When it rains it pours, literally

Dear Family and friends,

After several weeks of very hot and humid weather, the beginning of cyclone season began. Cyclone Felleng headed toward the northeast coast couple days ago but started moving further out into the ocean as it traveled south along the coast. This morning most of the wind has ceased but the downpours continue. I made a futile attempt to stay dry while going to work on my bike. Every time I waited for there to be a break in the rain, I would get my bike out of my house and the rain would start up again. I am getting good use of all the rain gear.

 For my primary assignment, I am devising a work plan for the next 8 months which will include reviewing administrative systems, creating field visit planning chart, supervising health agents in the field, collecting success stories about project participants, and assisting with metrics and evaluation. I am finding language skills to be a challenge as many of the documents are written in French. In a week I will travel to the regional office in the highlands to help conduct surveys for a study related to malnutrition and stunting.

 Secondary project planning has begun. A local youth group has agreed to help put on a net care and repair festival for Malaria Day in April, nearby volunteers are interested in putting together a youth camp, and my counterpart has the money for materials to build a well in my previous site.

Best,
Teena