____________________________________________________________________________________________

Full report and pictures at http://www.friendsofguinea.org/conference.shtml

�� In December, George Greer contacted me to ask for FOG�s help in emergency fundraising for the 2002 Girls Conferences. They needed $7000 by January 1 in order for the conferences, now in their 5th year, to continue. Many RPCV�s say that the conferences were the most worthwhile thing they did during their service, and I was a bit nervous about the short time we had to fundraise.

�� I shouldn�t have been apprehensive. In just a month, without FOG spending any of our project money, the conferences were fully funded. It was truly a remarkable show of solidarity and hard work by RPCV�s and parents of PCV�s. Some recognitions are in order:

�Ljiljana Manners, mother of PCV Urska Manners, raised $1060 from Femmes d'Europe in Belgium. She reports, �I had to give a speech in front of 50 ladies.�

�Kathy Tillman $1,825.21 UU church

�Jen Akers (98-00) helped mail out hundreds of postcards and emails to RPCV�s to encourage them to donate to the project

�Also involved and vocal were Emily Byram (98-00), Shannon Fagerlund (97-00), Shad Engilterra (98-00) and several others who I�m probably forgetting. Thank you everybody for your donations!

�� The Girls� Conferences were held in Kankan, Labe, Boke, and Lelouma, simultaneously from 15�18 of February

�

(except for Lelouma), benefiting a total of 124 girls from a variety of towns and villages. Most sessions were led by PCVs, who led discussions on subjects such as girls in school, careers, HIV/AIDS, and female excision. There were also skits, videos, a first chance to use email, presentations by a variety of Guinean women, and lots of fun activities. Several volunteers commented that

"the girls seemed transformed by the different topics they encountered and discussed."

�� Many PCV�s and Guinean nationals gave a great deal of energy so that these conferences could be a success, in everything from the planning stage to leading sessions on the actual day. Anyone who has done these conferences know that it�s a tremendous drain� and a tremendous boost at the same time. Good job to all our PCV�s in the field.

�� We received several thank-you letters from those involved:

"Dear Friends of Guinea,

�� It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that we write you this thank you letter about

your great effort and the help you provided for us Guinean girls. We sincerely thank you and the Americans from the US Peace Corps. You provided us with the opportunity to enrich our knowledge because we attended sessions that interested us a lot during this Fifth Seminar for Young Women in the Fouta Djalon. These sessions included gender roles, sexual harassment, excision, depigmentation, sports, unwanted pregnancy, STDs/STIs, HIV/AIDS, etc. We learned about these things by doing different activities like models, skits, discussions with professional women and university students; and we did our own session on how to inform local students.

Now with the subjects we have learned, we can help our families, our community, and our classmates thanks to you � the Americans who helped us and supported us. Please realize that this seminar was important to us and met our satisfaction. We enjoyed all of the sessions of the seminar.

�� Thank you.

-- by the young women of Gaoual

Fatoumata Dialo Sow, 10th grade, 16 years old and Fayelle Ly, 9th grade, 16 years old"

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I would like to thank you as well. I think my girls have done a great job explaining their appreciation, but I just wanted to add that being here, watching these young women work and learn was a treat. For them to have this opportunity was an experience of a lifetime. Again I thank you for your support. Witnessing the success of the conference and the way the girls responded was a real gift. They will never forget their conference in Bok�.

Sincerely,

Sara Prudent, PCV English teacher in Gaoual�

Dear Donors,

�� The Girls' Conferences are now finished. We are all thoroughly exhausted, but the conferences were a great success! I believe that the lives of some of the girls were truly affected. The changes will be small, but we are laying the foundation for the future empowerment of women.

�� Women and girls in Africa, and especially in Guinea, have a tough time because of the many obstacles they must overcome in order to be successful. Gender equality is one of the problems stifling development in Guinea. The goal of this conference was to empower these impressionable girls, to boost their self confidence, and to give them tools to educate their peers back in the villages. We can honestly say that our goals were very successfully met.

�� We could not have done this without your help. Thanks again for helping us make a difference in these girls' lives, and thank you for your continued support of Peace Corps' projects.

