Welcome to "Larry in Ghana"

Many people in my life have asked me to stay in touch during my 27 month stint in the Peace Corps. I figured this might be the best way to do that. In addition, other people might be thinking about joining the Peace Corps or might simply have an interest in Ghana and they might stumble across this blog. I hope it may prove useful for them as well.

Here are the facts as I know them today but one thing I am learning about the Peace Corps is that everything is subject to change!

I have a 3 day orientation in Philadelphia 9/15 - 17. Then to Ghana for 3 months of intensive training with about 50 volunteers. The first two weeks or so will be in the capital city of Accra, on the southeast coast, and most of the remaining time will be in Techiman, close to the middle of the country, living with a host family. That training will be heavily weighted toward culture and language and will also include elements of safety, health, technical training, and Peace Corps policies.

Then on to my assignment. I won't find out the location or the exact nature of my assignment until I am in the 3 months training but I do know that I will be working with the Small Enterprise Development division as a Business Advisor. The general goal is to build the capacity of my host organization to effectively access market opportunities in the local and/or international economies. I'll be working with tourism management committees, small businesses, farmers' or womens' groups or with small scale industries and may also be helping to link business people to micro-credit financial institutions. VERY exciting and VERY scary!!

Not sure how often I will have access to a computer and the internet while over there but I will do what I can to add posts to this site from Ghana to keep you abreast of my experience. I will also add posts before I leave to let you know what's happening with me as I prepare to leave.

I hope this site will be useful, educational, amusing, and most of all, a good way to connect verbally with those who already have a connection in my heart. Thanks for visiting.