kids' program

The big event during our week in the village was a kids' program that we put on.  The day before the program we went to check with the teachers at the tiny village school to make sure of the time that the school kids would be free the following afternoon.  We also needed to get permission to use what looked like a public piece of land that is shaded by trees to do the program.  That evening, when it was time for the weekly market, we went down to a spot next to the market and played some music over a speaker.  A crowd started to gather and made a circle.  Some of the people in our team did a funny skit with a lesson about obeying your parents and one of the guys explained it in Bambara with a microphone so that everyone could hear.  When the skit was done everyone was invited to the program that would be held the next day at 3:30pm.  

When a kid arrives we ask their name and write it on a piece of masking tape that we stick on their shirt.  This assures that each kid had at least a moment of personal connection with us, and it shows that we value each one individually.  Once they have their tape-name they can go play at a station. Our team made different stations with fun activities to do like soccer, sack races, jump rope, or coloring for the little ones.  After 20-30 minutes, once the crowd has gotten pretty big, they kids are moved into a big semi-circle shape with girls on one side and boys on the other.  There are 3 rules to learn (I stay in my place, I listen, we're here to have fun) and 4 important things.  My job was to present the 4 important things in Bambara.  There was a little sign that went with each thing (in the picture I am holding the thumbs up sign) so I mostly just read the important thing and got them to repeat it several times.  There were somewhere around 350 kids there, plus quite a few adults.

There were silly songs, competitive games with boys vs. girls (the middle photo shows them playing musical hats,) something to memorize, and a short lesson.   It was really a fun time!
Most of the kids in this village have probably never been more than a couple miles away from home.  A lot of them don't even go to the one tiny school that is there in the village.  Most of them don't have a tv.  For there to be a big kids' program like this in their village put on by some visitors was a BIG deal to them.  At the end everyone got a piece of candy, so that made it even better!
I was happy that we could be part of continuing to build a good relationship between the village people and the project that has been started there.

jigine roof

I was in the right place at the right time to witness the attachment of a jigine (grainery/silo) roof.  It made me think of a good old fashioned barn raising where all the neighbors would show up and pitch in to get a big job done quickly together.  They had rolls of straw that went around a wooden frame.  There were 2 guys inside to help "sew" the thatch on with strips of tree bark.  They bound the top tight, and then it was time to pick it up.  The 2 guys inside played a joke and hung on to the inside frame when the outside guys were trying to pick the roof up, so it seemed awfully heavy until the 2 pranksters let go.  The jigine will be filled with a crop come harvest time - maybe millet, corn, or beans.  It doesn't have a regular door, usually just a smallish hole kind of high up.  This prevents rats from getting in, but a child can get in to retrieve some of the food.  I asked and was told that a roof like this can last for several years.

new baby!

I spent last week in a village with a team from my organization.  There is a couple (they're in the 2nd picture) that lives at the base there and they take care of it.  When we arrived, the wife, Sali, was working to cook food for us on an outside wood fire, the cooking pot resting on 3 rocks.  Her huge belly didn't seem to slow her down too much.  It was clear that she was toward the end of her pregnancy, but I was surprised on Wednesday morning to learn that she had given birth overnight.  She had walked into the village to deliver in the little maternity clinic.  The baby was born at 4am, and the top picture was taken at about 10am that same morning!  I got to hold the new little girl and help introduce her to her big brother, Cekoroba.  One of our leaders was asked to choose a name for the baby, so the little girl is now called Nyagali. ("Joy")

As I was holding the newborn and checking her out, it was evident that she hadn't been washed yet.  I'm not sure how it happened exactly, but somehow I wound up being the one to give the baby her first bath.  I guess it had to do with there being no one else who admitted to having ever washed a newborn.  We cleaned out a plastic basin and got some water and soap.  The baby seemed to love being in the water!  I've watched Malian women wash small babies before, and I've seen them SCRUB the baby clean.  So maybe the people watching me gently wash the baby thought I wasn't being rough enough, but I just don't think it's necessary to make 'em cry.

Then the second day the mom wanted me to wash the baby again because she claimed to not know how to do it.  Huh?!  This didn't make sense to me, especially considering that she has a 6 year old.  But I learned that normally an older woman would come and help the new mom take care of the new baby for a while after the birth. (I'm not really sure why there wasn't someone there to help her this time. Maybe because she doesn't live near her old village anymore?  or the helper woman only comes for the first baby?)  So this mom really had never washed a new baby, and she was nervous to try.  I said I'd wash the baby again, but this time the mom needed to sit next to me to watch/help.  This is the 2nd picture.  Next to the washing basin is a white pail filled with natural shea butter.  It's not quite Johnson's baby lotion, and really not what I'd want my baby to smell like, but this is what is slathered all over babies here after a bath.  There is also a blue thing of powder (this smells much nicer than the shea butter!) which I applied to her neck and other areas to help prevent some of the often seen consequences of temperatures up near 110 every day in this season.
Some of our teammates were amazed that I would know how to wash a newborn. (so amazed that I sort of thought they were mocking me at first, I was a little confused by how impressed they were)  I explained that when I was junior high age my aunt and uncle lived in the other side of our duplex, and I had 2 baby cousins born that I was crazy about and I was glad to help take care of them.  I also spent many evenings and weekends babysitting throughout high school, and finally, I worked as a professional nanny for 2 years - my final year nannying it was for 2 babies.  So I guess you never know when your skills will prove useful!

