I finally was able to upload this short video of women dancing at the baptism in my family a few months ago.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Women Dancing
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pics
I have posted new pics to Village Life, Family, Puppy, Girls Camp, and Cultivating. We have gone from dry and dusty to very green and wet. Village looks like a completing different place!
Girls Camp
I think I mentioned earlier that I was planning a girls camp. It is now over and though there were many glitches, I think it was overall a success. Lots of Peace Corps Volunteers around the world and over the years have put on girls camps so I was excited about continueing the tradition. I had a meeting at the school to announce the camp to the girls a few weeks before school ended and was thrilled that over 80 girls attended. I thought this was a great sign that lots of girls would apply and I was worried that I would have a hard time choosing 20 girls to participate. I gave them a week to turn in a very easy application with info about themselves and why they wanted to participate. At the deadline I had only received 4 applications. I was extremely disappointed and felt like all the effort I had put into planning at the point wasn't worth it for such a small group. I extended the deadline for another week and by that time had 8 girls. I then found one other girl who had expressed interest so we had a total of 9 participants. I originally wanted to have camp every morning for two weeks. It didn't seem like there was enough to do with such a small group so I cut the program to one week.
The week before camp started I visited each of the girls' houses to give last minute details and get permission from their fathers to participate. It was important that I informed them about the topics we were covering including HIV/AIDS and family planning since some parents may have not agreed. Luckily all but one family was happy for their daughter to participate. The one family that wasn't sure said that she had a lot of work to do in the fields but eventually agreed to let her come. This girl ended up bringing her 2 year old brother every day so I guess they decided to let her baby-sit instead!
Karla, my PCV neighbor, spent the week with me helping during camp. Yoshi, the Japanese volunteer in Tenkodogo, also came for a few days to observe what we had planned. I also had help from Awa, my midwife, when we talked about reproductive health. We did a lot of hands-on activities, icebreakers, and games to get the girls interacting. This was very strange for their girls that are used to being lectured at in school and taking notes from the blackboard. We covered a lot of health topics during the week including: malaria, hygiene, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, male and female reproductive systems, and family planning. I also included topics not as closely related to physical health but that I felt were important such as role models, setting and achieving goals, and planning for the future.
I was surprised how much the girls opened up as the week went on and by Thursday when we talked about family planning, they even asked questions! They loved playing with condoms and each of the girls did a condom demonstration for the group. At first most were shy and embarrassed to touch a condom but they soon were having fun blowing them and tossing around like balloons!
After our nutrition activites I had the girls plan a nutritious meal that included all the food groups. I then had this prepared for a celebration on the last day. The girls were so excited to have rice with peanut sauce and vegetables and chicken. This is a huge treat since even rice is only eaten on special occassions let alone meat.
I talked to the girls about starting a club once school starts again and they were all very interested. I also encouraged them to come to my house any time they wanted to talk or had questions. It has been fun to see them around town and at the market since camp ended since I really didn't know any youth except from my family before camp started.
The week before camp started I visited each of the girls' houses to give last minute details and get permission from their fathers to participate. It was important that I informed them about the topics we were covering including HIV/AIDS and family planning since some parents may have not agreed. Luckily all but one family was happy for their daughter to participate. The one family that wasn't sure said that she had a lot of work to do in the fields but eventually agreed to let her come. This girl ended up bringing her 2 year old brother every day so I guess they decided to let her baby-sit instead!
Karla, my PCV neighbor, spent the week with me helping during camp. Yoshi, the Japanese volunteer in Tenkodogo, also came for a few days to observe what we had planned. I also had help from Awa, my midwife, when we talked about reproductive health. We did a lot of hands-on activities, icebreakers, and games to get the girls interacting. This was very strange for their girls that are used to being lectured at in school and taking notes from the blackboard. We covered a lot of health topics during the week including: malaria, hygiene, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, male and female reproductive systems, and family planning. I also included topics not as closely related to physical health but that I felt were important such as role models, setting and achieving goals, and planning for the future.