Sincerely,

The Peace Corps Volunteers of the Fouta Djalon region in the Republic of Guinea�

Guinea Holds Controversial Referendum

Woody Colahan

�� On Sunday, November 11, Guineans voted in a controversial referendum on constitutional change. Offical sources reported that turnout was 87% and that more than 98% percent of voters approved the proposed changes to the country�s constitution. However the BBC reported opposition sources as saying turnout was less than 20%, while United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) said that local media sources reported a low turnout and that diplomatic sources reported a high turnout only in pro-government areas.

�� IRIN reported no major incidents of violence in the voting but noted some irregularities including including "polling officials who did not know how to count ballots."

�� The referendum was heavily criticized by the political opposition, who mounted an aggressive campaign against approval. The most controversial elements were an article that extends President Cont�s term to seven years instead of four and at the same time removes any restrictions on the number of times he could stand for re-election, and an article which changes local decentralization authorities (the C.R.D.�s) from elected officials to presidential appointees.

�� Opposition leaders argued that the referendum was illegal in that the present constitution, enacted in 1993, allows for constitutional revision only by joint action between the President and the National Assembly. They complained that President Cont� had bypassed the National Assembly completely in holding the Nov. 11 referendum.

�� The political opposition has been campaigning against the referendum under the slogan, �No to a President for Life.� Opposition leaders have been touring the interior of the country in a convoy of vehicles, attempting to hold rallies in major regional capitals. Guineenews in Toronto reported on Nov. 3 that government officials in Kankan and Lab� had blocked the approaches to their towns with tanks in order to halt the opposition caravan and prevent them from holding rallies, but that in Lab� demonstrators had simply gotten out of their cars and walked around the tanks to rally in �tens of thousands� in the center of the city.

�� On Nov. 4 the BBC aired an eyewitness report of the entrance of the caravan into Conakry, where it was attacked by the police at Matoto. The BBC reporter, Alhassan Sylla,� said the convoy was coming from Kindia, where it had been prevented by the authorities from holding a rally. In

Conakry it was met by a large crowd of supporters, which were then attacked with tear gas and dispersed.The correspondent did not report any deaths, but said that he saw injured demonstrators lying on the ground.After the police attack opposition coalition leader Bah Mamadou was clearly angered, and said that �from now on, force will meet force.�

�� Demonstrations against the referendum took place outside Guinea as well. On Nov. 2, Guineans from the New York and Philadelphia areas demonstrated in Philadelphia before the African-American Business Summit, chanting slogans such as �Cont� must go!� Afterwards they held a meeting where calls were made for better cooperation within the Guinean expatriate community. On Nov. 3 more than one thousand Guineans demonstrated against the referendum in front of the Guinean embassy in Paris, according to Guineenews, with plans to demonstrate again four days later in front of the French National Assembly.

�� Criticism of the proposed referendum also came from foreign sources. The Thursday before the vote, President Cont� was visited by ambassadors from the European Union and the G7 coutries, who came to �repeat their concern� over the possible consequences of the referendum on Guinea�s future. Diplomatic sources speculated that the article in the referendum making local officials into presidential appointees was likely to sour relations with the World Bank and IMF, because they and other international institutions place much emphasis on the process of decentralisation. In Washington a State Department spokesman said that �any constitutional change in Guinea carried out in an illegal manner would not contribute to the development of democracy and therefore would not be welcomed by the United States,� according to Guineenews. While noting that the official text being voted on in the referendum had not yet been published, he denied reports that Secretary of State Powell had threatened to cut off aid to Guinea if the referendum went ahead, and said that the question of whether President Cont� should receive a third term was a matter �for the Guinean people to decide in a free fair and transparent process.�

�� The Standard Times of Freetown, Sierra Leone on Nov. 9 quoted Sierra Loenian refugees returning to Freetown as reporting growing tension over the referendum, saying that �Conakry residents have been having sleepless nights due to night firing by armed bandits and in the mornings one can see helicopter gun ships flying at low range with heavy noise over the city.�

