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Happiness is contagious! Thanks to Volunteer Rachel for sharing this great photo! Peace Corps Volunteers in The Gambia working with their communities on projects in education, the environment and health. During their service, Volunteers in the Gambia learn to speak local languages, including Jola, Mandinka, Pulaar, Sarahule and Wolof. More than 1,745 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in The Gambia since the program was established in 1967. Instagram http://bit.ly/1TatwAR
The best part of care packages is the wrapping! My Scholarship Girl could not stop giggling. This was her first time seeing bubble wrap! After showing her how to pop it with your hands, or by walking on it, she was hooked! I gave her all of it to share with her brothers at home. It’s the simple moments like this that I will cherish after my service is up!
"Smiles and happiness can be shared in many ways…"- Blog post: “Building bonds over banana bread”
This Country Was Just Named The Happiest In The World, Again
No surprise here. 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
¡Que chévere!
(Source: huffpost)
“I took this photo on the bus out of Belize City. These little girls were so cute and had such adorable smiles!”
See more –> “17 smiles to start your day”: http://1.usa.gov/1UQPVPE
“This picture was taken of a little boy named Frederick. Every day during training he would walk with me and smile the entire way. Sometimes he would talk to me in Malagasy and at that point I really had no idea what he was saying, so I would simply smile back at him. Then in return he would smile his biggest smile. I realized that these interactions, these smiles, became our way of communicating. Universal language.”
See more –> “17 smiles to start your day”: http://1.usa.gov/1UQPVPE
“This photo is of the children I worked with at my local community center, eating a lunch that resulted from the community centers new kitchen which was constructed thanks to a SPA grant. The children are from a poor community in Paraguay and come to the community center for homework help, presentations, and recieve lunch twice a week thanks to the hard working mothers of the community. 400 children are now provided with lunch twice a week thanks to the new kitchen and to the hard working group of women that made it possible by obtaining the kitchen equipment and food donations. This picture shows the happy children whose tummies are now filled thanks to the help of SPA.”
“Most family and organizational gatherings encourage matching fabrics - it is a fun way to share and show your solidarity.”
May 2nd 2015
MY HAPPY PLACES
Sami L. often brings up this concept because here, our work can be frustrating, things don’t go as planned, change is slow, water is not running. The happy places are so happy though. I have three big ones:
1) Ta’anga Kinti- There’s always tears and there’s always laughter. Here I am with Stiveni, Anamaria, and Sosifa.
2) Friday art classes at the G.P.S. (Elementary school.) This is something new I am starting every Friday after the teachers asked me to help their students get more creative. It was so adorable watching them finger paint, and I discovered a Picasso in class 4.
3) Wading in the water/ hiking on Saturdays. Some Saturdays we hike with the local teens, other Saturdays are just times the volunteers and I get to dream about American food and hash out our weeks with each other.
“On a 115 degree day in The Gambia, I walked outside to see my host sister and brother quietly laying on a mat and brought out a tube of bubbles. For 2 hours, we played and laughed and I have never seen so much joy on their faces. Spreading happiness isn’t all that hard, I realized, and I take this lesson with me throughout my service.”
“On a 115-degree day in The Gambia, I walked outside to see my host sister and brother quietly laying on a mat. I brought out a tube of bubbles and for 2 hours, we played and laughed. I have never seen so much joy on their faces. Spreading happiness isn’t all that hard, I realized, and I took this lesson with me throughout my service.” - Peace Corps Volunteer Beth Eanelli
If this doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will. I love these kids.
Happiness is… this.