Food…
I’ve decided to add a daily meal log from the weekend, since it was full of new culinary sensations, including some delightful taste sensations...
Day 1: We arrived in time for dinner, which was really good…rice with sauce and then chicken with huge pieces of garlic. I’m drinking way too much fanta here, but since the water isn’t always reliable, it’s become my new best friend by default.
Day 2:
Breakfast: a café au lait and bread with butter. But, café au lait here is quite different from our version of it, of which I have made far too many at Bridgehead. It’s a bowl with a blob of condensed milk, into which you pour boiling water. If you want, you can add Nescafe, but it’s not necessary. It was quite gross, in a really unhealthy kind of way, but quite tasty. And the bread with butter…think an entire baguette smothered in margarine. Yaiss…I can definitely see where those 20 pounds come in. It was a bit sad because as we were eating, children kept coming in and trying to sell us things. They all sell these little packs of Kleenex, since most Burkinabé seem to carry them around with them to wipe their hands and such. One woman took out her wallet to get some money to buy one, and kids who were hanging around the door saw her from across the restaurant and raced to be the first to offer her the Kleenex to buy. Also, when we got up to leave, little kids rushed to the table to pick anything we hadn’t eaten. If I had known I wouldn’t have forced myself to eat as much.
Lunch: another baguette (I protested, I swear, but they made me eat it!) and a can of sardines in oil. It hit the spot, after hiking among old ruins for hours under the sun, but I have a feeling my body isn’t too happy with me.
Dinner: we had something called foutou, a Burkinabé specialty. It’s made from yams, boiled and then ground to a pulp, until it becomes white and almost like a dumpling. It’s made into a long ball, and then you put it into your plate, pour sauce into it, and then eat it with your hands. It’s really good, but very filling.
Day 3:
Breakfast: same as day 1
Lunch: the Burkinabé version of ragout, which was yams in a tomato-y sauce with some meat, eaten with rice. Quite delish, but it only added to the high starch concentration of the weekend.
Ah! I forgot to mention the mid morning snack! Everyday between breakfast and lunch, a big plate of goat meat would arrive, with onions and hot pepper (which is really hot here). It comes in a bowl with toothpicks, and everyone sits around the table and eats with the toothpicks. It was really tasty, but the butcher was right outside our house, and I saw the goat in every stage of its demise, so it was a little bit hard to eat it. Ehe...
A la prochaine!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
REVS+ Houndé
Bonjour!
Bon…j’ai pleins de nouvelles pour vous. Much has happened in not much time! Last Wednesday was when Amélie and I took the day to explore some of Bobo and its surroundings, and Thursday there was a torrential downpour (which made the weather much mo
re bearable, mind you), so my visit to the hospital was cancelled. I don’t know whether to be happy or disappointed, because it would have been interesting to see, but at the same time, I’ve heard stories about the hospital. It’s where people go when really there’s nothing left for them to do - as in, all efforts have been made to find a cure, but nothing has worked. That afternoon, I went to the children’s event at REVS+, which was too cute. There were about 40 kids there, and the organization had invited a lawyer to come and talk about children’s rights. She asked them to name some children’s rights, and so some of them put up their hands and started to say, a right to health, a right to education, etc, and then one really tiny little girl put up her hand and said, ‘on a le droit a l’amour’ (we have the right to be loved) and all the children started cheering and applauding. It was really touching.
While the activity was going on, Baba, the president of REVS+ Houndé arrived unexpectedly, and told me that the Houndé team was taking a weekend trip to celebrate the end of their HIV testing campaign, and so I was invited to go. After a minor breakdown (apparently I don’t like being thrown into last minute decisions) which my mom and my poor friend Aziz had to witness (my mom via the telephone, and Aziz as he drove me around town on his scooter so I could do all the things I needed to do before leaving) I got myself ready and set off for Houndé with Baba, Ramde (another director) and his wife and two children. The road from Bobo to Houndé takes an hour at the most in a bus, but we were in a tiny little car, and after we had had dinner in Bobo, we left for Houndé at around 8:00. Now, there are no lights on the road…none. So it was a slow ride, to put it lightly, made the more so due to the fact that every time a car was coming towards us, we had to pull over and stop because since there were no other lights, the oncoming headlights were completely blinding. But, because it was so dark, the sky was full of a million stars, and it was really beautiful.
We arrived in Houndé quite late, and I stayed in a little hotel run by Medicus Mundi, a Spanish NGO working in public health. The room that had been reserved for me had conveniently been given to someone else, so I ended up rooming with a Belgian girl named Clara who had also just arrived. She’s studying midwifery and so came to Houndé to do a two-week internship at the hospital and with the midwives in the village. It was nice to have some company, except she got really sick and we thought she had malaria, but turns out it was just an intense stomach reaction to something.