�� In the event, voting seems to have passed off peacefully. Press reports cited a heavy military presence in Conakry, and no word of violent incidents in the interior. The government claimed an overwhelming victory and the opposition rejected the results out of hand. Minister of Territorial Administration Solano called for dialogue with the opposition, while Abou Camara, the Garde des Sceaux or Attorney General, threatened to arrest and prosecute some opposition leaders for �incitement to revolt.� Alpha Cond�, leader of the RPG, said �we will not participate in any electoral consultation,� according to Guineenews. Sidya Tour�, leader of the UFR, said appeals for dialogue had come �too late.� Bah Mamadou, leader of the UNR,� and Siradou Diallo likewise refused to cooperate with the government after the election. Late reports seemed to point to a breakup of the opposition coalition, with Bah Mamadou and Alpha Cond� trying unsuccessfully to hold on tho the allegiance of Siradou Diallo and Sidya Tour�. Political commentators expressed concern over the political impasse, coming as it does only six weeks before the national legislative elections on December 27.

�� An editorial in the Accra Mail characterized the referendum as �pointless� and �retrogressive,� calling Cont� an �old-style African dictator� who had �set the clock of democracy and development back many years.�

A Refugee�s Tale

�� (For those of you who may be interested, there is a magazine out there called ManoVision which focuses primarily on our sub-region of West Africa. Specifically on Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are the members of the Mano River Union (thus the name). They also have articles on other countries in West Africa, but mainly on those three. In fact, issue #21 has an article written by Brian Farenell (FOG Advocacy Director) on the rebel attacks in the Parrots' Beak and one written by Marge Chasteen (mother of FOG Webmistress Stephanie Chasteen) on her visit to Guinea.

�� Although published in London on a bi-monthly basis, it is on sale in some places in the US. For more information on the magazine, subscription info, etc. see their website: http://manovision.webjump.com/.

�� The following is a harrowing but tragically ordinary tale from issue #19, reprinted by permission of ManoVision.)

�� My name is Chermor Nuhu Bah. I am 26 years old. I was born in Makeni, the headquarter town of Bombali District in northern Sierra Leone.

�� When the rebel war commenced in Sierra Leone on 23 March 1991, Makeni, my hometown, was unaffected. However, when the regime of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) government overthrew the democratically elected government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah on 25 May 1997, things began to change in Makeni. During the rule of the AFRC, the entire country suffered massive human rights violations, which also victimized my family members.

�� My father, the chief Imam of our local mosque, was also a cattle herder and he owned a large cattle farm in a village 70 kilometers away from Makeni. Before the AFRC came to power, he was actively preaching against the activities of the rebel movement in the country. He condemned the brutal killing of innocent lives and also urged the youth in the town to keep faith and not allow anyone to convince them to take part in the brutal and ungodly acts of the RUF rebels in the country. This was the main cause that led to all of our suffering in Sierra Leone under the rule of the AFRC/RUF.

�� During the early morning hours of 29 May 1997, a group of rebels and soldiers arrived at our house and opened fire. They asked for my father, who was fortunately not around as he was at his cattle farm in Manjoro village. They told us that they heard that my father was one of the people who were spreading bad information about them in the town and they were here to arrest him. Since he was not home, they brought the entire family out under the hot, burning sun and we were seriously beaten. They completely looted the house and it burned it to the ground. Then they took me along with them to their base.

�� Upon arrival, I was stripped naked and tortured. They then locked me in a small, dark room. I was alone in there and was not allowed to see my people for three days. During those three days I was left without food. They were trying to force me to give them information regarding the whereabouts of my father. I persistently refused to tell them anything they wanted to know. I was then released and went home to join my family, who had already moved to our other house in the town. After the rebels consolidated their hold on the town, a law was passed from their high command that they should stop harassing civilians. So we were no longer harassed, but our movements were monitored and restricted.

�� Nine months later, the Nigerian-led intervention force ECOMOG, kicked the rebels out of power and restored the democratically elected government. The rebels were forced to retreat toward the provinces and it was at this time that they entered our town again. They intended to turn our town into their base from which they could launch counter-attacks on the loyal government troops. They stayed in the town for one week after which they were forced to flee.

