Maal is a village of about 3,000 in the Brakna region (see red region on map 2 - its still in the south, but a bit further west and not as close to the river). There is no electricity and only a couple of community faucets from which everyone gets their water. No cell service, no post office, and no paved road (or road of any sort) to get there. The community is, reportedly, quite active and they were very welcoming to Beth, the other PC trainee who�ll be posted there (working on English education and the Girls� Mentoring Center), and I. Though I�m a bit apprehensive about the lack of communication and difficulty getting out of Maal, knowing that the community wants us there and is willing to work with us is helpful�hopefully, I won�t want to leave that often.
