Jasmine C.

1. What got you interested in the Peace Corps?

I studied international development while in university and was interested in the practitioner side of what we learned. Peace Corps offered the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and work for an uninterrupted two years with the support of a host organization and Peace Corps staff. Additionally, Peace Corps provided the opportunity for me to use my French language skills in my work and life.  The health role, specifically maternal and child health specifically drew me in as it matched my prior work experiences and future aspirations.

2. What projects are you working on?

Currently I give monthly nutrition talks and food cooking demonstrations with mothers of children 0-5 years old. We talk about different elements of good nutrition and cook familiar recipes with locally available products with a new twist—like adding peanut butter and banana to morning porridge.

I host a monthly girls’ workshop with apprentices in the area. We discuss menstrual hygiene, sexual health, and economic empowerment.

I hold biweekly “amour et vie (love and life)” talks for a team of peer educators. Alongside the community counselor I coach them to help educate their peers at school and apprentices in the area on sexual and reproductive health topics.

Finally, I help build organization and digital literacy skills at the maternity health center.

3. What strategies have you used to integrate into your community?

I built strong initial connections with my host family, my language tutor, and the director of the secondary school. Over time, I have also built strong connections to the local cafeteria owner, my seamstress/friend/now counterpart Mariane, and lots of vendors and neighbors around me.

I learned local language salutations so I can always greet people on my morning commute to the health center. During my first few months at the site I made sure to spend a lot of time in public so people could come up to me and chat. I always rely on my friends to help me with any issues I run into, such as miscommunications, which helps quite a bit.

4. What is a highlight of your time in service so far?

The friends I have made in my community have been so welcoming and kind and good to me. They are the highlight of my service and I feel very lucky to have met them all.

My friend Mariane and I ran a girls’ camp in summer 2023, which was such a fun and rewarding experience. We have done follow-up workshops for girl apprentices in the community, which continues to be a rewarding experience as the girls become more comfortable with us and speak more openly about the various health topics we discuss. I really enjoy the work we do together and love watching the girls open up or see the spark in a participant’s eyes when they have something to contribute to the conversation.

5. What have you enjoyed most about the community where you are serving?

The hospitality in of my community and their acceptance of me is what I enjoy most. I do love being greeted by the elementary school kids whenever I’m leaving or returning home (I live across from an elementary school). I appreciate the serendipitous dinner invitations I get on days where I had no plans to cook.

It took some time for community members to become open to the different nutrition or health ideas I’ve proposed, but it’s also been a very fun and encouraging process.

6. What are some of the most important things you’ve learned from your community?

My community has taught me countless important things. I have learned how to make a good peanut sauce, how to fry wagashi (cheese made from cow’s milk), and multiple ways to prepare moringa sauce. They have taught me how to properly tie my pagne skirt so I am dressed neatly in the village. They have taught me how to properly greet everyone according to their age and status so I appear respectful and polite. Through sitting and listening at my host papa’s house (he is the village chief) I have learned a fair amount about conflict resolution and the art of listening and letting both sides fully present their argument.

7. How do you spend time when you are not working on a project?

When I am not working on a project I enjoy having dinner at my friends’ house. Akassa, and leaf sauce are my favorite, or fried wagashi and french fries. After dinner, we usually hang out and watch TV or talk. I also love playing Uno, a card game, with my host family’s grandson. I do a lot of manual chores like laundry, washing dishes, washing my floors … the list goes on.

I spend a lot of time with my next-door neighbors (3-year-old twins, Dia and Dina, and 5-year-old Fawaz); they watch me bake, clean, or we play pretend store or school!

Finally, I enjoy taking bike rides through shaded paths or corn fields in the neighboring villages.

8. What are you looking forward to in your remaining time as a Volunteer?

In my remaining time, I hope to continue building on the foundation I have laid so far with regard to my projects. I want to make the most of my time with my counterpart, language tutor family, and host family. I look forward to hanging out with the people I love the most in Tanve. I plan on meeting my counterpart’s family who live in Come this summer. I’m looking forward to my second round of “amour et vie” training, girls’ camp, and celebrating Tabaski, a Muslim holiday, in June! Also, I have started a new tradition of Sunday dinner where each dinner I invite people (Volunteers and people in town alike) to come over for dinner; we make enough to give away to another friend who can’t attend. So far it’s been a good way to focus on my own nutrition, share new recipes with friends, and foster community.

9. Once you finish your service, what will you do differently when you return to the U.S.?

It is hard to say what I will do differently in the US. I feel fairly certain that I will be more careful about food preservation and management. For me this means composting and buying correct amounts. We take many things for granted in the U.S., like access to diverse food year-round, as well as refrigeration and infrequent power outages. These advantages mean that it will be even easier for me to be mindful about my food consumption. I also want to start gardening, which is a new interest (shout out to Peace Corps staff for the garden training they provided).

Want to learn more about serving as a Volunteer in Benin? Connect with a recruiter today.