2009 AIDS Boat Tour!

So it's 2009 and I just finished up a year and half here in Niger! Can't believe that I've been here for that long! The holidays went off with a bang- there were actually a few fireworks down in Gaya- and cold season was glorious, although it was extremely short this year. It's now back in the 100s and getting hotter. Cold season is officially over- sad to say.

On the good side, I just finished up the first ever AIDS boat tour in Niger, organized by a couple of PCVs along with some animators working with an AIDS NGO. Our 3-day tour began just south of the border with Mali and ended about 30km south of Niamey, a total of about 250km!

Our mode of transportation was a motorized pirogue (wooden boat with a small Yamaha engine), about 25 ft long and 4 ft wide, with a nice canopy built for shade. We had a bunch of life jackets so we used all of the extras for seat cushions and back rests- made for quite a comfortable ride! The boat had a few leaks so every so often- about every 15 minutes- someone had to bail the water out- it kept us busy though!

The boat ride began about 25km north of the city of Ayorou and worked its way south. The water was smooth as glass in most parts although we did see a few ripples and white water- nothing to be worried about though. I brought along an inflatable alligator and floated down the river a bit in the places we stopped to cool off as the days were really hot and the water was very cool.

The landscape was amazing, nothing like anywhere else that I've been in Niger. We saw so many species of birds and quite a few hippos as well! There were many villages along the river and even some villages on islands in the river. The sunsets were indescribable although early mornings on the water were just as tranquil and amazing.

We hit 3 villages per day but had to do a lot of guessing concerning the time as it was hard to judge distances on the river. The animators that came along with us rode in a truck and met us up at each village where we were to do the educational talks.

At each village we would begin our session by playing some loud music and dancing in order to draw a crowd- who wouldn't want to come and see a group of crazy foreigners dancing around?! From there we would either break into focus groups- men, women and children- then discuss AIDS, or we would perform a skit about AIDS. In the skit I played the guy who slept around without protection and contracted an STD. It was a fun role to play, especially since I got to show so much emotion, the crowd really got a kick out of the skits. We used the skit as an introduction to actually talking to them about modes of transmission as well as prevention methods.

The volunteers riding in the boat usually had to haul out after each skit and hop in the boat and keep cruising in order to make the last village by night fall. In the boat, we just hung out and relaxed, taking in the view and napping, as sometimes it could be over 5 hours in the boat in between villages.

The boat tour went finished without a single hitch and was an amazing journey. Not only were we able to travel down the Niger River, something only a few foreigners are ever able to experience, but we educated 9 villages and countless villagers about AIDS.

2008 AIDS Bike Ride

At the end of November, after a couple of amazing Thanksgiving meals at the hostels, about 40 volunteers headed out to eastern Niger for the annual AIDS bike ride. We began the bike ride on World AIDS Day in the city of Dan Barto right on the border with Nigeria. For the next 5 days we rode our bikes the 160km to Zinder, the eastern capital, stopping in 20 villages along the way to talk to the villagers about AIDS- prevention and protection.

It was an amazing journey, both on and off the bikes. I had such a great time hanging out with all of the volunteers, most of them from my stage. The biking was really fun too since we had a lead car blaring music that we had picked! The bush out east is quite different from the southwest where I'm from so it was nice having a change of scenery.

We made most all of our meals and slept at random places along the way, mostly school yards. By now most of us are used to living the "bush life" so it wasn't a big deal throwing up a mosquito net and sleeping on a mat in the middle of nowhere.

Once at a village all of the villagers would obviously come crowd around the music truck to see what all of the "anasaras" or "foreigners" were doing. We then danced and danced and...danced with the villagers before beginning our presentations. We had a team of local animators that would either do a skit and then discuss AIDS or we would brake up into groups- men, women, young men and young women (4 groups) and have seperate talks with them concerning AIDS.

Since the language in eastern Niger is Hausa, and I am a Zarma speaker, I couldn't do much as far as talking to the villagers but I was on "kid crew" at just about each village. This involved gathering all of the younger children and running off somewhere with them to avoid them being a distraction. For the next 30 minutes or so we were responsible for keeping the kids entertained. This may sound easy but children quickly lose interest, even with the crazy white people. It was a riot playing "duck, duck, goose", "ring around the rosie" and the "hokie pokie" with all of these little kids, especially me trying to explain the rules in a different language. I love kids though and we had a blast playing with them.

