Body Health and Heart Health

A few months ago, concurrent with the famine in Niger, my team started three grain aid programs among 3 villages - our connections in and out of town. One of the villages is a Fulani district named Kongu, located about 10 km outside Niamey. I bring 10 sacks of grain each week to the edge of town (Bani Fandu) where the chief of this village lives. And the recipients of that week come to pick up their grain. Each week is a rotating group of 10 families who receive one sack per month at a reduced price from the market.

I decided that while I was seeing greater numbers of people from this village each week, perhaps they would like some teachings on health at the same time. So, I approached the village chief and the President-elect of the grain aid program one Saturday to inquire of their desire for help beyond the grain. They both responded enthusiastically - yes we would like teaching on health!! The chief of the village asked me if it would be teaching on 'body health'. Yes, I responded, teachings on our body health; but also, if you agree, teachings on our 'heart/soul health'. Because we recognize that God has created us whole people with knowledge to help us live healthy and justly. Yes, the chief responded, we want these stories!!

So, thus, I began to prepare some teachings to accompany the grain aid delivery. I chose the teachings on diarrhea, as there are four sections to this teaching and four months left of grain delivery. As well, this is a huge health concern in Niger - children can die quickly from diarrhea as they become dehydrated. The goal of these lessons is to learn:

• to recognize diarrhea
• when and how to treat at home (oral rehydration solution - how to make it)
• when to go to the hospital
• what causes diarrhea
• how to avoid getting diarrhea

The lesson I am currently teaching is to recognize some of the causes and to start identifying the need of water so as not to become dehydrated while sick.

Getting ready to teach - and photos of some attending:

My favourite visual lesson for this teaching is a common object in the Fulani household - jolloru - it is a hollowed out squash gourd with a neck. In this, the Fulani will shake their milk until it makes butter!

I use the jolloru to help demonstrate how important water is to our bodies - when we have diarrhea, we lose all the water that we drink. So, I first pour water into a pot to show them a healthy body - one that holds water. Then I start pouring water into the jolloru - in which I have, unbeknownst to them, chiseled a hole. As the water starts pouring onto the ground, I love to play it up and gasp: "What is happening??". My first week out, first lesson, the chief of the village was sitting next to me. He excidtedly starts chattering and trying to plug the hole with his finger, all the while trying to save the water. He finally grabs it with both hands, tilts it to a level where water is no longer spilling and settles back contentedly and sighs - telling me that I can now go on, the water is no longer spilling!! And I am thinking - WOW! You just demonstrated in a million ways more stronger than I could how important water is to our bodies when we are sick!! I am sure that this group of men will forever picture this visual image when they see a jolloru in their huts!

Here, you can see the chief holding the jolloru:

And again, the same lesson for the women:

Here, the question is "What do you see?".

The photo showing a few ways in which water can become contaminated and the cause of diarrhea. I learned that in their minds, this is only a problem if the water is a standing body of water. . . if it is a river, that which is dirty runs away. So, I show them the child and cow upstream and how the germs are running away from the child and cow - right to where the lady is drawing water.

Following the health teaching, I tell a Bible story - for now, I am telling the story of Noah. What does the story of Noah have to do with diarrhea, you ask?? I tell them:

Well - during the rainy season in Niger, the rain falls and our river and standing water sources become dirty. The dirty water is one source of contamination and thus diarrhea. The rainy season brings problems in our lives. Let me tell you about Noah, who had a problem during the rainy season of his life, and how God helped him!

We have learned as a team working with the Fulani in Niger that the rainbow is a big deal in their lives . . . they are afraid of it. Never in my life have I seen the mention of the word 'rainbow' spark hour long discussions!! For us, we are fascinated as children to colour them and search for them in the sky. They are beautiful - but perhaps they lose some of their intrigue when we learn in science class how light is refracted by raindrops, spreading the sunlight into a spectrum of colours.

Yet for those in the Fulani culture, the rainbow is not a good sign. For the Fulani who are pastoralists, their lives depend on the rain that brings life to their crop. So, when the rainbow appears - they see it as a 'snake in the sky which drinks the rain our crops need'. Yet when we tell them the story of Noah, they all exclaim: "No one has ever told us that the rainbow shows us God's love!'.

So, each week I go to Kongu - bringing grain to help nourish their bodies, medical teachings to help nourish their health, and stories of God to nourish their souls.

