In-Service Training

In 2001, President Bush committed a huge sum of money to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. This money was funneled into a fund know most commonly by the acronym PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) that is managed by USAID. Most of the money was rushed into the most seriously affected nations in Southern Africa like Lesotho, Botswana, and South Africa. Additionally some money was earmarked for the island of Madagascar. On paper, Madagascar has one of the lowest instances of HIV/AIDS of any nation in Africa with an infection rate holding at around .13%. Although the actual infection rate is undoubtedly higher than official figures suggest, the fact remains that Madagascar got a lot of PEPFAR money for not a lot of HIV/AIDS.
For this fiscal year, Madagascar got an unfathomable mountain of dollars to use for PEPFAR. All of it needs to be spent by October or it disappears back into the bureaucratic maze of Washington DC. Peace Corps volunteers are welcome to use this fund for their HIV/AIDS related projects, but with the political problems and last year’s evacuation, the money was not being used. Instead of letting the money go to waste, Peace Corps Madagascar decided to use some of it to pay for each volunteer to bring one co-worker or counterpart up to our In-Service Training on Lake Montasoa.
After coordinating the transportation for four volunteers and two Malagasy counterparts and sitting through an ABBA hits marathon between Fianarantsoa and Ambostra, Rodrigue and I arrived at the PC training site. Because Rodrigue’s trip was paid for by PEPFAR money, the Peace Corps training staff was obligated to spend half of the training doing HIV/AIDS activities. While I am all in favor of HIV/AIDS awareness and education, the sessions that we put through were truly nauseating. Peace Corps attempted to do group activities with approximately 75 participants including a disappointing round of “AIDS Jeopardy.” However, not all of our required programming was a total loss. On Tuesday we threw an “AIDS Festival” down in the city of Montasoa. When I spent time in Montasoa during training, my Sunday strolls into the town center would usually draw a few onlookers interested in watching the white person. Now imagine the crowd created by 34 Americans marching into the city center singing songs, throwing candy to children and carrying banners with smiley condoms on them.(see photo) By the time we arrived at the commune office, the meeting room was crammed beyond capacity and many people found themselves standing out in the rain peeking in through the windows. Volunteers and community members did condom demonstrations, made speeches, sang songs, and did plays. Additionally Peace Corps bussed in a vanload of commercial sex workers from Antananarivo to talk about how they try to protect themselves, their clients, and their co-workers from contracting the disease.
Though most of the HIV/AIDS workshops were not terribly relevant to fruit trees in Ranomafana, but there was some programming that it was very useful for Rodrigue to participate in. It was great for him to learn about what this crazy American living next door to him is supposed to be doing in Madagascar, and what his role is in my Peace Corps Service. The week was also a kind of reward for working with me. Going to Tana is a big status thing for Malagasy who live far from the capital due to the high cost of transportation, and he got to learn quite a bit about American food. The cooking staff completely spoiled us and mealtimes served as excellent showcase of good old American overeating. Meat was on the menu three times a day (a major luxury) and the variety of food served was epic. One lunch featured hamburgers, pork chops, refried beans, and rice flavored with shrimp. Another meal included duck.
Rodrigue and the rest of the counterparts left after the first week of our training and we were alone on the training site for the weekend. Left to our own devices, we actually had a relatively productive weekend and bonded as Peace Corps volunteers. Activities included building forts out of the furniture, throwing ridiculous second hand clothing parties, and rearranging the dining room for candle-lit “family” dinners. After the weekend the Environment folks took a tech trip out to one of Dan’s other tree nurseries in Moremanga and I helped to teach fruit tree grafting and marcoting to the other volunteers. Additionally, we learned about vediver grass, a really amazing way to prevent hillside erosion. We got to take a mini-train up the side of a mountain to a beautiful overlook where hillside reconstruction was being done. There will be more info about vediver in later blogs . Returning to Tana on Thursday, our country director invited all the PCV’s to a barbeque at his place. Free beer and meat cooked on a grill 4th of July style. For the past two weeks I have been sleeping, eating, talking, working, and playing like an American. It has really been wonderful so it’s going to take some adjusting once again when I get back to Ranomafana .

