THANK YOU Mrs. Corey!

It's high time I give a much-deserved shout-out and thank you to a woman who has been taking great care of me since high school, the mother of my dear friend Sam, Mrs. Corey! I have been blessed to get love and pick-me-ups throughout my 19 months in Cameroon, but no one has been more committed and generous in indulging my need for chocolate, my requests for brown rice, lentils and curry powder, and my love of stickers, face-wipes, nuts, tea, Crystal Light packets, and ZipLock bags!

I am blown away at Mrs. Corey's tireless efforts at boosting my mental health and spicing up my diet with treats and necessities from home, - she has my wish list in her purse and picks up items when she sees them - I am humbled at her dedication and want her to know how far her work goes to make me and others feel loved. It's hard to imagine how nice it is to get packages here - I can only compare it to Christmas when you are a kid - but she must know how much her care packages mean to me, the effect can not be exaggerated.

The culture of gift-giving is extremely important here, and its always nice to have little tokens of appreciation and support for those great people in your lives. Mrs. Corey's  boxes of fun surprises are perfect to share with my Cameroonian friends, students and work partners - giving someone a chocolate or sticker that they can't get here makes their day, and are perfect for prizes during my sessions. I recently gave one of the fun pairs of earrings she sent to a neighbor hospitalized after having her appendix out - weak as she was, she had us all help her sit up so she could put them on then and there, suddenly beaming. Having little gifts for moments like these is so nice and is a whole other level of the gift I'm getting myself. Plus, having Reeses Pieces and coffee to share with fellow volunteers definitely wins me brownie points!

Huge, heartfelt thanks for your support Mrs. Corey - I am extremely lucky to have you looking out for me!