The next day, I was brought to the REVS+ office to meet the other people in the office, and again, people are just to friendly. I received such a warm welcome, and was assured that they would do everything to make sure I felt like I belonged. I also saw my house, which is right beside the office. Literally, right beside…there are about 5 feet separating us. There’s a gate you go through, and then you’re in my little courtyard, which I share with a young woman living in one of the houses, and a family of women (the father lives somewhere else, so it’s the mother and all her daughters), and they were all very welcoming. The house isn’t finished yet, but it will be in a few days. We’re waiting for electricity to be installed and for some furniture. It’s painted a bright (slightly tacky) shade of turquoise, but it’s big, airy, and it will be comfortable.
At 3:00, we all packed all 13 of us into 2 (small) cars and started the 4-hour trip to Gaoua, a small city about 40 kilometres away from both the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The drive was a whole adventure on its own. First of all, there were the roads… I won’t even go into any more detail, but they are a challenge. Baba’s car got a flat tire, but Toure, who was driving the car I was in, managed to change it without too much delay. About 20 minutes after that, our engine overheated, and we started to hear a really loud clanking noise from the hood of the car. Toure fixed that one in no time, by pouring a bottle of water all over the engine, and we were off! Then the motorcycle that was bringing Adama and our guide for the weekend got a flat tire and a clogged engine from the dust on the road. So, we made it to the next town, and sat around for hours while they searched for another motorcycle wheel and someone to clean the engine. After much waiting, we were off once. The rest of the trip was uneventful, besides the fact that we almost ran over a herd (?) of monkeys running across the road and a pack of wild dogs gone wild, but all was well. We arrived in Gaoua, only to discover that the hotel where we were supposed to stay had no rooms available, since the people in the rooms we had reserved had decided to prolong their stay. So, we had to find another place, which we eventually did, but it was slightly lower in its standards. What I mean by that was that it was quite disgusting. The toilet had no water in it, so it was basically a bowl that got more and more full as people used it. And the smell was less than desirable. Ehe…and the showers were…also less than desirable. And, instead of double rooms with 2 beds, each room had one bed, so we got to double up. I roomed with a girl named Yvette, who’s around my age, and working as the pharmacist at REVS+ until she can get a job as a midwife. We had lots of fun, and got along really well. That night we went out to dinner, and then went back to the ‘hotel’ (right…) and hung around there for a while. It was great to get a chance to really meet the team. There’s Baba, Ramde, Salimata and another woman (whose name I forget…she’s Baba’s wife) who are the founding team. Then there’s Salomo, Adama, Baron, Hien, Toure and Traore, who are all counselors, in charge of different groups of people. Yvette does pharmacy, and then Ramde’s wife Aicha came with us, since she used to work as a counselor and was visiting from another province for the weekend. Everyone is so nice…and they laugh all the time. I know it’s going to be a nice work environment because everyone is so respectful of each other and gets along so well. We had a full schedule, but of course it got delayed by numerous hours each day. By the time we all got up, had breakfast and got ready for the days activities it was almost lunch time. People kept going off and running their own errands, buying things you can’t find in Houndé, so it took a while to regroup and set out for the day. But, eventually we did. We first went to the ruins of Loropeni, which are deep in the woods, and a whole fortress of stone ruins covered in leaves and plants. It was really quite beautiful. No one really knows why they were built, but they were built by the Lobi people, one of the many ethnicities here in Burkina.
We then went on to the sanctuary for the Gan kings (on the way we had another flat tire, because the road was pretty much a mountain…a series of sharp rocks, and we were in a small little car…) which was up in the hills. The Gan people (another Burkinabé ethnicity) are animists, and are still ruled by a king. Each time the king dies, a shrine is built in their honour on top of a hill in a small stone hut, with a clay statue inside. The animism is really complex, and we were just introduced to the basics, but it was really fascinating. Lots of chickens are sacrificed to various kings to ask for different things, like rain, a good harvest, a cure, etc. There was one hut built a little bit away from the others, and apparently this was built for ‘le roi méchant’, the mean king, which the group found was hilarious. They joked about it all weekend, and every time anything would happen, they would say, ‘le roi méchant est fâché!’ at which everyone would laugh hysterically. We were followed by a group of little kids (including one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen, with the biggest smile…we played peekaboo and he laughed his little head off) and some of the kids asked if they could touch my hair, since I guess they don’t see hair like mine all the time.
