Sending money
Sending plane tickets
Reflections of a Peace Corps mom
Visiting my volunteer
Volunteer safety

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How can I send money to Guinea?

You have a few options:

1. Send the money with Western Union.  They have a location in Conakry.  You will need to tell your friend to have proper ID, know your address, phone number, etc.  It costs a little bit but Stephanie Chasteeen sent money many times and have never had any problems.  Western Union will also give you a transfer number you can give your friend and that also helps.
2. Ask a traveller going to Guinea to hand carry it for you.
3. Use MoneyGram (www.moneygram.com, 1-800-MoneyGram) instead of Western Union. Their fee is less and they give a better exchange rate.  Don't even think about sending a money wire via BICIGUI.

See Airfare on or Visiting Guinea page (scroll down to find out about buying tickets for traveler in Guinea)

Now that Stephanie is safely home from her 2-year stint in the Peace Corps, I can let out the breath I've been holding.  It's been a roller-coaster of emotions:  pride, excitement, fear, sadness,  joy, etc.   She's asked me to write up something for the parents for the webpage.  It's a little hard to sum things up, but I'll try.

First, try to get as much information as you can.  The web has advanced quite a bit since she went over, so it's much easier now.  Seeing photos and connecting by email with other parents was helpful and reassuring.  Our parents' email list (now a real listserve) enabled us to exchange information about sending packages, and advice about telephoning and making trips to Guinea.

Communication is difficult.  You need to accept the fact that some things won't make it there, and that sometimes you won't get through on the phone.  Overall, we did surprisingly well, however.  I numbered letters and packages and kept a list of what I sent and when I sent it.  I used couriers whenever I could.  Couriers are people who are going to Guinea and kindly offer to take letters or small packages for you.  You can often connect with them on the Friends of Guinea listserve.  When couriers return to the States, they usually bring mail from the volunteers, so don't be surprised if you receive a letter from Pennsylvania or somewhere.

If I used the mail, I sent only inexpensive items.  I made copies of letters that I sent.  Keep sending things regularly even if you think they won't make it - some will, and your volunteer is hungry for those letters and packages.  Just don't spend a lot of money on them and you won't feel bad if they're lost.  Be persistent when telephoning.  If you know you have the right number, just keep trying as long as you can stand it, and sometimes, you'll be rewarded with a cheery hello.  We sent little cassette tapes with conversations back and forth to each other, and had a wonderful time with these long one-sided chats.

Try to visit Guinea if you can.  It?s the only way you'll understand what your volunteer is experiencing (at some level) and Guinea is a fascinating, if difficult country to visit.  It has a natural beauty and the people are warm and friendly.  When I was in Stephanie's village in Guinea, I could see that she was cared for and had good friends around her.

If there is a local school that would be interested in communicating with a Peace Corps volunteer, you might want to coordinate that with your volunteer.  You can also do this with the help of the World Wise Schools program.

Be positive and supportive, patient, and flexible.  Before you know it . . . they'll be back home with a thousand stories to tell.

Marge Chasteen

"If your friend or family member has been away for a year... you may want to take some personal items such as new underwear, t-shirts, etc.  For the person visiting, don't be alarmed at the appearance of your volunteer.  I know I may have been a rare case.  When I met mom and dad at the airport I was walking with a cane and had a few skin infections and was really thin.  Also language problems... I'm not sure how to get through this one, but at first mom and dad didn't know what the customs personnel wanted from them.  They didn't have their passports and WHO cards out and ready to present them.  Most of all prepare them for their first trip on a bus trip by sending photos of the busses and describing in detail what it's like to ride in a overcrowded bus that could break down at any given moment."

See also the Visiting Guinea page for tips and insights.

Read about family visits to see a volunteer in Guinea

I am Celia Engkilterra ("Eng-el-terra"), my son Shad is a 2 year PCV and headed back home-- to the world-- Tuesday 091900. Inshalla!!.  Shad is now in Conakry (011-224-227-807 the phone there works very well). He said that all PCVs from the forest area are now in Conakry. He also wants every parent to know that when the PCVs are at "Site" in their village they are very well protected and treated very well.

In October of 1999 I went to Guinea and visited Shad. Shad'a village is 50 Kilometers from the nearest PCV. While I was at "site" with him last year the Peace Corp had an emergency evacuation exercise. At the time of the drill Shad and I were stranded on the side of a road (really just a dirt path motorized vehicles use) because of a bush taxi mechanical failure (quite common). We were about halfway to nowhere--stuck in the middle of this nowhere-- as it were. A white 4x4 roared by, stopped, backed up, stopped. A Guienen stuck his head out, inquiring (in Malinki first, then French) if Shad was a PCV. Shad looked at me then responded that he was. The passenger handed Shad a white envelope and the vehicle drove off . Inside the envelope was a note from Danni telling Shad that he was to go to Diabola for peace corps evac. It instructed Shad that he was to be in Diabola by midnight. On the note it said that this was just a drill and that he was to write down the time he had received the message and how long it would take him to get to Diabola from where he was at when the order found him.

I found this facinating. Even though we were in the middle of no-place. The message relay system still was able to locate Shad. Had this been more than a test the Guienen would have taken us in his vehicle to Diabola instesd of just driving off. I wanted to relate this event in light of the current batch of E-mails from concerned parents. My two plus years expierence as a pCV parent is that the Peace corp takes the safety and security of its PCVs very serious and usally knows the whereabouts of the PCVs even when they are as remote as Shad and I were when traveling that day.

Also I strongly reccommend that any parent go and spend a month with his/her child at Site. The challenges these young people face daily and come to accept as normal will gladden your heart, lighten and trivalize the stress we endure in the lives we have here in the United States.

If you have any questions about travel to Guinea,  mailing packages,  or anything about PCVs at site Shad and I will be happy to try and answer all questions.

Celia Engkilterra
Mom of RPCV