Welcome to my blog! The purpose of which is to share stories and happenings from my Peace Corps journey in Africa to my friends and family back home.
What I Will Do:
My primary assignment is to be a secondary science teacher at a rural high school. I will be teaching the equivalent of approximately 8th to 11th grade in the fields of biology, physics, and chemistry as well as possibly math and english. Lesotho has been hard hit by the HIV/Aids epidemic with 23.6% of Basotho older than 15 years old testing positive for the virus, the 3rd highest national percentage worldwide! My secondary projects outside of teaching will be focused on HIV/Aids prevention.
I want to be useful to my community in anyway I can. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate my interests and previously learned skills to aide in coaching sports (Basotho like soccer and volleyball), development of student clubs, water and ecosystem projects, and appropriate technology.
Why I am Going:
The main reason is because it gives me the opportunity to chase what I have a passion for, to put my abilities to use helping those who really need it. Other reasons I am jumping ship for Africa include:
- Personal challenge and growth
- Timing and regret - now or never
- Desire for meaningful work
- A need for adventure
Where I Will Be:
During the first two months (until December 15th) I will be completing training. I will be living with a host family 15 km or so outside of Maseru (capital of Lesotho and only major city). There are approximately 30 other volunteers in my training class. It is referred to as community based training, volunteers live with host families to learn home skills cooking, conversation, washing, etc. and come together as a group for language (Sesotho), cultural, and job/skill training.
After training I will be placed in a rural/semi-rural community and begin working at a secondary school. Where I will be placed is determined by a matching process during training.
How I Will Get There:
The journey to Lesotho is no easy jaunt!
I leave from Lansing airport at 5:00 am on Wedn, October 12th and fly to Philadelphia connecting through Detroit. Peace Corps staging, forms and presentations, takes place that afternoon. At 1:30 am we bus up to New York JFK to catch the 16 hour flight to Johannesburg on South African Air followed by a short flight from Jo'burg to Maseru. Wheew!
How to Keep In Touch:
My goal is to keep in touch via facebook, this blog, and email (korytoke@gmail.com) as much as I can. During training this may be limited but once I get placed my access should get better! So during training write to me and I promise to write back! My initial address is:
Kevin Koryto, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
P.O. Box 554
Maseru, 100
Lesotho
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