As some may or may not be aware, we have spent the last week anxiously sitting at our training compound outside of Bamako while a security assessment was conducted. More violent activity in the southern, “safe” part of the country raised concerns about the safety of Peace Corps volunteers.
A popular blog post by a Mali RPCV provides a good overview of recent attacks: http://bridgesfrombamako.com/2015/08/10/keep-peace-corps-out-of-mali
Thankfully, we just got the green light from the Embassy and will be heading to regional cities and then our sites on Saturday morning. We are both excited and nervous to finally settle and begin the main portion of our Peace Corps service.