In Service Training

Hey Everyone!! So...For the past three weeks I have been participating in In Service Training, the second of three trainings over the course of my two years here in Niger and I have learned alot more about doing actual work stuff with my service along the lines of Proposal Writing for funding and about other opportunities available to me as a volunteer. I also had quite a bit of fun, catching up with the people I started with here in Niger. Of the 32 of us who came, there are 22 who remain, and alothough those who left Niger were deeply missed, it was great to catch up with all of those who stayed. To share funny/scary/weird/amazing/life changing stories with them. Some of the training sessions that interested me the most and that I got the most out of were 1) A fellow volunteer Nick who was evacuated from Guinea due to the unstable situation of the country where he was a Small Business Volunteer gave a session on starting groups geared toward teaching people about Small Business Practices like Accounting and Cost/Benefit Analysis and what not while having group members contribute to a fund which will then, after several months loans can be given out through group members choosing which business plans to approve, then the loan can be paid back with interest and the group can make money as a whole. 2) The other thing that really interested me was Scouting in Niger, The executive at the National Level came to give a presentation about what Scouts is in Niger. And I am really looking forward to seeing how much interest my community will have in it the program. As most of you know scouts was a great part of my life and probably a big reason as to why I am here in Niger with the Peace Corps. It was a great three weeks, for many reasons, but I am ready to get back to Village, see my friends and my garden, and start working on some projects in my community. Thanks to all of you who wrote/called/facebooked/emailed me for my bday!! I had alot of fun, some of my great friends here bought me some yogort in bag (one of my favorite things here) and suprised me at breakfast, and I got a cake, all and all it was a great day!!! I did have a bit of a holy shit I am 25 moment, what am I doing with my life kind a thing??? And I realized that I am exactly where I want and need to be at this moment in my life, once again...I thank you all for your wonderful support and the time you take to read these posts. I'd like to end by thanking my Godmother Judy Hembree, She has invested a great deal of her time and efforts through volunteerism and helping those less fortunate than herself. She has made several trips to Haiti to volunteer in a hospital there, and as a result of the recent catastrophe is currently making plans to get down there as soon as possible. She is one of my biggest supporters, and this may be unknownst to her, but one of my biggest inspirations to continue my life filled with volunteerism. Thanks for all that you do Aunt Judy. Love You - Ousmane