My Mission (I am going to South Africa)...

Peace Corps' Motto on a Billboard

The time is finally here. I leave for South Africa tomorrow (whoop, whoop)!!!  I have a two hours flight from Washington, DC to Atlanta, GA and then a 15 hours and 20 minutes flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  As such, I think this an appropriate time to give you an understanding of what I will be doing in South Africa.

I am going to South Africa as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer.  I originally served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa, from 2000-2002.  Peace Corps Response allows Returned Volunteers (the program actually just opened up to professionals with 10+ years of experience) to serve in professional, short-term assignments around the world.  I will be working with the Special Olympics as a Marketing and Events Manager.

The Special Olympics South Africa and Special Olympics Africa will be hosting a Regional (Africa) soccer tournament at the Royal Bafokeng Sport Palace (one of the stadiums built for the World Cup) in Rustenburg in October 2012.  The tournament will bring together inclusive teams from approximately 16 countries to showcase the skill and ability of the Special Olympics Africa athletes and provide a platform to increase awareness and support of the Special Olympics movement in South Africa and the Africa Region.  I will be responsible for successfully activating all the marketing, awareness and engagement activities for this event.

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Card-check, Visa-check, Passport-check: I'm ready to go!

When I arrive in South Africa, I along with two other Response Volunteers will be taken to Pretoria for orientation.  Over three days (Peace Corps training is normally three months but shortened for Response Volunteers), Peace Corps will coach us on how to maintain our health and safety during our service and provide an overview of South African culture, history, and language.  We will also do administrative stuff like get our IDs and open bank accounts.  After we swear our allegiance to the U.S. we will leave for our post. 

However, instead of going directly to my post, I will spend the next two and a half weeks in Randburg (a town on the edge of Jo'burg) for Special Olympics orientation.   When I finish there I will attend a weeklong Special Olympics Africa leadership meeting in the Royal Bafokeng nation (the area where I will be living).  So about the second week of March, I will be deployed to my post and move into my temporary new home in Rustenburg.

Not sure what my internet access will be once I am country, but will reach out as soon as possible.  Wish me luck and please keep me in your prayers.

-Mei