I was surprised how much the girls opened up as the week went on and by Thursday when we talked about family planning, they even asked questions! They loved playing with condoms and each of the girls did a condom demonstration for the group. At first most were shy and embarrassed to touch a condom but they soon were having fun blowing them and tossing around like balloons!
After our nutrition activites I had the girls plan a nutritious meal that included all the food groups. I then had this prepared for a celebration on the last day. The girls were so excited to have rice with peanut sauce and vegetables and chicken. This is a huge treat since even rice is only eaten on special occassions let alone meat.
I talked to the girls about starting a club once school starts again and they were all very interested. I also encouraged them to come to my house any time they wanted to talk or had questions. It has been fun to see them around town and at the market since camp ended since I really didn't know any youth except from my family before camp started.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Puppy Love - Part 2
Life has been hectic lately but I guess thats normal. My puppy got really sick a week ago. He seemed fine in the morning and then was sleeping a lot. He didn't seem to want to move or even stand up but everyone said he was just tired. By the afternoon, it was obvious he couldn't walk or stand up even and by the evening, was having convulsions. I texted my parents unsure of what I could do since everyone kept telling me he was just tired. My dad thought it was distemper which is normally fatal. I gave him antibiotics that night and then took him to see the local vet (which I didn't even know existed in my village). He decided it was either paralysis (a symptom not a disease) or rabies (highly doubted it) and said I should tie him up, keep him away from kids, and that if he got aggressive they would cut off his head and send it for testing in the city. At this point Puppy couldn't move at all and was crying constantly. I didn't get much sleep and was very stressed out. Nobody understood why I was upset and there was a constant parade through my house to see the crazy white girl crying about a dog! As I have said before, dogs are not pets, family members, or friends here. They may be used to guard the house or even eaten. I consider Puppy my best friend in village and spend more time with him then any person so was obviously worried about him and hated seeing him suffer.
I will say that everyone wanted to help us out but I found their responses a little overwelming. They wanted to try all kinds of traditional medicines and everyone had a different solution. We first had some black granules that is from the root of some plant. They mixed it with water and made him drink it and stuck it up his nose. Then they put the black stuff over coal and tried to get the smoke to go on his legs and stomach. We did this three times a day for two days. No change. Then someone else lit straw on fire and put smashed up garlic in it and had that smoke waft onto him. Still nothing. There were several other suggestions made but at this point I felt like we had tortured him enough and he was miserable.
I decided to have him killed (put to sleep as they say in the US) after a week of not walking because he was miserable. That morning I took him outside to pee and his legs were moving. I set him down standing and he could stay up and then took a few steps. In the last two days he has started walking a little faster and yesterday before I left village he could get up from sitting though he still can't get up when he is laying. I am so shocked and really think it is a miracle since it was the day he was going to die. I have braced myself that I will probably encounter death while serving in the Peace Corps since it is a large part of life here with a high infant mortality rate and a low use of health services. I didn't expect my first experience to be with my dog though. I can only begin to imagine what the mothers in my family who have lost multiple children have gone through. To them it is a part of life, and though hard to deal with, it is almost expected that one or a few of your children won't reach adulthood.
I will say that everyone wanted to help us out but I found their responses a little overwelming. They wanted to try all kinds of traditional medicines and everyone had a different solution. We first had some black granules that is from the root of some plant. They mixed it with water and made him drink it and stuck it up his nose. Then they put the black stuff over coal and tried to get the smoke to go on his legs and stomach. We did this three times a day for two days. No change. Then someone else lit straw on fire and put smashed up garlic in it and had that smoke waft onto him. Still nothing. There were several other suggestions made but at this point I felt like we had tortured him enough and he was miserable.
