1. United States
Peace Corps Ghana
Peace Corps Volunteer Michael Kern
Description of Service
Ghana 2009 -2011
" ature gave us two cheeks instead of one to make
it easier to eat hot food"
- Ghanaian Pro erb
The Peace Corps experience is often defIned as a unique, extraordinary, and distinct Journey by those
who have endured the process. While volunteers across the world share certain aspects of joining the Peace
Corps - most notably a competitive year-long application process prior to service, a rigorous three-month in­
country language and cultural training, and ultimatel t.vo fUll years living, learning, and teaching in a forei 11
environment - the situational challenges that arise th oughout these phases affect individual volw1teers in diverse
ways.
Michael Andrew Kehr arrived in Ghana on June 4, 2009 at the age of 22. He was the first Peace Corps
Volunteer assigned to Bodaa, a rural village of the Brong Ahafo Region. In fact, he was the fIrst foreigner to
ever live and work with the community. When Mr.Kehr arrived to the village in August of 2009, he discoyered
that not only would his age and background be a huge cultural challenge to overcome, but also that the
community had little understanding of the United States Peace Corps and his role as a volunteer. F r two years,
Iv!r. Yehr struggled to break the local engrained stereotypes, educate the community about his purpose, and find
an identity among the village. Despite these hurdles, Me. Kehr managed to initiate numerous projects and
achieve success as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Pre Service T ra'ning
Mr. Kehr began an intensive la-week pre-service training upon arrival in Ghana. He was sent to Ado
Nkwanta, a small agricultural town in the Eastern Region located two hours north of Accra, Ghana's capital city.
During training, Mr. Kehr shared a compound house with an extended family consisting of 11 members - living
without electricity or running water, eating the traditional Ghanaian dishes of fufu and banku, and learning how
to utilize the local transportation system of tro-tros and taxis. In addition to learning how to live in Ghana, "l1.r.
Kehr underwent daily Peace Corps initiated training sessions. The general topics covered in training included:
Technical skills training promoted in the Peace Corps' Environmental sector
Twi language lessons
Methods on teaching HIV/ AIDS education
Traditional cultural training, history, and sensitization to local norms
Medical and Safety/Security training for life in Ghana
Mr. Kehr was taught the Ashanti Twi language and reached an intermediate-mid competenc·· level at he
conclusion of the la-week program. As part of the technical training, Mr. Kehr participated in workshops
focused on the raising of animals for food and income, basic permacultute techniques, erosion control, an
improved farming practices. At the end of the la-week training Mr. Kehr successfully passed a final cnluation
conducted by American and Ghanaian instructors.
Assignment
On August 13,2009, Mr. Kehr completed training and was sworn in as a Peace Corps V IlDteer by the
United States lmbassador to Ghana, Donald G. Teitelbaum, and Peace Corps Ghana Country Director, Mil<
Yoffman. Mr. Kehr was assigned to Bodaa, a farming community of fewer than 1,000 people. Bodaa is located
in the Jaman Soud1 District of the Brong Ahafo Region, two kilometers from the Cote d'Ivoue border and a full
day's travel ftOm Accra. Bono Twi, a dialect ofTwi, is the local language, although English an French is

2. occasionally heard among the men and in the marketplace. The area lies within the wet, emi-equatorial re non,
ha ing a mean annual rainfall ranging betveen 1200mm (47 in) a d l780mm (70 in). 'lhe community
experiences a major rainy season from ~April to June and a minor rainy season in September and October. The
average annual temperature is about 30"C (86"F). For most ofBodaa' - history, the fanner' engaged in the
country's most lucrative agricultural sector: cocoa. However, due to widespread bush fir s in the 1980's rnany
farmers 10 t e,-erything and subsequently switched to Cashew Farming, which is less vulnerable to fire
outbreaks, and unfortunately, less profitable. ft. Kehr's placement and assignment had him working wid first
and second-generation Ghanaian Cashew Farmers.
Primary Project
Mr. Kehr was placed in the agricultural village ofBodaa as an Alternative Livelihoods Project fa ilitator.
