IST

A year later, I find myself back Tubani So, the Peace Corps training center just outside of Bamako, this time as a trainer. From December 6-13, I helped to lead technical sessions for the newest batch of Heath Education volunteers. We’ve covered everything from pre- and post-natal consultations to STI’s and moringa. The volunteers got to go to a local school to do health animations (interactive education) at the end of last week. The group I was with spoke to a 9th grade classroom about HIV and AIDs as well as contraceptives. The kids were much more knowledgeable than I would have expected. Surprisingly, the teacher was also very knowledgeable, and was extremely helpful in making sure the students understood the volunteers’ Bamabara and French. The volunteers themselves gave great presentations and were able to keep relatively straight faces when talking about some very sensitive topics. The hardest part seemed to be answering questions about where AIDS came from. Not just how you get it, but how people got it in the first place. Of course, they also wanted to know if people in America have it too, and whether or not the rates of infection were the same there as they are in Mali.

The rate of infection in Mali is actually quite low, around 1.3%, while in America it is about .3%. Of course in other African countries, the rates can be much higher, which is why it seems that Africa as a continent is highly affected. Regardless, it is still an issue here, and many organizations are working to fight it and to raise awareness of it. It is interesting to go to a school, or even to talk about it with people in village over tea and hear about what they know. In my village specifically, people know that one man is infected, and they know that he cannot marry because he will infect others. In a Muslim culture that puts emphasis on multiple wives as a status symbol, it seems quite progressive to have a whole community stand behind one man’s choice to stay single. The village was one of many that received HIV/AIDS education and sensitization from a past volunteer, one of the biggest reasons why they have chosen to support this man and why he has chosen to avoid infecting others. Other villages might not be so inclined, but through our interaction and education, perhaps we really are making a difference.

Garden Project

After quite a few months of back and forth, we finally started the garden project on November 19th. All week, we planned to start work on Friday morning. My host dad, Sekou talked non-stop, as he is known to do, about the project, and there was much excitement from the teachers at the school that I am working with. So come 8:30, I was up and out with the teachers, ready for work. The first thing we had to do was put up the fencing, which required putting posts into the ground, cementing them in and then putting up the actual fencing to surround the garden space, which is about 18 meters by 18 meters. I was prepared for the fact that this project would be on West African International Time (W.A.I.T.) but when I looked up from my conversation with Barou, one of the teachers, I saw Sekou across the school yard with Yakouba, one of the village men who had offered to come help. They were already out, measuring the land and marking where the posts would go. I spent most of the morning trying to be helpful, pulling water for them to mix with the cement, collecting big rocks to help anchor the posts, and going to the boutiki to get sugar and tea to keep the men going. Through the whole morning, the only people working were Sekou and Yakouba, along with the occasional young man who stopped by to watch and got sucked in to help. It was more than frustrating to me that the teachers and the school director were sitting around while the community members, who really have no connection to the school, were doing all the work. Finally, Barou followed me to the field to see how things were going, and then once he came over others followed. While it was frustrating that the teachers weren’t more involved in the building of the fence, I am excited that they seem to be more interested, and hopefully therefore more involved in the teaching of the gardening skills and the work in the actual garden.

The goal with this project is to transfer gardening skills to the kids in the first cycle school, as well as to use the garden and the vegetables we harvest as an income generating activity (IGA). Ideally, the kids will sell their produce at our local market, the profits of which will be used to purchase things for the school or to fund small repairs at the school. I am looking forward to using the garden as a health education tool by teaching about nutrition and the benefits of adding the different vegetable to their diets. Perhaps we can even use the project as a math education tool by teaching the kids how to calculate what to charge for the different vegetables in the market and how to keep track of the profits and expenses of the garden. Selfishly, I am looking forward to getting to work in the garden with the kids. I have started my own garden in my concession, but more often than not, Sekou has done the “dirty” work and I have been left to stand by and watch. Another perk will be the new variety of produce available at Niasso’s market, which currently sells tiny shriveled onions on occasion along with fried dough balls, batteries, and peanuts. A little variety would benefit everyone. As the project progresses, I will continue to post updates.

Thanksgiving, San Style

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year in San with all of the new San volunteers. I spent all day in the kitchen with Alyssa and Lindsey, prepping and cooking the traditional Thanksgiving fare, or at least as traditional as we could make it here in Mali. We were able to make stuffing from dried bread crumbs and maggi cubes, pumpkin pie from a squash very similar to pumpkin called dje in Bambara, and corn bread and mashed potatoes from the fresh produce we got in market. We were also able to make salad, baked squash, fruit salad, and cake! Luckily, we had a house full of people to help with the chopping and the innumerable trips to market. When it was finally time to sit down to a family style dinner, with every one dressed up and sharing what they were thankful for, Ameriki didn’t feel quite so far away.

Tabaski

Tabaski, or Seli-Ba which comes 70 days after the end of Ramadan was celebrated in the middle of November this year. It is a Muslim holiday, but is comparable to the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. In the Muslim religion, many will say that it was Muhammad who was asked to sacrifice Ishmael. Which ever version you subscribe to, the point is that at the last minute, God sent and angel down to stop him and told him to sacrifice a sheep instead. The traditional Tabaski fare features a sheep which is slaughtered by an old man, muttering benedictions as he slides the knife over the throat of the sheep, which is held down by the other male members of the family. After being in DC last November, I was able to take part in my village celebrations this time around and have posted some of the best pictures from the day, including the slaughtering of the sacrificial sheep and pics of Niasso Kaw in their Seli-Ba best.

The goat we sacrificed with my host brothers and the ce koroba (old man).
Just before cutting the goat's throat. Bakaary, the ce koroba is repeating a benediction as he kills the goat. It is saying thank you for this year and asking for good health in the next.
Bakary, the same man who killed the goat, after cleaning up for the fete.
The school teachers and other friends having afternoon tea.