Getting Ready To Go...

Well, this Friday (two days from now) I'm driving down to Milwaukee, and then flying out to Philadelphia Saturday morning for a two-day training and orientation session (including five hours at a clinic). And then on Monday, I fly out! I'm flying from Philadelphia to Paris, then a brief stop somewhere in Africa (in Niger, I think), and then I arrive in Ouagadougou Tuesday evening.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get all sorts of things taken care of here -- stocking up on the things I won't be able to find over there, as well as assorted legal and financial matters. And trying to get in touch with a bunch of people. And trying to spend some time with the family. Pretty busy.

I now know what my address will be, at least for the first three months (until the end of pre-service training, supposedly October 21):
Chris Wilson, PCT
s/c Corps de la Paix
01 B.P. 6031
Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso

And the following is a letter from the Burkina Faso country desk which I can give out to friends and family. If anyone is seriously interested in visiting, I have another letter from them with various information about traveling to Burkina (what shots to get, Visa information, etc.) -- let me know if you want a copy of that one.

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Greetings from the Burkina Faso Desk in Washington, D.C. It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the 2005 Burkina Faso summer training program. During the past year we have received many requests from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest they be handled.

1. Irregular Communication. The mail service in Burkina Faso is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. Thus, it is important to be patient. It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Burkina Faso to arrive in the U.S. via the Burkinabé postal system. From a Volunteer’s post, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the U.S. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the U.S. by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system. This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.

We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes for him/her to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one. Postcards should be sent in envelopes―otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office!

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Please do not assume that if your family member had a malaria attack that he/she has been unattended. There are two medical officers in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Through a short wave radio network, we monitor the health of the Volunteers. In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer is sent to Ouagadougou and is cared for by our medical staff. If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Burkina Faso, he/she will be medically evacuated to Ghana, South Africa, or to the U.S. Fortunately, these are rare circumstances.

If for some reason your communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for three months, you should contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington at 1-800-424-8580, extension 1470. OSS will then contact the Peace Corps country director in Ouagadougou and ask him/her to check up on the Volunteer. Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that the Volunteer can be informed.

Telephone Calls. The telephone system in Burkina Faso is relatively good. Service in and out of Ouagadougou to the U.S. is somewhat reliable. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, there are no Peace Corps phones. Sometimes Volunteers plan to be in Ouagadougou on a certain date to receive calls from home. This can usually work, but there are also innumerable factors that can make the best-laid plans fall apart. Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Ouagadougou does not have the time to assist in arranging these calls.

E-mail. E-mail access is increasingly available in Burkina Faso, but still lags far behind the level of service available in the U.S. There are internet cafes in the capital and in larger towns, and Volunteers may be able to e-mail periodically. Service is frequently disrupted however, and Volunteers may not have access to it for extended periods. Air “snail” mail remains the best way to communicate, and nothing beats the thrill of a letter in one’s mail box far from home.

Sending packages. Parents and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail.

It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily. Custom fees can sometimes range up to $100. For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Ouagadougou. If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to the Country Director, Peace Corps, c/o U.S. Embassy, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (the phone number for the Peace Corps office in Burkina Faso is 226 50 36 92 00 should DHL need this information). If you send the item to the Country Director, no liability can be assumed. Please call a DHL office nearest you for more information. Their toll free number is 1-800-CALL-DHL or access their website at www.dhl.com.

Sending airplane tickets and/or cash via international mail is not recommended. Trying to send checks is very risky and is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it. Volunteers will be aware of people visiting the U.S. and can request that they call his/her family when they arrive in the U.S. should airline tickets or cash need to be sent back to Burkina Faso.
We have also enclosed some information which may help if you, or any friends, wish to visit your family member in Burkina Faso. We hope this information is helpful to you during the time your family member is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso. We understand how frustrating it is to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate you using this information as a guideline. Please feel free to contact us at the Burkina Faso Desk in Washington, D.C. if you have any further questions. Our phone number is 1-800-424-8580, extension 2329 or 2328 or locally, (202) 692-2329 or 2328, or e-mail astevens@peacecorps.gov or mschiller@peacecorps.gov.