Peace Corps vs. Posh Corps

Guinea is a rough Peace Corps country. When I told an RPCV from Guinea Bissau that I was coming here, her wide-eyed response was “that’s hardcore.” It scared the shit out of me last September. Now that I am here, I understand. Electricity is hard to come by (although I bet in the next two years, the electricity will work again in Siguiri), and running water is even less available. The handful of “highways” are often kilometers of potholes – hell, the road into Conakry, the capital, isnt even paved! Guinea is hard core Peace Corps.
Here in PC Guinea, there are those that truly live this hardcore experience – those out in the brush of Haute eating too (prnounced “toe”) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, without a single French speaker in town. I am not however, one of those. Most SED volunteers aren’t – we can’t do our job in the brush – there isn’t the opportunity. It means that we live like Kings in Guinea. Some of us even have electricity (ohhhhh, I am jealous!). We, those living like kings, are known as Posh Corps volunteers. Now, I may not have running water or electricity, but I have pizza in town. It’s too cher to eat daily, but once a month, I can eat PIZZA. There is also an ex-pat store at the South African gold mines where I can buy tequila or brie or cornflakes. Note – at the gold mines, there’s also a POOL! It feels like a resort. Now, it’s far out of town and there are super sketchy miners all around, but hey, if that’s not Posh Corps, I don’t know what is. The last thing that is definitely Posh Corps is the computer right here (powered by a satellite and generators). How lucky am I?
Don’t worry everyone – I am still having those Peace Corps experiences. Sitting around drink tea in the shade with a bunch of men speaking Malinke, a language I don’t understand; being the most popular person in town because I am the “tubabu muso” (white lady); riding my bike many kms each day; being a bit lonely at times; craving an American movie and sushi. It’s Posh Corps at times and Peace Corps at others. A nice balance that will make these next two years quite enjoyable.

Onto another subject – my work here. Many of you have asked about what work I am planning to do. Here goes. I am a small enterprise development volunteer, which means I work with entrepreneurs to improve their businesses. I can teach simple things to Guineans – Profit=revenue-costs, a concept foreign to many businessmen here. Crazy, huh?

Here is a list of things I have doen so far, during my first month at site:
- worked with ADRA, a large NGO. I am working on a grant proposal for Food for Progress for them.
- -met with the Federation of Groupements of Artisans here in Siguiri. I plan to help them get a bit more organized.
- Met with a mechanics groupement and talked about procuring supplies for fixing cars. Now, in order to buy the things they need, their mechanics spend a few days at the gold mines to have cash to buy the part. That’s not good business. We will fix that. I will keep you updated.
- Met with the masons of St. Alexi to drink honey wine and talk about forming an official groupement and its benefits.
- Met with a car body repair groupement and talked about getting oxygen gas at a better price from Conakry. We will work on this more – I will keep you posted.

Here’s what I plan to do:
- work with other groupements to streamline their businesses.
- Teach CV writing and interview skills at ADRA, as their employees will be out of a job when ADRA leaves Siguiri by the end of the year.
- Help ADRA with closing their microcredit program – sending all beneficiaries to Credit Rural
- Do computer training at a young women’s organization, APROFIG
- Help organize the production of “AISHA”, a young women’s empowerment magazine. Geordie, please help!
- Start a young women’s business club where I would teach basic business skills
- Possibly adopt Mandy’s beekeeping project in Tiguiberry (?? – I have never much liked bees, but I do love honey!)

So, that’s what I plan to do. I also plan to work hard on my French and my Malinke and bike a lot a read a lot of nerdy econ stuff to prepare for my PhD. Overall, it’s going to be a busy couple of years. Wish me luck!