Secondary Project Mania!

Good news folks; our dulcet days spent watching entire seasons of awful (but splendid) American shows from the “now-starting-to-smell-a-bit” sleeping bags are over!

Martha and I have begun our Secondary Projects, which, by definition, are not our primary project. I’m working hard not to disappoint my community (and the American taxpayer) by helping Martha with our English For Teachers class and English Club for Students, as well as being actively engaged in on-going Peace Corps Georgia programs, ECO-Project, and the Small Project Advisory Committee (SPA).

The ECO-project is under a “project design” (as G6’s have called it) and review phase, which basically means that we are currently reevaluating everything about this very successful – and needed – program. You see, Georgia is a very beautiful place (dzalian lamazi) But, and I think I can say this without being censored by PC Washington about this, the post-soviet environmental landscape in Georgia is in dire straights. Just in the area of water (for those MWH’ers reading) there is relatively no waste water treatment to speak of, and no drinking water testing going on in Georgia. This same sort-of-scary situation also applies to waste management, illegal forestry, etc. Add to that little to no environmental or conservation education and you’ve got your work cut out for you if you happen to like “the nature” and live in Georgia.

Well, some Volunteers back in 2003 decided to do something about this and started ECO-Project, which focuses on ECO clubs and camps for secondary school children throughout Georgia, and teaches them the basics, while encouraging conservation and clean-up projects. We G7’s are looking to build on the successes of the program, while perhaps expanding our visibility and our impact, perhaps by starting cross-border projects with Armenia and Azerbaijan. In any case, we’ve got allot of work to do in very little time.

The small project advisory committee (or SPA) is a committee run by Peace Corps to manage an arrangement with USAID concerning micro-development run through PCV’s. It allows PCV’s to write small grants (under $10,000) for development projects ranging from education resources to business infrastructure grants, and – with 25% community contribution – get funding through PC/USAID. My first meeting is coming up, and with the G6’s looking at 5 months to go in their service, we will probably be looking at a deluge of projects to evaluate and critique before approval and funding disbursement.

On a lighter note, a week or so ago, (as I’m sure you’ve all heard) was King David the Builder’s birthday! While most of the world celebrated with the usual parades, and ecstatic throngs filling the streets, Terjola celebrated by sending the third grade to David’s gravesite; the Gelati cathedral (which he coincidentally built. Thus the moniker “the builder.” Makes sense.) I normally don’t associate with the third graders, aside from giving the odd high-five or fist pound in the hallway, but in this case I was invited to go along, and happily accepted. We rented a private limo (in the form of an aging converted Mercedes moving van) and sped up the tortuous road to the Gelati complex (ahead of the President, I was told) while the third grade regaled me with traditional songs, and the passages they had memorized from the history book chapter on David. All things considered, a great field trip, and a nice Georgian moment.

We’re going to continue to be busy the next few weeks, but keep in touch for more on doings in Georgia, and perhaps you’ll get a nice tidbit on what Georgian pundits are saying about primaries in the states!

- JK