I decided to have him killed (put to sleep as they say in the US) after a week of not walking because he was miserable. That morning I took him outside to pee and his legs were moving. I set him down standing and he could stay up and then took a few steps. In the last two days he has started walking a little faster and yesterday before I left village he could get up from sitting though he still can't get up when he is laying. I am so shocked and really think it is a miracle since it was the day he was going to die. I have braced myself that I will probably encounter death while serving in the Peace Corps since it is a large part of life here with a high infant mortality rate and a low use of health services. I didn't expect my first experience to be with my dog though. I can only begin to imagine what the mothers in my family who have lost multiple children have gone through. To them it is a part of life, and though hard to deal with, it is almost expected that one or a few of your children won't reach adulthood.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Peulhs
I feel a little weird writing this entry but I have had a few requests to write more about the people and the culture so wanted to share some info I have gathered and observed about one ethnic group in particular. Since I find this tribe so interesting, I've done a little reading in my guide books and asking questions of others around here.
The Peulhs, also called Fulani or Fulfulde, are the second largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso making up 8% of the population. They are very marginalized throughout this country and the region of West Africa though. In Burkina, they make up a majority in the north but also have small villages throughout the rest of the country. The Peulh were the first tribe in West Africa to convert to Islam hundreds of years ago and they spread the religion throughout the area because they traditionally were nomadic herders. Most Peulhs still are cattleherders though many have settled into villages and cities because it is more difficult to move around. The Peulhs sell eggs (when available in rainy season) and milk in the markets. I have been buying Puppy milk from a Peulh girl that stops by my house every few days. He loves it even after it curdles!
On a side note, the name Burkina Faso comes from words in two different languages spoken here: Moore and Jula. The term for people from this country is Burkinabe which comes from Fulfulde, the language spoken by Peulhs.
I have noticed other tribes in Burkina often have only negative comments to make about Peulhs. I've been told that they are too proud and that they are thieves. Since Bissas and Mossis usually are cultivators and Peulhs are animal herders, there often are fights and issues over land use as well. When I was in training, there was a Peulh community in my host village. One day, my friend set down her phone and forgot about it. It was gone when she went back to look a few minutes later and everyone in the village was talking about how the Peulhs had stolen it. No one saw this but the blame was automatically put on them because of the negative stereotypes of this tribe. This is just one example that shows the discrimination they face constantly.
Even though they are viewed negatively by others, Peulh women are renowned for their beauty. They are often lighter skinned and have distinctive facial features along with different style of dress, hair, and jewelry than other tribes in the area. Many women wear large silver coins in their hair and I was told this is a sign of their wealth since each one can cost around $6. Anecdotally I have also noticed that they seem to really love striped shirts! I have posted some pictures from my visit to a village near my home.
I met a missionary family from New Zealand that is living in Tenkodogo. Their work is to convert Peulhs to Christianity which I found interesting since he said there are only about 200 Peulhs that are Christian in the whole country and because they are traditionally Muslim. He and his wife are also working with education and health needs though which is great for this marginalized population.
There is a fairly large population of Peulhs in several small villages in my area. I want to start doing more work with the Peulhs in my community since I feel that our health center is not meeting their needs. They struggle to communicate with the health staff and others in the village since many don't speak Bissa or French. I think they also are often forgotten when there are sensibilizations or other health programs. Since most of their villages are farther away from the health center, it is difficult for them to come in when they are sick especially during rainy season when the route is often unpassable. The Peulh women are less likely to come in to give birth and attend baby weighings at my CSPS as well. On a surprising note, they are more likely to use family planning services from my health center. The rate is still very, very low but I was excited to note this during my Etude. I hope to start doing programs out in the Peulh villages and just received a basic phrase book from Peace Corps so I can at least greet them in their own language.