�� During their week�s stay, the same group of rebels who burnt down our house, arrived at our new house. But, this time when they arrived, they saw my uncle on the verandah and shot him dead on the spot. They then entered the house and gang raped my two sisters. This time, my father was home. They found him in his room and dragged him outside. They beat him until he was nearly dead. They then took both my father and I to their base. On the way, a jet belonging to the intervention force flew over the area and dropped bombs. Everybody scattered and many of the rebels were killed. Luckily for us, we managed to escape during this time. We went to our house and gathered the remaining family members and fled our farm. We stayed in hiding in the area until they were driven from our region.

�� Eleven months later, the rebels regrouped and launched the most ruthless and brutal campaign of terror against the innocent civilians, which resulted in the amputation of limbs of many poor people in the country. They attacked my hometown again on 15 December 1998, but this time I managed to escape to the Republic of Guinea. Before I came to Guinea, all of my family was at the cattle farm. The rebels learned of the family�s location and chased everyone away.

�� They seized everything on the farm, shot all of the cows and transferred the meat to their base. My father was abducted and to this day we do not know his whereabouts.

�� This has deeply affected us. My stepmother was pregnant and due to the strain, she miscarried and died from excessive bleeding. There was no time to find a doctor for her. May her soul rest in peace. The rest of the family was forced to flee to the forest and they lived there for two months. This was not easy for them. They later moved to nearby villages and lived there until there until the signing of the Lom� peace accord.

�� As a result of the atrocities committed by the rebels on the civilian population, regional organizations, ECOMOG and the international community, immediately called for peace talks between the rebels and the government. These were held in Lom�, the capital city of Togo. After lengthy discussions, an agreement was reached and the Lom� peace accord was signed.

�� Some of the rebels started disarming and handing over their weapons to the UN Peacekeeping forces. The disarmament process was slowly progressing, while the UN forces continued to work all over the country. All of a sudden, the rebels changed their minds and started abducting UN Peacekeeping forces. This resulted in the collapse of the peace process. A fresh battle erupted between loyal government troops and rebels. The intention of the battle was to counter rebel attacks in the capital, Freetown.

�� The highway, which connects the capital to the provinces, was completely cut off. This even affected the rebels, who began looting and raiding villages in search of food.

�� During this time, I sought refuge in Guinea. However, having heard about the situation in my country, I had to risk my life to save my family. I went to Foracharia, Guinea, and then to the border town of Pamalap, and finally to the rebel-held village of Gbalamuya. On my journey, I was searched over and over again. At one point, I was accused of being a government spy, but I told them that I had no links with the SLPP government in Freetown and I was allowed to go my own way. I managed to see my people after a lot of difficulties. During that time, a government helicopter was conducting bombing raids around Makeni in an attempt to force the rebels out of the town. Many civilians were massacred during this bombardment. My family and I narrowly escaped and we had to walk for ten days before reaching the Guinean border on 2 July 2000.

�� Even in Guinea, we face many serious problems. Recently, there were continuous rebel attacks in Guinea and many of the Sierra Leonean refugees were blamed for bringing the war into this neighboring country. The Guinean government announced that all Sierra Leoneans had to be rounded up and detained until they could be sent back to their own country. Because of this, we are harassed and many Guinean youths and security officers stole our property. Now, we are facing grave problems here in Guinea.

�� For now, we cannot go back to our country because the rebels have earmarked my family and the war is not yet over. We lost all that we had during this struggle and now our future is at stake because we do not have anyone to help us. One thing that I know for sure is that if the attacks continue, Sierra Leoneans will find it very difficult to stay in Guinea due to the heightened harassment. We are not safe here. This is our main problem. We are in a dilemma because we do not know where to go. Life is difficult for us here. Before I wrap up my story, I would like to write the names of my family members:

Adama Jalloh, 42, mother

Chermor Nuhu Bah, 26, son

Alhodji Mamadu Bah, 23, son

Salieu Bah, 20, son

Aminata Bah, 18, daughter

Isatta Bay, 15, daughter

Alieu Bah, 12, son

Osman Bah, 8, son

Interview by Supriya Pillai

Mano Vision magazine. The bi-monthly publication for Africans and friends of Africa everywhere.� We invite you to participate in this forum by sending an e-mail with your thoughts, views or article to:�� <editor_manovision(at)hotmail(dot)com>. Correspondence on general issues or business can be� sent to <manovision(at)hotmail(dot)com>.

