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| 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.
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| 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