We returned to Gaoua for dinner, but on the way it started to rain like mad. All the frogs came out, and I know we much have killed many of them. The silly things decide to cross the road just as we pass. Bo.
Anyway, we had a nice evening again, going out for dinner then taking a little walk around town. I have to say, people here walk slowly…it takes some getting used to, and a constant effort to slow down and embrace the slowness, otherwise it can become almost a bit frustrating.
Next morning, we went for breakfast and walked around the market. It was neat…you could pass by it without noticing it, but once you walk in, it’s like a small world. It’s all open, but surrounded by other buildings, and you can find anything under the sun. Salomo helped explain all the various foods we saw, since almost none of them looked familiar. I tried dried sweet peas and fresh peanuts, which are amazing. They’re soft and pink. In the afternoon we went to the Lobi cultural museum, and they’re really an interesting culture. Hien from the office was telling me more about them, since he comes from that culture, and he promised to go into more depth.
I now have 4 people who have promised to help me with my dioula if I give English lessons, so maybe that will be a fun way to pass some time.
Yesterday, we returned to Houndé, after another rainstorm, but arrived without vehicle problems. I met Clara again, and met a Spanish guy who is going to be working with Medicus Mundi for the next 5 months.
This morning I took the bus back from Houndé, and am here for a few more days to say goodbye to Amélie, visit some people and to gather all my things before heading back to Houndé for good. This morning I brought all my bags to Baba’s office before taking the bus to Bobo. Hien came to pick me up, and we put my massive suitcase, me and him on a tiny scooter. I was like, ‘je ne pense pas qu’on pourrait le faire’, to which he responded, ‘non non, il n’y a aucun problème.’ Apparemment, il n y a jamais un problème ici. As I was taking my bags out, I was trying to carry my big knapsack, but it’s quite heavy. Hien came to pick it up, and even he was having trouble. Then, one of the young girls who works there walked over, and without a word picked up the bag, put it on her head, and walked over to the scooter as if it weighed nothing. I have to work on that skill, but little by little…we’ll start small.
On the way to Bobo today, the bus hit a baby goat. It was quite a disturbing experience, and I felt queasy for a while, but we just kept going.
How I’m going to take the bus back with my two massive suitcases, my boxes of things that Manue left me, the moped, my computer, another bag of things for REVS+, I don’t know. But, somehow it will happen…ca va aller, as the Burkinabé say.
Well, until next time!
Sara
Bon…j’ai pleins de nouvelles pour vous. Much has happened in not much time! Last Wednesday was when Amélie and I took the day to explore some of Bobo and its surroundings, and Thursday there was a torrential downpour (which made the weather much mo
re bearable, mind you), so my visit to the hospital was cancelled. I don’t know whether to be happy or disappointed, because it would have been interesting to see, but at the same time, I’ve heard stories about the hospital. It’s where people go when really there’s nothing left for them to do - as in, all efforts have been made to find a cure, but nothing has worked. That afternoon, I went to the children’s event at REVS+, which was too cute. There were about 40 kids there, and the organization had invited a lawyer to come and talk about children’s rights. She asked them to name some children’s rights, and so some of them put up their hands and started to say, a right to health, a right to education, etc, and then one really tiny little girl put up her hand and said, ‘on a le droit a l’amour’ (we have the right to be loved) and all the children started cheering and applauding. It was really touching.
While the activity was going on, Baba, the president of REVS+ Houndé arrived unexpectedly, and told me that the Houndé team was taking a weekend trip to celebrate the end of their HIV testing campaign, and so I was invited to go. After a minor breakdown (apparently I don’t like being thrown into last minute decisions) which my mom and my poor friend Aziz had to witness (my mom via the telephone, and Aziz as he drove me around town on his scooter so I could do all the things I needed to do before leaving) I got myself ready and set off for Houndé with Baba, Ramde (another director) and his wife and two children. The road from Bobo to Houndé takes an hour at the most in a bus, but we were in a tiny little car, and after we had had dinner in Bobo, we left for Houndé at around 8:00. Now, there are no lights on the road…none. So it was a slow ride, to put it lightly, made the more so due to the fact that every time a car was coming towards us, we had to pull over and stop because since there were no other lights, the oncoming headlights were completely blinding. But, because it was so dark, the sky was full of a million stars, and it was really beautiful.
We arrived in Houndé quite late, and I stayed in a little hotel run by Medicus Mundi, a Spanish NGO working in public health. The room that had been reserved for me had conveniently been given to someone else, so I ended up rooming with a Belgian girl named Clara who had also just arrived. She’s studying midwifery and so came to Houndé to do a two-week internship at the hospital and with the midwives in the village. It was nice to have some company, except she got really sick and we thought she had malaria, but turns out it was just an intense stomach reaction to something.