Marcoting

Rodrigue left for a trip to Mananjary (that city on the coast that I strongly dislike) on Monday leaving me the only person working in the nursery for three days. I used the time to reorganize our native palms and marcot litchi trees. Marcoting or air layering, for those of you who don’t know, is a simple and effective method of replicating certain varieties of fruit trees. Using a branch of an existing tree, you peel away all the living bark cutting of the supply of water to the leaves on the branch. You then cover the area with something wet and porous (we use moss, thin barks, or manure mixed with sawdust) and secure it with clear plastic. Wait about a month and a half until the branch sends down roots, cut the branch down, cut all the leaves off, and stick it in the dirt. Presto! You got yourself a new tree.
For me, marcoting is a work related excuse to spend the entire day climbing trees and playing with sharp knives. When I was eight, this would have been my dream job. Litchi trees are incidentally extremely fun to climb. The branches are unnaturally strong and flexible meaning I never worry about a branch being able to support my weight. In order to get the best marcots, I have to climb to the highest part of the tree and stick my head out of the canopy to ‘work.’ Typically these trees are occupied by one or more chameleons who eat all the ants and other nasty bugs so I don’t have to worry about that either.
Many of you have written me expressing concern about rodent problem in my house so I thought I would give you an update in the Rat War.

The news from the front is good. Although the Michael-Sharbaraz coalition has been unable to strike any fatal blows to the Rodent Axis, tactics used by the allies have forced enemy forces into a strategic withdrawal to positions beyond the front door. Beginning in February, all food items were sealed in the government issue metal trunk to prevent their capture by the enemy. The rats retaliated by laying waste to a series of dish scrubbies and destroying a wooden cooking spoon. Additionally, the rats initiated ‘Operation Squeaky’ spending all night romping and making noise safe in their attic-fortress trying prevent the other inhabitants of the house from getting any sleep. When neither of these measures was successful, the rats unleashed their most destructive and powerful weapon: poop. Each night axis forces would leave new stink-mines in strategic locations around the house. They focused their efforts on the kitchen and clothing storage areas of the house.
After keeping up their assaults for almost two months the rodents, facing an increasingly large kitten and still without a consistent source of supplies, moved their center of operations else where. Rodrigue and his family have no metal trunk and his home and food supply offered a tempting target for invasion. Others found the oranges falling from the tree behind the house more to their liking. The allies, however, are taking nothing for granted. There is no way to guarantee another invasion will not take place once the oranges run out or Rodrigue’s house becomes too crowded. Next week Sharbaraz will be deployed to counter the infestation at Rodrigue’s while Michael seeks further council at his In-Service Training Conference in Montasoa. Stay tuned for more updates.
In other news, there are new volunteers in the area. The newest set of trainees swore in on the 4th and four of them are being installed in my area. Two are near Farafangana, about 280 kilometers south of me, another is near Ashley and the fourth is near Fianarantsoa. With all the new people, Peace Corps has resurrected the Volunteer Action Committee (VAC). The VAC is a six-member council that meets with the administration three times a year and each committee member is responsible representing the volunteers in his or her region. Last week I was made the VAC representative for South-Central Madagascar. Being a member of the VAC is a honor, and I wish I could say that I had earned it but at this point I am the only volunteer in the area with access to Fianarantsoa (the regional capital) and consistent cell phone coverage so it sort of happened by default. None the less I am really excited about being a VAC member and I take the new responsibility gladly and seriously.
On Friday I will be heading to Montasoa for In-Service Training (IST) and I will be there for the rest of the month. Internet access will likely be spotty so there may not be another post until June (sorry) Hope you are all well, thanks for the letters!!