VAC

Every four months volunteers in each region hold a Volunteer Action Committee (VAC) meeting. We get together to get updates from Peace Corps, discuss upcoming regional projects, or work through any problems we are having at site. My region has a few upcoming projects which I'm excited for. The first is an HIV/AIDS bike ride. My region has one main road that goes in a giant circle. We want to start at the volunteer's site that is that farthest away and then ride our bikes to each site holding an educational festival with our counterparts and co-workers. The schedule is still in the works but we plan to ride a total of 140 kilometers across eight-ish days. This won't take place until March/April though. The second project is a GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) camp. We would each hold a mini camp at our own sites then choose 5 girls to attend a regional camp then a final camp in the capital. This also won't take place for another 6 months but we are beginning to plan for it now.

We held our VAC meeting in a town on the far eastern part of the region. A Malagasy friend invited us to his hometown to meet his family and go hiking. We hiked for about six hours through the forest. Halfway through the hike we stopped and our Malagasy friend and his two family members performed 'Joro' which is asking ancestors for blessing and thanking for protection. They pulled out a liter of rum and we each took a sip inside a dried sugar cane then poured some on a specific tree. It was a neat cultural ceremony to see.

You know you're a PCV when:
-Even your taxi-bicycle has broken down
-You have found a way to binge watch an entire season of a show in one day despite no electricity