The next day, I was brought to the REVS+ office to meet the other people in the office, and again, people are just to friendly. I received such a warm welcome, and was assured that they would do everything to make sure I felt like I belonged. I also saw my house, which is right beside the office. Literally, right beside…there are about 5 feet separating us. There’s a gate you go through, and then you’re in my little courtyard, which I share with a young woman living in one of the houses, and a family of women (the father lives somewhere else, so it’s the mother and all her daughters), and they were all very welcoming. The house isn’t finished yet, but it will be in a few days. We’re waiting for electricity to be installed and for some furniture. It’s painted a bright (slightly tacky) shade of turquoise, but it’s big, airy, and it will be comfortable.
At 3:00, we all packed all 13 of us into 2 (small) cars and started the 4-hour trip to Gaoua, a small city about 40 kilometres away from both the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The drive was a whole adventure on its own. First of all, there were the roads… I won’t even go into any more detail, but they are a challenge. Baba’s car got a flat tire, but Toure, who was driving the car I was in, managed to change it without too much delay. About 20 minutes after that, our engine overheated, and we started to hear a really loud clanking noise from the hood of the car. Toure fixed that one in no time, by pouring a bottle of water all over the engine, and we were off! Then the motorcycle that was bringing Adama and our guide for the weekend got a flat tire and a clogged engine from the dust on the road. So, we made it to the next town, and sat around for hours while they searched for another motorcycle wheel and someone to clean the engine. After much waiting, we were off once. The rest of the trip was uneventful, besides the fact that we almost ran over a herd (?) of monkeys running across the road and a pack of wild dogs gone wild, but all was well. We arrived in Gaoua, only to discover that the hotel where we were supposed to stay had no rooms available, since the people in the rooms we had reserved had decided to prolong their stay. So, we had to find another place, which we eventually did, but it was slightly lower in its standards. What I mean by that was that it was quite disgusting. The toilet had no water in it, so it was basically a bowl that got more and more full as people used it. And the smell was less than desirable. Ehe…and the showers were…also less than desirable. And, instead of double rooms with 2 beds, each room had one bed, so we got to double up. I roomed with a girl named Yvette, who’s around my age, and working as the pharmacist at REVS+ until she can get a job as a midwife. We had lots of fun, and got along really well. That night we went out to dinner, and then went back to the ‘hotel’ (right…) and hung around there for a while. It was great to get a chance to really meet the team. There’s Baba, Ramde, Salimata and another woman (whose name I forget…she’s Baba’s wife) who are the founding team. Then there’s Salomo, Adama, Baron, Hien, Toure and Traore, who are all counselors, in charge of different groups of people. Yvette does pharmacy, and then Ramde’s wife Aicha came with us, since she used to work as a counselor and was visiting from another province for the weekend. Everyone is so nice…and they laugh all the time. I know it’s going to be a nice work environment because everyone is so respectful of each other and gets along so well. We had a full schedule, but of course it got delayed by numerous hours each day. By the time we all got up, had breakfast and got ready for the days activities it was almost lunch time. People kept going off and running their own errands, buying things you can’t find in Houndé, so it took a while to regroup and set out for the day. But, eventually we did. We first went to the ruins of Loropeni, which are deep in the woods, and a whole fortress of stone ruins covered in leaves and plants. It was really quite beautiful. No one really knows why they were built, but they were built by the Lobi people, one of the many ethnicities here in Burkina.
We then went on to the sanctuary for the Gan kings (on the way we had another flat tire, because the road was pretty much a mountain…a series of sharp rocks, and we were in a small little car…) which was up in the hills. The Gan people (another Burkinabé ethnicity) are animists, and are still ruled by a king. Each time the king dies, a shrine is built in their honour on top of a hill in a small stone hut, with a clay statue inside. The animism is really complex, and we were just introduced to the basics, but it was really fascinating. Lots of chickens are sacrificed to various kings to ask for different things, like rain, a good harvest, a cure, etc. There was one hut built a little bit away from the others, and apparently this was built for ‘le roi méchant’, the mean king, which the group found was hilarious. They joked about it all weekend, and every time anything would happen, they would say, ‘le roi méchant est fâché!’ at which everyone would laugh hysterically. We were followed by a group of little kids (including one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen, with the biggest smile…we played peekaboo and he laughed his little head off) and some of the kids asked if they could touch my hair, since I guess they don’t see hair like mine all the time.
We returned to Gaoua for dinner, but on the way it started to rain like mad. All the frogs came out, and I know we much have killed many of them. The silly things decide to cross the road just as we pass. Bo.
