Tragedy in Benin

Last week, one of the worst things any mother, father, family member, and fellow volunteer could possibly think could happen. She may not have been blood related nor did I know her really well, but I knew her well enough, was a fellow volunteer and am apart the same, small community of Peace Corps volunteer in Benin. The past week has been a week of reflection for every volunteer on is this worth it. Is living in a foreign land, surrounded by foreign people, amongst a foreign culture, helping a strange people worth a life? No it is not! The act that was committed is unthinkable. For the past week, volunteers have joined together in the mourning the loss, leaning on people that we have just met and seeking the answers to the above question. Except for one, everyone of us so far have found the courage and seen the necessity of our work and are here for good. The random act of violence is not a mass spread movement. We are in no more danger than we were before the act. Last Wednesday, the nearly the entire volunteer community of Benin met together in Cotonou by ourselves. This past Wednesday, a smaller group of volunteers, including myself, US, French, and Beninese officials all met together at the Ambassador's house to share our last words in memory of Kate Puzey. To my surprise, the Beninese representative (the second in command) stood and shouted in anger and embarrassment that this act will not go unanswered, vowing everything in the Beninese government's power to ensure the remaining volunteers security.
Since the murder, nothing has changed except for the loss of trust in nearly, and I emphasize nearly, Beninese. I emphasize nearly because there are still the members of the Beninese society that have reached out beyond the call of the day to show their remorse and disgust at what has passed. These people are few and far in-between but they are there. And it is these people that I stay here for because they are the people that see the necessity and show the gratitude for the work that I and my fellow volunteers are doing here.
My projects are continuing, slowly but surely. My work with Raimi and his honey factory are moving forward a lot faster than I thought. Last week, I met with the American Development Fund (ADF) to discuss receiving our initial investment to start the project. During the proposal, I was torn apart because they started throwing out technical questions that I was in no position to answer, but it will be fixed in my next meeting with them because Raimi will actually be there to answer the questions that I have no idea about. My work with Kake 5 and the cashew factory is moving backwards at this moment because of some personal disputes between me and the owner. Hopefully they have been taken care of and I can go back to where I was before all of these problems started to happen. She has started to loosen up and before all of these things happened she opened her accounting books to me and asked me to help out and start computerizing them, looking for areas that need improvement. I am slowly but surely wresting control of nearly all important actions in the factory so I can fix them and make them run smoothly, instead of haphazardly. My Peace Corps experience, hopefully, will become more and more like a real job and become something that I really enjoy, instead of feel like I am wasting my time with my primary project. But they pay the rent so I have to continue the work that is painful to do.
On other news, I have started learning local language with an English teacher at the local high school. He taught himself english by translating American rap songs into French for the local radio station. It is interesting cause I am actually able to ask and talk about things that I want to with him in a language that we both fully understand. Valentin (the teacher) speaks English with an American accent, even though I am the first American that he ever met since he was 12. The guy is impressive and I have been trying to find him a better paying job and to push him to succeed beyond just teaching. It is working, or so I believe. Now I just need to help him find a job that puts his skills to work.
But other than that, everything else is going well and I am doing fine over here. My house is finally completed and fully furnished. Dounyan (my dog) is doing well and is still a little pup and my son.