The Peulhs, also called Fulani or Fulfulde, are the second largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso making up 8% of the population. They are very marginalized throughout this country and the region of West Africa though. In Burkina, they make up a majority in the north but also have small villages throughout the rest of the country. The Peulh were the first tribe in West Africa to convert to Islam hundreds of years ago and they spread the religion throughout the area because they traditionally were nomadic herders. Most Peulhs still are cattleherders though many have settled into villages and cities because it is more difficult to move around. The Peulhs sell eggs (when available in rainy season) and milk in the markets. I have been buying Puppy milk from a Peulh girl that stops by my house every few days. He loves it even after it curdles!
On a side note, the name Burkina Faso comes from words in two different languages spoken here: Moore and Jula. The term for people from this country is Burkinabe which comes from Fulfulde, the language spoken by Peulhs.
I have noticed other tribes in Burkina often have only negative comments to make about Peulhs. I've been told that they are too proud and that they are thieves. Since Bissas and Mossis usually are cultivators and Peulhs are animal herders, there often are fights and issues over land use as well. When I was in training, there was a Peulh community in my host village. One day, my friend set down her phone and forgot about it. It was gone when she went back to look a few minutes later and everyone in the village was talking about how the Peulhs had stolen it. No one saw this but the blame was automatically put on them because of the negative stereotypes of this tribe. This is just one example that shows the discrimination they face constantly.
Even though they are viewed negatively by others, Peulh women are renowned for their beauty. They are often lighter skinned and have distinctive facial features along with different style of dress, hair, and jewelry than other tribes in the area. Many women wear large silver coins in their hair and I was told this is a sign of their wealth since each one can cost around $6. Anecdotally I have also noticed that they seem to really love striped shirts! I have posted some pictures from my visit to a village near my home.
I met a missionary family from New Zealand that is living in Tenkodogo. Their work is to convert Peulhs to Christianity which I found interesting since he said there are only about 200 Peulhs that are Christian in the whole country and because they are traditionally Muslim. He and his wife are also working with education and health needs though which is great for this marginalized population.
There is a fairly large population of Peulhs in several small villages in my area. I want to start doing more work with the Peulhs in my community since I feel that our health center is not meeting their needs. They struggle to communicate with the health staff and others in the village since many don't speak Bissa or French. I think they also are often forgotten when there are sensibilizations or other health programs. Since most of their villages are farther away from the health center, it is difficult for them to come in when they are sick especially during rainy season when the route is often unpassable. The Peulh women are less likely to come in to give birth and attend baby weighings at my CSPS as well. On a surprising note, they are more likely to use family planning services from my health center. The rate is still very, very low but I was excited to note this during my Etude. I hope to start doing programs out in the Peulh villages and just received a basic phrase book from Peace Corps so I can at least greet them in their own language.
Babies Galore
I have been at site for about five months and during this time three baby girls have been born in my family. Before this I really hadn't spent a lot of time with babies and young kids but I am growing to really love my youngest neighbors. Lohaimatou is now four and a half months old and so much fun to play with. She loves to smile and always responds when I make funny faces. She's also a little chunker which makes me so happy after weighing underweight and malnourished babies every week. Nuhaimatou is two and a half months old and has been very healthy since her health scare when she was a day old.
Three weeks ago, Mariam, a woman from my family, asked me to look at her health card to see when she was supposed to go in for her next pre-natal consultation since she can't read. I saw that she had missed the date so I told her to go in on Monday morning. She didn't know when she was due because she was unsure when she had gotten pregnant but I was thinking it must be soon. I didn't realize how soon though! This was her fifth pregnancy, she has two older children and two that had died. Monday morning I saw her leave for the health center very early. I went to see how her consultation went and she said everything was good and started walking home. I passed her a few minutes later on bike when I had to run an errand. I got back to the health center about 20 minutes later to find her in labor--she had never even made it home. Since no one knew she was about to give birth, they asked me to go tell the family and have them come with supplies that families provide (fabric & towels, buckets, soap, etc) for deliveries. I biked home and started explaining the news in Bissa to the other women. Less than 5 minutes later another women arrived saying Mariam had already given birth to a girl. Definitely the fastest delivery I have ever heard of! We headed back just in time to watch Mariam walk from the delivery room to the post-delivery, resting room. They handed me the baby while Mariam rested and the other women cleaned up the delivery room. Burkinabe women are so amazing and strong!
