Before Jacob and I left on vacation, the daycare staff asked if I could give them some more packets of seeds to plant in a neighbor's backyard. I admit I was a bit skeptical if they would every be planted, but handed over 10 packets of seeds anyway. I went into the daycare yesterday to get some papers signed, and they said they wanted to show me something down the street... They had started their very own bio-intensive garden! It wasn't perfect, but the seedlings were doing very well, and the neighbor whose yard they were using owns a restaurant and plans to add the veggies into the daily lunch she serves!
I thought such progress would only come near the end of our service, but it was incredible! Not only did they take amazing initiative to begin another garden, they showed such deep concern for the well being of their community as a whole. Even just the thought of growing them to sell as part of a meal in a restaurant, I was so impressed!
It makes me very proud to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. You always hope that your projects are sustainable and can grow and be managed without you. And that is exactly what the staff has accomplished. I didn't expect it so early on in the process, but am incredibly excited that it has happened.
But, I shouldn't have been so surprised, these women are all incredibly intelligent and motivated, even if they've never had the chance to advance their educations. They live to the fullest each day, caring more about others than themselves. These women work so hard to make their community a better place, despite the fact that they are denied common human rights that we women enjoy in the States. They are truly an inspiration.
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