Kedougou Malaria Fair

Although I am an "agroforestry" volunteer, cross sector collaboration is highly encouraged by Peace Corps administration. The nearest volunteers to me (creating our "work zone") are "community economic development," "sustainable agriculture," "eco-tourism," "health." We have worked together by doing seed extension (vegetables, field crops, and trees), tree sack distribution, painting world maps at schools in our villages, as well as general helping one another since we are all Americans living in a similar area. However, the region of Kedougou now has 33 volunteers. A health volunteer in Fongolimbi (SE Kedougou), Ben, did a project to demonstrate how much money is spent on malaria in that area. Rice is a staple food in the region and he decided to purchase rice sacks and fill them with grass to visually represent the number of rice sacks that could be purchased in comparison to how much money was spent on malaria treatment (e.g. highlight the importance of prevention).

These sacks would lead up to the health post where there would be a net sewing station, a washing station, a neem lotion station, and a net modification station (square to circle, and stencils of marabouts (it is a Muslim country) and the Senegalese flag to spray paint on the net). After doing this in his village, he wanted to scale it up and do it in the city of Kedougou (with help from volunteers across the region). Recalculating the numbers the same preparation was done (of course on a larger scale). The Stomp Out Malaria Project came down to document the event, as well as hold an action plan meeting afterwards. It was quite a success and I was contribute my efforts to a worthwhile project! It was also great because now I am more informed about what I can do in my community with the rainy season (and peak in malaria) coming.

Net sewing

Neem lotion

Stenciling

Kedougou Volunteers who helped on this project

Public, Public Transport

Transportation in Senegal can often be a constant battle. Where I live (Diara Pont, Kedougou), it is intermittent, irregular, although relatively reliable (during the dry season; I fortunately haven't been in a car that has broken down, although it is NOT by any means uncommon). Oh yes, and it takes a long time. However, being in the big city (e.g. capitol, Dakar), I decided to be adventurous and try out my bus and navigation skills (more like language skills) for traveling a longer distance (it'd be like taking public transport from Seattle to Olympia). I am in currently in Dakar for the quarterly SeneGAD meeting to choose Michelle Sylvester Scholarship winners as well as vote on a new board member, as well as attend the going away party for our country director, Chris Hedrick.

Anyway, typically the easiest way to get from Dakar to Thies is taking a taxi to the garage and waiting for a sept place to fill up to go to Thies. However, someone told me about a bus that takes you about 40km outside of Thies (in Rufisque) and then you switch to an Alhum (large van sort of thing). It is half the price of the sept place ride, so I figured since I wasn't on a strict timeline, I'd try it (plus I spent a lot of money in the previous days due to appreciating western shopping). Not like saving $1.50 makes a huge difference, but I felt better about it... I walk from the regional house in Dakar to where the buses wait to fill up. I walk up as the one I wanted to catch just started its engine to pull away. I climb up the stairs through the open door to be crammed towards the front with a spot for my hand to grab a bar ahead. I had a backpack on and was relieved when someone asked if I wanted to take it off and put in in an empty space near the driver (there was also a random bucket, and a rice sack of grass in this area). With each stop, someone, more people cram on to the bus and although I remained in the same spot, I was now three people behind my bag rather than just one. I knew I was getting off at this arbitrary city "Rufisque." I was in Wolof land, but managed to find speakers of French/Pulaar who would ensure I was told when we reached that city. As we got farther out of the city, more and more people got off, and I even got a seat. Just over an hour of being on the bus, I was told I was in Rufisque. Getting off, there were few people waiting for cars, although nearly immediately a car pulled up with the apprenti saying "Thies." I hop on and get a seat. I sit anxiously hoping I am heading the right direction, although I know I am, but unsure since I don't recognize the road. As the car empties, everyone is asked to move to a different Alhum to continue on. I somehow get the front seat and am relieved when I see road posts reading "Thies" along with "x KM." There was a little traffic so the journey ended up taking just over two hours, although in a sept place, it is normally an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. I was so proud of myself!

