Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mtwara

Mtwara!! So my friend and I decided to extend with the UN WFP (world food program) here in Mtwara and we are really pumped. I got into the University of Detroit Mercy for their MCD (Masters in Community Development) and I asked to defer until second semester and they agreed!! So I signed a contract with WFP to work until December on their cash transfer pilot project. We are living in town now which is crazy different from the village, I mean electricity and water!! It has been hard not having the same community that living in a village brings but it is really nice to be doing bigger programs and learning more about international development. We use our bikes to get everywhere and we are getting in “beach body” shape because we living about 10mins from the beach! Our area of town is legit surrounded by the ocean and we can even take a small boat with our bikes to get to white sand beaches that go on for as long as you can see!! Work is crazy for now because we are trying to get 2200 people on the same page when the only reliable form of communication is word of mouth but it is fun! We go out to the villages often and we are close to being fully functional. Our program pairs nutritional lessons with a cash incentive. At first I thought that this program wasn’t very sustainable but now that I am in it I am really for it. We are giving the education on how to have a nutritious meal with things that can be locally grown and how being healthier affects your child that you are breastfeeding (the program is for pregnant women and people breastfeeding). We are then pairing the education with money that they can then go buy the food that will help them become more healthy. We are allowing them to make the decision to buy the food and invest in their child’s nutrition or to use the money for other things, either way its their choice and we are hoping they chose to change their diets in thus experiencing behavior change. Behavior change is something that i have been working on for the past two years and it is not a simple thing. People, no matter where they come from get set in their ways, think about all of the studies that come out that you don’t listen to, I mean really do you drink 8 glasses of water a day? I am happy and I am pumped to see the program get off of the ground! Hope all is well with everyone back home  I got to get back to work!

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