Starting to Say Goodbye

This morning, my 11 year old neighbor announced to me that I have 19 days left, living here in my community. Wow.

It was a wake-up call. I've been putting off starting to say my goodbyes because I didn't want my last month to be one long, sad, cry-fest. But now I'm beginning to realize that saying goodbye (in many forms) is the only real way that I'll be able to move on yet feel good about my service and my time here in Paraguay.

I've decided to do it bit by bit, but each day trying to accomplish a task I need to complete or visit a family I haven't seen in a while. I'm also starting to give away clothes, photos, and other gifts for people to remember me by. I think that doing it gradually will help it to seem more normal, more just a part of daily life and inevitable change as people's lives go different ways.

I'd like to do the same here on my blog, to share with you, my family and friends. I hope this doesn't seem like an unending farewell, but instead some further insight into what I've been doing these past 2 years and how it has changed me as a person. Also - I can't WAIT to see all of you in the good old U.S.A!!!

We'll start with the serious. Here's an official account of how I've spent my time as a PCV:

Assignment

On December 11, 2009, Ms. Amanda Baranowski completed training and was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She was assigned to San José Boquerón, a small community in the department of Paraguarí roughly 110 km south of Asunción. Guaraní is the language predominantly spoken there.

Language Skills

Ms. Amanda Baranowski has achieved Advanced Mid competency level in Spanish and Advanced Low competency level in Guaraní during her Service. She effectively used Spanish to communicate in her work at school, with her colleagues, and with Paraguayan community contacts. In addition, Ms. Baranowski was also able to learn Guaraní, which she used in her work with farmers, while traveling and to communicate with her neighbors.

Primary Activities/Projects

Women’s Committee

During her service in San José Boquerón, Ms. Baranowski worked closely with the community’s women’s committee. The committee consisted of twenty women who met regularly in order to bring further development to the local community. Ms. Baranowski gave over twenty-five interactive trainings to the committee on a variety of topics including basic gardening, composting, family nutrition, contour planting, use of green manures, soil recuperation, beekeeping, and small animal husbandry. She also adapted these trainings to make them equally accessible for illiterate and/or deaf participants.

Using a grassroots community participation model, Ms. Baranowski worked alongside women of the committee every week for 6 months to design and write a grant proposal for a chicken-raising project in order to improve food security in the community. The project is valued at USD $4,500 and is awaiting approval.

Additionally, Ms. Baranowski helped the women to reassess and restructure the committee, in order to make both elected leaders and general members more accountable for the future of the organization. She supported the formation of a new committee as well, assisting with attaining formal recognition from the Municipality and the Governor.

Over her two years of service, Ms. Baranowski facilitated a strong working relationship between the women’s committee and a local NGO, which resulted in an onion-growing project as an alternative income source and the construction of a community greenhouse.

Soil Recuperation with Individual Farmers

Ms. Baranowski also worked alongside individual farmers to recuperate their soil. Her efforts resulted in a total of 25 men and women learning about and planting green manures as an alternative way to improve the soil, and 5 farmers adapting contour planting in their fields.

Peace Corps Training

In June of 2011, Ms. Baranowski taught a soil conservation workshop for 37 Peace Corps Volunteers and Paraguayan counterparts at the Agriculture Sector’s In-Service Training. She also assisted with Pre-Service Training in 2010 and 2011, for a total of 32 Peace Corps Trainees.

National Volunteer Action Committee Representative

Ms. Baranowski served as her region’s representative to the National Volunteer Action Committee, addressing the concerns of Peace Corps Volunteers to Peace Corps Staff.

Peace Corps Paraguay Seed Bank Treasurer

Ms. Baranowski served as the treasurer for the Volunteer-run Seed Bank Committee, managing funds, buying seed, and keeping a running inventory of high-quality garden, tree, and green manure seeds available to Peace Corps Volunteers and their Paraguayan counterparts.

SECONDARY ACTIVITIES/PROJECTS

Family Finance Course

Ms. Baranowski taught a seven-week series of 2 hour workshops on the topic of family finance to 20 women and youth, covering topics such as creating a savings plan, writing a budget, and taking out a loan.

Youth Life Skills Development

Ms. Baranowski mentored three teenage girls for a National Youth Leadership Camp and assisted them in conducting their own subsequent workshops on the topics of self-esteem, communication, and values, for 45 local teens from 5 surrounding communities.

Children’s Literacy Group

Ms. Baranowski established a weekly reading group to promote literacy, using read-aloud, partner-reading, and other techniques to reach over 45 children.

“Literacy through Photography” Class for Children

Ms. Baranowski taught a two-month “literacy through photography” class for the 10 6^th grade students at the local elementary school. Students learned about perspective, lighting, framing, and the use of color in class and then took the cameras home to complete their homework each week. Through their own photographic experimentation, personal poems, and creative analyses, students learned creative new ways to express their ideas. The class culminated in a traveling exhibit of the students’ 25 best photos, which were displayed in the local community and in the nearby town.

Summer Camps for Children

Ms. Baranowski conducted a series of 3-day camps for children on topics of environmental education, dental hygiene, art, and creative expression, with an average of 30 children participating in each camp.

English Tutoring

Ms. Baranowski supported local English teachers by offering tutoring and in-class assistance.

Ms. Amanda Baranowski completed her Peace Corps service in Paraguay on December 9, 2011.