Overall it was an unforgettable experience and I honestly feel like we touched the lives of many Nigerien villagers who otherwise would probably have never been educated about AIDS and prevention.

Life in the Vill...

Just wanted to let you all know that bush life is great and I made it through mini hot season and am now enjoying the transition into cold season. It's still amazingly hot during the day, but early mornings and the evenings are perfect and late at night it has begun to get a bit chilly (upper 60s)! I never thought I would think that was cold but I'm so used to the heat here. Crazy.

I spend the majority of the last two months in my village, mostly spending time with my villagers, tending to my garden and trying to survive the post rainy season heat. It looks like my villagers had an excellent harvest this year as the rains came late but were plentiful. When I left my village, the men were harvesting beans, wild wheat, sorghoum, and hibiscus fruits. The women are harvesting peanuts and ground nuts along with all of the daily chores that keep them busy from early morning to late night- pounding millet, taking care of children, washing clothes, cleaning up the compound, getting water, etc.

Working with the headmaster of my school along with a local NGO I recently did a school enrollment project that turned out quite well. Last school year we only had two classes for the primary school in my village and 59 students, 42 boys and only 17 girls. With a village of approximately 1500 people, this is pretty pitiful, especially with the number of children in the village. Our goal was to increase the enrollment and ideally we wanted enough for a third classroom. I was able to get funding for an NGO to come to my village and hold a village meeting where they spoke to the village parents on the importance of children, especially girls, going to school. There are so many taboos and reasons why children aren't in school so these Nigeriens were able to explain things and answer questions on a level that my villagers could understand and relate to. The meeting went very well and we even went to the neighboring village to have a meeting there.

From there it was up to the headmaster, some parents and I to recruit the students. For several days we went from compound to compound asking parents to put at least one of their children in school. It was like pulling teeth as they had many excuses for not being able to send their children to school- not enough hands to do the field work or herd the animals, not enough help around the home, too young, sick, etc- but with patience and perserverence we slowly recruited one student after another.

In total we recruited 37 students at last count, but are not finished. We have 15 new girls and 22 new boys. With the help of some village men we built a third classroom, a millet stalk "shack" like the second one, but enough to keep out the sun and wind.

I was also able to get a new teacher for our new class. We now have three teachers and three classrooms, first, third and fifth grade. I am out at the school daily to see the children and observe class. I will soon begin to teach weekly health lessons as well as world geography lessons. I will also continue to coach soccer each afternoon once school is out.

After being in Niger for over a year, I have begun to realize a few things that are a necessity for development to occur and I firmly believe that education is of the most importance. It is sustainable and that is the type of work I'm trying to focus on in my second year here. God willing the children will stay in school through high school and then doors will open for them. There is not one villager other than the teachers that have more than a primary school education and I am determined to change that.

Hammock Camping in the Bush

For those who haven't heard about my recent adventure or misadventure (however you want to look at it), in the bush, it was quite an experience...

About a month ago I decided to go camping out on a mesa not far from my market town. I biked out from my village on a Saturday about 15km to a beautiful mesa not far off of the main road. Arriving in late afternoon, I went searching for a good tree to set my hammock up in. Finding one that would serve me well, I made several trips carrying my belongings up the tree and set my hammock up on a limb about 20-25 ft above ground. I got all settled and watched the sun set from the comforts of my hammock. I went to sleep around 9pm, quite content to be there and enjoying the silence of the African bush.

Around 1am, the fun (or something like that) started...

I woke to strong winds and looking back to the East I saw a storm quickly approaching. Damn. There wasn't much I could do to prepare as I did not bring a tarp or any kind of rain gear. I decided I would brave the storm in the hammock, hoping it would quickly pass. As the storm got nearer, the winds were so strong that I was forced to hold on to the tree for fear of getting blown out of the hammock. Once the rain hit, all hell broke loose. I just curled into a ball in my hammock and tried to stay warm as the rain poured down for an hour and a half. By 2:30am, the storm had passed and only the cool wind remained, somthing that I am usually greatful for. As I was completly soaked and all of my gear was as well, I just covered myself with my wet sheets and shivvered myself into something resembling sleep.