Anyway, we had a nice evening again, going out for dinner then taking a little walk around town. I have to say, people here walk slowly…it takes some getting used to, and a constant effort to slow down and embrace the slowness, otherwise it can become almost a bit frustrating.
Next morning, we went for breakfast and walked around the market. It was neat…you could pass by it without noticing it, but once you walk in, it’s like a small world. It’s all open, but surrounded by other buildings, and you can find anything under the sun. Salomo helped explain all the various foods we saw, since almost none of them looked familiar. I tried dried sweet peas and fresh peanuts, which are amazing. They’re soft and pink. In the afternoon we went to the Lobi cultural museum, and they’re really an interesting culture. Hien from the office was telling me more about them, since he comes from that culture, and he promised to go into more depth.
I now have 4 people who have promised to help me with my dioula if I give English lessons, so maybe that will be a fun way to pass some time.
Yesterday, we returned to Houndé, after another rainstorm, but arrived without vehicle problems. I met Clara again, and met a Spanish guy who is going to be working with Medicus Mundi for the next 5 months.
This morning I took the bus back from Houndé, and am here for a few more days to say goodbye to Amélie, visit some people and to gather all my things before heading back to Houndé for good. This morning I brought all my bags to Baba’s office before taking the bus to Bobo. Hien came to pick me up, and we put my massive suitcase, me and him on a tiny scooter. I was like, ‘je ne pense pas qu’on pourrait le faire’, to which he responded, ‘non non, il n’y a aucun problème.’ Apparemment, il n y a jamais un problème ici. As I was taking my bags out, I was trying to carry my big knapsack, but it’s quite heavy. Hien came to pick it up, and even he was having trouble. Then, one of the young girls who works there walked over, and without a word picked up the bag, put it on her head, and walked over to the scooter as if it weighed nothing. I have to work on that skill, but little by little…we’ll start small.
On the way to Bobo today, the bus hit a baby goat. It was quite a disturbing experience, and I felt queasy for a while, but we just kept going.
How I’m going to take the bus back with my two massive suitcases, my boxes of things that Manue left me, the moped, my computer, another bag of things for REVS+, I don’t know. But, somehow it will happen…ca va aller, as the Burkinabé say.
Well, until next time!
Sara
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Bobo
Today was great because both Amélie and I had the day off, and so we organized to do some sightseeing around Bobo. We asked our friend Felix to bring us around, and he brought along his friend, a mechanic. We weren’t quite sure why, until we saw the car. It was the biggest disaster ever. That car is not fit to be driven, let alone along the rural Burkina roads we were traveling all morning. We started off by going to see La Guingette, a beautiful river surrounded in what looked to me like tropical forest, but I don’t know how ecologically and geographically accurate that is. It was beautiful, and really, really peaceful. It’s special because it’s one of the only natural places you can swim here, since the water is so clean, so it’s very popular.
We then moved on to Koro, a really neat village built into the rocks a bit outside of Bobo. It was constructed up high for defense against the French colonizers, and people still live there. It has three sections, or quartiers: one for the farmers, one for the blacksmiths and one for the merchants. Each group stays in their own quartier. There was a group of little kids at the bottom, and one little girl held my hand the whole way up the climb. Very cute. The hike up is long, and you’re climbing rocks the whole way up. What amazed us was that the water pump was at the very bottom of the hill, and women walk all the way down with pots on their heads, fill them up with water at the bottom, and walk all the way back up without spilling a drop.
We finished by going to see the sacred catfish pools at Dafra. On our way there, the car inevitably broke down. No, that was an understatement – as we went over a particularly jagged rock, pieces started falling out from underneath the car. Fortunately for us, we had Felix’s friend the mechanic on hand. His ‘repair’ job was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen...he found some random little plastic flip-flop beside the road, crouched on the ground, and started hitting underneath the car with the shoe. Who would have guessed the power of the plastic flip-flop? And it worked! It was funny because the whole time he kept reassuring us ‘non non, il n’y a pas de probleme…ca va aller’, the most commonly used words here. We ended up continuing to see the catfish on foot (the roads looked a little bit too rocky for comfort, and for the well being of the newly repaired car) and the site was lovely; we had to walk through a botanical garden and forest to get there. I never imagined catfish were so big! (or hideous). We fed them bread, and they all surfaced and it was pretty unattractive. On our way home we took care to drive a little bit more slowly thus facilitating the avoiding of unwanted protruding rocks. We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant in Bobo that Simon had taken us to, where we had riz sauce aux arachides, a Burkinabé special. As usual, I ate too much.
That’s all for now! A la prochaine!
We then moved on to Koro, a really neat village built into the rocks a bit outside of Bobo. It was constructed up high for defense against the French colonizers, and people still live there. It has three sections, or quartiers: one for the farmers, one for the blacksmiths and one for the merchants. Each group stays in their own quartier. There was a group of little kids at the bottom, and one little girl held my hand the whole way up the climb. Very cute. The hike up is long, and you’re climbing rocks the whole way up. What amazed us was that the water pump was at the very bottom of the hill, and women walk all the way down with pots on their heads, fill them up with water at the bottom, and walk all the way back up without spilling a drop.
We finished by going to see the sacred catfish pools at Dafra. On our way there, the car inevitably broke down. No, that was an understatement – as we went over a particularly jagged rock, pieces started falling out from underneath the car. Fortunately for us, we had Felix’s friend the mechanic on hand. His ‘repair’ job was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen...he found some random little plastic flip-flop beside the road, crouched on the ground, and started hitting underneath the car with the shoe. Who would have guessed the power of the plastic flip-flop? And it worked! It was funny because the whole time he kept reassuring us ‘non non, il n’y a pas de probleme…ca va aller’, the most commonly used words here. We ended up continuing to see the catfish on foot (the roads looked a little bit too rocky for comfort, and for the well being of the newly repaired car) and the site was lovely; we had to walk through a botanical garden and forest to get there. I never imagined catfish were so big! (or hideous). We fed them bread, and they all surfaced and it was pretty unattractive. On our way home we took care to drive a little bit more slowly thus facilitating the avoiding of unwanted protruding rocks. We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant in Bobo that Simon had taken us to, where we had riz sauce aux arachides, a Burkinabé special. As usual, I ate too much.
That’s all for now! A la prochaine!
VAD
So, I went to work bright and early like I was told to, since I was supposed to be doing visits to the homes of some of the members of REVS+. This is the way that the organization checks in on families that orphans or vulnerable children living with them, and since these families can sometimes be socially excluded because of this, the visits are meant to help their integration into society. When I got to work at 9:00 am, they realized there weren’t any visits scheduled until 3:00 pm. So I had 6 hours to wait, and nothing, and I mean nothing, to do. Off all days for the internet to die, it chose today. I ended up doing a million sudoku puzzles from my book (I thank my lucky stars that sudoku was invented…they have been a lifesaver here), talking to some coworkers, and while on a walk, I met a woman weaving alone under a tree. She sat me down and gave me a weaving 101 session, which was really cool. It looks easy, but it isn’t. Believe me. I hope I didn’t ruin her material, thus her income-generating project.
Anyway, 3:00 finally rolled around, and we left for the VADs (Visites a Domiciles). These were very interesting. All the houses were in the poorer part of the city, and I don’t really have words to describe it. It wasn’t depressing at all, but you could tell that life and survival became much more intertwined, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Basic would be the word. The people though…everyone welcomed us so warmly, and made sure we were comfortable and taken care of. All the children would run up to us and shake our hands, and in one yard, the kids were all washing themselves from buckets, (therefore were completely naked), so got all giggly and embarrassed. One little boy, however, got so excited to see us that he stopped mid-lather and ran up to me, covered in soap, and offered me his tiny little wrist to shake, since his hands were all soapy. A lot of the families were single mothers taking care of their children (and other people’s children) after there husbands passed away from AIDS. We also visited quite a few grandmothers who were taking care of all their grandchildren. At one of these homes, there was one grandmother taking care of 18 children. The most amazing part of all of this was that when we asked if everything was ok, these women would all say yes. They would show us the children’s school reports, show us family pictures, and thank us over and over again for our visit. One woman asked if I would come back, and told me that I should think of her home as my home.
On our way home we got stopped by the police for apparently ‘running a red light.’ It wasn’t true, but whatever. I was told that a few months ago, the government abolished the police force because they were getting too corrupt, and then brought them back, and nothing has changed.
I met some of Emanuele’s Burkinabé friends today (Manue…tes amis sont tellement sympathiques!), and they took me out for a welcome dinner. We had chicken in the dark (since there are no lights on the street, and it gets dark at 7:00), but it was a lovely evening. Today one of her friends invited me over to his house for lunch to try an authentic African meal, and he was so sweet…he made sure we had lots of mangoes (since I went on and on about the mangoes here) and his mom made me very Burkinabé food. Oh Burkinabé people…if only everyone were so friendly! The world would be a much happier place.
Anyway, 3:00 finally rolled around, and we left for the VADs (Visites a Domiciles). These were very interesting. All the houses were in the poorer part of the city, and I don’t really have words to describe it. It wasn’t depressing at all, but you could tell that life and survival became much more intertwined, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Basic would be the word. The people though…everyone welcomed us so warmly, and made sure we were comfortable and taken care of. All the children would run up to us and shake our hands, and in one yard, the kids were all washing themselves from buckets, (therefore were completely naked), so got all giggly and embarrassed. One little boy, however, got so excited to see us that he stopped mid-lather and ran up to me, covered in soap, and offered me his tiny little wrist to shake, since his hands were all soapy. A lot of the families were single mothers taking care of their children (and other people’s children) after there husbands passed away from AIDS. We also visited quite a few grandmothers who were taking care of all their grandchildren. At one of these homes, there was one grandmother taking care of 18 children. The most amazing part of all of this was that when we asked if everything was ok, these women would all say yes. They would show us the children’s school reports, show us family pictures, and thank us over and over again for our visit. One woman asked if I would come back, and told me that I should think of her home as my home.
On our way home we got stopped by the police for apparently ‘running a red light.’ It wasn’t true, but whatever. I was told that a few months ago, the government abolished the police force because they were getting too corrupt, and then brought them back, and nothing has changed.
I met some of Emanuele’s Burkinabé friends today (Manue…tes amis sont tellement sympathiques!), and they took me out for a welcome dinner. We had chicken in the dark (since there are no lights on the street, and it gets dark at 7:00), but it was a lovely evening. Today one of her friends invited me over to his house for lunch to try an authentic African meal, and he was so sweet…he made sure we had lots of mangoes (since I went on and on about the mangoes here) and his mom made me very Burkinabé food. Oh Burkinabé people…if only everyone were so friendly! The world would be a much happier place.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Banfora
Ani oula!
Today we took a lovely day trip to the nearby city of Banfora, about an hour outside of Bobo. We went with a man named Zerbo, recommended to us by the cook from the hotel in Ouaga. The bus ride was neat, since we were really entering the agricultural zone. There were sugar cane fields on either side, and every now and then we would pass a small village, or just a family compound.
When we arrived, Zerbo’s friend Issa picked us up, and then got in touch with his friends until he found someone with a vehicle. We started off by going to see the Domes de Fabedougou, these huge rock formations formed ages ago by moving water. It was nice to climb to the top and feel the wind again, and breathe in fresh air! A very nice change from the heat down at the bottom.
We then went to see the famous waterfalls of Karfiguela, and were told we could go swimming at the bottom, but given the colour of the water we decided it would be wise to refrain from such activity. Think murky brown bubbly liquid...
We also saw the biggest ant hills ever…this one in the picture is actually on the small side compared to other ones we saw. I look like a miniature person when standing next to some of them. I had to ask the question, how big are their ants? Turns out theirs are the same as ours, just much more motivated and hard working.
After lunch, where we were served what I believe was the equivalent of 3 chickens (SO much food…) we went to Lac Tangrela, to see the hippos. We were taken out in a pirogue, a precarious-looking but completely sea worthy little boat, and we rowed out until we saw a few big noses sticking out of the water. The hippos were the smart ones…they were staying cool while us crazy tourists were out in the blazing 40 degree sunshine.
I know I probably sound like a broken record, but the people here are just so incredibly nice. The children have the most amazing smiles, and really white teeth! And it’s so easy to meet people. On the bus home tonight we made a bunch of new contacts, with everyone willing to help us out with whatever we need. It’s delightful, really.
Donc c’est tout pour aujourd’hui, mes amis. A la prochaine!
p.s. the mangoes here are the most amazing things…ever.
p.p.s. I had picture to post with this entry, but of course, it didn't work. I'll try to make the next entry only pictures from the trip. A bientot!
Today we took a lovely day trip to the nearby city of Banfora, about an hour outside of Bobo. We went with a man named Zerbo, recommended to us by the cook from the hotel in Ouaga. The bus ride was neat, since we were really entering the agricultural zone. There were sugar cane fields on either side, and every now and then we would pass a small village, or just a family compound.
When we arrived, Zerbo’s friend Issa picked us up, and then got in touch with his friends until he found someone with a vehicle. We started off by going to see the Domes de Fabedougou, these huge rock formations formed ages ago by moving water. It was nice to climb to the top and feel the wind again, and breathe in fresh air! A very nice change from the heat down at the bottom.
We then went to see the famous waterfalls of Karfiguela, and were told we could go swimming at the bottom, but given the colour of the water we decided it would be wise to refrain from such activity. Think murky brown bubbly liquid...
We also saw the biggest ant hills ever…this one in the picture is actually on the small side compared to other ones we saw. I look like a miniature person when standing next to some of them. I had to ask the question, how big are their ants? Turns out theirs are the same as ours, just much more motivated and hard working.
