November and December is the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, all a time when we reflect with our family and friends about the all that we have witnessed and endured throughout the year. We express gratitude for surviving our hardships and solidarity in our mistakes. Last year, I celebrated Thanksgiving at one of […]
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“What do you miss most about home?” I remember asking that question to a friend who had been living in Haiti for half a decade while visiting them. Sitting on their front porch and looking out at the beautiful mountain landscape around us, they sighed, “I don’t know, maybe driving?” It didn’t seem like a […]
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I was roaming from class to class as I usually do during our routine morning break time of the school day. The air was filled with the sound of trampling feet rushing to the lunch line, the bouncing of soccer balls, and the mumble of varied conversation throughout the classrooms. During today’s morning break, I […]
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I walked through my community as the sun was starting to set and the air felt cool from the storm that had just passed. I watched as chickens, followed by their chicks, and goats roamed through the streets, as water flowed through the rocks in the dirt road. Community members called my name as I […]
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In 2015, as a soon-to-be college graduate from Iowa State University, I distinctly remember wondering if putting my career on hold and moving halfway across the world to work in agricultural development was the right decision. After spending a year and a half in Ghana, West Africa with AgriCorps, I knew I had made the […]
Continue ReadingDo you have what it takes to be an AgriCorps Fellow? Do you know someone who does? Find out below! What traits make you qualified? Committed to Food Security “I believe that the youth are the future. They are the ones that will create change. They will transform the agricultural industry. They are the ones […]
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The warm tea was a nice touch to the end of a busy day of travel. One hundred miles in seven hours – yep, I’m in Ghana for sure. I paused and silently stared at the white tea cup in front of me. My eyes followed a hairline crack from the base of the reservoir, […]
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The hot sun blared down with a merciless pulse of unwavering heat. Sixty-seven learners sat in their cramped rows that had morphed into a disorganized blob of desks. There were no lights above and a glare from the barred window shown on the chalkboard. The glare made it so that 75% of my 67 learners […]
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My feet kicked up dust as I shuffled across the dirt floor. Forty heads swiveled to look as they heard me approach the classroom. Their matching yellow shirts all moved in unison; the dusty, gray, cinder block walls providing a dreary backdrop for their uniforms, the clean color dazzlingly bright compared to the stark surroundings. […]
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My eyes shot open. It was early. The sun was just about to rise. Today was the day I had been impatiently waiting for—my 4-H Club would finally begin work on our farm. The PTA Chairman, Mr. Appiah, was kind enough to lend us an acre and a half of land. The chief and elders […]
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