Fecal Matters from our Country Director.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT from a letter sent from our Country Director this morning:

PC/Niger Volunteers:

In 2001 and 2002, PC/Niger was the undisputed, highest ranking, number one PC program in the world...in terms of the incidence of acute diarrhea among the Volunteers. However, the newly-reopened program in Chad squirted ahead of us in 2003. Now, in the recently released report from PC/W's Office of Medical Services on "The Health of the Volunteer, 2004," we have regained the lead. Here are the figures, in cases per 100 Volunteer-years:

* Niger - 333
* Chad - 299
* Burkina - 280
* Bolivia - 243
* Togo - 241
* PC global average - 87

You can once again lay claim to serving in Peace Corps' shittiest program!

Seriously, while I sometimes joke (perhaps even brag) about this, I recognize that it's a very difficult problem for you, and one that's largely unavoidable given the conditions in which most of you are obliged to live. Frequent sickness is yet another reason, along with extreme poverty and extreme heat, lack of electricity and running water, and poor transportation and communications infrastructure, why PC/Niger is "hard core Peace Corps," the most challenging physical environment for PCVs of any program in the
world.

You guys are tough!