Hey Everyone,

I hope all is well at home. I have an urgent that one of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers asked of me. She is working on a Girls Camp here and I have seen first hand how hard they have been working on this project. I even sold them mosquito nets for the girls so they don't get torn up overnight during the camp and to protect them from malaria :-) If you have ANY money, 10 bucks, 100 bucks, whatever to give towards this project, please go to the link below and donate something ASAP. The link provides more information about the camp. I can tell you first hand that the girls are very excited about the camp and take all the sessions seriously. Gender empowernment here is VERY needed and oppourtunities like this only come once in a lifetime for these girls here. Please give what you can. You will feel so AWESOME about yourself when you do. Trust me. Encourage others as well. Thanks everybody!


https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=680-204

For New Years I went to Penjari Safari. It was amazing!!! I saw a juvenile male lion lay in the middle of the road. When we rode up on him, he looked into the tall grass. I heard some cubs in the grass. Ten seconds later, I swear, a herd of elephant busted through the grass freaking out, scaring the lion and cubs away....then they saw the car. They had a baby elephant that was so small you could barely see him through the tall grass. The chaffeur wanted to bang against the car to fix the dent in the roof because we were sitting on it. GREAT IDEA!!!! Elephants HATE cars which I have repeatedly heard from friends and TV. So guess what? The elephants were pissed and tried to CHARGE THE CAR!!! We shouted at the driver to get moving and we quickly pulled off before he got to us. That was SCARY....BUT AWESOME ACTION!!!! It was like a movie. I also saw baboons, warthogs, tons of antelope, beautiful birds, vultures, and a lioness watching her cubs hunt. We couldn't see the cubs because they were so hidden in the grass but it was great watching the mom do her thing.

Work is okay. I sold out all my mosquito nets. Now I'm working on translating documents, and small reports during my free time. It's still work so I'm not complaining. I enjoy working in Cotonou. I have access to everything, and I even have air conditioning. We came from a week long tour checking out mosquito net places of sale throughout Benin. We also checked out a couple of volunteer's post to see how they collaborate with their work partners on the distribution of the nets. It was nice traveling the country, seeing volunteers at their sites, and working at the same time. World Malaria Day is April 25th so check out some sites to find out what you can do that day. Could someone send me some Essence Magazines, and some good trailmix please???? I know I'm begging on here but I have no choice. I need it. I know somebody out there cares. It'll give me energy to study for the GRE :-) Thanks for reading. Until next time...