The main occupation of c rrununity members in Bodaa is cashew farming and they were looking for additional
sources of income gen >ration activities. The focus of the project was to educate, train, and assi tinter ·'ted
farmers in raising animals as an Alternative Livelihood Project (ALP). Since many of he farmers did not
possess an educational level beyond primary or junior high school and were unfamiliar working with D reigners,
an immense challenge confronted Mr. Kehr. For over a year, Mr. Kehr worked to build the trust needed and
form the appropriate relationships before he was able to effectively educate the community on the potential
benefits of raising animals. With the training acquired from the Peace Corps, ft. Kehr explained to interested
corrununity members that ALPs not only promote higher standards of living by providing a sustainable source
of food and income, but can also reduce the amount of time-farmers spend in the bush, thus minimizing their
overall workload and their environmental impact. After performing a needs assessment of the illage, l'vIr. E ehI7
identified that tl1e community was particularly interested in raising a Ghanaian delicacy and indigenous speCIes,
the grasscutter. Ultimately, it was decided that investing in the grasscutter was too expensive and too ris : due
the creature's difficult nature to be domesticated. Since dus was the first effort at an ALP, the Bodaa fam1ers
chose a safer and cheaper animal to raise, rabbits. Rabbits were selected because of their rapid reproduction
rate, a wide ranging diet, and for their simple maintenance requirements.
Mr. Kehr worked alongside the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and their local
Fxtension Officer, Muharruned Yakubu, to register and organize Bodaa farmers into a Farmer's Based
Organization (FBO) - the fust ever created in Bodaa and during Mr. Yakubu's four year term. ;vfr. y-ehr also
networked the corrunwuty with an established Ghanaian rabbit farm, 'Up-to-Date Farms,' located in the 13rong
Ahafo regional capital, Sunyani. 'Up-to-Date Farms' suppli d the initial rabbit stock to Bodaa, and rl1eir chief
farmer conducted three workshops for the farmers covering dle areas of feeding, maintenance, and marketing.
In order to supply the Bodaa rabbit farmers with adequate rabbit housing, ~r. Kehr secured a Small Project
Assistance Grant (SP ) from USAID. In total, 15 two-story rabbi hutches we e built fOt the farmer- and the
project waS initiated on pril 5, 2011.
Throughout his primary project, rv[r. Kehr was a constant target for cormption from th corrun nity
chief, various sub-chiefs, and counterparts. Because of Ius age, possession and control of grant money, 11,r.
Kehr was p essured relentlessly by influential community members to divert money into altcrnati,-e individual
projects. :oft. Keht tirelessly explained that the available grant money was for the project and registered farmers
only. Mr. I ehr refused to be impac ed by those who discouraged the project, accepted the necessary delays, and
focused his efforts entirely on those who were truly interested in pursuing raising rabbits as an ALP.
Secondary Projects
High-Intensive Agriculture. Mr. Kehr and his community counterpart built a model farm in front of his
home. Over the course of five grueling weeks, Mr. Kehr and his counterpart went into the Ghanaian bush vith
machetes to cut bamboo and wooden poles for construction. Mr. Kehr was not only taught the art of using a
machete, but also the misery of carrying a large amount of weight on the top of his head over long distances!
Once completed, the model farm served as a teaching tool for the entire Bodaa community and
demonstrated basic gardening principles such as: proper fence construction to discourage goats, tree nursery
establishment, cultivating unfertile rocky soils with organi.c manure and growing food closer to home, using
natural pesticides derived from local plants (especially the eem Tree), compost production using food and
arumal waste, intercropping techniques, and integrated pest management practices. Nit. Kehr was also able to
grow many non-traditional crops such as carrots, cabbage, lettuce, groundnuts, tigernuts, beans, and cucumbers.
Throughout dr. Kehr's two year service he held coundess informal sessions with any curious communil)'
member who stopped at his house. He also demonstrated to the Bodaa community the possibility of growing
corn three times per year rather than their traditional two times, by planting early near a reliable water source

3. and inigating a few weeks before the rainy season. For the past two years fr. KchJ' has been the first Bodaa
community member to harvest corn!
Moringa Cultivation. Mr. Kehr networked interested Bodaa farmers ith the Ghanaia Tanager of
Intemational Permaculture Se i es, Paul Yeboah. It. Kehr organized 26 farmers from Bodaa and the
neighboriJ1g village of Adamsu, and invited r r. Yeboah to discuss the possibility of grov-ing Mocinga. In 2 10
and 2011, the farmers had r ported 38 a res of Moringa were under cultivation. 10ringa is a mediclllal tr
used for supplementlllg diets, pro iding all the essential amino acids, and are especially important for the
development of young children and pregnant women. Mr. Kehr invited Mr. Ycboah back to Boclaa in L lay of
2011 to discuss the potential of producing medicinal soap and other income generatlllg ideas derived from
Ivrorillga cultivation.
illage Bicycle Project. Mr. Kehr organized a Village Bicycle Project in which 140 people participated in
a one-day workshop (20 people each day) on bicycle maintenance and repairs. At the c nclusion of the
workshop, participants were able to purchase used, donated bicycles at an extremely low price.
