Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Final Post & Final Projects: Why We Were Too Busy to Finish our Blog

Charlie and I completed our service in Benin on September 16, 2011. We want to apologize that we didn't post for the last 8 months of our service, but we really busy and it became more difficult to have access to a computer- mainly Internet! However, we would like to thank those that did follow our blog and write a final entry to conclude our time in the Peace Corps.

Charlie and I spent out last year working hard on two projects for the community of Lalo. Many of you are most familiar with the school's library project because we reached out to many of you for a donation to help us complete this project. Thank you, again, to those of you that supported this project!

These are some "before" pictures to give you an idea of why we decided to re-do the school library. It was a mess and totally inaccessible!



























These are pictures of the project in progress: Cleaning and classifying the books, installing the new furniture, and moving the books into their new home.















































































And... the final product!





















































We could not have completed this project without the support of those that donated, so again a big THANK YOU on behalf of the students at CEG Lalo.

Charlie worked hard on organizing a project to install 10 latrines for communities in or near Lalo that did not currently have them. You may be thinking, "Where, then, did they go to the bathroom?" Answer: the closest field. As a public health specialist, Charlie had to do his part to make sure that the citizens of Lalo had access to the most basic means of sanitation! Here are a few pictures to show that process:
























































































While it may seem that these projects made a large impact on the lives of those living in Lalo, we feel that the Beninese made a larger impact on our lives than anything that we left behind. We had a great experience and wouldn't trade it for anything. We miss our friends there, but they will stay in our hearts forever. Again, thank you to all of our friends and family (and blog readers!) for their support- we wouldn't have made it through without you!