It's still 2 weeks and 6 days until I leave for Washington D.C! I'll leave bright and early on Monday morning on the 31st and spend a day in DC meeting the other volunteers going to Mali as well as go through a short orientation. We will then leave on Tuesday for Mali. It seems like it's going to be a 2 day journey to get there; stopping for a night in London. So I will now be able to say I've been to London! haha
For the first 3 months I'll be in intensive training in the capitol of Mali, called Bamako. After that I will be placed in a nearby city/village for the following 2 years. I'm not entirely sure about all the details; I'll find out more once I get there. Training will be everyday for most of the day and will cover everything about cultural, language, technical, health and safety, and any other information I'll need to know.
As of now, what I know about what I'll be doing is working in the Health Education field. This could include working in health clinics in several cities, creating educational programs, teaching/giving ideas to city leaders on how to have health educational programs, etc. The infant mortality rate is extremely high in Mali so most of what I'll be doing is educating people on pre/post-natal care, health care up to age 5, breast feeding, hygiene, etc.
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this because I'm not sure how often I'll have access to internet. During training I should have pretty regular access to internet however after that I may not have any access for up to a month or so. From what I've read in the packets they've given me, some of the larger cities have internet cafes where I can pay for internet. So if I'm placed in a larger city, I'll have access to internet whenever I want, however if I'm placed in a smaller city, it might be a while until I can get to an internet cafe. Either way, I will try my best to update you all on somewhat of a regular basis!
