REDES Conference

End of day 5 of the conference- what a week it has been!!! It had been SUCH a wonderful conference- we started out with 62 girls (age 11 to 19) and 24 Moz Facilitators. Including PCVs we had just about 100 participants. The first morning, The Honorable Leslie V. Rowe, Ambassador to the United States kicked off the conference by sharing her experiences and the importance of women's education and empowerment. The girls were so inspired! Throughout the conference we've had several other guest speakers and have had sessions ranging from HIV transmission, women's rights, domestic violence, and pregnancy to test taking skills, effective communication, and public speaking. All in all, the conference has gone very smoothly- the normal problems arose (people have left due to illness or troubles at home) but the Lodge we're staying at, Barra Lodge in Barra, Inhambane, has been ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!! The people here at so friendly, so helpful, and have accommodated all the crazy things that have come up over the last few days.

So much has happened, it's hard to put the conference into a few words. Because I was running the conference and behind the scenes for pretty much everything except opening and closing ceremonies, I'm really looking forward to getting back to site and seeing how my girls have changed. I brought 2 girls to the conference, one who's very closed off and another who was already pretty outspoken, and I'm really hoping to see them speak up even more. Tomorrow on the 10 hour bus ride home I'm going to try and get a few things out of them.

Because I'm horrible with taking and posting photos, check out theredesproject.wordpress.com, search REDES on flickr or Facebook, or check out Scooter's blog scooterinmozambique.blogspot.com.

AMAZING WEEK!!!! ...looking forward to some sleep...

3rd Year

It's official, I'm staying a third year. So exciting! I've been looking into different options for my future for almost a year now- several of the options included staying in Moz, and I was about to get a job (still as a Peace Corps Volunteer) working on secondary projects, aka I wont be teaching. I'll be working on youth projects like REDES, JOMA (a club for girls and boys), English theatre, Science fair, and several others. I'll be working towards sustainability of the projects and setting solid long term goals. This means I'll no longer be national coordinator of REDES (or any group for that matter) but I'll have my hand in all the projects. Plus I get to move to a new site, make new friends, see new places, and live with one of my best friends, Scooter. It's going to be an interesting and eventful year :)
I am coming back to the states for just over a month for the holidays- also exciting!! I'm looking forward to mirco-brew beer, sushi, mexican food, sleeping long hours in a mosquito net-less, comfortable bed, and of course lots and lots of face time with friends.