Nshalagan’s Weblog

rajs-039.jpgrajs-039.jpgYes I am finally mastering another language….Moree

I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I have been able to update the blog…. like I said everything is slow in Africa and I have not been able to access internet for the past few weeks.  So I have managed to travel back to Ouagadougou for some research at the Head Country Office.  Much has changed since my last entry so I will try and add all of my new experiences.  THANK YOU so much everyone for all your support, it means the world to me to read all the little comments and makes all the tough times here worth while so thank you so much for thinking of me!!

OK where to start….

So lately I have been working in the villages surrounding Koupela (there are lot’s).  I take my bike at 6 in the morning when the heat is not yet suffocating, and head off on the dirt paths.  Most villages are anywhere from 5-10kms away so I get some good exercise in.  Latley the families I have met have are all serious cases of family members or children affected by AIDS.  The one I will never forget was a visit I made on Monday. 

 It was to the small house of a single mother of an 8 year old girl.  The girl is in a sponsorship program for school, but has not been present yet this year.  The mother told me that it is because she is frequently sick and has to travel to the capital for treatments.  She is a very young mother, and her husband passed away last spring.  At first she was very hesitant to even talk, and wouldn’t even look up from the ground.  I wasn’t sure exactly what to say so I started to talk about the rice program we have for families living with AIDS (they receive a sac of rice every month, but they have to openly admit their HIV status).  She finally broke down and told me her husband died of AIDS, soon after the whole family left her (all 8 members of the extended family previously lived together) and now she is alone with her daughter.  It took her a few months before she decided to get tested, before his death she didn’t even know he was positive.  So she was infected and unknowlingly passed it to her daughter.  So they both have to receive treatments and the only source of income she has is from the snacks she sells at a nearby school (peanuts and leaves). 

She has no one to help her and is afraid what will happen to her daughter if she dies, there will be no one to take care of her.  So I explained to her that I can put her in our outreach program that provides subsidies for medication, rice and school lamps for her daughter (to do homework at home).  The first thing she did was fall over and grab my feet and say Barka (thank you) over and over.  I felt a little guilty since all I really did was listen but it was amazing to come face to face with real suffering.  She tried to give me her chicken to thank me, thank goodness she didn’t insist.

That day really made every difficult day here worth it.  I have seen the worst of poverty, children that can’t even lift their heads their bodies are so weak and children that have to bury their whole family things I thought were only on television.  And still they move on and keep going, kids still play and their parents have hope that their children will surpass them…. really it is hard to explain how it makes you feel.

So I am doing my best to improve their health projects here…and I definately have some new opinions on development.  So that gives a little window into Africa…and I will soon add more about all the other interesting things I have encountered!

As of now, I have spent 3 weeks in Koupela and I am getting used to my new surroundings.  The first week here I spent meeting random people in the village and getting my house set up.  As of now I have begun working at the CCFC Office and out in the field.  For the last few weeks I was able to meet all the heads of the local organizations in Koupela which is the capital of this province (there is something like 40 provinces in this country).  I had the opportunity to meet the Mayor, Head Military Chief, Traditional Chief of the village, Director of the Hospital etc. 

            The hospital was by far the toughest visit, it is unreal how many sick children there are around.  I visited the hospital again this week with a young girl that CCFC sponsors for school.  I took her to the hospital to get an injection in her leg, she is only 15 and has a 8 month old baby.  So I carried the baby on my back while I waited for her, she explained to me that her parents that sponsor her do not know yet that she will not be retunring to school in the fall and that she was pregnant.  They sent money for her medical bills (for her leg) and hopefully they continue.  When we stopped at the pharmacy for the drugs she needed I was even more saddened because the shelves are litrerally empty and the drugs are old.  It is so hard for them to find generic drugs so they have to pay premium prices for brand named ones…and that is if they are lucky enough to find them.  I have searched all over Koupela and Ouagadougou for mosquito nets and there are non available!  Not a single one here!  So even if the parents have the knowledge and the means to get a mosquito net for their kids there are non to purchase.  The situation seems hopeless for so many of these kids, because I know that even if they make it through school, and don’t fall seriously ill,  there are no jobs here in the country…

            So after these visits, finding out that there is no coordination in Koupela on health matters between different organizations (which is my domain) I have to have my year planned out by next week.  There are so many things I want to do…but I have along ways to go.  So goal number one is create a network for all the community groups to work together on these issues…and learn Moree (native language).

Since it seems that everyone speaks Moree…

I will also start teaching English 6 nights a week for the local children and adults.  I am really excited for the classes to start, I hope to learn more Moree that way and meet everyone in the community.  Thankfully some schools have offered their classrooms that I can teach in so the classes will be free for everyone.

            As for social events, I attended a ceremony at a church in a village 45km from here, where a priest was being honoured…(not quite sure what was going on, it was in Moree)  So I sat through a 3 and a half hour sermon, where my clothes were so wet I could wring them out by the end of it…. Once again being the only minority I was trying to look like I knew what was going on because everyone is always looking at me…. But I am glad I went because the singing and music is amazing!

My neighbors baby girl is getting baptized this weekend, and it is going to be quite an event, we have live chickens running around the yard and people coming and going at all hours.  Everyone has been cooking and getting ready for this event for the last week so I am sure it will be entertaining.  When I got home yesterday they were waiting to move some more chairs and mats and food into my house to use for the weekend (they aren’t shy here and there is no such thing as personal space either….)