Preparing to depart...

I cannot believe that in a few short weeks I will be moving to Niger for 27 months to work as a Peace Corps volunteer! For the past few months, I had suspected from the hints given by my placement officer that either Mali or Niger would be my assigned country. Armed with this suspicion, I decided to write my final paper for Comparative Politics on these two countries and the root causes of poverty in the region.

Sandwiched between the Saharan desert and the savanna and forests of Central Africa, Mali and Niger are two of the countries that make up the unique region of Africa known as the Sahel. Closely bordering one another, these two countries share many of the same characteristics, including persistent and grinding poverty. In 2006, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) compiled data for its annual Human Development Index Report (HDI). This report measures a number of a countries indicators of wellbeing including life expectancy, literacy, income, etc. Of the 177 countries included in the report, Mali and Niger ranked 175 and 177 respectively [1].

From my research, I came to the conclusion that a perfect storm of the usual suspects (geographic difficulties, colonial legacy, and debt accumulation) was the most likely cause of persistent poverty in the region, but this does very little to address any feasible solutions to development assistance. I don't believe that a realistic and humane strategy can be formed without first hand knowledge of the challenges faced by the population everyday and I believe that my time as a Peace Corps volunteer will help guide me in that pursuit.

To be honest, I don't want to assert that my time in Niger will be anything like that of the average citizen. Although I will be doing my best to live under the same circumstances as my neighbors (no electricity, running water, etc.) the illusion ends there. I have been vaccinated against almost every preventable illness known to man. Nigeriens still contract polio,cholera, measles, and meningitis despite the existence of relatively cheap and reliable vaccines[2]. I will take Mefloquine once a week to prevent becoming infected with malaria, while under “normal” conditions in Niger, roughly half of the deaths of children under 5 are due to malaria [3]. I don't write these things to perpetuate negative images of Africa (which are prevalent enough) but only to remind myself and others that access to the things we consider a universal right, is really nothing more than an accident of birth.

My program for Peace Corps is titled "Municipal and Community Development" which, from the description given to me, means that I will be working with local community governments to address how to get basic needs met. From what I've heard, it seems like a lot of what I will end up doing will depend on what my particular community is most in need of. Having this kind of freedom to choose which projects to work on is exciting, but also daunting.

On July 24th I will be in Philadelphia for Peace Corps staging and on the 27th we will all fly to Paris and then Niger. Until October, I will be in a kind of Peace Corps "boot camp" and communication will be limited, but I can be reached by mail at:

Heather Forrester, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 10537
Niamey, Niger

I have been warned that it can take anywhere between 3-4 weeks to receive letters so please don't get offended if you don't get a response right away. Any mail I get will be appreciated!!!

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[1] United Nations Development Program (UNDP). United Nations 2006 Human Development Report. <>

[2]World Health Organization (WHO). http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/country/ner/en/

[3]Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “African Economic Outlook: Niger 2005-2006.” www.oecd.org/dev/publications/africanoutlook>