What does it mean to have a 24/7 job? Sometimes it means that I'm doing work type things from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. Other times it means that I'm sitting at home painting watercolors or reading a good book. How could this be? Well because instead of having working hours, life itself becomes “work.” Even though I might be sitting at home reading, I know that at any moment, some work-type thing could arise, and usually does. Of course, the great majority of that work does not involve sitting at a desk and staring at a computer all day (not having a desk, actually none of my work involves that....if anything, I'm sitting on the floor staring at a computer). My home time is generally interrupted by kids coming over wanting to draw, get help with homework, or use the computer. Often they just want to come in and hang out and talk for a while. The village minister or the mayor might come over and ask for some help typing something. The thing is, I can't really just shut the door and tell them to go away, because this is my work-this is why I'm here. To help people out, lend a listening ear, and to be a source of support.

Now, even though sometimes it feels like I get stuck in my house, I really don't just sit in my house all day, waiting for people to come by. I frequently go to village meetings, youth meetings, and church meetings. Now, at the village and youth meetings, I will usually give people reminders or suggestions. At village meetings, I usually have to remind people to separate their recycling correctly and to continue building and using their compost pits. At youth meetings (youth being people above the age of 17 who aren't married) sometimes I'll suggest program ideas like setting up a role model program for the kids, other times I'll just sit in and be a presence. This is why I attend so many church meetings as well. It's not that I've recently become deeply religious, but it is the perfect way to let people know that I'm a member of the community and the perfect way to meet them. Because, really, a lot of my work here is about making connections. For example, I talk to someone at a church meeting and they mention a workshop they are going to where they will learn about starting a bread bakery. Then, I remember a friend who is very interested in starting a small business. I connect the two, and hopefully they'll both attend the workshop and start the bakery together, both being very committed. I feel like making these connections is a very important part of my job, which I wouldn't be able to do if I didn't get out and about in the village, attend different meetings, and talk to people.

And then there's the planned type of work. This is mainly the work that I do for the Environmental Committee that I work for, however there are other small things that I do. On the committee, we have women and men from all 5 villages in the district, and we meet monthly to choose projects and discuss progress on ongoing work. We organize the recycling for the district, set up an annual environmental day, build compost toilets, fix piggery waste systems (I have had far too much experience with pig poo since I've been here), and are going to (hopefully) organize a clean compound competition this year in the villages. Now, a lot of this stuff was started and done by the volunteer that I replaced, and in fact, she started the committee. My role here is to help the committee with their projects and make sure they progress (usually meaning I do them, though I am trying to change this), and provide guidance in choosing projects and planning. My main goal while I'm here, through planning workshops and delegating responsibilities, among other things, is to strengthen the committee and turn it into a force that will remain after I leave. It's a lofty goal, but if the committee doesn’t last it seems like a waste of all the education work. At this point, I believe, if I wasn't here to do a lot of the functional, organizational things, the committee would quickly dissolve. Hopefully, by the time I leave, this will have changed.

Other planned work involves weekly trash pick-ups in the village with the kids, attending various workshops about income generating projects and women in development. I’m pretty busy here, which is not something I ever expected from peace corps, but really, I’ve realized, that’s the way I like it.