Water

Rachel Schneller (Mali 96�98)

(The following essay was the 1998 winner of the Morits Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award, named for the author of the classic Peace Corps memoir, Living Poor, and given each year byPeace Corps Writers to the essay best describing the experience of serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It is reprinted by permission of Peace Corps Writers. Learn more about Peace Corps Writers at http://peacecorpswriters.org.)

�� When a woman carries water on her head, you see her neck bend outward behind her like a crossbow. Ten liters of water weighs twenty-two pounds, a fifth of a woman�s body weight, and I�ve seen women carry at least twenty liters in aluminum pots large enough to hold a television set.

�� To get the water from the cement floor surrounding the outdoor hand pump to the top of your head, you need help from the other women. You and another woman grab the pot's edges and lift it straight up between you. When you get it to head height, you duck underneath the pot and place it on the wad of rolled up cloth you always wear there when fetching water. This is the cushion between your skull and the metal pot full of water. Then your friend lets go. Spend a few seconds finding your balance. Then with one hand steadying the load, turn around and start your way home. It might be a twenty-minute walk through mud huts and donkey manure. All of this is done without words.

�� It is an action repeated so many times during the day that even though I have never carried water on my head, I know exactly how it is done.

�� Do not worry that no one will be at the pump to help you. The pump is the only source of clean drinking water for the village of three thousand people. Your family, your husband and children rely on the water on your head. Maybe ten people will drink the water you carry. Pump water, everyone knows, is clean. Drinking well water will make you sick. People here die every month from diarrhea and dehydration.

�� The pump is also where you hear gossip of the women from the other side of the village. Your trip to the pump may be your only excuse for going outside of your family's Muslim home alone.

�� When a woman finds her balance under forty pounds of water, I see her eyes roll to their corners in concentration. Her head makes the small movements of the hands of someone driving a car: constant correction. The biggest challenge is to turn all the way around from the pump in order to go home again. It is a small portion of the ocean, and it swirls and lurches on her head with long movements.

�� It looks painful and complicated and horrible for the posture and unhealthy for the vertebrae, but I wish I could do it. I have lived in this West African village for two years, but cannot even balance something solid, like a mango, on my head, let alone an object filled with liquid. When I lug my ten-liter plastic jug of water to my house by hand, it is only a hundred meters, but the container is heavy and unwieldy. Changing the jug from one hand to the other helps, but it is a change necessary every twenty meters. Handles do not balance. On your head, the water is symmetrical like the star on top of a Christmas tree. Because my life has never depended on it, I have never learned to balance.

Membership Report

Rebecca Konrad

Friends of Guinea has had a very successful first year in the membership department.� Since February of 2001, 114 individuals have become members of FOG resulting in 91 memberships and close to $3,000 in membership dues. These members represent a diverse group made up of 63 PCVs and RPCVs, 30 parents, and 21 other individuals including Guinean nationals, relatives of volunteers, and others related to or simply interested in Guinea.

We thank you all for contributing to FOG and look forward to providing you with another year of services and information in 2002.

Advocacy Report

Brian Farenell

�� Greetings from the largely winter-free northern New York. There were a few days in February and March where the weather felt like it was in the Fouta. Go figure!

FRIENDS OF GUINEA AND ADNA

�� Friends of Guinea participates in ADNA, the Advocacy Network for Africa. From its website, ADNA is a progressive, non-partisan network of 200 US-based organizations [whose] initiatives address issues of peace and security; human, civil, political and women's rights; environmentally and economically sustainable development for poverty eradication; social justice; popular participation and good governance; and humanitarian and crisis relief. ADNA holds a meeting in Washington, DC every month, usually in the morning of the first Tuesday of the month. It would be great if FOG had a representative(s) at these meetings. Since I don't live near Washington, we could use a volunteer(s) to attend these meetings. The committment is minimal: one morning a month, although it is on a work day, plus emailing me before and after the meeting to coordinate things. So if anybody thinks they might be interested, please contact me for more details. (Don't worry, just emailing me for more info doesn't to commit you! :-)

Friends of West Africa

�� One of my goals for the rest of the year is to initiate contacts with Friends of Sierra Leone, Friends of Liberia and the other Friends of West Africa RPCV groups for our sub-region of West Africa. Ideally, I�d like to set up a mini-coalition for these "Friends of..." groups which will allow us to coordinate advocacy efforts on issues of common importance.

