Andrew holds a sign which reads “A child dies from malaria every 45 seconds,” as he takes part in a malaria awareness raising program in Senegal. (Photo supplied)

Andrew Wynn has recently returned from two years of service with the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. His family lives southwest of Bristol. He is a 2007 graduate of Northridge High School in Middlebury.

Senegal is a country with a population of about 10 million, located on the Atlantic Ocean on the “bulge” of West Africa. Andrew lived in Pout, a city of 30,000, located about 30 miles east of the capital, Dakar, which is on the coast.

He was the only Peace Corps member in Pout, even though there are 250 volunteers in Senegal, comprising the largest Peace Corps contingent in Africa. Andrew was a community economic development agent, working on several different projects.

One of his major efforts involved working with farmers to develop value-added large scale “fruit transformation.” One of the area’s major fruit crops consists of mangoes, but much of the crop spoils and goes to waste each year. Andrew assisted in devising methods of preserving the mangoes, primarily by producing juice, butter, and dried fruit.

A secondary project for Andrew was a program to reduce malnutrition, which is a big problem in the Sahel region of Africa because of the climate. He is pleased about the fact that malnutrition rates for children under age five in his district dropped approximately 2% in the two years he was involved in the program.

Andrew worked directly with mothers of malnourished children, teaching them how to grow vegetables with readily available resources (such as creating small “container gardens” using old tires). The women were then shown how to prepare their new produce to provide the most nutritional benefit for their children.

As part of a malaria awareness raising program, Andrew took part in visits to nine schools in Senegal’s malaria “red zone,” speaking to more than 1,900 students about the importance of using impregnated mosquito nets (the best method for avoiding malaria). They also pointed out the symptoms of malaria and when to seek treatment.

In July Andrew will start work as an IT consultant with Levi Strauss in San Francisco, California. He is looking forward to this new challenge, while admitting that he misses his service in Senegal. He says that the Peace Corps experience will remain “a huge part of my life,” and adds “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Andrew in a community garden with one of his Senegalese work partners Ndeye Fatma Seye, who he worked with throughout his service in the nutrition program. They are holding eggplant and beetroot, some of the crops grown there. (Photo supplied)

He urges anyone interested in the Peace Corps, its work in Senegal, or in other parts of the world to consult its website at PeaceCorps.gov.

Ruth Middleton (nearest) and Burt Evans (second in) of the Michiana Master Gardeners plant the quilt garden at the Elkhart County Historical Museum.

Initiated in 2007 by the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Quilt Garden Tour has received acclaim from numerous national media outlets and tourism organizations. The American Bus Association has ranked the Quilt Garden tour among its top 100 destination for three consecutive years.

The Elkhart County Historical Museum celebrated the opening of both their Quilt Garden and their new exhibit the Heritage Quilt Challenge: Featuring Elkhart’s Heartland Quilt Guild by hosting a garden party in the front lawn of the museum.

For this year’s Quilt Garden, the museum has chosen log cabin pattern. “We chose the log cabin pattern, because it is a timeless design and is rich in history; just like the museum,” said museum manager Matt Schuld. This year the museum’s quilt garden was planted by the Michiana Master Gardeners, who will be recognized at the party.

The 2013 Heritage Quilt Challenge exhibit will highlight quilts created by the Heartland Quilt Guild. “These quilts are a symbol of not just great art pieces, but are representations of years of quilting traditions that have been passed down through history. The Heartland Guild brought many new ways of interpreting historic quilts to the Quilt Challenge. This exhibit is full of bright colors and exciting patterns,” said Schuld. The exhibit will run through the summer and close on September 30th, 2013.

The exhibit was made possible by the Lavender Patch Quilt Shop in Bristol, the Elkhart County Parks Department, and the Elkhart County Historical Society.

The quilt garden was made possible by the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Elkhart County Parks Department, the Town of Bristol, and the Michiana Master Gardeners.