Closing up

Hello blog readers! Well, it's been crazy around here for the last 4-5 months or so. I was waiting on this blog post because I really wanted to get pictures up, but that's just not going to happen right now. I really also want to thank again everybody that donated to these projects, it's only because of you that I was able to do this. And again thanks to Donna and Mel for arranging it all eliminating the stress of money from my Peace Corps experience!

So, as you may know, I'm getting ready to close up my service this month. Here's a quick and dirty of the last few months at my site (and America, etc.)

After our latrine project was finished back in April, we moved on to the well project. The large diameter well that we had begun last year was opened to discover that a large chunk of the mud wall had fallen in the hole, and the charcoal that we were using as back fill was full of mud, and a lot of it had entered the well itself. We had to clean out the charcoal and wash it and spent a few days simply repairing the damages the rain had caused the previous year. We then started digging again and got the well to a final depth of about 16 meters. It was a long, slow, difficult and stressful process. After digging and lowering the bricks the rest of the way, we were able to build the walls up to surface level. This part was relatively quick and I felt like it was a little safer as well, alleviating some of the stress. After the well walls had been built up we placed a cover on top of the well, closing it off from surface water, rainwater, and any debris that might fall into the well.

The day after this project was finished, I rushed to Bamako for our Close of Service Conference. There, all the volunteers who came in with me in 2007 met, and talked about readjusting to America, medical stuff and the overwhelming amount of paperwork we must do to get out of here. In my village on the first day of the conference an engineer had come out to do a site prospection on the installation of two pumps in the village. Pumps are the best, easiest and most reliable source of potable water in Mali because, unlike wells, they pull water form a deeper aquifer that is thought to be uncontaminated. The engineer then produced a report and later gave us a cost estimate on the two pumps. This information was gathered with the intention of providing it the the volunteer that will be replacing me in my site so that she can continue with my work here. Thus completing my funded project number 2.

Immediately after the COS conference, I hopped on a plane to Ann Arbor, where my friend of years, Liz, was getting married to a wonderful guy, Ryan. The wedding was beautiful and tons of fun. I had a really good time being around my family and friends again. I especially had a good time with the hot showers, beer, and cheese, but the spring cold was a little rough. After too short of a visit (3 weeks), I was off on a plane again back to Mali.

During the time I was in America, I was thrilled to hear from my village 2-3 times a week on their progress on the rest of the well project. During the design on the project, we had decided to perform well repairs on two other wells, if our money and time allowed us. Well, the community members continued to work even when I was in America, where they set up safe workplaces, and cleaned out 2 wells, pulling debris such as shoes, clothes, ropes, toys, and mud out of the well. The then dug the wells deeper by about a meter, increasing access to water during dry periods. The top couple meters were dug down and the mouth of the well was widened where bricks were cemented in place to prevent surface water from entering the well. The well cover was then placed on top of the well. On the third well, the bottom was also repaired. The well owner had initiated a well repair and payed for the bricks to repair the well, but the well was only half repaired. The mason, also my work counterpart, was lowered into the well to place more bricks to prevent the mud walls from caving in more. So, you can imagine my delight when I came back to my village and not only were the well repairs done, but the accounting had been completed accurately and there was still money left over. Overall probably the most valuable part of these projects were not the end product, but the knowledge gained during implementation. My work counterpart now knows how to set up a safe work zone at a well, how to build new wells and repair old ones. All of the workers in my village now know how to lower people and objects into wells safely, and make concrete bricks using the appropriate ratios. The fact that they could do all of this even when I wasn't there to be their manager shows the sustainability of this project.

I then spent about a week in my village, after which I took my final vacation to Ghana. While in Ghana, I went to Mole National Park and slept amongst the baboons, elephants and wild pigs (think Pumbaa). I then went to Kumasi, and on to the coast to the Green Turtle Lodge (tourist heaven), and then to Cape Coast where I toured the slave castle. Cape Coast was full of banners featuring Obama's face, because he had been there just days before. Then I was off to Accra, where I shopped, watched English TV, ate good food, and even went to a local soccer game. Ghana is a nice country, quite a bit more developed then Mali, there are better sanitation systems in place (although drinking water is questionable), more cell phone service and electricity, and a lot more literacy. It was a great change from life in Mali.

After coming back from Ghana, I used the rest of my project funds to buy little kiddie pots so that babies and toddlers can also be potty trained. I chose a woman from my village whose child always using the pot and I had her walk with me to each concession to hand them out. She explained proper usage and the benefits, and each woman got a pot for their kids. I also was able to buy hand washing stations, which are buckets with a kettle on top and a place for soap. I bought soap for each hand washing station, and my work counterpart, Hadi, and I went to each eating area, and he explained how they worked in a way that was culturally sensitive and hopefully got over their barriers to change. Now all 3 of my projects have been completed and closed!

After all this, I was able to meet the volunteer that will be replacing me, and she's excited about the work, and I'm really excited to have her there. As time goes on, I'll try to keep my readers updated on the progress of the projects that she's doing in my (our) village.

As for me, it's a difficult time. I've been living in a tiny community for 2 years, and I know each and every one of the community members, some better than others. I have my closest friends there, and have learned so much about life and work and different cultures and so much more. While I'm ready to go back to the conveniences of hot water, good food, good health, contact with the outside world, and a wide selection of people to chat with, I'm also really sad about leaving. This is my home and feels more like my home than many other "homes" that I've had in my life. I can only hope that I'm fortunate enough to have another experience like this in my life again.

As for what's next, I'm headed to Ethiopia where I'll be staying with my cousins and uncle for about 6 weeks, and then I'm off to India. I'll keep you posted on my travels, and hope to get pictures up soon!