This is the 20th edition of the newsletter, 39 months after walking out of my cubicle in West Greenwich, Rhode Island!
I must apologize for the recent recent lack of newsletters and/or blog updates from yours truly. Although, I have been posting photos regularly on Picasaweb. (you might not see any new photos for a while, since my camera got stolen during Carnival here in St. Vincent)
The past month has been the most challenging of my Peace Corps experience to date (for several reasons). This newsletter is dedicated to the love and compassion of my grandma, who passed from this life on Friday, 26JUN2009. I will always remember her wonderful stories of all things New England. Thanks to my Grandpa and other relatives who made my brief trip home for the funeral possible. As I re-embark on my work in St. Vincent, I feel re-energized, lucky and happy. I have once again experienced the amazing love and support of my family and friends, which is something that can be difficult to fully appreciate. Things are going really well for me at the moment.
By the way, you are all invited to come visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines. For you budget travelers, I have a 3-bedroom apartment where you can crash for FREE!
Since it has been so long since my last newsletter (Nov 2008), I'll list many of the important experiences of the past 8 months:
November/December:
-Thanksgiving at the Taiwanese Embassy.
-Trip to St. Lucia.
-Hiking La Soufriere Volcano.
-Xmas gift baskets for disadvantaged families.
-9 Mornings Christmas celebrations
-Xmas in Chateaubelair, New Years In Bequia.
January/February:
-Establishment of computer and sports schedules at Liberty Lodge Boys Training Center.
-Spanish classes at the Venezuelan Embassy
-Making my own cutting broad and shelf, with instruction from a couple of the Liberty Lodge boys.
-Banana farming with Shawn and the Fair Trade Farmers
-Being "introduced" to the Prime Minister (funniest thing that's happened to me in SVG)
-Watching Obama's Inauguration at LLBTC
-Assisting the Helping Hands Center with getting their own Peace Corps Volunteer.
-Hiking the volcano for a 2nd time, this time as a "tour guide"
-Switching from working with once HIV/AIDS community organization to another
-Paula and Laird's Going-Away events.
-1st boy at Liberty Lodge to learn touch typing in my IT class.
-Fenton Mountain Hikes w/Mark and Laird
March/April:
-Owia Salt Ponds
-Yacht Weekend in Bequia
-Mt. St.Andrew Hike w/the boys
-Earth Day Hikes
-National Heroes Sports Day
-Special Needs Sports Day
-Bizarre Raja Yoga classes
May/June:
-1st Table Tennis match for the boys against another school.
-2 Hospital visits in just over a week (luckily, both people were fine)
-Planting fruit trees with Ann and JEMS.
-My first time getting approval for a project grant.
July:
-Brief visit home (Emma's, Grasshopper, Fireside Grille, Tortilla Flats, and hanging out with Grandpa)
-Carnival - helping backstage, getting punched, getting my camera pick-pocketed, enjoying the Street Jump-up and Mardi Gras parade, street party in Greggs.
-Men As Partners (in the fight against HIV/AIDS) Workshop - the best workshop/training ever!
-Hanging out w/Ann and her friend, chilling in Brighton, and my 2nd trip to the Botanical Gardens.
Ongoing/Random activities:
-Arts and Crafts - Coconut Shells, Job Sage beads, and Boleys
-Care packages from family/friends
-Growing everything I can squeeze in my little garden (corn, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc.)
-Various Volunteer Parties (Marco's Bday, Mexiganza, etc.)
-Friends and family who cried on my shoulder.
-Baking cookies/cooking/roasting
-Trying new foods all the time. My favorites are Ital food, doubles and roti.
-Watching the Daily Show, the Pats and Red Sox on the Internet.
-Baseball, soccer, table tennis, cricket, and running.
-Picking fruit (mangoes, guavas, papaya, etc.)
-Saying "Hi" to all my neighbors every day.
-Constantly seeing people I know in Kingstown.
There is now information about the Liberty Lodge Boys Training Center on the St. Vincent government website :
Respect and one love,
Scott Sharland
Scott Sharland
US Peace Corps Volunteer
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
-"You can't smooth out the entire earth to make it easier to walk on with your bare feet, but by wearing shoes you protect yourself from rough, unpleasant surfaces." - Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
3 comments:
Dear Scott,
Hope you are well. I just came across your blog on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Great stuff! Amzing photos :-) I am writing to you because I have launched a website populated with cross-cultural information about every country in the world. We will be looking to the web community to help do this with all the information being available for free. I was wondering if you may be able to help us out with the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines pages. We would love your input. Let me know if you would be open to this and I'll send along a brief questionnaire. Please also feel free to check out the website, become a member (it's free!) and add to the guide.
Here is a link: http://www.culturecrossing.net/
Thank you for your time!
Best,
Michael Landers
Director - Culture Crossing
Email: michael@culturecrossing.net
www.culturecrossing.net
Scott
I enjoyed looking at your pictures and reading about you experiences in St. Vincent. I grew up in St. Vincent. My parents were missionaries on St. Vincent from 1954-1963. One of the houses we lived in was right outside the park. We watched cricket and football (soccer) games from the second floor windows of our house. The church my dad built was right behind the house. I returned once in 1980. I would like to visit again. We will see. Thanks. E-mail me sometime, if you have time.
Steve
Scott:
I am COO of Water Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that does water, sanitation, and public health projects worldwide. In July, 2009, we started our Appropriate Projects initiative to fund small water and sanitation projects very quickly. Applicants are limited to Peace Corps Volunteers, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and Peace Corps Response Volunteers.
I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Bolivia ’66-’68), and am well aware of the difficulties Volunteers face in the field. Appropriate Projects is an addition to our regular Water Charity model that is allowing us to provide project resources to PCVs in the field immediately.
Often there is that little project that must be done now (before the rains start, before school begins, or in response to a critical need), but there are no funds available. Traditional funding sources are cumbersome, and there are long forms, detailed requirements, limited resources, and long delays.
PCVs working in water and sanitation usually have potential projects lined up. For those working in other program areas, there may be water components to their projects, or improvements needed where they work or teach.
Sample projects may be: rainwater or spring catchments, handwashing stations, water systems, piping, tanks, pumps, latrines, wells, etc.
We like to do the water and sanitation parts of projects for schools, clinics, and community centers. So, if you can get funding for the building and other stuff, we can help with things like the water supply, filters, sinks, plumbing, and drainage.
We like to finish projects that have been started, and fix things that have ceased to function.
We encourage follow-up projects that expand upon the successful completion of the first small project.
If you have a project in mind, please fill out the application form. We want this to be easy for you, so we have developed a simple form that you can fill out in one sitting.
If you have any questions about the appropriateness of your project, or you need some time to get it together, just let us know.
We pre-fund projects, so you don’t have to wait around for donations to roll in.
If you do not have a project that qualifies, please pass this message on to your fellow Volunteers who may have an interest. Finally, if this initiative resonates with you, please let others know what we are doing through your social networks, websites, and blogs.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Averill
Averill Strasser
Appropriate Projects
http://appropriateprojects.com
Water Charity
http://watercharity.org
Post a Comment