Visiting the new volunteer

The month of May has been full with following up on tree nurseries and latrines, as well as enjoying the weather cooling down, you know, only highs of 100 and cooling down to 80 in the evenings (and even a couple of rains!). I also have been trying to get the well finished in my village. So, as a means of getting out and about, Tatiana and I decided to go visit the closest new health volunteer, Katie (who has only been at site for just over three weeks). We first stopped in a village, Kewoye (20km away), where her mason is, and the man (his brother) who had said he would finish digging the well in Diara Pont, who also wanted to start a mango nursery. Sara Cidy Bay, the well digger, unfortunately had gone to Guinea for the day. However, we were able to show his brother how to fill tree sacks. We were then invited to lunch (at 11am, ensuring us that we would eat in an hour) where they killed a chicken for us to eat. However, we did not eat until nearly 2:30pm. Afterwards, we decided to continue on to Dakateli, another 12km to Katie's village. The cell phone service in our area had been out for a week, so we were not able to coordinate and let her know we were coming. However, she had expressed interest in going to Salemata for our weekly market the following day so we figured we could show her the bush path/shortcut. However, upon arriving in her village, we were told that she left for Salemata that morning! Her brother ended up showing us her compound, but then we decided to turn around and leave relatively quickly so we would get back to our villages before dark. Unfortunately, my bike seat had broken upon arriving in Dakateli so I had to ride the 32km back to Diara Pont with a broken seat. It was quite uncomfortable but I had no other choice, (we didn't have the right size alan wrench to fit and tighten the part that loosened, so of course it was reasonable to ride 19miles, uckgh, mountain biking!). The following day I went to Salemata for the market and got it repaired. We then saw Katie in Salemata, only 5km away, rather than the farther distance we covered the day before. Ohhh Senegal.

Mini Fatick Tour

Fatick is a region in Senegal south of Dakar and southwest of Kaolack. In the week between AgFo Summit and the quarterly SeneGAD meeting, I decided to go to visit a couple of friends' sites. First, I went to visit Ash in Nioxoloxo. Her village is Sereer and are really great gardeners, they have cashew orchards, mango trees, and lots of wells, in addition to peanut fields (although not in season at the moment).

The first day, I got a tour of the village and met a lot of people. It was funny because many people tried to greet me in Pulaar but only knew an initial hello, and then were speechless and laughed when I would continue to talk to them in Pulaar. Ash said her village loved it because previously, her visitors have known either French, Wolof, or English, and either would chat it up in Wolof, or seemed rather incapable in the village. That evening we went out with her family to collect cashew seeds.

The second day I was there we experimented with cashew apple food transformation. Ash was really interested in making fruit leather, so we went out, collected cashew apples with her host sister, came back, diced them up, boiled them down, added citric acid, sugar, and cinnamon, strained the mixture, and laid the mixture out on a cookie sheet covered with syran wrap. The remaining cashew apples, we diced up and made cashew applesauce. During the day I also map "lop lop" (a green mango mixture with vinegar, mustard, maggi, and onions) in the midst of the cashew goodness. It was a hit with everyone who stopped by to say hello!

Then on Wednesday, after heating up our cashew apple sauce for breakfast, we walked the 2km to the road where we waited for a car. We ended up squeezing onto an Alhum to go to Toubacouta. We went to a campement/resort place to use internet, enjoy the view of the mangroves and pool as well as a few drinks. I ended up seeing villagers from my area who were up for a meeting. How ironic! It was a beautiful getaway though and I am thoroughly jealous that these volunteers have this accessible at their fingertips! After a dip in the mangroves, that evening, I went back to Sokone with Emily, and then we went to her village, Dramine Sadabou, about 8km away.

Emily's village is about 8km away from Sokone where we got a horse drawn cart to. Her village was really nice and ended up coming together to do henna on my feet! It was quite a success, even if it was a long process (3 hours to do taping and henna application in the evening, slept with plastic bags on my feet overnight, and then peeled off the tape and henna and the morning and had my feet charcolaed and cemented for another 3 hours). I saw her tree nursery, helped her fill tree sacks, and enjoyed many mangoes. It was a short stay but very pleasant! We took a donkey drawn cart back into Sokone to meet up with Ash and have lunch with a person in their English club. I had pockets put into a dress and we enjoyed another campement with a view of some mangroves. We enjoyed dinner at one of their Senegalese friends' houses before I went on the overnight bus to Dakar.

