During the month of August, my sitemate, Bethany, and I painted 3 different world maps with the help of a few other volunteers and many eager 6th graders. More on the process of this later, once I have had some time away from it. The maps went into the elementary schools in my village, her village, and a 3rd village nearby. Not to toot my own horn, but the maps look really good. Still, what's a pretty map if no one knows about it or cares about it?
Thus, the second part of our project will be a 3-day international fair held at each school. Volunteers in the area will come in to talk about different countries around the world (highlighted on the maps) and explain both cultural similarities and differences. We want to cover all of the continents (well, maybe not Antarctica) and open the minds of both students and the villagers to the global community. We'll talk about fun things like how people can live on islands, how you would get from Mali to the other countries, the weather, ethnicity, language, and food.
One thing that volunteers bounce back at each other is WHY Mali can have the same main ingredients as many other countries but some how come up with Malian cuisine (We all laugh in that haha-but-seriously way). For example, they have rice. They also have beans. But do they put the two together? Why of course not! We would like to provide samples of food eaten in other countries at the international fairs, as well as simple, accessible, reproduce-able recipes. This would provide a tangible way for our communities to consider healthier options for feeding their families, and reaching a broad audience while doing so.
While we don't need very much money to do this, we need more than a volunteer's stipend can provide (here's where you come in...). For all three villages to have samples of food from 4 different countries, we need only $200. Anything you can contribute would help. Thank you.
More information and the way to donate can be found here:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=688-362
Peace & Love
Elyse
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