FAQs

Please post in a comment below or email me any questions you may have and I will post my responses here. Also, at the bottom I have listed common acronyms since the PC (Peace Corps) uses them for everything.

What is the Peace Corps?
This is a hard question to sum up but I will try by listing the three goals of the PC. This blog is my direct attempt at the third goal.
(1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women;
(2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served;
(3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.


How long is your service?
Staging (a pre-departure orientation held in Philly) takes place on June 1, 2011 and then I fly with the rest of my stage (30 people, half SED and half CHAP) to Lomé, Togo on June 3 for two months of training. I will be sworn in as a PCV in the beginning of August and begin my 2 years of service then.

What will you be doing?
My official title is a Small Business Advisor, but I won't know my actual assignment until sometime during PST. My assignment packet explains our duties as working "to improve management of financial organizations aimed at supporting the informal business and micro-enterprise sectors in Togo", "training, supporting and advising individuals and groups of small-scale business persons in business skills", and working with youth. It is likely that I will be working with community or women's groups and/or local organizations. I will be assigned a counterpart to help me get acquainted with my new home and assist in community work. Most volunteers also get involved in secondary projects.. I look forward to doing this and have a few ideas already in mind but ultimately it depends on what will best benefit my village.

How will you get around?
The PC provides volunteers with a bicycle. Other than that, most people use bush taxis (Togo's equivalent of public transportation). The PC also provides a service called the Lomé Limo which is essentially a shuttle bus that goes from the north of the country to Lomé in the south once a month.


Where will you live?
I will be assigned to a permanent site sometime during PST and will not know the exact details of my living arrangements until then.

What is the food like?
Basically lots of carbs (rice, yams, etc) and locally grown foods sold in open markets. My plan is to plant a garden, but we'll see how active I am on that thought.


What languages are spoken in Togo?
The official language of Togo is French, but there are over 60 local languages spoken throughout the country. I'll start off learning French until I gain a certain level of proficiency and then I'll begin learning one (or more, gulp!) of the local languages for my site.


Acronyms
APCD=Associate Peace Corps Director
CHAP=Community Health and AIDS Prevention
COS=Close of Service
EAFS=Environment And Food Security
EMS=Express Mail Service
ET=Early Termination
GEE=Girl's Education and Empowerment
HCN=Host Country National
IST=In Service Training
ICT=Information-Communication Technology
NRM=Natural Resource Management
PCMO=Peace Corps Medical Officer
PCT=Peace Corps Trainee
PCV=Peace Corps Volunteer
PCVL=Peace Corps Volunteer Leader
PDM=Post-Design Module
PST=Pre-Service Training
RPCV=Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
SBD=Small Business Development
SED=Small Enterprise Development
WWEC=Women's Wellness and Empowerment Conference