blessed to have what I have."
"People don't take the opportunity to appreciate the things we have, like an education available to all, water and going to the grocery store, getting all types of food with the means to afford it," he said.
Schmelz said he joined the Peace Corps because he "wanted to give something back."
But his parents saw the trip as an opportunity for their son to do more than that.
"Make a difference," Gayle and Steve Schmelz said simultaneously in an interview at their New Albany home last week."You don't go into the Peace Corps because of the money, because there is no money," Steve Schmelz said.
Patrick Schmelz's role was to teach residents of the village where he was assigned about the importance of health and preventing risky exposures that could lead to malaria and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS.
A University of Evansville graduate with a political science degree, Schmelz said he developed an interest in health for underprivileged people based on a three-year stay in Japan working as a teacher.
His mission to Senegal began in Philadelphia in March 2006 with a three-day briefing of what he would be doing. From there he flew to Dakar, Senegal's capital, for two months of intense training where he learned to speak Pula Fuuta, the language spoken in his eventual destination, the village of Pelel Kindessa. The name refers to the mountains in southern Senegal near Guinea.
Arriving by car, Schmelz soon became acquainted with the family with whom he would live and spend most of his time. They made their living off farming. The husband, his three wives and children accepted Schmelz with open arms, he said. "Immediately you're a part of a family that you didn't know 24 hours earlier," he said. "It's scary and exciting, and a moment I could never forget."
Besides his new home in a mud hut about 10 feet tall, he had to adapt to life without electricity and running water and to eating new foods.
One daily food was a spread made from the leaves of trees in the village, he said; another was peanut-based.
Adapting to the country also meant long periods without contacting his family back home. The village where he lived was nearly 40 miles -- or a bike ride of several hours -- from a cell phone tower.
A noticeable difference in Senegal's culture was "teranga," he said -- in English, "hospitality."
"You can walk up to any family in Senegal and say you wanted to eat, and they would say, 'Pull up a chair,' and you would eat," he said. "That happened to me on more than one occasion."
Although he didn't find all the answers to the village's health problems during his time there, he said he was content with the progress of the people.
"There are things they understand they can do more of to have more control and be responsible for their own well-being," he said.
With the Peace Corps mission complete, Schmelz plans to enroll in graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to pursue a master's degree in international policy.
Readers can reach reporter J.D. Williams at jdwilliams@courier-journal.com.