After lunch, where we were served what I believe was the equivalent of 3 chickens (SO much food…) we went to Lac Tangrela, to see the hippos. We were taken out in a pirogue, a precarious-looking but completely sea worthy little boat, and we rowed out until we saw a few big noses sticking out of the water. The hippos were the smart ones…they were staying cool while us crazy tourists were out in the blazing 40 degree sunshine.
I know I probably sound like a broken record, but the people here are just so incredibly nice. The children have the most amazing smiles, and really white teeth! And it’s so easy to meet people. On the bus home tonight we made a bunch of new contacts, with everyone willing to help us out with whatever we need. It’s delightful, really.
Donc c’est tout pour aujourd’hui, mes amis. A la prochaine!
p.s. the mangoes here are the most amazing things…ever.
p.p.s. I had picture to post with this entry, but of course, it didn't work. I'll try to make the next entry only pictures from the trip. A bientot!
Friday, July 6, 2007
REVS+
The local partner organization that I’m going to be working for is called REVS+ (Espoir-Egalité-Vie-Solidarité), and yesterday I spent my first day there. I’m doing training until I leave for Houndé, the small town where I’ll be working. REVS+ is based in Bobo, but has antennas in Houndé and a few other surrounding towns. The staff from Houndé came all the way to Bobo to meet me, which was really kind, and they seem like very nice people. There’s one woman in particular, who is actually the woman whose job I’ll be sharing. It’s a neat set up…she’s called my ‘homologue’ (no idea what the English translation is) and basically we’re equals in the sense that our jobs are going to be identical, and my role is to support her in her job by helping create resources and tools so she can be more effective. It seems like a bit responsibility, and I’m wondering how I can do it when she knows so much more about the context and reality of the children we’re working for, but we got along very well, so I hope we’ll make a good team. When I get there, I’ll be shadowing her for about 2 weeks, and then we’ll sit down together and figure out my mandate. Basically, my mandate right now is really general, but essentially it involves providing support and programming for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. We’ll be visiting the homes where they live, (which could include homes run by grandparents, by one parent, or by the children themselves), visiting hospitals, (which apparently here are used as a last resort…when you bring someone to the hospital, it’s because there’s no more hope…), organizing food distribution to families/children who need it, and organizing activities for them. When I start my mandate, we’ll come up with a list of activities, intended results, resources necessary, and an action plan, so I’ll get lots of say in what I end up doing, but with lots of guidance. I need to start learning dioula, the local language, firstly because it will allow me to communicate with everyone who doesn’t speak French, and secondly, because it sounds so cool!
I got to attend an activity yesterday at the Bobo office, which was basically a weekly gathering for the children to hang out and talk. They were adorable. Some of them look completely healthy, and others you can tell are sick. They are the cutest things ever though…really tiny, but what energy! And they’re very polite and mature…whenever one of them showed up, they would come and shake hands with all the adults. Greetings here are really nice. You really take the time to greet someone, which is no small undertaking. After doing this neat hand shake thing where you squeeze each other’s middle fingers and then do this fancy snap thing, you ask how they are, how their family is, how they slept, how their family slept, how work is going, if they ate well, etc. You don’t just walk by someone…you take the time to acknowledge them and greet them.
So far, I’m liking life here. I know it hasn’t been too long, and I do feel like we’ve sort of been living in a bubble, (we’ve had a driver, someone to take care of running errands for us, a great place to stay, air conditioning, running water, etc.) so I’m glad that I have a whole new experience coming when I move to Houndé and start working.
Arrivée a Burkina!
After a few days in Ouaga, we left for Bobo, not the capital, but pretty much the coolest city in the country. You can feel the difference in the air. People are friendlier, everything is smaller and more manageable, and it rains! That means that it offers some relief from the oppressive Ouaga heat. Amélie and I are staying in a house owned by Save the Children Canada, and we’re well taken care of. Juliette, the girl who works here, took us out and showed us how to navigate around Bobo, and is the most helpful person I’ve ever met.
The roads here are something else. Imagine wide lanes of bright red earth covered in rocks, garbage, other unidentifiable objects, and massive potholes/pools of water. You’re basically thrown all over the place as you drive. Speaking of driving…Simon has mastered the art. I don’t know how he hasn’t killed a million people already. There are people everywhere, on scooters, on carts, on donkeys, walking, on bikes, selling things, plus the odd herd of cattle, and the list goes on. It seems a bit chaotic, but really, it’s just very lively. The colours are amazing, and the outfits…mamma mia! Next week I’m going to get some clothes made from the cotton my mom brought back from
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