An Intro to the journey
As I am getting ready for my trip to Benin, it struck me that I should find a way to share my journey with friends and family. A Blog seemed like a perfect way to do so.Over the next couple of weeks, I will be getting my blog ready for my trip. While I'm not sure how often I will be able to post in Africa, I do know I will have some sort of Internet access. My hope is that I will be able to share photos, impressions, and adventures with all of you who have supported me in this endeavor, so that you can be a part of WATER.
Even with the shots, the classwork, and not knowing what to pack, I am getting very excited as our departure date (Aug. 4th) approaches. It's a bit hard to believe that in less then a month, I will be on the other side of the world!Benin is a small country on the horn of Africa. It is sandwiched between Nigeria and Togo on the coast. Benin is a bit off the beaten track-only my friend Nancy actually knew where it was without needing to look it up.
My friends and I are going as part of a cross-curricular class through Gonzaga University. Our time will be spent learning about the people of Benin and visiting different parts of the country, as well as teaching classes in English concentrating on the education and prevention of water-borne illness. Benin's water sources are compromised and we hope to help the situation through education of disease prevention (yea nurses) and through appropriate water filtration technology (yea engineers).
We will also spend some time teaching our hosts at the Songhai Center how to build the Filtron units (water filtration
units that are modeled after those created by Potters for Peace). We have high hopes that our efforts in Benin will be the start of something good in the Benin communities.Our journey also aligns with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. We are learning that clean and healthy water is a key to many of the MDGs being realized. Follow this link to learn more about the MDGs (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)
OK, that's all for now. Check back for more pre-Benin info
Pia
3 comments:
very nice looking! How do you get your photos to be wrapped with the text? I can't seem to figure that out!
I just did it by moving them around within the text. I'll help you with that. I also am using small sized photos instead of large, and not using the center option when placing the photos.
but how do we blow up the pics to see your smilin' face??? -
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