Cashew Initiative. Mr. Kehr worked alongside four other Peace Corps Volunteers from the Brong .Abafo
Region to launch the volunteer-led Cashew Initiative ill Peace Corps Ghana. The mission of the Ca-he,
lnitiati,re was to educate and tram future PCVs ill all aspects of the cashew illdustry in order to support them in
their placement in cashew growillg and marketing communities. Volunteers placed ill cashew communities will
transfer improved farming methods to illcrease yields, encourage altemative livelihood projects, aid in the
formation and organizational development of farmer based organizations and associations, and help farmec,
PEOs, and associations better understand and benefit from the burgeoning X/est African cashew marl t.
Mr. Kehr help d organize and lead an ill-service training (IST) for the Peace Corps, providing education
about the new initiative and guiding Ghanaian counterparts through a series of hands-on demonstrations abom
pruning, grafting, and various methods of topwork (stumpillg non producmg trees). The emphasis of the 1ST
sessions were to show how simple procedures such as pruning low-yielding plots and grafting high-yi lding
vaJ'ieties can improve the quantity and quality of the harvested cashew nut. Mr. Kehr was honored to be
illvolved wirh creating the Cashcv' Initiative and its potential ro build capacity, increase productivity, and
improve profitability for the cashew farmers ill Ghana.
Computer Lab. Mr. Kehr helped organize the Bodaa S udent Union ill 2010 and establish goals and
objectives for the upcoming year. The primary objective focused on building a library for the communit), a d
providing jobs to members of the Student Union. Mr. Kehr applied for a Peace Corps Partnershi Project
(PCPP) Grant to raise money for the project. Unfortunately the targeted amount was unable to b raj 'ed fr m
abroad causing Mr. Kehr and the Student nion to revise their plans and focus solely on a computer lab. The
community and Student nion renovated an unused classroom at the Bodaa Presby Junior Hi h School and 1.r.
Kehr supplied them with seven computers, a printer, copier, scanner, and internet access with the funds
generated through the PCPP. Of all the projects that Mr. Kehr was illvolved with during his time in Bodaa, the
computer lab was the most significant due to its ability to help future generations of youth improve their lives
through education, connecting the tiny village of Bodaa with the rest of the world, and providillg an invaluable
resource for the Student Union.
Mr. Kehr completed his service on August 12,2011. He persevered through the immense hallenges of
beillg the [ust volunteer ill a village that was unaware of his initial Peace Corps mission. 11: was at the conclu ion
of his service that Mr. Kehr realized the scope of just how much impact his service had on his community and
had on him personally. Through periods of adversity and frustration, JLi:. Kehr stuck to his values and worked
through the various hardships. He demonstrated to his community that although he was young, h was reliable,
hardworkillg, and passionate about his responsibilities. Above all, at the conclusion of his senrice Mr. Kehr felt
privileged and was proud to represent the lnited States of America as a Peace Corps Volunteer. OnJulv 24'h,
Bodaa honored Mr. Kehr and thanked him for his dedication by recognizillg him as a village sub-chief.
"Only when you have crossed the river, can you say
the crocodile has a lump on his snout"
- Ghanaian Proverb

4. Pmsuant to section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.s.c. 2504 (t) as amended, any former Vohuueer employed
by the L.inited States Government following his/her Peace Corps Volunteer service is entitled to haTC any p l~od
of satisfactory Peace Corps service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reducnon in force lea e and
other privileges based on length of federal government service. Peace Corps sen'ic shall not be credited
toward completion of the probationary or trial period of any service requirement for career appointmenc.
This is to certify in ac ordance with Executive Order o. 11103 ofApril 10, 1963, that tvIr. Michael Kehr served
satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His service in Ghana ended on August 10, 2011. He is therefore
cligible to be appointed as a care r-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive
basis. This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year after termination of
the Volunteer's service, except that the employing agency may extend the period for up to three years for a
former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or
engages in other activities that, in the view of the appointing authority, warrant extension of the period.
--10 ~) U
Date
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