I wanted to sincerely thank you for the letter
of recommendation you wrote me for medical school. It must
have been quite a letter, as I was accepted at the University
of Washington, U. of Colorado, and UC Davis, and was wait-listed
at UCSF. I was truly surprised and honored. I have decided
on UW, where the focus is on primary care and rural health,
but will be searching for any international opportunities
I can find.
"My best friends in the world!
Their smiles and laughter made
2 years absolutely worth it."
I finished Peach Corps in April and travelled
alone through Honduras and Nicaragua for a month. It was
quite an adventure, and a good time to reflect upon the
past two years and those that lie ahead. Tomorrow I head
back to the states, sad, but knowing it is time to move
on.
The San Ramon Women's Soccer Team
"Bellas y Poderosas!"
I thank you again, not only for your letter
but for your inspiration and enthusiasm that is so contagious.
I wouldn't be here if it was not for people like you. Hope
to see you as I pass through Santa Barbara!
Most Sincerely,
Kendra
_________________________________________
December 19, 2003:
feliz navidad de el salvador! I hope
all are in good health and spirits, enjoying the holiday
season in spite of all the mayhem going on in the world.
it has been quite a while since i have been in contact with
many of you, so i thought i would just send a little note
to update you on my life and, well, keep in touch.
Things have been going so well since i changed
sites in april (has it been that long??) i live in
one of the few indigenous communities remaining in el salvador,
and have been amazed and intrigued with the people in live
and work with. i started out working mostly with the
school and various community groups and we managed to complete
a computer center/library project in november. that
left me a little over a month to teach an intro computer
class to the 9th graders before they left the community
to continue in high school. it is always amazing to
see how much we take for granted having been exposed to
computers so early in life. things like space bars,
capital letters, the "maus". all made even more hilarious
seeing how i am not exactly a computer techie, and trying
to do this all in spanish, but at least i know more than
they do!!!
We are now in the process of starting a fuel-efficient
stove project, which should begin in february, leaving me
4 months to get it rolling before i am DONE. it is a
fantastic project sponsered by an ngo called "trees, water,
people" based out of ft. collins, colorado with some help
from the returned peace corps volunteers from western montana.
some home town lovin!! the idea is to reduce the amount
of firewood consumed while cooking, and divert the smoke out
of the cooking area. we will be training several women
to build the stoves, so they will have the added benefit of
some income.
I am also working with some local artisans
to help market their goods internationally. because
there is pretty much no tourism in this country, there is
no market, and these beautiful baskets and other crafts
sell for pennies. we are currently working with organic
bouquet, inc. to sell gift baskets with a social conscience.
although they are a little spendy for my volunteer stipend,
the rest of you with real jobs should check them out at
www.organicbouquet.com
we haven't sent ours yet, but something to keep in mind;
i will let you know when they do so you too can have a little
piece of el salvador.
Other than the usual parasites, tropical heat,
and chaos of central american, life is great. the
kids continue to light up my world with their smiles and
curiosity, and i feel loved and cared for by the community.
i am just lucky to be here, living all of this. of
course i also enjoy my hammock time and hemmingway, which
will be hard to part with come april. from there,
who knows where i will end up, but it is kind of nice not
knowing for once. i will be home for a brief visit
in january, with stops in washington, colorado, and montana
(maybe a layover in l.a.?) so it would be great to see or
at least chat with those of you in the area. and of
course visitors are still welcome in san ramon for some
pupusas and home-brewed chicha!! i wish you all the
best for the year to come and always, always look forward
to hearing from you.
Kendra Wiggins
_________________________________________
August 4, 2003
Dear Mark,
I hope this email finds you in good health and spirits. I
just thought I would let you know what I have been up to in
the past two years since I left the blissful utopia of Global
Studies at UCSB. After four months of traveling through Hawaii,
Fiji and New Zealand with my wonderful life's companion, I
came home for only a few days before departing for the Peace
Corps in El Salvador, Central America. I am in a program called
"Rural Sanitation and Health" and have had the opportunity
to live and work in two very poor, rural Salvadoran communities.
I have been witness to the tremendous generousity and kindness
of the Salvadoran people, their curiosity and wisdom, their
struggles and disappointments.
The first year I spent near the famous beaches of La Libertad,
in a community without electricity, water or even a road.
My work mostly consisted of house visits, community organization
and starting a young women's soccer team. I had a hard time
keeping the neighbors' cows out of my house and the bats from
completely taking over. Unfortunatley there were too many
problems within the leadership of the community to get much
accopmplished and most of my soccer team eventually left to
go work in the maquilas. I had to make the difficult decision
to change sites.
I am now living in one of the few indigenous
communities in the country, in the department of Sonsonate.
Many of the older women continue to wear the traditional rafajos
and a few elders still speak Nahuat. There have been several
efforts to begin teaching the local language and customs again,
but it is a tremendous struggle without support from the state.
I spend a lot of time working in the local school doing health
and environmental education, gender awareness, and teaching
English. We are in the process of painting a world map with
fifth grade, which should be a good lesson in geography since
most people think that Los Angeles is a state (not entirely
incorrect...). My primary project will hopefully be the construction
of fuel-efficient stoves with the double objective of reducing
respiratory illnesses and slowing the tremendous deforestation
occurring in El Salvador. If everyone could just get for a
few meetings we would be off to a good start. I spend my free
time traveling the country, lounging in my hammock, and teaching
my little neighbors how to play cards and open/close zip-lock
bags.
I could go on forever about the intense experience
this all has been for me. It has been a tremendous struggle
at times with only friendship and experience as the rewards.
I still am not sure what Peace Corps is but I know that I
love where I am and what I am doing. With about 8 months to
go I have started looking to the next step, and recently confirmed
my decision to go to medical school. I plan to work both at
home and abroad in the practice and policy of medicine.
That's all for now! I'll keep you posted on
our progress. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon.
Global & International
Studies Program
University of California, Santa Barbara
Room 3044, Humanities & Social Sciences Building
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7065
Tel: (805) 893-7860 Fax: (805) 893-8003 www.global.ucsb.edu
