Leaving With A Legacy

Just a quick picture before we go

Well, its over.  Service might as well be finished because I can now check off the most significant project I've worked on during my two years here.  Kelly and my Teacher Training Project completed the last training, we've held a meeting with those who may be taking it further, and we're writing up the final report tomorrow.  No more workshops, no more posing with teachers hold certificates, no more receipts to fill out for reimbursement.

This was our big project, our 'tent pole' project as we'd call it.  This was the project of our Peace Corps service (or at least of mine).  Building upon the previous training project we had done, we delivered workshops that trained teachers in Azerbaijan to deliver their own trainings to teachers in their own schools.  Instead of Kelly and I spending our time traveling all over Azerbaijan, we equipped the best teachers throughout the country to hold their own trainings.

I'll admit, it was a gamble.  On paper it sounds good.  'Sustainability,' 'job development,' 'train the trainer'-these are pretty attractive phrases to use in grants.  However, actually getting results in a foreign culture is a completely different matter.  But, results are in and they're pretty good.  From our first two workshops, ten training sessions were held, reaching over 200 teachers.  From the remaining three trainings (which all occurred in the last week), we expect another 8 trainings to be held from those, only increasing the reach of this project.

I've been told that one's legacy doesn't refer as much to what one did, but by what is still being done after one has left.  The motivation for this grant was that Kelly and I wanted to get this information out to teachers in a way that didn't depend on Americans.  Sustainability would only come if Azerbaijanis were responsible for their own development.  I'm really excited to be leaving this project in the shape its in.  Our contribution may be over, but the project is only just beginning.