It is my understanding that in Islam, it is the tradition for babies to be baptised and given a name when they are seven days old. During the first week, it is very bad luck to call a baby by its name or to ask what the baby's name is even if it has already been decided. Baptisms are huge events in Burkina and a great opportunity for a party. I had missed the two earlier baptisms in my family so was very excited for this one. Traditionally guests give soap to the new mom since she will have lots of laundry to do. Others will give money or other baby gifts. The family then provides a huge meal to all of the guests that come. I didn't see the naming ceremony though I think it is an actual event. Instead I saw all of the men hanging out playing cards separate from the women who were talking, cooking, eating, and dancing. The women were happy to include me and we danced, played with the kid, and ate rice with a little chicken--a real treat for my family.
I don't know of any more pregnant women in my family so think it will be at least a few months until we have any new additions to the family! In the meantime, I hope to talk to them more about contraceptive use especially birth spacing which is a more accepted term here than family planning and allows the educator to focus on the health of the mother instead of preventing pregnancies.
Three weeks ago, Mariam, a woman from my family, asked me to look at her health card to see when she was supposed to go in for her next pre-natal consultation since she can't read. I saw that she had missed the date so I told her to go in on Monday morning. She didn't know when she was due because she was unsure when she had gotten pregnant but I was thinking it must be soon. I didn't realize how soon though! This was her fifth pregnancy, she has two older children and two that had died. Monday morning I saw her leave for the health center very early. I went to see how her consultation went and she said everything was good and started walking home. I passed her a few minutes later on bike when I had to run an errand. I got back to the health center about 20 minutes later to find her in labor--she had never even made it home. Since no one knew she was about to give birth, they asked me to go tell the family and have them come with supplies that families provide (fabric & towels, buckets, soap, etc) for deliveries. I biked home and started explaining the news in Bissa to the other women. Less than 5 minutes later another women arrived saying Mariam had already given birth to a girl. Definitely the fastest delivery I have ever heard of! We headed back just in time to watch Mariam walk from the delivery room to the post-delivery, resting room. They handed me the baby while Mariam rested and the other women cleaned up the delivery room. Burkinabe women are so amazing and strong!
It is my understanding that in Islam, it is the tradition for babies to be baptised and given a name when they are seven days old. During the first week, it is very bad luck to call a baby by its name or to ask what the baby's name is even if it has already been decided. Baptisms are huge events in Burkina and a great opportunity for a party. I had missed the two earlier baptisms in my family so was very excited for this one. Traditionally guests give soap to the new mom since she will have lots of laundry to do. Others will give money or other baby gifts. The family then provides a huge meal to all of the guests that come. I didn't see the naming ceremony though I think it is an actual event. Instead I saw all of the men hanging out playing cards separate from the women who were talking, cooking, eating, and dancing. The women were happy to include me and we danced, played with the kid, and ate rice with a little chicken--a real treat for my family.
I don't know of any more pregnant women in my family so think it will be at least a few months until we have any new additions to the family! In the meantime, I hope to talk to them more about contraceptive use especially birth spacing which is a more accepted term here than family planning and allows the educator to focus on the health of the mother instead of preventing pregnancies.
Got Malaria?
I am borrowing the name of this post from an e-mail I sent out four years ago when I was in Kenya. At that time, I had just recovered from malaria so I happy to say I am currently healthy but am doing some work with malaria.
It feels like not much has gotten done this month but I have felt very busy. Part of this I know is the exhaustion from the heat. I see an end in sight though. We have had two huge storms and sprinkles a few other times. Things are starting to look green after many months of dust and dirt. Its almost like spring in Wisconsin except 40 degrees warmer!
