COS Conference

Saturday February 23, 2008

For the past 3 days, I’ve been involved in a conference at the Hotel Fana in Almadies (area of Dakar) regarding the close of my service. All the volunteers remaining here in Senegal from my stage attended. Out of the 36 that arrived in Philadelphia in March 2006, 27 attended the conference.

The conference, led by former PCV Nicole Dewing, consisted of a lot of different components. The first day was mostly a sense of reflection of what each of us had done (large and small). This is interesting because we each have had unique and differing experiences. Also on the first day, we started thinking about how we could turn these experiences (large and small) into positive components for future use, such as a resume or Peace Corps related paperwork. That evening, we had a panel discussion at Club Atlantique with former volunteers living in Dakar followed by a reception with the RPCV community living in Dakar. It was really interesting to see the RPCV community in Dakar come together. There are roughly 50 – 60 former Volunteers living and/or working in the city.

The second day was most mostly spent learning how to fill out all the paperwork needed to complete our service. This paperwork pertains to medical, financial, programmatic, and bureaucratic maters. Thursday evening, about 10 of us met a group of study abroad students studying in Dakar to answer questions about our experience as Volunteers.

The feedback sessions took up most of Friday. While the security session occurred on the first day, we dealt with programs, medical, administrative, and training feedback on Friday. These sessions were very beneficial and hopefully everyone involved in Peace Corps/Senegal will continually strive to make it a respected and valuable organization in Senegal.

Friday evening came around with a COS celebration ceremony at our country director’s house. I don’t think any of us were disappointed in the hospitality. Speeches were made by some Volunteers and staff congratulating and thanking everyone. Also, superlatives were passed out, in which I got….best go to person.

It is a shame that things are coming to a close…I wish I could stay a lot longer. The past two years here are something I don’t think I could ever regret. The people I have met, spanning numerous nationalities, have been amazing. The emotions felt through the roller coaster haven’t made me sick in my stomach but stronger in my head. There have been challenges that most of the readers of this site will never experience or possibly understand, which is difficult but I wouldn’t change for the world. After two years, I’m proud to be able to call myself a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer.