African Adventure 13

01 August 2008

This morning I went to the clinic and chatted with the major about the Gansin quartier. He clarified that it is 2-3K west of my house towards the Thyou barrage. The Gansin quartier near his home is that of the little brother to the main quartier. I shared with him the debate I was having with Karim over this information in view of where we do our next sensibilisation, and asked him to mention all this to Karim. I also said to the major that we are planning to start the Moringa Project next Saturday.

After the major left for Fri prayer service at the mosque, the accoucheuse came to chat with me and we spoke in English and French for awhile, then went to the maternite'. We talked with Awa (who has 6 children) from Bolo, who was there to support the younger wife of her husband who had a premature baby yesterday. Awa wants to come to America with me. Awa cooks for the marche' in Bolo and I had my first taste of rabbit there once. I took a photo of her cooking soup/sauce over the fire which she wants a copy of.

In the afternoon Garrett invited me to the celebration of the work of the Swiss volunteers, who had constructed a chicken coup in Thyou. We toured that and then proceeded on to the school where the closing ceremony took place. Many of the older men of Thyou and our church were there. Kabore' Sailif emceed the event. The volunteers had also donated a lot of things to the bibliography (library) they helped set up last year. After the functionaires recognized the efforts of the volunteers, one of the Swiss accepted their thanks and spoke briefly about the inter cultural exchange. One of the female volunteers requested Garrett take photos of the chickens when they arrive and email them so that the volunteer can show the project to their supporters back home. Apparently the Swiss went to Ouagadougou for the chickens, which had been inadvertently exposed to chickens in quarantine and therefore had to stay longer. Sailif had drinks served followed by grilled beef, then Riz Gras.

When we left that event, we proceeded to Alphonse's house where friends and neighbors were gathered for his birthday celebration. Another round of drinks and Riz Gras with many of the same people at both events. One of the older guys led grace after meals and then broke into a chanting of the Kyrie', which reminded me of all the Latin we learned in Catholic School and sang at Mass. Deja Vous!

During my language lesson we studied the new French dictionary for children, then I practiced Moore' numbers, so I can use them to speak with the mothers at baby weighing to tell them the baby's weight and whether there was an increase or decrease.

02 August 08

Abdoulaye brought over a letter for Lindsay from Sakinata with a picture she made. I biked to the Sabou marche' today to visit friends and see if I could find a casserole set reasonably priced. After finding that we found pork sandwiches and had lunch. In the afternoon I went to St. Luc's for Reconciliation service. Father Marc and I spoke part in English, but several times he lapsed into French for lack of words. I think we had a common understanding when all was said and done.

There were a number of altar boys in the church practicing for Mass. We went to the parish house and visited Father Jacques who recently returned from Italy and was quite sociable as he talked about his time there. The priests gave us a bag of millet grain to bring back to Thyou for Jean Baptiste, the catechist. As we were pedaling back, storm clouds were gathering for rain. By the time we reached Thyou, it started sprinkling. I continued on to my house, where Issaka was waiting for the soccer ball I had for him. Issaka is president of young men's soccer team in Sala. He pumped up the ball, then Abdoulaye did too. But too much, and the burst in my house sounded like a sonic boom. Zanabou came over to color while she soaked her foot because she had a pique (sliver) in it. Madi and his friends were up all night listening to music in front of my place, so I put my earplugs in and slept soundly through all that.

03 August 08

At the Mass in Thyou a priest with a lot of personality taught the congregation a song they can sing at home. He had each section repeat it and it was clear the children learned it best. The regular choral singing and drumming were beautiful. Besides having my swear in dress altered, I visited many friends at the marche' in Thyou this Sunday. I heard that one friend of mine, Sylvie is home with a swollen leg. I will go to her home soon to visit her.

Little Claude came and sat with me at market awhile as we ate fried dough balls. He asked for a soccer ball. I told him one will come from America for him. I got my fruits and vegetables next.

In the afternoon George and Laurentine invited me to go with them to visit all the quartiers in Bagre. Because the rainy season makes some roads impassable, we waded through a pond of water pooled into the road. The path was muddy from recent rains and after several kilometers, we arrived at the first quartier to visit an old family chef. Then we visited at a second one with a younger chef who gave me a bag of rice and gave us all dolo. We went on to a third quartier when a heavy rain commenced and lasted for an hour, so we sat in an outbuilding visiting and waiting. The head of this family was a man like a lot of other Burkinabe' who works in Cote d'Ivoire to make money, then returns home to family and farming.

Another little ole' man was jesting with me. He wants me to give him one of my daughters, who in turn would give him a daughter. I asked him if he likes cats and dogs. He perseverated though, as he wants a girl baby. I responded that he could ask for himself when my daughter visits here in Nov. We visited one more quartier before heading home. The rainfall made riding bikes nearly impossible on a path of mud and puddles. The two seasons are intense: the dry season is soo dry and hot, and the rainy season is sudden and long downpours with water pooled everywhere.

I picked up my produce from the marche' to take to my house. When I got home, Karim was there to tell me the sensibilisation for tomorrow has to be rescheduled to Wednesday because a man from Bobo is coming to work on the barrage pump system with the young men of the village. Being flexible is key to working here.

04 August 08

Soon after I got up Karim arrived from the direction of the CSPS with Alphonse my teacher friend I met at recent marche'. I invited them in for coffee. We got settled at the table and my neighbor family came over to check out the new visitor. They listened as Alphonse said how grateful he was Peace Corps is in Burkina Faso. He was so enthusiastic about our Moringa project that he offered to take leave of teaching job in Sabou to work for PC. I explained that he could participate in the community project as a volunteer. He said he'd return Wed for the rescheduled sensibilisation. I read more of my current book, “Power of One” after my company left. Then I conjugated verbs to prepare for my language lesson today.


05 August 08

I worked on an essay about the Air/Wind this morning, after braiding my hair. I then went to the clinic and talked with the major about our sensibilisation at the Gansin quartier by the school, which will be delayed due to Karim being involved in a project at the barrage when all the young men are available. As I walked through the waiting room, I visited with 4 people on drip feeds for malaria. The med staff was all there talking and when they finished I asked Lea, the accoucheuse if she wanted to go for benga (beans and rice) with me. So we walked across the street to the little restaurant. We visited in French and English. It is so nice but rare to chat in English with villagers, that it was a treat.

Many villagers were in fields today and as I passed by, I took pictures of them cultivating the haricot (beans) and arachide (peanuts). In one field a row of a dozen women were weeding the field together, moving forward in a line, while they visited catching up on the day's news. I was home studying, when Minata came over telling me she had sent all her prepared food to the field with her children. Hunger on my doorstep. With that hint I made her a peanut butter with banana sandwich. She was very grateful. She said she is raising 6-8 children with little outside help. It is very difficult.

During my language lesson I practiced writing reflexive French verbs and my Moringa presentation that we will do tomorrow. Karim, my Moringa counterpart, came by and we made plans for the next morning. I let him know that Alphonse, a teacher from Sabou and very interested in our project, will be attending. Alphonse wants to do a similar project in Sabou, so I gave him some seeds along with handouts to get started. He asked for my sons names and addresses to share with them how mom is doing things for the Burkinabe' and the people here like it.

Wednesday morning was spectacular, blue sky, sunny and very green trees and plants abounded. We walked to the Gansin quartier (compound) where our talk lasted an hour and the dozen or so people there seemed happy to learn the benefits of Moringa. We walked back by the CSPS to debrief with the major, who chastised Karim for not going to the main Gansin compound 3K east of Sala, which is traditionally the one to recognize first. Later that week we were able to rectify this by going out there and speaking to a large group of people at the main Gansin qt. about Moringa.

On market day, we went to visit my friend Sylvie, who is bedridden with a swollen leg. Her husband Bazile told us last week about her problem. Sylvie was sitting on two mats, sweating with her swollen leg wrapped up in a pagne. She unwrapped it and showed me a drainage hole in her shin. She takes traditional medicine, which was sitting beside her. It was a dark paste which she applies as a compress. This has been going on two weeks now. She believes someone came and put thorns near her front door, where she would step on them, and she doesn't know who. She was fairly discouraged. She is slowly recovering though.

07 August 08

Today was a work party at Kiemtore' Henri's field. I followed Georges and his charette full of bidons of water led by a donkey to the field 2K away. Many people including Henri were already there working and weeding. I observed how they used the daba tool for whacking at the weeds and followed suit. The trick is knowing good plants from bad, and that takes practice. The group of workers went down several rows at a time, clearing the weeds. We finished one section and then sharpened our dabas and got a drink of water before continuing. We moved to another field of millet and benga and cleared it, all the time the workers were talking and laughing as they went. They were enjoying their time together. We worked together this way until Laurentine came with lunch. We stopped for bengdo balls and dolo. The men sat in a circle, supported by their dabas. I tried to take a photo of this balancing. See photos.

My PCV neighbor Garrett stopped by my house after I got home in the afternoon and we did an outline on HIV/AIDS for a presentation later for my villages.

The next day we got our plan for the Moringa Project organized for Saturday when the men from village will convene and work together on it.

09 August 08 Moringa Project at Sala

By 8am four of us (Karim, Garrett, Georges and I) gathered at my house to walk to CSPS and clear out the interior garden at the maternite', where we would set the Moringa plants, protected from animals, etc. We sat under the tree in front of the accoucheuse house to mix the dirt, manure, and sand. The village chef had sent over two loads of dirt rich in chicken manure, and we walked over to the forester's bureau to request a wagon full of sand from his driveway. Then we had all the components to start mixing. The 20 young men from each of the three main quartiers of Sala who showed up to help with this project completely turned the mixture two times.

The village elders numbering ten men sat on a bench under the same tree and oversaw the activities. Madi, my neighbor and Alphonse, my friend also helped out. We had a good group of people there. Everyone gathered around the mixture and started filling the 550 sacks. This process went on several hours, then the sacks were organized for watering. After that each sachet received a Moringa seed. We broke for lunch, when Minata brought over Riz Gras for 25-30 people. When we resumed we loaded the sacks into the charrette for easy transport to the back door of the maternite' near the interior garden spot. By early afternoon we were out of mixture and for the most part finished with the project. However Karim, George and I went over to the chef's place and got more rich dirt, to finish filling 40 or so sacks. It was a satisfying day of work as a community with over 500 Moringa sacks as evidence.

10 August 08

This morning I planned to attend the service at Assembly of God church in Thyou. I arrived early, parked my bike by pastor's house and waited on the church steps for the bell to ring signaling the start of church service. I sat on the left side of the church and was quickly invited to the women's section on the right. The elders were in the front left, much like the Catholic Mass, with the young men behind them. The choral groups filed in to sit on the far right and the children filled the front rows of the church. Ministers were on the raised platform in front. The assistant minister spoke the first hour. Then the children came in and sat on the left in back. The various age groups were led in song by their music directors. These groups sang most of the second hour accompanied by drummers and tambourine players. (See photos.) In the third hour two ministers took turns singing and preaching scripture. A man came and sat me with a French teacher who translated the Moore' sermon into French for me. I got the jest of the message in Luc and Jacques gospels, “Pick up his cross to follow Jesus.” Several times the congregation got on their feet and prayed aloud, which had the effect of speaking in tongues on me. Even the pastor roamed the stage in loud prayer with eyes closed. They welcomed me.

11 August 08

I ran out of propane gas yesterday, so I requested hot water from the neighbor, who heats it on open fire cuisine. I listened to BBC news regarding the Olympics, etc. And there is power sharing going on in South Africa....regarding the elections last month. The runner up is going to be Prime Minister they say.

After a couple visitors in the morning I got my bath and went to the clinic, where there were lots of malaria patients today. I also went to look at our Moringa project, which was impressive. I ate rice and sauce at Fati's restaurant and visited with her and another woman with baby in tow. As I rode back home, it was very hot and sticky. I organized my paperwork for going to Ouaga, so I could turn in reimbursement forms, etc. When it was time for my language lesson, we sat behind my house in the shade of the house and the maize, which is very tall now. We came back inside my warm house after the lesson as the clouds were gathering for rain and lightening started up all around us. Georges left for home before the big storm broke. It stormed all evening, and I sat on my veranda and wrote the essay on Storms in Burkina Faso.

12 August 08

Gansonre is sick with malaria (palu) he said from going to Sapuy 4 days with no moustiquaire. The major is in Sapuy today, so Gilbert is treating all the patients, lots of whom have palu. I talked with Lea, the accoucheuse who was finishing up with the last prenatal visit patient. When I went down to the road where the two restaurants are, Salimata had returned with her new baby. She handed her to me and I held her for over an hour, while Salimata prepared the chicken for her marmite, a pot which cooks over the open fire.

In the afternoon I went to the marche' for food. I visited Veronique at the hangar, and friends from Villa were there asking about the pictures of the baptism. We had pork sandwiches and left for home and lesson, when we were stopped by the director of the school in Salou, who thanked me for school supplies. A teacher from Bolo also greeted us and I assured him we were coming back there soon. Before we got home a rain storm broke out. We pedaled fast!

13 August 08

One of the people who visited me for coffee this morning is a petite woman from Salam's quartier, next to me. Mariam shared with me in Moore' that she isn't feeling well. She felt hot and ached all over, and the whites of her eyes were yellow. I suggested the clinic, to which she responded she didn't have any money. When Madi, my neighbor returned I had him go with me to ask Mariam at her home how long she had been sick to which she replied two days. We also found out that her children and husband are in Cote d'Ivoire and she has no medical card nor source of income. I invited her to walk over to the CSPS with me for consultation. The nurse assistant checked her over and said it was her blood, diminishing due to past malaria. He wrote her 3 Rx, 2 she could get filled in Sala for 300 francs and Quinine to be filled in next village for 900 francs. When we got back home Mariam proceeded to take two big pills at once and I drew her a picture of the sun and the moon indicating one in the morning and one at night. It is very difficult to see effects of malaria on one's own doorstep.

Salam came with Mariam in the afternoon back to my house to thank me for the help.

Madi had a fellow student, Mimoni visiting from the University in Ouaga and brought him over to speak English with me. We got into a discussion on the availability of texts books, which both students told me are not affordable to them. Their formal English ends with middle school (lycee) and they need encouragement to continue learning and practice.

I had my language lesson in the afternoon. We snapped 20” long green beans for dinner with jerky and some onions it was yummy!

The next day I left for Ouaga on transport. It rained hard, and there were no wipers to see through the cracked front window of the taxi brousse. In the thick of the storm and after I arrived in town, I pedaled to PC bureau as I had to turn in forms and check on some things before it closed at noon for repose. Some emergency was happening with both Sylvie RN and Dr. Luc preparing to travel in response to. The med receptionist said all the drivers were also involved in the emergency and I needed to take a taxi to my dental appt at 3pm. The Burkinabe' dentist rebuilt my front tooth filling layer by layer this time, using an ultra violet light and hoping it would last longer. The other dentist came in to check my recent crown and gum repair he had done, and was very pleased with results, as was I.

15 August 08

I ate my leftovers from last night, rice with peanut sauce, and prepared to go to church for Assumption, which is a big feast day here. The church was packed inside and out. As I stood in the doorway a man gave me a chair to sit on. Turns out we had met before, Laurent is the drummer at Planete Music down de Gaulle Avenue. He invited me to come there again. The Mass was long and beautiful with a full student choir led by the director. Many people had clothing made from the pink pagnes made for Mary's Assumption. The service ended in Benediction with such enthusiasm. The congregation was so into it, they spontaneously started dancing around the altar. (See pictures.) An older gentleman approached me afterwards and was happy I was enjoying and reacting to the music. He also seemed happy my name was Mary.

I caught a taxi to go to the Artisan Village to get some gifts to send home. Later I returned to the PC bureau and stopped by the medical unit to visit Ryan and Sonia, who had been in a taxi brousse accident yesterday and both suffered fractures. They described the chaos during the accident as the bus slid off the road and hit a tree. Sonia said all the seats came unbolted from the floor and many people were injured. They will fly out for surgery soon.

That evening was the Close of Service party for the volunteers who came a year before our group. The Transit House was cleaned up inside and out for the occasion, and people arrived in festive dress to celebrate the night. We had fruit punch to drink and chips with dip before leaving for downtown for dinner, bowling and dancing. The COS group had gathered a slide show of their time in BF. I got the first taxi home at midnight and chatted with Ana about the influence of religion on the lives in Burkina.

The next day Peter, Kevin and I met at the American Embassy over lunch for our Moringa meeting. We were able to discuss how to proceed to gather the necessary information and invite other volunteers to help form a support group. Some volunteers were at the Embassy to watch the Olympics on the television, which showed sports of trampoline and beach volleyball. First TV I have seen since coming.

When I returned to the transit house, Chris was calling me on Skype, and I could see and hear him but he could not hear me, so we ended up texting each other online.

On Sunday Ana and I walked to St. Francis for Mass. Again it was packed and people motioned for us to sit near them on a bench on the side of the altar, so we did. The priests spoke slowly and I could understand some of the French. We visited the marche' after for used clothing and vegetables. By noon the core Moringa group met with SED director Dan Rooney for advise on how to proceed forming our support group. He encouraged us to expand Moringa to the global issue of food security. It was a good discussion for our planning. The next day I sent emails to other volunteers requesting their experiences with nutrition in the clinics esp on the days that mothers bring their babies in for weight checks. The collective experience!

A driver took me to my physical therapy appt which I try to schedule each time I'm in town. Gradually the feeling in my muscles hurt during the bike accident in April is returning. The driver also took me to buy 3 Mango trees for my neighbors in village. With his help, I was able to get the trees, my bike and all my baggage to the taxi brousse for returning home by mid afternoon. It rained buckets on the way home and in Sabou we waited 30 minutes for the storm to pass. I held up a sachet and filled it with leaky water three times while we sat there. The road 15K to Sala was flooded in spots, with the rainwater running fast on both sides of the road. (See photos.)

I had help getting everything to my house, where my friends had prepared rice and sauce with pintade meat in celebration of l'anniversaire of Mary's Assumption, a big fete in Africa!

On Tuesday I checked in with the major about my Ouaga trip for medical appointments and Moringa meetings. I looked at the project and about 40 seeds had come up. Garrett and I met in the afternoon to lay out our AIDS presentation we will do together in village in the coming months.

It was an interesting experience sending a 85th birthday card to Aunt Helen at home. I tried to meet with the taxi brousse driver to ask him to mail it in Ouaga. Other men were in the boutique and helped me explain in French what I needed. The envelope had gotten wet so we transferred the card into a dry one and taped the stamps on. The driver put it in a clear plastic bag for transport. A little thing takes a lot of effort by several people.

After we finished reviewing my French HIV-AIDS presentation in language class today, we had a long discussion about democracy and the history of Burkina. The Burkinabe' are very passionate about it.

21 Aug 08

Isakka's baby has palu, and is very uncomfortable. They took her to CSPS for meds. I tried to find Mariame to give her the rest of the quinine pills I had from her Rx, but she wasn't home. Soon someone sent her to my house. I went to maternite' today to help weigh babies, and there were lots of women and babies there because they were passing out moustiquaires again. Women came from small villages for it too. It was a lot of work and Lea had to record all of the information too. Lea invited me to a meal at her house on Saturday but I told her we would be in Zao doing an HIV presentation.

In the afternoon I went to the market in Thyou for veggies and also to boutique for staples. When I got home I had French lesson and practiced Moore'. Lea came on her moto with a dish of to and sauce. Karim came by for visit and to get units for his phone off mine. I mentioned that I hadn't eaten dinner yet and I was tired too, so everyone left and I made pork sandwich for dinner and retired early.

22 Aug 08

Madi came over for tea in the morning and to study out of the French dictionary, while I studied my French-Moore' reader. I read Newsweek about Obama's faith. Minata said Zanabou has temp and needs aspirin. I gave her non-aspirin, which is better for children. We talked about her entering school and made a plan to go talk to the director in the afternoon with Madi's help. That talk went well and Zanabou is registered to enter school for her first time at age 8. Thanks to Angie's family who gave three mille ($6) for a year's tuition. There will be smaller fees for school supplies too when school starts up mid-September.

I went to the health clinic in the morning to talk with the major about visual aides for AIDS presentation, and they (Philippe and Lea) looked around but no luck finding anything, so we will make do. The major was quite complimentary about the Moringa project. The forester came by and said we need to move the Moringa out of the interior garden, so they can dry out and the air can circulate on them. I walked down the path to Fati's restaurant and watched her prepare lunch, rice with sauce in a big marmite over the open fire. The sauce had oil and chives sauteed, tomato powder, salt, water, gumbo, peanut paste from crushed nuts, black bengado, pima and maggi. The sauce became thicker as it cooked. I ate lunch there when it was ready. It is fun to watch Burkinabe' cook. Fati's son came along with his slingshot, which is a staple for young boys as they often see birds or other creatures to aim at.

At my language class that day Garrett and I had Georges review the Moringa presentation we'd written and he made a number of suggestions. We practiced it once and discussed the condom demonstration we'll do with our talk. Our prop will be an ear of corn (maise). We made our departure to Zao plans for tomorrow.

23 August 08

My usual coffee/tea drinkers came for a cup this morning. Soon it was time to gather things together for our talk with villagers in Zao, 15K away. We stopped by the CSPS to check in with them about our activities today, and left off dishes belonging to the accoucheuse. I texted Patrice, the ASC in Zao to remind him we were coming for causerie as we left. The road was thick with mud from all the rains and riding was more difficult because of that, but the cool air of the morning was perfect riding conditions, and we continued on for an hour and a half. We were resting at the marche' when Patrice found us. He had spread the word and a few folks were gathering. The other ASC, Beli was in the field, so didn't come, but my friend Atia came and we were very excited to reunite after several months. She said she was by my place to visit and the major told her I was in Ouaga then.

Atia took me for benga (beans) at a food stand at the marche' before we walked a short distance to her house, where I met her mother and children. Atia is well liked in her compound, probably the heart of it, as she chatters and laughs constantly and other people do too. She wanted to take me to the field to see Beli, but I needed to get back so we could start the HIV presentation. By the time we started there were 25 adults and that many children gathered. More usually come as we proceed.

Garrett discussed with Patrice the appropriateness of condom demo with children there, and his response was they may not fully understand but others there would and we could proceed. Garrett and I alternated talking and Georges translated what we said into Moore' for the villagers. When we did the condom demo there were a few giggles and one lady shushed the others by saying “Don't laugh, this is important information we need to hear.” We were satisfied with our premiere talk on AIDS. On the way home the rains started and we ended up pretty wet, but felt lucky to have completed our mission today.

24 August 08

We are going to Nabatogo for St Louis fete today in the new church there. It is my first visit to this village, where Georges' sister and family live. We biked to Sabou, where we left our bikes and Father Casmir was picking up passengers in his mini-truck for the 25K ride to Nabatogo. The ride was amazing. I sat on a bench in the bed of the truck with my outer shirt over my head to keep the wind and dust out of my face. Father drove fast and we were there in 20 minutes flat. Some friends gave us a small bench, which all the congregation brings with them to sit on in church. All the people worked together to ready the altar for Mass. By 9:20 the church was crammed with people and the singing and drumming signaled the start of Mass with 3 priests to celebrate the first Mass in the new church on it's feast day. Service lasted 2 hrs with 3 babies baptized in the middle of the service and toward the end there were gifts given to the church from neighboring parishes, some as far away as the capitol. In a clearing beside the church there was a lot of festivities after mass, such as dances by groups, acrobats, and of course more music.

Today was the market day at Nabatogo so everyone was in good spirits. After we spent time there, we walked to Georges' sister, Martine and Marcel's house, where she made Riz Gras for dinner and many visitors came to join in that. Since Martine makes dolo for marche' her cuisine area is set up for that. There is a hearth with three vats built into it with the firebox under it. She has three or four vats underground for the fermenting stage which takes three days. I saw the leavening nearby in a huge pan.

Their daughter Edith is about Luke's age and wants an American pen pal, so she wrote him a letter, which I will mail. There was dancing happening that evening in a clearing by where the old church used to be and the teenagers were having a good time with that. We returned to Sabou on a taxi brousse tired but content with the day.

Minata's husband, Ousmane had come from Cote d'Ivoire earlier and was waiting for taxi brousse to Thyou. The rains had flooded the road in some parts and it was slow going. Ousmane had a lot of luggage and borrowed Georges bike to take it home. He loaded my bike with stuff too. We walked up the hill to our houses with help from the youth.

The next morning Karim and I asked the chef to borrow his charrette to move all the Moringa trees to my verandah. It took us several hours and three trips. Madi and Issa helped us with it.

I had invited Lea for lunch of tuna sandwiches today, as she is leaving Friday for visit of family in Ouaga and then onto KDG where she will continue her schooling. She arrived on her moto and we had a good visit. The major invited me to attend the Monitorage meeting Thursday with officials from the district office in Sapuy. He said the ASCs from our satellite villages will be in attendance too. It is annual talk with the village on the health status of the villages comparatively speaking.

27 August 08

Today my friend from Zao, Atia came for a visit. Issa translated for us as I showed her photos of my family and gave her some jewelry, toys, batteries and things for hers. I made spaghetti for lunch mid day and we have such a good time together in spite of the fact that we can't talk each others language. We spent the afternoon going to the marche' at Thyou. On her head Atia carried a bag of grain to sell, as I rode my bike next to her slowly. We spent the afternoon together there.

28 August 08

The Monitorage meeting that was scheduled to begin in the morning actually began in the late afternoon. The maternite' was full of mothers with infants for baby weighing so I went to help Lea with that. We worked straight through until 12:30. The number was large again because moustiquaires were being passed out too.

As the functionaires from the villages and a crowd gathered for the meeting so did the clouds overhead. Two doctors from the district office gave all the statistics on the health status of Sala and surrounding villages. They are concerned about the number of women who birth at home instead of coming to maternite'. Many complications arise from that fact. I had my tutor there to interpret for me.

Within an hour we all had to move inside the maternite' building as the downpour began. It lasted several hours, so being out of the weather felt good, even though it was crowded. We listened to the officials from Sapuy who talked intensely about the health problems. After dark a meal of Riz Gras with meat was served to all the attendees. The medical staff all went to the major's house for their meal. By the time I walked my bike home the puddles were filling the path there and I was wading and giggling in the dark about the experience.

29 August 08

This morning I packed for Ouaga and had to return to tree by CSPS to retrieve my hat I left there yesterday. I planted another round of Moringa seeds in the pots(sachets) where nothing had come up with the help of Issaka and Madi. When I got to the station in Thyou the taxi brousse had gone to Lea's house to pick her up along with her furnishings and luggage. By 11am I got to Transit House and discovered I wasn't signed in. I waited all day for a bed, and none was available—problem!

I shopped at the Artisan's Village for my grandkids and went to PC bureau to get mail and use the internet. I returned to the TH around 6pm to get ready for the Swear-In of the new volunteers. Sarah and I took a taxi to the Ambassador's house and watched the ceremony. It was impressive, and we saw all of our teachers from training, JZ,Vini, Theo, Patrice. We also saw Jeanine and Mark Jackson, and Dan and Tanya Rooney. It was relaxing be a spectator. After drinks and hors d'oeuvres a PC car took us in groups downtown to the Nameze hotel where the new volunteers were staying and we all walked several blocks to the Moulin Rouge restaurant where we would eat dinner. I was walking on the sidewalk talking to another volunteer.

Enroute two guys on a moto tried to snatch my fanny pack! The guy on the back grabbed it but it didn't pop off, and he dragged me. The driver of the moto took off with me in tow. My Women's Strength training kicked in and I screamed. The voice is a powerful weapon! It seemed like minutes, but was probably seconds that I was sidestepping into the street with them. Luckily I didn't lose my balance and tumble. The grabber finally let go and they sped away. It happened so fast I had no time to be frightened, nor could the 8 volunteers in my group intervene. Afterwards I was very disturbed by the whole event!

When we got the cab home at 11pm I slept on the couch at the transit house, then the guard decided at midnight to discuss my no reservation situation. Three guys, Peter, Caleb and Marty helped me talk with him to allow me to stay and we would settle the problem tomorrow with Dr. Claude. In view of the stress of the attempted theft, I believed we could convince him. They did.

30 August 08

In the morning I pedaled to PC director's home to have coffee with Marti, his wife. Doug Teschner interviewed me about the attempted theft, and is concerned for our safety after hours in Ouaga, as there has been a rash of these kind of incidents. Marti and I visited over coffee and fruit with yogurt while discussing the kids in the BF culture and their survival skills. We talked about the education system too. Interesting discussion. Marti gave me a box to mail my kids a pkg, and also offered to take a box to mail in October when she is flying to the states.

In the afternoon Peter, Kevin and I went with Peter, the pastor of a Ouaga church on a Moringa Tree field trip. He was raised in the Congo and has lived in Africa most of his life. He drove us to the edge of the city, where we went through miles of shantis and slums. It was an eyeopener. We toured the facility and saw Moringa trees, beans, bananas, pumps, and drying trays of Moringa leaves for making powder. We visited with him a long time. He has many stories about his work in Africa and his many contacts in America who donate to his work here. We drove back by dusk.

Jen's mother is at TH visiting from America with flight out tonight and she offered to take my box to mail. A bunch of us ( 2 Saras, Robert, Lauren, Becky and I) were going to dinner at the Italian restaurant Verdoyant for Becky's birthday. It was a pleasant evening.