Future FOG Advocacy Website

�� Another project of mine is to set up a Friends of Guinea advocacy web site. I get emails on a lot of different advocacy issues from ADNA and other sources. But they might not be of interest to a lot of people on the listserv. So by setting up an advocacy website, we will hopefully be able to broaden our advocacy efforts and as well as providing more targeted advocacy opportunities for interested members. Stay tuned to the listserv for more details.

Volunteer Opportunities

�� In addition to the ADNA rep, would could also use people who would be interested in helping out with the following two positions:

�World Wise Schools officer: to coordinate World Wise Schools activities.

�Liaison officer: to maintain communication with PC-Conakry, PC-Washington, the NPCA and other Friends of West Africa groups. This could be shared if it is too much for one person.

�� If you are interested in any these positions or have any other advocacy related questions, please don�t hesitate to contact me at: fogadvocacy(at)yahoo(dot)com.

�� By the way, if you have an interest in helping out in some way not mentioned above, please please please let me know. I only listed above opportunities that came to my mind; it doesn't mean there aren't other ideas out there.

�� Thanks!

�� Brian Farenell

On the Web�

Stephanie Chasteen

�� Last year we moved to a new permanent server, in anticipation of the possibility that I may sometime finish graduate school. The page is now housed forevermore at http://friendsofguinea.org. That server location is owned by the same guy who hosts the Guinea List listserv, my tireless and good-natured friend Dave Loebell (thanks Dave!). You can write Dave at dcl(at)klatha(dot)com, or visit http://homepage.klatha.com/

�� The page also got a new look last year, thanks to Herb Caudill's ('97-'00) cartoons. Thanks, Herb!

Many thanks to David Principe (RPCV TEFL '93-'95), who helped us to list the new friendsofguinea.org site with all the major search engines, such as Yahoo. Thanks, David!

Friends of Guinea is a very popular site, receiving about 1000 hits a month on the home page.

RPCV Directory

We also hope to revamp the RPCV directory (http://www.klatha.com/guinea/index.php3, enter username "rice", no password) so that it's searchable by Years of Service, Name, Village in Guinea, etc...

Listserv

The Guinea List listserv is also still going strong, and we have a good showing from the new parents of PCV's. We have a total of 302 subscribers. Don�t be shy about posting� it�s nice whenever we see some discussion on there.

New PCV�s and Parents

I'd be interested in working with someone to provide more services to new parents of PCV's, and to PCV's in-country. I have ideas, as always. Contact me at info @friendsofguinea .org.

Peace, Steph

Inside PC Guinea

Woody Colahan

�� The October 2001 issue of the Peace Corps Guinea News shows us that Americans around the world are struggling to deal with the September 11 attacks just as we are at home. Country Director George Greer notes that �all of us in the American Mission in Guinea have overwhelmed by the outpouring of condolences and support from Guineans in all walks of life.� Judging from my experience in my village as a volunteer, this is not hard to believe. I remember well how I was deluged with condolences the day the news was reported of the death of President Clinton�s mother, an event of which I might otherwise not even have been aware. Apparently American officials and volunteers have had the same experience in spades. �The day after the� attacks President Cont� and his entire cabinet came to the ambassador�s residence to express their condolences to senior American officials,� reports George. �None have been more supportive than PC�s own Guinean staff. I believe we are all very lucky to be serving in Guinea.�

�� At the same time, the attacks have resulted inevitably in a heightened awareness of security issues. Security has been stepped up at the PC office and maison de passage. George expects Guinea to remain safe for volunteers, but asks any incidents of anti-American activity to be reported immediately, just in case.

