Monday, December 15, 2008

Holidays and Projects

It’s another sunny, blazing hot day during “cold season”. It’s Sunday, which means the men have all put down their daily work in the fields to work on the latrine project. Four of the eight women have also set down their work to undertake the daunting task of feeding 35 very hungry men. If God is willing, this will be their last day digging the latrine holes. They have been working hard each Sunday for the past five weeks. The next step in the process will be to gather sand and gravel for the concrete bricks for the walls and slabs to cover the latrine holes, and digging up boulders to fill the covered waste water areas, aka “soak pits”. At this point in the harvest season, the corn has already been shucked, peanuts dried, and the oranges and guavas are gone. Right now, my friends are off cutting and beating their rice; cutting and beating nawelena, a red seed found in a spiny brown pod that is sold for a good price and turned into oil; digging out their sweet potatoes and slicing them to lay in the sun, amongst other daily chores.

On Monday, December 8th, the big Muslim holiday, Tabaski, which marks the pilgrimage to Mecca and the day when Abraham’s sacrificial child was switched with a sheep. Everyone who can afford to buy a sheep to sacrifice did so, and the sheep market was especially CRAZY in Bamako, where sheep can go for $100 each. Those who can’t afford sheep will get goats instead, and those unable to afford either will get chickens. I ate my full of meat, and didn’t discriminate this year on parts. I ate everything but the bone, including bone marrow, fat, and I even added stomach and heart (yum!) to my list of strange meat eaten while in Mali. Most of the adults bought new outfits for their children and some for themselves. I put on my nice, new, stiff bazin outfit and joined them at their makeshift mosque at 9 am for the prayer. This year’s fete was a little bittersweet for me. I remember last year’s Seliba Tahiru’s mother came and got me and made sure I was dressed appropriately. Since the death of her son, she hasn’t been the same, and our relationship doesn’t go beyond greetings. I remember it as being a time of happiness and excitement. I was new to the village and it was my first big holiday. It fell close to Christmas, so I could feel the holiday cheer. I also spent most of the day with Tahiru and threw a party at my house where my friends came and played cards and I gave the children gifts. This didn’t happen this year, and not having Tahiru around to celebrate with was a heavy place in my heart. Instead of an exciting day in anticipation of the next year to come, it was a look back at the past year, in which much tragedy has struck my life, and realizing my time in Mali is more than halfway over. The blessing you say this day is “May God show us another year”, and it was always followed by the person noting that I wouldn’t be here next year to celebrate with them. Life moves in mysterious ways.

So I have to apologize for not writing more often, but I realized that if you guys are going to be donating to my projects I owe it to you to let you live vicariously through me. I wanted to write about the other big holiday this year, which had much more significance to me. It was the day that marked the end of Ramadan, the holy fasting month, which fell on September 30th this year. This holiday was more important to me because of the connection I felt to my village. During Ramadan, Muslims will fast for 30 days. Fasting means waking up at 5am (3am if you’re a woman and need to cook), and stuffing yourself with rice and sauce. Then you go back to sleep until normal waking time. During the day, which fell right in the middle of rainy season this year, you are not permitted to eat or drink anything until the sun sets at around 6:20. People work a bit less and sit around more, but no tea to go with the chatting. I was amazed at the number of people who would leave at the normal 7am and do grueling field work until 4 or 5pm with no water. They say it’s easier to fast when you have your mind off it. In the evening, people are tired and a bit cranky and eager to break fast. Fast is broken when the radio sounds the three bangs (gunshots?) and is followed by some singing. At this time, hot Malian “coffee”, which is extremely sweet chicory tea and bread are consumed. After a few minutes, you drink millet porridge. Most of the time I was full from this food and didn’t eat more, but some would eat corn tô or rice and sauce. Of the 30 days of Ramadan, I spent 17 of them in my village, waking up at 5 am to eat with my host family and breaking fast at sunset with them. The first few days were hardest, but when you put your mind to fasting, it’s really not that bad. By far the hardest part is trying to stay hydrated, as you can only drink water half the day, and those hours are spent sleeping or eating. The festival marking the end of Ramadan, Seliden, for me was a much more exciting time. I got new clothes made, participated in the prayer, and stuffed myself with meat and good food again. It was so great to see everyone’s spirits lifted now that they had gotten in good with God, and can go back to drinking tea and work full time again.

Between Seliden, and Seliba (Tabaski), I had my first visitors to Mali. They arrived in late November and spent two weeks with me. When they first arrived in my village, the WHOLE village came to greet them. I’ve never seen them all in one place at one time before! The next night, we had the first balafone (traditional instrument similar to a xylophone) party in my village since I got here. It was such a delight!! We danced until 2am, when the musicians got tired and had to make their way back home. It was such a beautiful experience to dance with the people of my village. The highlight of the night for me was when I realized none of the elders had danced, that it was all full of young men and women. I urged a few of them to dance, and one by one, they joined the group until finally all of the old men and women were dancing together, and boy can they MOVE! Malian dancing is all pretty similar without much variety but these old people sure put a spark in the night! That is a memory I will not soon forget. After a generous goodbye and giving of gifts, we sadly left my village to head into Sikasso to celebrate Thansgiving with the larger Peace Corps community, where the food and company were fantastic. We next made our way up to Mopti Region, where we drank beers and watched the boats come in and the sun set on the Niger River. The next morning we were off to Dogon Country, where we only had enough time, money, and energy to do a day hike. It was still amazing, and I think my family was able to see enough to get a feel for the life and culture. The next morning we made our way through Djenne, home of the biggest mud structure in the world. Unfortunately, because the mosque is still in use and there is so much tourism, the security was tight, Malian style, the market was full, and the number of people wanting to be our tour guides was overwhelming. We then passed through to Segou (one of my favorite cities) where we relaxed by the pool and watched the sun set over the Niger. We spent two nights in Segou before heading to Bamako where we took a nice boat ride on the river, ate some good western food, and heard some good music. We also took a stop by the museum, which is filled with old artifacts and a cool textile exhibit (although all in French).

