We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.

As humans, I believe that we often find little to no difficulty in quickly recognizing differences between ourselves and others, and our judgment of these differences creates a sort of organized ranking system from which some of us draw a part of our identity and self-worth. This skin tone is better than that one; the religion of those people is inferior to that of ours; my gender is more powerful than yours; our way-of-life is superior to theirs. It can be easy to fall into the routine of judging others and finding security and stability in your reasoning. After all, people are different, right?

One of my main motivations for applying to serve in the Peace Corps (aside from the simple desire to help others) is that I wanted to experience something different. As someone who had spent the first twenty-three years of his life in Northern California, I was excited to venture far from home and begin something fresh and completely new.

Upon arriving here in Mali, I, like most people, instantly noticed the strangeness and unfamiliarity in the physical environment, climate, animals, activities, and people that surrounded me. This, I initially thought, is the different kind of life I had imagined. As my first several weeks passed, however, I began to recognize something that had, up to that point, almost entirely escaped me. In observing the Malian people around me each day—men, women, children—I started to see many similarities emerge from beneath the glaring differences that had first seemed so abundant and overwhelming.

What I saw were children playing in the streets, lost in laughter and the joy of youth; friends greeting each other in the market, sharing in a moment of genuine connection. On many occasions, I saw people come together to help a stranger in need, and on one unfortunate day, I witnessed a family gather to offer strength and support to a woman mourning the loss of her young daughter. I saw values being taught and put into action, and the behavior of people clearly dedicated to their faith. I saw compassion and kindness; I saw humanity.

Years ago, I remember reading a poem called “Human Family”, by Maya Angelou, which focuses on the many differences that exist between people all over the world. What struck me the most about this poem was the final line, which captures Angelou's belief perfectly: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”

Since being in Mali, a country that is very different than the United States (and many other areas of the world), I have seen the truth in Angelou's words. We are alike; we do share common values, experiences, hopes, fears, and dreams with people everywhere. Spend time considering the differences between people, genders, countries, religions, etc., but set aside more time to focus on ways in which we are alike. You might just discover a feeling of comfort in knowing that you share something special with the rest of the world.

Jigiya

A note about the disabled: In the country of Mali, the physically and developmentally disabled receive absolutely no assistance-- monetary or otherwise-- from the government at neither the national nor local level-- an example of this being when a group of disabled citizens went to the local government office in a small village to ask for help, and were told to leave immediately and not return. Aside from this, many disabled Malians are completely shunned by their fellow citizens. This leaves them with little choice but to become beggers in order to receive the money and food necessary to survive.

A note about Jigiya: Jigiya, which means "support" or "help" in the local language of Bambara, is a group of more than 200 physically and developmentally disabled Malians-- both men and women-- from the Segou Region who have organized themselves in order to come together and provide encouragement, inspiration, and support to each other so that they can all improve the quality of their lives. The members of the association teach each other technical and business skills and share in the joy of music, dance, and laughter. The group has also pooled their resources together in order to provide small loans to members in need-- another way that they are improving lives and helping fellow disabled Malians. Jigiya, with the help of current Peace Corps Volunteer Stephen Andersen, have connected with the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SA), a group of similarly-disabled Americans, and the two groups now exchange regular communication, thoughts, stories, and support. Please visit THIS site to learn more information about Jigiya and SA.

Last night, about a dozen or so members of the Jigiya group performed a showcase of singing and dancing for the current Peace Corps Trainees. It was inspiring to see a group of people so full of energy, joy, and life despite the struggle and discrimination they are faced with each day. It was also great to see the connection and companionship that these otherwise-ignored individuals have found in each other.

Click HERE to see a short video of the performance. Enjoy:)

My new home.