With the rains also come the bugs. Even with such a little moisture, I have seen a huge increase in the number of critters out. At night it gets so bad when I am using a flashlight that I usually give up and hang out in my bug hut. Mosquitos are also reproducing rapidly and we are entering into malaria season. Even though Burkina is dry for a good part of the year, this parasite is a huge problem year-round but it gets so much worse with the rains. At least 50% of the patients coming into my health center are treated for malaria. I say treated because there are no blood tests done and anyone with classic malaria symptoms (normally a reoccuring fever) is treated. If they are still sick a few days later, the nurses will then treat them for something else. I wrote a few months ago about the newborn from my family that was treated for malaria. There also have been a few other kids that I know that have gotten malaria since I have been here.
Last week one of my favorite kids, Maneera, had a really high fever and chills. It looked like malaria to me but her dad was gone and her mom said she couldn't take her in then. They gave her Tylenol and the fever went away. I was pretty sure it would be back again and sure enough two days later they came to tell me she was sick. Since I had told them the fever would be back in two days if it was malaria, they really believed I knew what I was talking about and agreed to take her in. While we were waiting to leave, I asked them about mosquito nets. I had brought it up before and the women all said they had them and the kids slept under them but I knew this wasn't true. Our health center gives out nets during the rainy season to pregnant women and babies so the family has several. Anyways I convinced them to find a net and we hung it up right then. Since then I have seen at least a few of the younger kids sleeping under it. I also went to hang out with my family one day and found that the two week old baby was asleep inside a small pop-up mosquito net. I was so excited to see they had such a contraption and were even using it in the middle of the day when the mosquitos aren't so bad. Its great to see even the smallest changes in my family and my village.
There is still lots of sensibilizing to be done but I know rainy season is long so I figure I will have many opportunities.
It feels like not much has gotten done this month but I have felt very busy. Part of this I know is the exhaustion from the heat. I see an end in sight though. We have had two huge storms and sprinkles a few other times. Things are starting to look green after many months of dust and dirt. Its almost like spring in Wisconsin except 40 degrees warmer!
With the rains also come the bugs. Even with such a little moisture, I have seen a huge increase in the number of critters out. At night it gets so bad when I am using a flashlight that I usually give up and hang out in my bug hut. Mosquitos are also reproducing rapidly and we are entering into malaria season. Even though Burkina is dry for a good part of the year, this parasite is a huge problem year-round but it gets so much worse with the rains. At least 50% of the patients coming into my health center are treated for malaria. I say treated because there are no blood tests done and anyone with classic malaria symptoms (normally a reoccuring fever) is treated. If they are still sick a few days later, the nurses will then treat them for something else. I wrote a few months ago about the newborn from my family that was treated for malaria. There also have been a few other kids that I know that have gotten malaria since I have been here.
Last week one of my favorite kids, Maneera, had a really high fever and chills. It looked like malaria to me but her dad was gone and her mom said she couldn't take her in then. They gave her Tylenol and the fever went away. I was pretty sure it would be back again and sure enough two days later they came to tell me she was sick. Since I had told them the fever would be back in two days if it was malaria, they really believed I knew what I was talking about and agreed to take her in. While we were waiting to leave, I asked them about mosquito nets. I had brought it up before and the women all said they had them and the kids slept under them but I knew this wasn't true. Our health center gives out nets during the rainy season to pregnant women and babies so the family has several. Anyways I convinced them to find a net and we hung it up right then. Since then I have seen at least a few of the younger kids sleeping under it. I also went to hang out with my family one day and found that the two week old baby was asleep inside a small pop-up mosquito net. I was so excited to see they had such a contraption and were even using it in the middle of the day when the mosquitos aren't so bad. Its great to see even the smallest changes in my family and my village.
There is still lots of sensibilizing to be done but I know rainy season is long so I figure I will have many opportunities.
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