This group was mostly focused on the environment, as the entire group made all of their money from their farms or from selling the fish that they caught. So during the second week of every month, we decided on different goals to help the village's environment, including cutting the grass in the village, picking up rubbish and properly recycling it, planting new mangrove trees and many other projects.
The Teacher Group consisted of five teachers that worked in the school, and they took input from the parents of the students. The school needed many repairs, but the group decided that the school bathrooms needed the most attention. They were in such a bad condition that most students did not want to even use them. Most students would go to the bathrooms at the family's homes in the village. Could you imagine living at school from Monday to Friday and not having a proper bathroom?
I was not the first Peace Corps Volunteer in Dakuibeqa. In fact, I believe I was the third. Each volunteer before me did a great job helping the village with many needs. They helped the village get wifi, helped create concrete paths and helped start building the seawalls. Even most recently, the volunteer before me helped every home receive solar panels so that they had power for the first time in Dakuibeqa.
However, there were still a lot of community needs. Working with all of the groups in the village to determine which of the needs were the most pressing was a lot of work. The most pressing of all the needs was fixing the school's bathroom. The toilets were in terrible condition and did not flush. The sink's running water didn't work.
