The bulk of Peace Corps Response Volunteer Christopher’s time has spent creating a local artisanal fishing cooperative, and second, cataloging local fishing practices so they can be recognized as cultural heritage of the entire country. Peace Corps Peru
In Volunteer Megan Gray’s village in Belize, many children don’t have access to toothbrushes and toothpaste at home. This causes young children to have dental problems from an early age.
“After recognizing this as a problem, the Community Health Worker and the teachers at my school were able to get toothbrush and toothpaste donations for each child in the school from different groups who came into our village. Using these donations, we started our work in the school,” says Gray.
My computer battery died a few months ago and I had to send it back to the United States to be fixed. While it was gone I took lots of pictures and just recently uploaded them to my computer (it’s fixed!!). Here are a bunch from a Christmas Bazaar fundraiser hosted at my rural school in December to raise money for the court we are building in April. These beautiful faces are my students!
I am a #coffee master now. From top left: drying the coffee cherries, then peeling off the shells to get the coffee beans, toasting the beans, and grinding & packing them. Voila! #howiseepc #peacecorps #elsalvador
In the rural highlands of Guatemala, childhood malnutrition is a common health issue. Women in the community are working with Peace Corps Volunteer Nicole Mortenson to fight malnutrition through a gardening project. In this photo, a member of the gardening club is celebrating the new harvest!
http://bit.ly/1RQxcp3
This Peace Corps Nicaragua Volunteer uses painting to integrate into her community–and we’re in love with all these gorgeous, bright colors! See more of Char’s paintings here.
Providing opportunities for the youth in the community to become active and invested is a way Peace Corps Belize Volunteer Karina facilitates sustainability in her community. These two girls are all smiles during their break from a park clean up. http://bit.ly/1Ogotvt
View from the top of #LaPuertadelDiablo. El Salvador is a beautiful country with warm, kind, & hardworking people. Visit for yourself! Don’t be scared off by the news headlines. #howiseepc #pcelsalvador #wanderlust #traveloffthebeatenpath
“Spinning the thread is one of the many steps in the process of making corte, the traditional wrap worn by indigenous women of Guatemala. Kids of families start working at a young age in order to help the family in their overall attempt to survive on a daily basis to afford food, firewood and transportation to and from markets.”
November 2 is día de los difuntos which is a beautiful tradition where people go to the cemetery to decorate, clean, and paint the tombs of their family members to honor them in death.
Stove project underway! Families in my village will have efficient stoves that use less firewood & contain smoke, preventing further deforestation & upper respiratory illnesses caused by open fire cook stoves. #howiseepc #pcelsalvador #peacecorps #environmentalhealth #forestconservation
“One of my favorite aspects to my role in the Peace Corps is living, learning and growing with my host family. This is a photo of my host brother Sier during Pre-Service Training in Valley of Peace, Belize. He’s teaching me how to pick his favorite fruit Jacote. I’m quickly learning how important and valuable youth are to my experience here.” - Peace Corps Volunteer Kelsey Bumsted
http://bit.ly/1kIP9cz
“I took this photo the first time people in my community taught me how to bake bread over a pot over a fire. I was so impressed that it was easy to bake with the lack of an oven. Baking bread is a common income source for people in my community. They make coconut bread using local coconuts to make coconut milk. Delicious!”
Stayed up all night making over 1500 tamales to raise money for the ADESCO (town council). These women are so hard working and so strong. I’m so glad I got to have such a cool learning and bonding activity with them.