Yesterday I returned from my first visit to the town that I will be working and living in for the next two years. I'm about 15 hours by public transport from the capital city of Bamako, and fairly close to the Senegal border. I met all of the important people in town-- the Chief, law enforcement, school administration, Mayor, and others-- and it sounds like I'll have some interesting projects to work on once my language skills have improved. I just decided that once I permanently move to my site, in about a month, I'm going to stop studying French and focus entirely on Bambara, which will be easier and much more useful for me. I'm expecting to study continually for around six months before I begin doing any type of substantial work.

My house is great-- the structure itself is made of concrete, and I have three large rooms with a light and electrical outlet in each. I also have a personal bathroom-- detached from my house-- that is covered and enclosed by walls and a door. My house is inside of a huge walled compound and two Malian families' homes are connected to mine, which is wonderful for a few reasons-- the most important being that they seem really nice and appear to eat really good food, and will be including me in all of their meals:) They will also protect my house from the possibility of being broken into whenever I'm not around. Nice!

My town-- Bafoulabe-- seems really nice. Two rivers come together to form the Senegal River right in town, and during dry season, there are a pretty decent number of hippos and monkeys around the banks of the water. The town appears to be pretty clean, and there aren't too many people around, which is nice. I'm also about 6k from a current Peace Corps Volunteer who seems great-- he'll be a good friend and support system. He already taught me how to make ice cream, which is going to end up making my wallet a lot skinnier and my life a whole lot better:)

That's about all for now.

My new address and phone number are on the right side of the page. If you continue to use my old address, I will still receive mail, but it will take much longer to get to me-- please use the new address.

This is Africa.

A quick update: I'm currently living with a host family in a medium-sized village (about 6,000 people) and taking French classes 4 to 5 hours per day, 7 days a week-- I'll be here for another 7 weeks, at which point I'll officially become a Peace Corps volunteer and will move to my permanent work site (where I will be for the next two years). I'm learning a ton, but still can't say all that much to my family, which is unfortunate.... and difficult at times. They are amazingly generous though, and have treated me very well. Life is very different here, but I am adjusting to the Malian culture and way of life more and more each day. Overall, I'm healthy, hydrated, and experiencing some challenging but good times:)

Click the photo link on the right side of the page for many more photos.

The Niger River-- the location of my language classes.

We sit in the shade under a mango tree.

The area surrounding my village.

My brothers and sisters.
These kids LOVE the camera!

My brothers and sisters.

About half of my host family:)

I'M HERE!

07/20/2007. Day one. Mood: exhausted, excited, HOT, and sweaty!

It is currently around midnight local time and I am sitting on my bed under a mosquito net in our training village of Tubaniso. We flew into the airport in the capital city of Bamako about 3 hours ago, and at the moment, I'm very hot and sweaty and about to spend my first night in Africa! A few highlights so far: (1) the toilet is called a "negen" and consists of a 6"x6" square hole cut in the concrete floor of a tiny structure, and we either stand, aim well, and pee into it, or squat, aim really well, and do our deed. Should be interesting; (2) a huge 1-eyed tortoise lives in our village and sleeps right outside of my house. Awesome! I have yet to see him. I'll take pictures when I do. There is also a small gazelle roped up around here somewhere. Haven't seen him yet either; (3) the locals have all been very friendly and helpful so far-- I love it! That's all for now. Long day tomorrow. Goodnight from Mali, West Africa. --Brookeabroad

IT'S OFFICIAL:

Today I accepted an invitation to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in the West African country of Mali. I will be departing for my adventure on July 17th, 2007 and will return about 27 months later. While in Mali, I will be working in the area of Small Enterprise Development-- partnering with small businesses to assess the needs of the community and find ways to meet those needs while improving business practices, entering new markets, and increasing profitability. I will also be involved in a secondary project, which may include HIV/AIDS and health education and/or working with local youth.

I likely won't have regular access to the internet or a computer, as my home will probably be without electricity (and running water, for that matter), but I will try to update this blog as often as possible with photos and stories of my travels and experiences.

No worries-- the mail system in Africa is reliable and I will be able to send and receive mail (including packages) throughout my entire time abroad. You can find my contact information in the column on the right side of the page.