As you may or may not know last week I was stateside in DC. I was asked to attend Peace Corps' Global Food Security Summit along with my colleague Modeste to represent Peace Corps Rwanda. To say it was an amazing opportunity would be and understatement. This was a 5 day conference that focused on the issue of Food Security work done by Peace Corps. We looked back at history of Food Security work and looked ahead into the future and discussed the direction in which we saw Peace Corps' role in working towards ensuring food security in our respective countries.
When I talk about "Food Security" I'm talking about the ability for people to acquire and utilize food to provide proper nourishment to their families. Since the main source of both food and income in developing countries, especially those where PC is located, is agriculture a lot of our conversations were focused on the issues surrounding agriculture like climate change, biodiversity, and production, to name a few. The other side of food security is the nutrition aspect. We really dove into the numbers of malnourished and stunted children all over the world and tried to look at the causes and what strategies will be effective in the working towards a more nourished world. Food Security is such a dynamic and complex issue and I'll admit this whole week I've been going through my pages and pages of notes trying to summarize and completely wrap my mind around everything that I learned. Just know that that is still in the works.
Over the course of 5 days I was able to talk with Peace Corps staff and volunteers from many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We talked about our successes, our challenges, and collaborated on strategies that we could then bring back to our own posts. I felt like just another staff member talking with Country Directors, Program Managers, future Third Year Volunteers and giving my experiences, listening, and contributing with my thoughts and opinions. I gained so much insight from each individual I talked with, I have so many ideas to present to our staff here in Rwanda, I have new lenses to look at the issues surrounding food security in my own site, and I have a new found confidence that over the past 21 months I have worked hard in the right direction. I haven't just spent these past months wandering around the country side of Rwanda. I've implemented meaningful projects, developed lasting relationships, and acquired so many skills that I know I will use in my future career endeavors.
Finally, not only did I get to collaborate with the amazing Peace Corps staff members all working towards similar goals in regards to food security and nutrition, but I also got to listen to talks from representatives of large development agencies such as USAID, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the U.S. African Development Foundation. Not surprisingly, the majority of the guest speakers were actually Returned PCVs. They talked about how food security issues are looked at from a more macro viewpoint, they discussed how new or potentially new policies and budget changes will indeed affect the work that not only Peace Corps but other agencies do. I got an insight into the administrative side of Peace Corps and how it is connected to different Government Agencies, where different funding comes from, and how unique the work that we do is. Like I said earlier, I'm still digesting a lot of what was talked about but stay tuned for some more focused posts in the next few months. I promise to bring more awareness to you all so you can actually see that what the U.S. does truly affects so many people around the world whether we like it or not.
So not only was this past week collaborative and eye opening, I did get to enjoy the perks of being back home (kinda). Even though I was in the other Washington I had the opportunity to relax a the end of the day, indulge in somethings I hadn't been able to in a while and clear my head after a few rough weeks. I wish I could say that everyday of service I have the same motivation and happiness I show off here. But let's be honest that's not how life works anywhere. So after some rainy weeks, and with the winding down of projects I was hitting a bit of a low point. So, being able to go on some long runs that didn't involve mountains, lift some actual weight in a GYM, drink my coffee while walking around outside and catch up with a couple friends was just what the doctor ordered.
Being back, I've found new motivation. I never thought I'd be able to day that I only have 4 months left but that's the reality! I'm focusing my energy on finishing strong. I want to make sure my projects get wrapped up in a way that they can continue them even after I leave. I also have everything I learned at the conference that I will be presenting to our programming team and my hope is to start the conversation about how food security fits into the work we are already doing and how to improve upon that. I also feel refreshed and ready to take on these, and of course the hurdle which is figuring out my life after Peace Corps, with a clear head and a positive outlook.
I'll be sure to keep you posted on the "what's next" but that's it for now. Take care!
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