Oui nous pouvons!

Translation into English, “Yes, we can!” That was the motto for our moto (motorcycle) project. Thanks to the many generous contributors who donated we were able to raise all the funds on time and carry out the seminar May 7th and 8th.
In the day leading up to the seminar twelve PCV’s asked twenty-five Cameroonians to “Soyez a l’heure!” and miraculously, soyez a l'heure they did! African time is much different than American but on day one over half of the moto drivers were there at least a half-hour early and on both days we were able to start on time.
The morning sessions on Day 1 consisted of a brief explanation of Peace Corps, a run through of our expectations with the participants then having to list theirs, facts and myths about HIV/AIDS, and a presentation on what is HIV/AIDS, how it’s contracted, etc by the hired health official. All went really well- the health official I picked did an excellent job & after our director explained several times that the drivers would not be receiving brand new motos after the project, they still remained very attentive and participative. :) For the afternoon: a session on stigma followed by a sad, yet uplifting testimonial, and finally the chance for all participants to take an AIDS test themselves. Everyone driver took one (including yours truly), which makes me think they really got it: that once they become peer educators and start lecturing others on knowing their status, it's important they take the brave step as well. The only hang up from the day came from the cater--the only one who didn’t seem to respect time. When she decided coffee break would take place at 12pm not 10am and lunch at 3pm and not 12pm (which was not sufficient when it arrived) we had to get a little creative with our program. Thus, after a quick re-shuffling all was OK. If there's I know for sure: you won't make it here if you're not flexible!
Test results came in on the morning of Day Two. Not a single participant left so we can hope that signified good news for all. What is a peer educator/how to be a great one followed by practical’s they can carry out during their demonstrations took up the rest of the day. Condom races were a hit and the demonstration on how to use a female condom was very interesting for them. I'm pretty sure for most, it was the first time they had ever seen one and they were surprised to know they could find them at most pharmacies. A closing ceremony with certificates (very important in Cameroon), several photo ops, and appetizers for all closed the evening. One village chief, a few mayors, and several important delegates showed up to give their support. Beep Your Horn also received a lot of radio press throughout the week, which I believe really helped participants take their job seriously.
Over the next few months the moto drivers with some help from PCV's will be carrying out the très important part: demonstrations in their respective village where each motos driver will take over as the trainer. I have no doubt that mine will be fantastic. At the moto seminar he approached me about marching for the 20 Mai, a national holiday here celebrating unification, and he wasn’t kidding. In the weeks following Dallas had a Beep Your Horn plaque along with 15 more t-shirts (which soon turned into 45) made. On 20 Mai three PCV’s along with 50+ Cameroonians associated with Dallas's moto association marched waving condoms and various other props to "lutte contre le SIDA". We certainly got a lot of attention! 
I’m certainly not done working with my moto men and I look forward to updating everyone on upcoming HIV/AIDS related work. THANKS again to all who made it possible!!!