Me, happy on the beach in Fajara, The Gambia, where horses and rugby games appear before your eyes

For the next two years, I will be working as a VSO (Volunteer Services Overseas) volunteer in the village of Kamachumu, in the Kagera region of Tanzania, which actually comes up on Google Maps.  The Canadian division of VSO, CUSO-VSO, sends volunteers to developing countries to fill professional positions.  In this case, my position is “Livestock and Agribusiness Development Advisor” with the Tanzanian NGO KAVIPE (Kamachumu Vision for Poverty Eradication).  I get to mix my education in agriculture, my love of animals and farming, my passion for community, my hunger for learning and my sense of social responsibility into a two year rollercoaster ride. My father has been known to describe my love of a good challenge as beating myself over the head with a large stick. Personally, I like to describe that as “being engaged” or “working hard”; essentially, I thrive on challenges, and I think this will be one worth recording.

Last year, I spent six months as a CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) intern in West Africa, through the Montreal-based NGO REAP (Resource Efficient Agricultural Production)-Canada. We worked mostly with two local organisations in the Gambia, sometimes crossing the border to a third in Senegal. My experience there was an important element in my decision to pursue a second placement in Africa, and I expect to write about West Africa as I interpret my experiences here in Tanzania. Thus far, the Gambia and Senegal months have remained roughly transcribed in stories told to friends and scribbled journal entries. I’m excited to have a forum for them, as well.