All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend time seeing sites and getting some work in before going to the quarterly SeneGAD meeting back in Thies.

Talibe Soccer Tournament

St. Louis is rather far from Kedougou (about 18 hours by car excluding waiting times for transport), however, I needed to be head north in April anyway for the AgroForestry Summit in Thies, so I stopped by Dakar for a doctor appointment, and continued north to St. Louis for the soccer tournament. Since coming to country, I have wanted to visit the old french colonial city along the coast with beautiful architecture!

A volunteer, Richard, located up in St. Louis coordinated a two day soccer tournament for talibe that he works with at his garden. Talibe are children who are sent to learn the Koran and work for a marabout in exchange for lodging. They are commonly found on the streets begging for money that they are required to give to the marabout everyday. It's a system where it is easy to have strong opinions and feelings about since the high variation in conditions-- some marabouts treat children well however, that is not always the case (in terms of the level of expected work in exchange for learning and food, quantity and quality varying). Additionally, often children are sent to be taken care of by marabouts because their family cannot care for them.

The first day, Caitlin (who was filming the event) and I arrived to watch the qualifying rounds being played on a sand soccer field (there were games all morning and afternoon). It is such a different experience that what I am use to in village it was great to see; there was just so much more happening! There was a DJ playing music over loud speakers, children watching all around, people coming & going to see the games. It was also great because the majority of talibe are Pular and I was able to actually converse with them (since we share a similar language). Afterwards, all the volunteers who came into town went out to dinner where I had my first warthog plate!

I was impressed by the first day, but was shocked to arrive the second day to a proper stadium with turf field, and stands on either side. There was a miscommunication about the time we were able to use the field so the event was pushed back a couple hours. Two games were scheduled, a volunteer game and then the final talibe game, with an intermission of performances by a judo club, a dance group, a Michael Jackson impersonator, and "lions," a group of Senegalese performers that are kind of like clowns, but culturally are used to scare children (bizarre, I know). It came together so well! By the final game, the stands were packed with fans and ended in a shoot out with fans rushing to the field at the end.

Ohh I almost forgot to mention, these boys didn't even all have shoes to play in! (The jellies are really common footwear).

Unfortunately, the volunteers lost their game (I didn't participate in the volunteer game due to a cold I acquired in Dakar...going from above 100 everyday to 70s is hard on one's body!). St. Louis was gorgeous and I can't wait to go back, although I don't think that will be until next year's jazz festival in May!

Latrine Project Approved!

I just got an email letting me know that my project for latrines in my village was approved! A write up I did can be found here. (A few details were skewed in the description somehow, but one can get the general idea. Also, there is a donation link, although the funds are already available so no need to donate). This is wonderful! I will certainly have work to do upon returning to village and organizing for materials to be transported out. Yay!

Cooking and Crafting

This past month I have made an avid point of learning how to cook and practicing a grass weaving craft that my host aunts do. Unfortunately by Senegalese standards, learning to cook at this point consists of only watching. However, I hope after I go back to village and make them an "American meal," (I am planning on making spaghetti) I will be able to attempt a Senegalese dish on my own, or at least actually help. So far I have seen lots of rice and corn bases be made (either a corn mush, corn meal sort of thing or corn couscous) and corresponding okra and peanut sauces, and a rice porridge. I only have a few more dishes (sauces in particular) to witness and that will be my whole diet! Eeek.

As far as the grass weaving goes, I have made a coaster and am starting to perfect the picture frame (which my family things is silly although I find to be quite quaint). Typically these are larger and used as bowl covers. We used grass collected on a road to one of the "neighborhoods" in Diara Pont, and pieces of rice sacks. I think they are great! It is a really good hobby to do in the hot afternoons to pass time.

Kitchen hut in village

Working on "weaving" with my host aunt and cousin