1. Senegal First Communion

    Senegal is 95% Muslim, so the Christians (mostly Catholics) are few and far between.  However, in the big cities, there are a few churches and each service is an experience, complete with beautiful music and drumming, dancing, and multi-lingual experiences.  These young children were celebrating their First Communions and the church was packed in celebration.

  2. Paraguay Family Portrait

    This picture of Rogelio Martinez and his wonderful family was taken during a family outing to a nearby river running through some of the last remaining forests in my site.

  3. Senegal Hoopiness!

    I host a Girls Club in my neighborhood which meets twice a month. I try to involve the girls in creative thought and play.  This week, we made hoops from PVC pipe, connectors, and electrical tape and learn some basic moves.  They were movin' and groovin' in no time--quick learners!  Just before this video was shot, I challenged the girls to hoop in silence for 5 minutes.  As you can see (hear) this didn't really work that well.  The high-pitched moaning is an attempted form of commuication.

  4. Guatemala Helper

    A young Maya boy helps deliver a used tire for a project growing potatoes in stacked tires. 

  5. Brazil Building her School

    This little girl was intrigued by the mold used to make the bricks for her new school.

  6. Brazil The National Sport

    Soccer is the national sport in Brazil.  All the smallest villages have a soccer field that is used every weekend.

  7. Brazil Fest de Sao João

    Saints' feast days are always celebrated with a big parade in the village.  This is the feast day of St. John in Jaciguá.

  8. Brazil A Completed School

    This school was built by the School to School program sponsored by USAID.  Students in the U.S. woulc raise up to $1.000 to build a school in an underdeveloped country.  The locals were obligated to provide 60% of the cost including materials and labor.  My job was to facilitate the construction, take pictures and send reports back to the students in the U. S. and to USAID.

  9. Zambia The toughest job I’ve ever loved

    I spent my first two years in Zambia as a Community Health Educator in a catchment area of over 4,000 people from 35 different villages. My job basically consisted of working with counterparts at the area clinic and with seven Neighborhood Health Committees, each made up of about 15 people from different zones in the catchment area. I assisted in forming the committees and then trained three of them in basic health care (malaria, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, child health and nutrition, ...

  10. Brazil A School in Construction

    This is a picture of a school in construction near one of the villages in my area.

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“Sunset at the Railroad” by PCV Nicholas Baylor Hall. Namibia, 2011.