On Tuesday, September 2nd the community of Niankorodougou was happy to welcome Brian Rhodes as its newest member. Brian arrived in Burkina Faso from Boulder, CO on June 11th and has spent the last three months in the city of Ouahigouya training to become a Peace Corps volunteer. On August 29th, he officially swore in as a Girls’ Education and Empowerment volunteer.
Brian will be staying here in Niankorodougou through August 2010 and working with the school administration and parent-teacher associations at the primary and secondary schools. The three goals of the Girls’ Education and Empowerment program are to: build confidence in both male and female students to succeed in school and become healthy and responsible community members, raise awareness of the importance of a “girl friendly” atmosphere in schools, and to increase community involvement in the school system.
Brian attended our monthly library committee meeting on September 5th and has expressed his enthusiasm for working with the library. Together with Moussa, the library committee and the active library members, Brian gives me further confidence that the library will be a huge success in the years to come.