By 4am I couldn't stand the cold any longer so I decided to climb down and try to start a fire. With a small box of Nigerien matches and just a few scraps of paper, I was unable to get a fire going with everything saturated. I gave up an hour later and climbed back up into my hammock, waiting for the sun to rise.

It wasn't until the sun came out and began to warm things up and dry my gear that I was able to get some real sleep. I woke to birds singing and a beautiful view, promises of a better day...

I definitely can't say that I regret going on my solo camping trip, it was just a combination of bad luck and me being unprepared. I got some great pictures and a good story out of the trip! Ironically, I was dripping in sweat on my ride back when just hours before I was miserably cold. So it goes in Niger. "Kala suuru" or "have patience" as they always say here...

July and August...in Niger

I have been heading out to the neighboring Fulani village a lot recently. The Fulani are an ethnic group in Niger who normally live in small encampments out in the bush, far from a major road or town. They are semi-nomadic, herding sheep, goats, and cattle and selling milk and butter. There is a family out in the bush which I have befriended and I spend my time there just visiting with them and learning a bit of Fulfulde, their dialect. I recently began learning how to stitch the calabash covers which Fulani women make and sell. They use thin strands of palm fronds, some dyed red and black, and weave decorative designs to form a lid for the calabash which they use to store milk and grains.

Since it is rainy season I have been receiving eggs from my villagers on a regular basis which has been amazing. I have been making crepes, fried eggs, hard-boiled eggs, and omelets almost daily; a nice supplement to my limited Nigerien diet.

I began studying French not long ago and that’s been difficult but I’m slowly progressing. I have also begun teaching a couple villagers English so I tutor them every night after dinner. It’s amazing to think that there are grown adults who do not know how to read at all, even some who can’t read a digital clock. I guess for those who only farmed from the time they were children, it’s not so out of the ordinary.

The men are now out in the fields on a daily basis, usually from around 7am to 5pm, farming and weeding their fields. I have gone out on a couple of occasions, once to help thin the millet and once to actually farm. Both days I was out in the fields the entire day and I quickly realized how hard the work is, not to mention the extreme heat. I have such an appreciation for the effort that they have, especially during Ramadan when they are fasting the entire time that they are out in the fields. They planted two types of millet, one which is ready for harvest in three months and another which takes six months. The quick-harvest millet should be harvested very soon if the rains continue to be frequent. Once they begin to harvest, my villagers will be able to breathe easily again as they won’t have to worry about not having food from day to day.

I have been at the training site near the capital for the past couple of weeks helping to prepare the new group of education, health and decentralization trainees for life at post. It has been a lot of fun hanging out with this new group since they are so full of energy and ready to get out into the fields and work. It has been a refresher for me not only because I am eating amazing food on a daily basis (although the newbies probably think differently about the meals) but also because I have become really motivated again after hearing them get excited about post. It is also neat to see things from the flip side as I was in their shoes only one year ago. I can’t wait to head back to the bush and get some more projects under way.

I guess that about sums up my life for the past little while. Hope all is well back in the states and you all aren’t too sweaty and hot. Just remember no matter how hot you get, it’s just a little bit hotter and a whole lot sweatier out this way! Keep in touch.

Niger, kala suuru...

