Saturday, February 28, 2009

Some village photos


Brick-lining a new latrine. All that's left is the seat!


Working the press, to make peanut oil. The resulting peanut grounds are a heavy cake which is nutritious for animals. Plus you get tasty locally-produced oil.


This calf was surprisingly docile; they caught it specially for the picture, but it was sleeping near the market all morning.


A lady sorting peanuts in her courtyard.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Full Circle

Now that I'm in my second year here, I'm experiencing the repetition of life lived cyclically, following the seasons. While I was on vacation the women peeled and dried all the bissap from their field; now there are sacs stuffed full of bissap waiting for the government to come and buy it. The safest storage place, of course, is my backyard, which is now stacked high with fat plastic sacs. Out with last year's millet pile, in with this year's bissap! But thinking back, I remember how important it was to my village adjustment, those first few months of my being there, to sit with the women for hours, popping those bright red fruits off their seed pods, listening to their chatting as I gradually filled by bucket with bissap. And after that came peanut season. Now it is here again,and my fingers are re-learning the technique of snapping a nut against a stone or a wooden stool; the one-handed shelling which contributed to an ever-growing pile of nuts and shells; the taste of dried peanuts (the little shriveled onces, actually, are more flavorful than the perfect-looking ones.); the familiar flaking of skin off my thumbs from the constant friction of finger against peanut shell. Oh, peanut season! Of course here every season could really be called peanut season. Life revolves around peanuts, or the money they bring in. Now, too, people are building and repairing houses, and all the families are in various stages of latrine construction. There are three-meter deep pits all over the village, and some are already being lined with bricks. Then the masons will come to construct the seat on top. Everyone is thanking me for bringing the latrine project to the village, but I have to remind them that I didn't do a thing! It's all the people who each gave what they could, eventually funding the project in its entirety, who really need thanking. Without you all it never would have happened!
Being back in the village is wonderful. It feels so familiar to me now, almost as comfortable as home. I even welcome the flavor of millet "cere" with fish or leaf sauce. You can get used to anything, and even come to enjoy it! And I've got plenty of things I hope to do in the near future: a little nutrition seminar for the kids, through the school, to learn about the food groups. Continuing the library. Starting pepinieres. Teaching a group of young mothers how to make improved porridge for their children, with millet flour, peanut butter, some kind of fruit, a little oil and sugar, which can combat malnutrition (we learned that in Dakar). And encouraging everyone in their latrine work. There's plenty to do! And there are some things I'm working on out-of-town, too, such as the Bookmobile, and helping get a girls' group going in a town near a friend's site, and hopefully working with some other Volunteers to create a leadership camp for young women, to be held this summer.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

WAIST 2009 - a Weekend to Remember


Me and two Kaolack friends, with our team TROPHY!!! Note the awesome plaid shawl I'm wearing. It fits the winning theme.

I'm on my way home from Dakar after a fantastic WAIST weekend! For those who didn't read my blog last year, WAIST is the annual softball tournament (the West African Invitational Softball Tournament, in fact) which takes place during President's Day weekend. It is a huge event for ex-pats and Peace Corps Volunteers all over West Africa. The fabulous Dakar community opened their beautiful homes to us, sharing their tasty American meals, hot showers, and luxurious beds with us deprived village Volunteers. It is always a shock to walk into such a house, sit down at a table with such wonderful food, and experience the familiar shock of warm water from the shower head; all things familiar, yet after so long a hiatus, remarkable. This year the tournament itself was huge! Almost all the Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers were there, to play or support their regional teams. There were also teams from Mali, The Gambia, Guinea, and Mauritania. The Mauritanians are known to be serious softball players. The themes and costumes were hilarious as always. Kaolack chose "Braveheart" as our theme, so everyone was running around wearing tartan-print kilts, screaming "FREEDOM!" or "MacKAOLACK!" as the mood took us, or the ever-popular "Cesspool!", a nickname for our lovably dirty regional city. I, of course, was on the cheer squad, because I'm not particularly "sportive", but our pitcher played in a plaid miniskirt, people were running bases barefoot or in flip-flops, and there was plenty of good cheering (or heckling, depending on the opposition!) as the situation required. We all had a fantastic time. And, here's the really exciting news: for the first time in many years, Kaolack won a trophy! Third place, beaten by the Senegalese national team, and Mauritania, but it was a BIG trophy nevertheless! All tartan-clad people were wildly celebrating that final evening. Being third place means we beat all the other Peace Corps Senegal teams. Kaolack is officially the best softball playing region in Senegal! Needless to say, we do other things pretty well too.
The day after WAIST's celebratory dinner and dance, we had a conference at USAID to discuss work opportunities, and sector goals and summits. I co-lead two discussions about latrine construction, since that is an area of big interest for many Volunteers, and so important to peoples' health. I also got to attend a good refresher course on seed-saving techniques, and an inspiring seminar about creating good nutrition from local sources. Yesterday I called Omar Gueye and he says the cement, iron, and wire arrived safely to the village, and has been locked in the storage room. Already he's molding bricks to line his latrine, and other folks are doing the same. Fantastic news! Now all that's left to buy are wooden slabs to serve as covers, and wait a few weeks for construction to be finished, and then thirty-seven families in Keur Ali Gueye will have their own latrines right there in the compound.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Buying cement, writing proposals


This is the view of a sunrise, taken from my back porch step. I’ve decided that the color of the light at sunrise is golden; everything suffused with a shimmer of gold. In the evening, at sunset, the light is lavender.


I’m in Kaolack for a few days, doing city chores, of which here are many because I’ve been vacationing. But it feels great to be back! I had a wonderful vacation, saw a lot of fascinating places and got to spend all my savings on an unforgettable experience, but I’m tired of travel. There is no such thing as a relaxing trip in West Africa. I want to get back to work, be in my village element again. That won’t really happen, though, until next week, after WAIST in Dakar, after the All-Volunteer Conference, and after I’ve finished all the things I need to be in Kaolack for. Today, the “responsables” for the latrine project came up, and met me at the supplier. Since the money came through I’ve been feeling a little jumpy – no one likes two million cfa sitting in their bank account! – so I was relieved to put it where it belongs. My counterpart confirmed the materials to make sure it was all they’d ordered, and reviewed the prices. The supplier drew up the receipt. I went to the bank (chauffeured there, actually; how fancy) to withdraw several enormous wads of cash. But now the money is where it should be, in the business’s lockbox; and the materials are where they should be, en route to the village; and the work is moving along splendidly according to everyone. It’s really happening so efficiently! I’m delighted. And I hear from them all that everyone is “content na lool”: very happy.

So now I’m in Kaolack to do more Bookmobile stuff, and also research and write a proposal for a grant to fund a summer camp, and do several other things in town. Then I’ll bake some treats for the SENEGAD bake sale – it all goes towards funding girls’ empowerment activities, including the scholarships – and it’s off to Dakar for WAIST!