Washing the baby was an unusual but practical way that I could show love to Sali, the mom.
I was able to visit Sali and baby Nyagali several times when they were resting in their room.  I talked with Sali in Bambara because she doesn't speak French.
The baby never had clothes on while I was there, she was just wrapped in cloth.  Sali said they didn't have any newborn clothes, but the dad would buy something to dress her in when he went to the market in the nearby village.  Really, its hot enough that clothes aren't necessary, but I just wished I had a cute onesie to put on the baby.  I am hoping to find some tiny girl clothes in the piles of clothes we have in our markets here and if I can't go to visit Sali again soon, at least I can send a present to her with a colleague.  

not a doll

I took this picture last week in the village.  I first saw the little girl from the front and I saw that she had a fabric wrapped around her like to carry a baby.  I thought she must be carrying a doll or toy in it because sometimes little girls do that and its pretty cute.  But when she turned I realized that it was no doll!  Anybody else think that this girl is pretty young to be on babysitting duty?

today's problem: swollen feet

So I've learned several interesting things today:  1. you can get really swelled up legs and feet from sunburn, and 2. though the pharmacies here will sell you all kinds of drugs without a prescription, they will not sell you a diuretic without a prescription, and 3. diuretics are on banned drug lists because they can be used to mask other drugs. (I had to research diuretics online to try to figure out why the pharmacy wouldn't sell it to JP)

Sometimes when I travel and I have to sit for a long time on a bus or plane my feet get swollen.  The above photo isn't from today, its from 2011 when me and JP traveled by bus from New York to Minnesota.  My poor feet and ankles and legs were so waterlogged that it hurt!  Someone found a diuretic to give me and the next day the swelling was way down (and I didn't even mind all the trips to the bathroom if it meant that my skin would stop feeling like it would split open.)  But today my feet, ankles, and legs are all swollen up and I haven't traveled.  First I thought it could just be because of the hot sweaty weather we have here.  But I laid on the couch with my feet up and watched a movie during the heat of the afternoon, and it seemed like my legs only got more swollen.  I checked online and learned that when moderate to severe sunburn is healing, it can cause swelling.  I burnt my legs on Monday, so they are trying to heal today, so that makes sense.  But I thought I could more quickly relieve some of the discomfort of the swelling if I took a diuretic to help get rid of extra water.  JP went to the pharmacy for me but they refused to sell him a diuretic.  I guess I get to keep my puffy uncomfortable legs for awhile longer.

**Update:  The next day my feet and legs were about 75% better.  The day after that they looked completely normal.

making new friends in the village

My host man with his youngest child (girl at left) a granddaughter on his lap, and grandson behind right.

My third trip to the village...  I was on my own.  I left home at 7am and arrived a bit after 8.  I hadn't met the wife the first time because she was at the market.  I heard this and thought she went to get some food and would be home soon, but then she never showed up.  I asked again before I left where she was and they explained to me that she sells vegetables from their garden/fields at the market so she stays there all day.  So we made plans that the next time I would come early and go with her to the market and spend a few hours there with her.  I thought that would give good opportunity for chatting and maybe I'd make friends with some of the other seller ladies there as well.  But when I arrived and met her, the wife didn't seem in any hurry to get going.  After a while I asked if we were going to go.  She said no, there weren't vegetables ready to be sold today.  Um, yeah, another example of being flexible and just going with whatever happens.  I sat and chatted a bit with the family members who were there, and I walked around the courtyard to check up on the animals: chickens, a dog, 2 donkeys, and about 10 pigs. (they definitely aren't Muslims!)
I was excited to learn that "my" family in the village is a Christian family!  So there is only 1 wife, but they have 9 children 3 grandchildren (so far.)
The wife asked if I wanted to go to the garden/field.  She warned me that it was a long walk.  I thought it would be good to see the family business, and the husband was there working so I'd be able to see him again, too.  I'm not exactly sure how far it is, but I'd guess about 2 miles.  Maybe you think that doesn't seem too far, but imagine walking that on rough sandy dusty roads in flip-flops in 105 degree heat and sun beating down on you.  And then doing it again to come back after.

Here is my host woman at the family's garden/fields.  They have a lot of mango trees there and we picked the ripe ones and she hauled them back to town in a big bucket carried on her head.

When we were trekking out to the garden/field we passed some huge chicken barns.  Some of them are for eggs and some raise chickens for meat.  This is the scene we came upon around one corner.  That is a big pile of plucked dead chickens, see them there?  The guys were getting them ready for someone who going to have a big party or event.

adult education - reading and writing

For my 2nd time in the village, I traveled with my friend again, but I was supposed to be going to meet a new family that will be "my" family in the village.  When we arrived I called the man because he was supposed to come find me and show me how to get to his house.  He was out working in his garden/field however, and he said he would come to get me in about an hour.  You have to just go with it, whatever "it" is today.  I went into the courtyard of my friend's family, and sat for a few minutes.  Then it was off for another adventure - to the ladies learning to read and write school.  I found this to be really interesting.  A teacher had written on 2 chalkboards in front of the class and the women were supposed to copy what was written.  My friend and I were given some paper and expected to do the work, too.  I didn't get too far in copying, mostly because I decided it would be more interesting to take pictures, as you can see.  My host man showed up and I got to meet him and I left to walk with him to his house.  After a few hours I met back up with my friend and we traveled back into the city together.