�� The swearing-in of a new group of PCVs was scheduled for Sep. 13 at the Ambassador�s residence. Events caused it to be rescheduled to Sep. 12 at George�s own house. We imagine that, coming as it did a day after the attacks, it must have been an emotional moment.

�� George reports that flooding in Kankan and Mandiana has displaced 30,000 local inhabitants and washed out the bridge in Mandiana. As a result two Mandiana volunteers were withdrawn from their sites and one new PCV is waiting in Kankan for the waters to subside.

�� One majorish piece of news from PC Guinea is that the Peace Corps Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has decided to eliminate funding for all SPA projects in Guinea. Apparently it was generally agreed after a program review that infrastructure projects were not successful, although �technical assistance� or capacity-building projects had a much higher success rate. PC/Guinea has asked headquarters to be allowed to continue supporting technical assistance projects, but it is not yet clear whether funding will be restored.

�� IST�s were held in January for 1st year volunteers. They were in Mamou. I guess the beach at Kassa is just too distracting.

Le Griot Nous Dit...

�� Ms. Virginia Grover says: AnneMarie Cisse and her two adorable kids visited me in France last summer! Much time was spent reminiscing about "the good ole days" in Kindia.

�� Ms. Ann Grodnik reports: Kerry Philp recently sang her rendition of Frank Sinatra's �My Way" in a karaoke bar in San Francisco; Caroline Fichtenberg is going to start her Ph.D. in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins (ask her about start date and details); Shirley Woodward is going to get her MPH at Johns Hopkins starting soon. Shannon Fagerlund still parties like a rock-star.

�� Kari Eggerling (93��95) and Bob Capello (92��94) were married on April 27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

�� Rebecca Konrad (96-98) finished up her actuarial work last summer and

began the University of Minnesota's MBA program in the fall.� Brian McKenna (Bounouma 96-98) has moved to DC and is in school at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). We think that's what it stands for. Mike Nemec (Boffa 96-98) has moved to DC and is getting his masters in Public Policy at Georgetown. Martin Kifer (Beyla 96-97 and Bok� 97-98) has moved to Minneapolis and is pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at the U. of MN. Karen Pilliod (96-98) has moved to Chapel Hill and is getting her MPH at UNC.

�� Kim Maggio ( Maci, Pita 96�98) got married Nov. 2 in Conakry. She says, �I met this great guy, Gabriel (a.k.a. Gaby), in 1999 at Timi's (a night club for those of you not familiar with Conakry) while I was still a PCV in Guinea. Actually he was introduced to me one night, by my good friend Chavanne and it took us about 6 or 8 months to actually go out together. He says he didn't want to date a PCV because we all end up leaving the country (I think he has realized no one really knows when I'll leave.) Too make it even more amusing I was the one to ask him out, to a movie at the Marine house, of all places.

�� To those of you for whom I have been a poor correspondent I apologize and blame the technology of the Guinea. Needless to say you are still in my thoughts.�

�� Carrie Regan (RPCV Doko & Siguiri 1994-97) was the first person to realize that the famous "Afghan Girl" had been found. Carrie is an associate producer for National Geographic Television. The �Afghan Girl� was the subject of a famous cover photograph on National Geographic Magazine some years ago. The story of her rediscovery was aired on MSNBC in March. As the only woman in the National Geographic crew, Carrie was the first to meet her. Coverage of the �Search for the Afghan Girl� can be found at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html.

�� Woody Colahan (RPCV Maci, Pita 1993�96) will be married to Ni Nyoman Erawati on July 4th in Bangah, Bali, Indonesia. Era teaches Balinese dance at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Woody is studying Indonesian frantically. They will be leaving for Bali at the end of May and returning in mid-July, after which they will live in Colorado Springs. Woody says, �It kind of started when Era, whom I hardly knew at the time, asked me to go to Bali with her. And I have a strict policy: whenever a beautiful girl asks me to accompany her to paradise, I always say yes.�

�� Woody will also begin graduate school in the Fall, pursuing a double Master�s in Guitar Performance and Music Theory at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music. He plans to continue teaching classical guitar at University of Southern Colorado, Adams State College and Pikes Peak Community College.