I was invited to Mbale with another volunteer to have dinner with Sean Cantella, the newly appointed Country Director for Uganda. He was on a tour of the eastern region as he gets acquainted with the country and its volunteers. He has a wealth of experience as both a volunteer and most recently Director of Programming and Training in Ghana.
I forgot to take Sean’s picture at our dinner, so I pulled this one from the Ghana page. Great shirt there, Sean.
We had a “spirited discussion” about the methodology to determine the Living Allowances provided to volunteers. Last summer after my cohorts’ swearing in, an annual survey was given to veteran PCVs about their monthly expenses. Peace Corps required a 75% survey return rate before a raise would be authorized. It’s done this way all over the world. Around Christmas, we learned that a raise had been approved. It just needed to be processed in Washington D.C. A couple of weeks ago we learned someone somewhere dropped the ball, and the raise would not be approved, because now the information was stale. Now they want us to do a new survey.
Before they left I took a selfie with the outgoing Director of Programming and Training, Paul Sully, who is moving on to be the new Country Director of Jamaica , and Lucine Hayes the outgoing Uganda Country Director, who is moving to Panama with her husband, where he has a new job.
It ensures sexual and cialis rx physical health. The cheapest viagra price http://deeprootsmag.org/tag/walt-disney/ best capsule for this malady is Bluze capsule which is a highly effective herbal product. At the end of this process, it is going to be turbulent on line cialis at some point of time. Both mental anticipation & physical exercise augment adrenaline altitudes & may activate heart attacks & arrhythmias, india generic viagra irregularity of the heart s pumping beat. My point with Sean was not about finger pointing, or even that I needed a raise. At $225US per month, we make more than probably 90% of the people here. I just feel the Consumer Price Index for Uganda, with appropriate adjustments of the Shilling’s value against the US dollar, would be an easier and more scientific manner to determine any increase in the living allowance. Just do a computer program to figure this out. Every country probably has its own CPI. I had suggested this a year ago but was told since this is the way it’s done all over the world, it would be hard to change the system. I had prepared a letter for the chief administrative officer of the Peace Corps and shared it with Sean. I don’t think it will get far. I have to accept my ability to get attention is less as a volunteer than when I could make demands in my old life with a lawyer’s letterhead.
However, I don’t want to antagonize my new director. I need him be my ally. Sean told me there ought to be interesting and challenging opportunities for me in other countries after I serve my time here. I am intrigued by the possibilities. Peace Corps Response has many places for returned volunteers, or Americans with ten years work experience. Service is 6 to 12 months. I could come home for 6 months and then go to another third world country for awhile. Outside of Peace Corps are many opportunities which are more availalbe if you have Peace Corps on your resume. Who knows how I will feel in a year, but I hope I will still have gas in the tank, and I want to keep my options open. I know there are also volunteer opportunities in Denver, but then I am starting spend my retirement savings. I don’t see myself returning to the lawyer thing again.
At my hotel in Mbale I saw my Fire Extinguisher Ball. Found it on YouTube, you just throw the ball in the fire and it blows up with the foam.
Getting a cleat adjusted before the town team had an intra-squad scrimmage last Friday. I just watched. No way can I compete at their level. I’m just in it for the exercise. I might go in if the team is up or down by at least 3. This scrimmage ended at 0-0. I chided them “This is why Americans don’t like your football as much as our football.” The long robe is worn by many Moslem men in town for Friday prayers.