December 20, 2011
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since I sent an email update. I wish I had a better excuse, but I've just really been enjoying my summer break from school. I've traveled, read, started running almost every day, gone to the beach, played with my dog, and generally just enjoyed myself. I love my Peace Corps work in the village of Angoche here in Mozambique, and it has come to be home this past year.
I have officially been living at my assigned site for over a year now. Sometimes I can't believe my service is already halfway over. At this time in December 2012, I will have just come back to the States as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Wow. I can't help but look back at this past year and think about what I've accomplished--and what I have yet to accomplish in my final 12 months here in Mozambique.
One thing my sitemates and I are hoping to accomplish in the next year is to help solidify our Youth Center as a place where kids of all ages in our village can come to learn, read, and explore. We would like to start a youth literacy program to help the youngest kids learn to read. The problem is that finding children's books in Portuguese is extremely difficult, and all printed books here in Mozambique are very expensive.
So over the past few months, my sitemate Margaret (who has since finished her Peace Corps service and returned to the States) and I have written a grant to try to raise money for this new project. And in the spirit of the holidays, I would like to invite all of you to check out or website where you can choose to donate to our Youth Center and aide us in buying the books and supplies we need to help the kids in our village. Information on our grant can be found here as well as a more detailed description of our project.
Thanks in advance for any donation you might be able to make. I know things are tough economically in the States, but as my mom could tell you after she visited me here in August, most Americans, no matter what their financial situation, are incredibly blessed when compared to the people of Mozambique.
If you have time to send me an email, I'd love to hear what's going on in your lives back in the US. And I sincerely hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Love,
Alissa
If the link above does not work for you for whatever reason, copy and paste this URL: https://www.peacecorps.gov/
