Mailing Address, 5 weeks before I get my own two bedroom house, Cell phone best way to reach me.

Mailing Address, 5 weeks before I get my own two bedroom house, Cell phone best way to reach me.

Bonjou tout moun (hello everybody),

Things are excellent. Internet is extremely sketchy right now. I will have my own two bedroom house with DSL in about 5 weeks when my home stay is complete so you will have to bare with me until then. Cell phone is really the only way to reach me, my number is listed in a previous posting. I also want to point out that I do not have anyone’s phone number since my cell died so email your contact info and don’t feel hurt if I have not called you. Call to me are free for me, check with your provider to find your rate.

Here is my official mailing address.

Leo Klejnot
Canaries Village Post Office
Canaries, Saint Lucia, West Indies

Cell 758-518-4239

It’s that easy, there is no problem with the postal system here, if you send me a package it should arrive in 14 days and is held at the post office. I am going to publish a wish list in another month or so.

Training has been very busy leaving me little time. Once we hit phase 3 of training life will take a more Saint Lucian pace for me . Highlight have been shopping the local markets learning Kweyol. Its actually fairly easy to learn since everyone is bilingual and very friendly. I have been to a village council meeting where community decisions are hashed out. I have a second meeting with the community club who is working on drafting a development plan for grant funding. I would say to anyone working in these areas patience is essential. Your US time scale on efficiency and discussion should be reduced by 90% or you will stroke out on frustration. It’s just the way it is mon.

Its going to take a while for me to wrap my head around the work I will be doing. They basically give you 3 months to explore your options. All of us have been given the generic title of community development in order to allow us to find our niche to work in.
I see my main opportunities lying in a few areas. 1. Working with the Canaries Community Club. This could be interesting; they have been working on a development proposal. The difficulty lies in the fact that it must be a proposal that involves many members of the community. This is good in theory but frankly many people in the community are not engaged. This has caused significant slow down in its development. That’s about as far into as I can go (PC ).

2. The village council. I see myself possibly helping the Chairman John with some projects and organization. That will have to be approached slowly and tactfully as there are many vested interests there. My main goal will be to show that I am competent and trustworthy. John is good man and seems to have many many responsibilities. I do not envy him. He has a fulltime job along with his responsibilities which could easily be another full time job. The most resent accomplishments was the installation of metal trash receptacles free courtesy of the government of China. (better contribution then the US’s Kentucky Fried Chicken) They are quite handsome and many of the village residents are using them making the village much cleaner.

3. Working within the infant and primary schools in some part time way. Alicia one of the other volunteers’ made a key point. You already have a captive audience at the school and being a school you have all the facilities’ you need. I also look two evening a week at the library to the younger children after school.

Aunt Cass I need some books to read to the children please.. 1.Where the Red Fern Grows, 2. CS Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia, and the 3. Hobbit 4. and perhaps the first 3 Harry Potter books. All used paperback please.