Now, it’s Sunday, about a week and a half before Christmas and only a few weeks before my next visitor, a UVM college friend, Lauren, comes to visit. As of yet, I have no Christmas and New Year’s plans, but am not fretting, as I’ve come to understand even the best laid plans get foiled! As for the short term future, a few good friends of mine, and fellow PCVs will be getting married at the Hand of Fatima rock formation in northern Mali, where I plan to get some climbing in. This next 8-9 months or so I have left in country seem seriously packed, as I think I’m the only volunteer who hasn’t left country yet!! I have 48 vacation days to use and two projects to do! Thanks for reading, and thanks even more for your donations, keep them coming! I’ll try my hardest to keep you updated!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Latrine Project

Hello all!

Welcome to a new era of my work in Kadiaradugu. I have just recently completed a proposal for 22 new latrines and bathing areas in my village. This will be enough to supply one per family unit in the village. I've submitted my project through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, which funds projects by donations from friends, family and others in America. In order for this to happen, I'll need YOUR help!! 100% of your donations are tax deductible and go DIRECTLY to the project (no hidden admin fees). The village is very motivated, and has already zoned the village in anticipation of a new electricity project (so the latrines don't get ruined when the lines come through), and has dug all of the holes for the latrines. They are awaiting funding to make the reinforced concrete slabs and build the brick walls. Please help make this a reality for the village!

Some of you will receive in the mail a complete copy of the proposal I have written with instructions on how to donate. If you didn't get one and you would like one, please send me your address. Others have received a letter from my very generous support network back home (Donna Dunn and Mel Danaher). To clear up the confusion as to where to donate, I'd like to explain the objectives of the rest of my service. Our goals for the village during my remaining 10 months in country are as follows: (1) To complete the latrine project (2) To finish the well that was started last year, but had to be stopped due to the rains, and (3) set up the village for a means of finding a pump. The first initiative is underway, a proposal has been submitted, and we're awaiting donations to complete the project (see blog sidebar). The well project cannot be started again until later on in the dry season (April or May) so that we can dig it deep enough to ensure it won't dry up. Because the initial proposal for this project was well repair, and not complete construction, additional funds will be needed. A budget has been completed, and will be submitted when the funds for the latrine project have been collected. Finally, the pump situation is a little more complicated. There is government funding available for a pump, but because of some difficulty in getting the village recognized by the government, it is unclear if they will see that money or not. Either way, because of how spread out the village is, they will need two pumps. Ideally, we'd write a proposal for one and get the other from the government, but we are still unclear if this is possible. I will keep you updated as the pump information is available.

After my remaining 10 months are completed, inshallah (God willing), there will be another water and sanitation volunteer that will replace me to continue work in the village. This is where two donation locations comes in. You can donate directly to the Peace Corps Website to the latrine project, but when that is funded completely, it will be taken offline, and any donations above the needed amount will be donated to another person's project. I'd like to keep fundraising going, so that it will be quicker to collect funds for the well project, which is why the church account is open. As funds come into the church, they will go to the latrine project, until it's funded, and anything above that amount will be saved for future projects in the village, including the pump and well. When I get done in Mali, I plan to come back to America and continue to help fundraising for this village as long as there is a volunteer here to implement the work. Please help me and my community members in making Kadiaradugu a more sanitary and safe place.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment here and I'll get back to you.

Thank you!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

A Tragic Accident

On Tuesday, December 2nd the Peace Corps Mali community lost a very important member. Cristina Nardone had completed her Peace Corps Service and returned to Mali to work on an irrigation project for a medicinal garden near the city of Bandiagara. The article posted in the local newspaper has been translated below:



Bandiagara : Tragic Collapse of a Water Towerl'Essor n°16337 du - 2008-12-04 08:00:00
An American was killed last Tuesday in the collapse of a water tower. The accident occurred in the village of Kokodiougou, 15 kilometers north of Bandiagara in the rural commune of Doucoumbo.
The victim, Cristina Nardone, was the coordinator of the Global System Tourism Alliance (GSTA). Her compatriot, Brenda Adelson was injured in the accident. Christina Nardone was a member of the Federation of Traditional Medicine in partnership with the Regional Center for Traditional Medicine in Bandiagara.
The construction work on the water tower was finished last Monday. The structure measured 4 meters in height; with 2 meters being for the pillars and 2 meters for the portion holding the water. The water tower was entirely constructed of cement.
The day after the construction work was completed, the two women visited the site, along with the builder, to visit the water tower, which was to water medicinal plants in the botanical garden managed by the "Federation of Traditional Therapy" of Bandiagara (FATTB) in the village.
Upon arriving at the site, Christina Nardone asked the builder to fill the basin with water.Several minutes after the water tower was filled, it collapsed on the two women who were unfortunately under it.The collapse led to the sudden death of Cristina Nardone. With respect to Brenda Adelson, she suffered an open fracture on her left leg.
As soon as they were alerted, police agents from Bandiagara arrived on the scene and the victims were immediately transported to Mopti.The builder of the water tower is currently being held at the gendarmerie.
The entire population of Bandiagara prays the victim will rest in peace and for the rapid restablishment of Brenda Adelson. The two women were true friends of the Circle of Bandiagara.



O. GUINDOAMAP-Bandiagara



Christina had a beautiful spirit and through her work and life she inspired many people, including myself. May she rest in peace.