Watering the Roots

Hello everyone,

I hope that you all enjoyed your summers.  My first summer of service feels like it went by really quick.  I couldn’t help but miss all of the good times I know everyone was having in Madison between June and August.  Also, I really miss all the people who I currently do not get to interact with from home but I’ve been lucky to meet absolutely wonderful people in Dominica so I'll be okay.  Being away from the amazing people I care about makes me realize how blessed I am for having them in my life.

Upon entering the Peace Corps, the Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD), who is a host country national, assigns each Volunteer to their service region.  The APCD needs to make the decision about which community or village the volunteer will spend their time in before they even leave the United States to begin their service.  The amount of volunteers selected to serve in each country varies significantly due to many underlying factors.  In the case of the country where I volunteer, Dominica, nine others and I were placed in different villages all around the country.  We joined ten current volunteers who will be completing their service in April of 2012. 

The APCD’s task of placing volunteers around the country sounds like a seemingly effortless procedure except for one minor issue.  They have very limited information about each individual when they place them.  Besides being equipped with a resume, the APCD traditionally only has one 10-15 minute phone conversation with the volunteer.  The Dominican APCD, Patrick, called me about a month before I departed for the Eastern Caribbean and I remember barely being able to comprehend what he was saying.  The phone connection between us was poor and both of our accents were a bit difficult for each other to understand.  The only thing I can recall from the phone interview in December of 2010 is that I delivered a joke to him about the weather as it was snowing intensely in Madison.

Despite all the barriers, I have been simply amazed by how well Patrick was able to place the other volunteers and me around the island.  Every volunteer I speak with tells me how well their service is going in their specific location.  The other volunteers and I are in awe of how each location is perfect for our personalities and strengths as community developers.  Now, could this be attributed to the fact that people who join the Peace Corps are usually open-minded, personable individuals who are also highly adaptable?  Or maybe that each volunteer molds their experiences the way they want it within their communities to make themselves feel more comfortable?  Possibly.  However, I believe Patrick has a rare gift of finding people’s strong points then matching them up to the perfect village for that individual.

Personally, I feel very fortunate for being placed in my village of Castle Bruce.  The people I interact with on a daily basis are absolute treasures.  Whether it’s the workers at the Non-Government Organization (NGO), the children, my close friends, or just random community members around the village, everyone treats me with the utmost respect and dignity. 

One relationship that every Peace Corps Volunteer around the world is fortunate enough to establish is the bond with their institutional point person.  Each volunteer is assigned a person to work with on a daily basis.  Since Peace Corps’ creation by John F. Kennedy and Sergeant Shriver 50 years ago, many volunteers speak very highly of their deep relationship with their point person.  In many instances, the point person would be a teacher or a village council leader but in my case, I was designated to work with a community mobilizer at the NGO, East Dominica Children’s Federation (formally Caribbean ChildFund) named Rickey Ellick. 

Rickey and I have had an outstanding relationship from the very beginning.  He has truly become one of my closest friends on the island.  Rickey has a wife and three adorable children who I really enjoy spending time with too.  He and I have spent weekend days trekking around the precious areas of the island that only locals know exist.  On a typical work day on the field, Rickey and I would spend our time traveling on narrow, muddy paths to people’s homes deep into the lush, mountainous rainforests to assist high risk children who unfortunately have many issues.  While we were in the field, he and I would have outstanding conversations about topics including: Sports, politics, philosophy, and life in general.  When he and I weren’t in the field, we would be either planning or running an activity for groups of youth within the communities of our region.  When I was working, I would almost always be with Rickey.

As the concept of impermanence has an uncanny way of showing itself to people, it revealed itself to me on Dominica.  Tragically, nothing ever lasts so people must cherish their precious moments and opportunities.  Rickey, who has been a committed member to the NGO for more than a decade, resigned recently effective immediately to become a teacher at the primary school in his home village of Sineku in the Carib Territory.  Even though it was news to everyone in the office, I had known about Rickey wanting to become a teacher since he told me about the opening in July.  He and I have had countless conversations on the pros and cons of making the tough decision if the principal and people at the Ministry of Education would select him to be a teacher.  I was supportive of what was best for him throughout the entire process even though I knew it may not be in my best wishes.  He told me that one of my books which he read called The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz really inspired him to make the final decision.  He’s been preaching the topics of the book to everyone he encounters since he finished reading it.

The volatility and excessive hours at East Dominica Children’s Federation coupled with the stability of working as a teacher was too much for Rickey to pass up.  By working at the school, he’ll be able to concentrate on developing the children from his own village rather than spreading himself thin among many villages.  Rickey is from the poorest community on the entire island of Dominica and he wants to improve the children’s chances of being accepted into college.  He is a truly compassionate humanitarian.  Because Rickey will now be staying in his village, he will be able to spend more time with his family which is a huge plus as well.  Two of his children still attend the primary school.

Even though I know working as a teacher at Sineku Primary School is a fantastic opportunity for Rickey, it is very bittersweet to me.  I will still be able to see Rickey as I am planning on volunteering at the Sineku Primary School this year but it will not be on a regular basis.  He and I have made plans to still hang out which will hopefully happen.  I have only wished him the best and if he ever needs any reinforcements with his new undertaking then I would be happy to assist.

The last activity Rickey and I planned and managed before his resignation was a hike to a beautiful waterfall called Middleham Falls.  The magnificent natural landmark is located near the middle of the island and it is over 75 feet tall.  We organized a group of twenty-five young adults from the newly formed Castle Bruce youth group to join us.  After arriving at the lookout point to the waterfall, Rickey, two young adults, and I climbed down the mountainside and we jumped into the pool at the base of the waterfall.  The water ferociously accelerated down the stream away from Middleham Falls’ dumping point.  The four of us played around in the water for nearly twenty minutes while everyone else was resting at the lookout point after a long hike.  Rickey and I felt like children again as we climbed up the surrounding rocky façade then proceeded to flip and dive into the refreshing water below.  All participants thoroughly enjoyed the activity.  It was fitting that the last event managed by Rickey for the East Dominica Children’s Federation was a successful one.

Fortunately, I have made solid connections with the other workers at the East Dominica Children’s Federation too.  A few of them feel like family to me as well so I should be fine with working with them instead of Rickey. 

Even though I may not have two solid years of stories and memories with my original institutionalized point person, as most volunteers will have, I can take solace in the fact that I will have the opportunity to have multiple point people during my service.  The friendship I have with Rickey has affected me positively as a person; I only hope that he would say the same thing about his friendship with me.

Be well,

Joey