Photos courtesy of Ace Cheung.

Holiday in Turkey

At long last, a story and some photos of my holiday . . . in March, I went to Turkey for holidays and a conference. I was staying in Antalya - on the coast. The highlight of my vacation was finding sand that ended in water!!! I enjoyed the time to lay on the beach in the sun, walk along the surf, make sandcastles and collect seashells with the Cheung girls, and relax with friends.

I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea . . . just to say I had! I anticipated that it would be cold, and it was freezing!! It took me several hours and a few coffees to finally warm up from the inside ou! But it was an exhilerating experience. I also discovered that you can feel the salt in the sea . . . it was so thick, the salt was silky feeling.

I also was able to head into the nearest town for some sightseeing and shopping - I saw the old harbour of Antalya - likely where Paul landed in Turkey to start on his journey of 'Telling the Story'. I headed off on a boat with some friends for a short tour of the inlet.

Wandering through the old bazaar was also fun - I like to shop! And for the most part, the old market lived up to the picture in my head of a souk. The spice displays were beautiful!! I had fun buying some souvenirs for myself, family and friends.

Following my holidays was the conference I attended and my soul found spiritual refreshment that it so desperately needed. . . . I live in a dry and parched land and at times I feel my heart reflects this.

Finally, I also took the time to take a few tours, with a local tour group, to some ancient ruins as well. It was amazing to walk in history - the ampitheatres, Turkish baths of old - I visited the Aspendos Theatre and the ruins at Perge. The theatre was an amazing sight - still functional. I was able to walk all around and up to the top! I braved my fear of heights and climbed all the way up - while there, someone in the bottom sang The Lord's Prayer. It was hauntingly beautiful how his voice reverberated all the way to top!

Aspendos Theatre:

Ancient Ruins at Perge:

My last day before returning home, I wandered the beach again - taking in the sunset:

Back Online

Well, after a month of non-existent and then sporadic internet . . . . it is wonderful to be back online. I am working on a post with pictures and stories, but until it is ready - here is a little bit of life that I have learned in Africa over the last month:

• when carrying items on your head - bucket of water, gourd of grain - you can steady said item with both hands or your right hand . . . but never the left hand alone!
• quote from a friend: 'there is no medicine for hot season . . . except patience!'
• my friend has told me: 'the clouds in hot season are like a pregnant women, growing larger and larger, until they birth water and thus the rainy season'. I love the word picture!! And given how we long for the coolness that comes with rainy season, the picture of anticipation is also apt!
• my friend's love of showing off to their other-ethnied neighbours that I can greet in all languages . . . I feel like a puppet sometimes when they call someone over, tell me a language, and then request that I greet them in said language! (I could do without this one - but they think it is fun! . . . to each their own.)
• I discovered one day that my friend knows the sound of my truck - she was in her courtyard as I drove through the neighbourhood and as I rounded the corner she was standing in the road clapping her hands and chanting that 'Khadiza had come!'. At least now I know that my visits are not tolerated . . . I am accepted in this household!
• cute little old men in the marketplace love to play games . . . asking for or taking what I have purchased, to tease me that they will keep it
• walking through a new marketplace and my friend who speaks Djarma, translates a conversation between the seller of what I just bought and another market-goer. Upon seeing that I was intently buying, said market-goer came rushing up to speak with the seller: 'What did you sell that for? You know, these people have lots of money, you should charge them a lot. Oh, you asked for that price - well, I guess, that is the real price though!'. Of course neither of these two knew that my friend understood their little conversation!
• I also found that certain items carry a significance of a certain ethnie - that day in the marketplace, I was looking for a gourd with a neck. It is used by the Fulani to shake their milk into butter. It is either used exclusively by the Fulani - or identified enough with their ethnicity - that as I walked through the marketplace holding said gourd, people began to greet me in Fulfulde.

I have also learned of some sadness as well, because of the famine:

• my friend's cow has died
• some of my friends and their neighbours are hungry

Please pray for my team as we walk through Niger in these days - there is joy in our lives as we live amongst the people - learn their language, their expressions, their joy in life. But, there is also sadness these days as we walk amongst a people who hunger physically. The requests for food and aid are many these days and oft-times it is hard - the need is so great, but we cannot help everyone we see, nor everyone in our network.