VBP and 2 years in

Two years ago today, I got off the plane with 47 other Peace Corps trainees. There are now 30 other Peace Corps Volunteers in my group and I understand why Peace Corps service is two years long.

One week ago, George and Moro from Village Bicycle Project arrived in Bormase. Despite some minor mishaps, the week has been the best of my service hands down. Last Friday morning, roughly 55 of the 101 registered bicycle recipients showed up for a 7am meeting. Each one drew a number to determine which of the five, day-long sessions they would attend. The remaining 46 participants picked their respective numbers when they had a chance and we were set for the day.

From this meeting, I joined a yelling match at the school construction site. One community did their portion of community labor and were yelling about the distribution of work. I followed what I could of the Krobo chatter until I had to go wait for the truckload of bicycles to arrive. I spent a few minutes playing with my 4 month old neighbor Sweetie (her name is Esther but everyone calls her Swee-tee). When I heard a deep grumble down the road, I took the few steps that were needed for me to see down the road. As the truck approached, people spilled out of the bush cover and cheered to no end. By the time the truck stopped beside the church (the location of the sessions) there were at least forty people, bike recipients and otherwise, waiting and helping pull bikes off.

Patrick translated for each of the five sessions as bike recipients learned basic bike maintenance. They learned how to use spanners without damaging the bicycle. They learned to change a tire and how to patch a tube. They learned to check loose bearings and how to clean and oil a chain. At the end of each day, 20 new bike owners were released to the one Bormase road. With each day, the view from my front yard/dirt was more exciting.

One Tuesday, the headmaster from the primary school stopped by and asked for a meeting. Patrick and I went from the bike session to the school to see children teaching each other to ride their new bikes. When the headmaster left for summer break, funds weren't yet approved for the school improvement project. When he came back for the first day of the new term, over 100 cement blocks were sitting in front of the school. We discussed the plans for construction and the excitement that he and his staff shared was worth the work hands down.

As Patrick and I left, we saw children teaching their friends to ride a bike. Kids that couldn't ride a bike the day prior and had something so nice to call their own were eager to share it with friends. This was also well worth the work.

On Thursday, after our second to last session, Stephen had to patch a puncture before riding the 2 hours back to Asesewa. On the way, I rode my bike while he ran along, pushing his own from behind. I thought I'd help out by holding his handlebars while riding along. This seemed like a good idea until his bike started to veer away from me and I had to drop it. --Careful if squeamish-- When I dropped Stephen's bike, I had to put my sandal-clad foot down to catch my balance. In the tenth of a second that my foot was down, the handlebar of Stephen's bike landed on my big toe. It hurt but I biked on with clenched teeth. When I passed a cyclist going the opposite direction, I noticed that he was staring at my foot. I looked down and was sure that my band-aid was about to fall off. But I didn't have a band-aid on my toe. My big toenail had been ripped off and was flapping by a small bit of skin.

I'm OK now but was in a bit of shock for a moment. A little chunk of nail bed came away with the nail and I was bleeding quite a bit. My shower/dishes bucket became my foot soaking bucket. Stephen helped cut the nail away and we both tried to scrub away the clotted blood before realizing that the color difference was due to the depth of the cut. OUCH!!! I almost puked/passed out at that point.


Yesterday, we finished the bike project. Short of a few serious sneezing fits I've had in the past, I've never had so many people bless me in such a short period of time. I have never felt so good in Bormase. George and Moro left with a trunkful of plantains and yams.


I'm in Accra now, my toe feels good (looks awful) and I just had a great chat with a business school contact. Definitely straddling two worlds at the moment but absolutely loving it.

I will keep you all updated as things progress.

Love to all!!
Ira