Name: Noni
Alexander
Age: 23
until May!
Hometown:
Laurel, MD (what really is a hometown
if you move all the time haha)
Primary
Job: Community Health Outreach
Specialist (aka our “Primary Projects” work with HIV, malaria, and
organizational development)
Site:
Angonia, Tete Province
Secondary
Projects: English Theater,
Science Club & Science Fair Provincial Coordinator, JUNTOS, teaching
English to hospital colleagues, giving health talks at the jail
Where did
you go to school/study? Gimme yo background leading up to Peace Corps!
I am a
proud graduate from Appalachian State University tucked away in the Appalachian
Mountains of Boone, NC. I majored in Communication Studies with a minor in
Health Promotion. Before PC, I was living in São Paulo, Brasil teaching English
to low income primary school aged children.
Why did you
want to join PC?
I
joined PC for a few reasons: to continue challenging myself if the Portuguese
language, to explore Southern Africa, to get hands on experience in the health
field, and to just do something a little out of the box to push myself to new
limits.
Describe
your site/house/living situation.
I live
in a moderate sized town of about 40,000 residents called Vila Ulongúe about
30km from the Malawi border. Here, there is a mix of the educated and the rural
poor. We have 2 connivance stores, a huge open air market, several schools, a
hospital, a health center, and a forest lol! I live in a tiny cement house
enclosed with 2 other families sharing a latrine and well.
What is
your favorite PC activity?
My
favorite PC activity would have to be baking with my toaster oven!
What is one
thing you want Americans to know about Moz?
I think
that Americans should understand that Mozambique is a diverse country in many
ways i.e. local languages, landscape, regional customs, socioeconomic levels,
and climate.
What parts
of service do you find most challenging?
My
biggest challenges related to service are finding ways to keep occupied and
combating pests (cockroaches, spiders, and now millipedes).
What parts
do you find most rewarding?
The
most rewarding aspect of service is appreciating little bundles of joy whether
that be: a recipe turning out better than expected, admiring the flowers in
full bloom, playing new games with students, or having someone like one of your
ideas!
Lastly,
FOOD! What’s was your favorite or go to meal in Moz?
My fave
Moz food is homemade matapa (spinach, coconut milk, peanut flour concoction) by
my maid, laid over rice with a fresh juice on the side.
What is
something you feel to be unique about your site/projects youre involved
with/your service experience?
One of
the most unique aspects of my service has been befriending my local tailors and
attempting to learn how to sew on old Singer machines.
Future Plans?
As I
leave service this July, I am looking into health promotion jobs in D.C. &
MD area. Before that I am super pumped for my end of service trips to Namibia
and Egypt!
Various Photos!
Panorama from a "Busca" or looking for patients who are HIV positive but abandoned treatment or not yet come in for it
Criancas in my quintal or a fenced in backyard
Angonia gets a LOT of rain compared to the rest of Tete
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