A few weeks ago I was greeting some villagers in their concession when I noticed a young mother holding a severely malnourished child. It was her son who is around 14 months old who has a severe form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor. I counseled the mother on the importance and urgency of taking the child to the health center but in the meantime making oral rehydration solution to stop the child’s diarrhea and a healthy weaning porridge to give the child much needed nutrients.
After a couple of days the mother had made neither so I had a meeting with the family and decided that I would escort the mother and child to the health clinic. That morning, another villager had the woman and child get on the back of his bicycle and I rode mine the 11km to the health hut in a neighboring village. I went in to see the doctor along with the mother but as soon as he saw the child he said that there was nothing he could do for him, that the child needed to be referred to a larger health facility that worked specifically with malnourishment.
The next step was another family meeting where I explained to the parents and grandparents that if they did not take the child to the Dosso hospital immediately than he would surely die. They gathered enough money for the bush taxi ride and the mother, grandfather and child left the next day.
For Nigeriens who live out in the bush, a hospital is something completely foreign to them. They normally give birth in the village and get their medicine from a traditional healer.
A week after they had left for Dosso, I traveled there to check up on the child. The mother was still very nervous and wary about being at the hospital and said that her son had not recovered at all. This was not the case as her son had completely stopped throwing up and having diarrhea. The hospital staff provided medicine for the child, food for the family and a place to sleep, all free of charge. I was able to get a doctor to come and explain to the mother the importance of being at the hospital for the child’s sake, even if it took six months for the child to recover which is normally the recovery time for severely malnourished children. I basically told the mother that the child would most certainly die, and soon, if she did not stay at the hospital. I headed back to the village but promised to return in a week to check up on the child again.
Six days later I was hanging out in the village when someone told me that Rabi, the mother, had returned with her child. I was completely distraught and could not believe that after only 13 days they returned to the village when the doctor told them that they would need to stay for several months. Once again I had a family meeting where the grandfather told me that they tried but the baby wasn’t recovering so they ended up going to a traditional healer. They received a certain tree bark which they were supposed to pound into a powder, mix it with water and have the child drink it and bathe with it; this was supposed to cure the child’s malady.
So it goes in the village and in Niger, but I have to have patience and effort and continue to encourage the mother to make healthy porridges for the child; not the recommended solution but better than millet alone. All I can do is hope and pray for the best for Issufu, the poor little boy.

Hey guys, I know it’s been a good while. I’ve been in my village for the better part of two months I think…it’s hard to keep track of time when you’re in the bush. I have been here for over a year now which is hard to believe! Just wanted to update you all on life in Niger…

I spend a few days in the village before heading down to Gaya for my 23rd birthday! Not the first birthday spent out of country but the first in Africa. At least I was able to spend it with some friends. Nothing crazy of course but I enjoyed myself. When you’ve been here for a while you really come to appreciate the blessings in your life, and another year is something to be grateful for.

Village life has had its ups and downs lately. I have recently spent time out of the school trying to finish up all of the painting before the school year begins. I was able to paint all of the windowsills as well as the doorframe. I also painted the exterior of all of the school windows (which are metal) as well as the door a royal blue so now it can be seen from a long way off. It looks great!

An NGO (non-governmental organization) sponsored by UNICEF and USAID came through my village recently to give out food aid to mothers with children aged 6-36 months. I was asked to be the liaison between the villagers and the NGO. The NGO was extremely unprepared for the distribution. Half of the volunteers were speaking to my village women in French, which of course they did not understand a bit. They had not separated the oil, sugar or flour into separate bags beforehand so it was not until after dark when they were actually ready to begin the distribution: one liter of palm oil, one kilo of sugar and 1/3 of a sack of an enriched corn/bean flour mixture per child. Somehow I was given the responsibility of holding the empty bags while they poured the oil into them. About 15 minutes in, a bag burst and an entire liter of oil spilled down my arm, shirt and pants all the way to my feet, but all I could do was grab another bag and keep on going. They rushed through the distribution and then left my village around 11pm, as soon as it was finished. The biggest problem was the fact that they never explained what the women were supposed to do with the food. In reality it was supposed to be used to make a nutritious weaning porridge for young children. The next day I had most of the women coming to ask me what to do with the flour since they had no clue that the flour, sugar and oil were to be used together to make a porridge. In effect, it was the children who suffered as the adults ate the sugar, oil and even flour. I did my best to teach my villagers to make a porridge but I saw many of them eating and feeding their kids the dry flour. It was a perfect example to me of how a potential life saving distribution of aid can be detrimental if the recipients are not educated in advance. “Kala suuru” or “have patience,” as they always say here.

On a positive note, I finally planted a rainy season garden and a few trees in my concession. I planted all sorts of vegetables including tomato, cucumber, basil, corn, hibiscus, beans, pumpkin and lima beans. I built a short fence around my garden in order to keep out goats, chickens and guinea fowls along with curious children. Most of the seeds have sprouted and are doing well. The eggplant that I planted last cold season has begun to bear fruit and I have already eaten a few!

Rainy season is going great and the millet and corn is growing taller and bigger everyday, which the villagers are very grateful for. It has been great for me too as the day after the rains are usually overcast and not hot and the nights are cool and comfortable. More to come very soon…take care, best wishes from Niger.