The View from Mama Houndja's
Last week was spent in cushy beds, swimming pools, and buffet lines. Mid-Service Training in Peace Corps Benin gives volunteers the chance to reconnect, recharge, and reevaluate their service amid all the conveniences one of the country's nicest hotels can offer. I found the day’s conference sessions engaging and the evenings of leisure and play joyful. The occasion also gave me time to reflect on sentiments that I’ve dwelt on for months. Mid-Service and a certain anniversary have aligned to underscore my point, which originates in the View from Mama Houndja's. The SAS sector taking it easy at Mid-Service Training (Photo: Chizoba Ezenwa) ----- Mama Houndja lives about a mile from me in a small cement house that welcomes the narrow northbound dirt road to her village. Two cement rooms are raised above the ground by a few steps and a narrow porch. Behind the house in an opening of the road lies one of the village meeting places. There the water pump stands just ou