New Job!

I am back in Ghana now, but I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. I got a real job working with refugees, and I am so glad. I am so happy that I don’t have to deal with all of the bureaucracy and hypocrisy of Peace Corps anymore. Overall, I had a wonderful time during the last year in Ghana, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world, but in my opinion, the Peace Corps organization itself is not the best. So I decided to look for a job so that I could stay in Africa, but not with the Peace Corps.

I was extremely fortunate and I found a job with OPE, which is an international non-profit organization which aids refugees who are seeking resettlement in the US. OPE works in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist in the preparation of documents for refugees who are of “compelling humanitarian concern” in West and Central Africa.

I will be working as a caseworker, which means I will be interviewing refugees to determine whether or not they are eligible to be resettled in the US. It’s a complicated process, but basically a refugee is eligible for resettlement if they can show that they cannot return to their country of origin because they would be in imminent danger. Also, there are some reasons some refugees would not be eligible for resettlement, such as involvement with a dangerous rebel group etc. I have not started working yet because the government has not finished processing my work permit, but I should start soon. I’m really excited and I think I’m going to really enjoy this job. I will be living in Accra, the capital, and the job also involves traveling to different parts of Africa.

I have several friends who also work at OPE, and lots of friends who live in Accra, which is nice. I don’t have a permanent place to live yet, but right now I’m staying in a friend’s room while she’s traveling. I’m definitely very excited and happy about this new job, and look forward to starting work soon. Although, it is also nice for right now to just hang out with friends and chill all day. And in case anyone was wondering, I’m planning on returning to the US in May of next year, and then starting med school in June at NYU’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine.