Getting Ready...

Hello! As you all know, I will be leaving for The Gambia with the Peace Corps on November 4th. I will be working in a rural village as an AgroForester and will be doing anything including (but not limited to…) environmental protection, forestry and agriculture methods, non-timber forest development, environmental development, grant writing, and water treatment projects. I am so excited for this opportunity and so blessed to have the support of my wonderful friends and family.

Although I will have limited access to the internet – something I have been taking for granted for years…I will try and update an online journal once a month or so just to give you an idea of what I have been up to...don’t worry, I will spare you the multi-paged detailed diary entry…no one wants to read those! It can be found at http://maggiegambia.blogspot.com/. I would greatly appreciate your emails updating me on your own exciting life anytime at mambomaggie@gmail.com and I will respond as quickly as possible…which probably won’t be so quickly at all. The best method to reach me would be through snail mail. Letter writing is a lost-art of sorts, and I would love to use mail as my primary form of communication. My address is as followed:

Maggie Rudick, PCT (after January 2009, I will no longer be a trainee, so it will be PCV)
C/O Peace Corps/The Gambia
P.O. Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa

From January 2009-January 1011, after the 3-months of in-country training, I will be sent to a rural village to start implementing projects and helping others towards environmental and economic stability. If you or anyone you know is interested in visiting and experiencing rural Gambian life, you are more than welcome to my home. The Gambia may be the smallest country in Africa, but is very diverse in terrain- there are beautiful beach resorts along the Atlantic Ocean and wonderful opportunities as one travels further East into other areas of the country.

You are all invited to my home in Sellersville, PA as well to celebrate my last weekend in the US on November 1st. Just one last hurrah on good ol’ High Street before heading off to my orientation in Philadelphia on the 4th and then arrival in The Gambia on November 6th...
Come over anytime from after 5pm
If you have any amazing books that you think I need to read, and are willing to part with them for 2 years, I am trying to gather some reading materials. Please don’t feel obligated to buy them anything though, the most important thing you can bring is yourself, friends, family members, grandma’s, neighbors, whoever- the more the merrier!
One last favor…if you could all email me your addresses…that would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to compile an address book before leaving.
If you can’t make it on November 1st, no problem. If you would like to get together at any point before I leave, just give me a call.
Thank you for your prayers, support, and love,
Maggie