Wordless Wednesday: In My Yard

Mosquitos and Malaria Season

Well, rainy season is well under way - and the mosquito population in Niamey and Niger is rising . . . . rising alongside the mosquito population are the cases of malaria.

Photo: http://crs.org/niger/malaria-safety-net/

Malaria is one of the top killers in Niger - it's victims often the elderly, sick and children under five. Statistics from 2006-2008 (Unicef website):

• 43% of households have at least one impregnated mosquito net
• 7% of children under 5 are sleeping under an impregnated mosquito net
• 33% of children under 5 have a fever and are being treated with anti-malarial drugs

Malaria is passed from person to person when a mosquito releases the malaria parasite at the end of it's feeding - by injecting a sealant to clog the blood of the feeding site. There are two types of mosquito nets - untreated and impregnated. By using an untreated net, the sleeper is still protected from many mosquitoes - but, if they are sleeping against the wall of the net, the mosquito can still bite through the net. The same is true with the impregnated mosquito nets - however, during the feeding, the mosquito is irritated by the medication in the net and will leave before finished, consequently not injecting the sealant containing the malaria parasite. As well, the mosquito will later die from the medication, aiding in the population reduction of mosquitoes.

Given the vast population of mosquitoes during rainy season, it could seem like any progress is fighting a losing battle . . . however, this year, my team jumped headlong into the battle and already we are seeing the results!

In previous years, we have done mosquito net training and distribution in a few villages where we work, following a Community Health Education model of ministry, through which health agents are trained in one village. In turn, they teach their fellow villagers about the health topics. This year, we moved to the next level . . . the health agents going beyond their village borders to take the training to surrounding villages - along with nets we provided for distribution.

Health Agents practicing the lesson - skits to relay practical information:

• how to prepare their net for use
• how to care for their net
• hanging the sides up in the daytime so as not to allow animals inside and thus creating holes
• how to use their net - tucking the sides in under the mattress or bed
• how to keep their hut yard free from standing water in which the mosquitoes can lay eggs

My teammates and I went out for three weeks running to review the material from last year and help them practice the skits.

Then, they headed off to work! We tagged along to the first village - Basaara: Heading off - the Teppe health agents in a line of motorcycles!

(oops - you just never know where tree stumps are hidden on new roads!)

We finally arrived in Basaara - a new village we had never been before - and the villagers started gathering for the teaching lesson:

Ok - well I am not a villager, but I am holding one of the youngest village members to benefit from the net distribution. This little girl and her twin brother are in the highest risk group for malaria and it was nice know that they will be sleeping under a mosquito net.

This gentleman ended up being something like a town-crier - he called everyone to attention, sat in a chair to the side of 'centre stage' and repeated the stories in a loud voice for all to hear!

Aissa and Fati - two ladies from Teppe doing a skit on how to keep your hut surroundings free of mosquito-attracting elements:

A group of the young men demonstrating how to hang your mosquito net. Then Moussa demonstrates how to crawl in and tuck it under the mat for a peaceful night of sleep without the irritation of mosquitoes biting all night. Moussa's eyes are closed as he pretends to be peacefully sleeping - and in the bottom right corner you can see his friend sneaking his hand into the net to tease-fully poke him!

Adamou, from Teppe, telling the story of Noah:

Distribution time - The Teppe health agents decided to do the teaching portion before the distribution to ensure that everyone stuck around for the important information. Now that they know how to use and care for their nets - they all receive their nets. They have previously indicated how many beds they have to ensure we have enough to distribute. The Teppe agents call out people's names and one by one they come up and pay for their nets (100 francs/net - approximately 25¢ Cdn). Some head home right away, but most stick around to watch the proceedings and chat with their friends.

We know in the villages there are many explanations or theories for how one might catch malaria - none of which include being infected from the bite of a mosquito. As we watch the villagers head home with their new nets

we pray that that which they have heard regarding mosquitoes and malaria will be taken to heart - that the nets will be used.

Aside from Basaara, the Teppe health agents distributed mosquito nets to 9 other villages in May and June - before the rains came and before the mosquitoes came. Just last week, a teammate had a chance to speak with the doctor in the regional health clinic which is situated in the heart of the 'radius' of villages which received nets. He reported that this year already is a bad year for malaria cases in the region - but that among villages where we distributed mosquito nets: "hardly anyone from those villages has come in with malaria". Praise the Lord!!

Wordless Wednesday

Today, will not be so wordless - however, I've noticed a few blogs doing Wednesday posts called 'Wordless Wednesday'. The idea being to post a photo that requires no words or story. I rarely jump on the bandwagon of blog trends, but I thought this one warranted 'a jump'. For a while, I've been contemplating a blog of Random Photos . . . pictures that I've taken out and about in Niamey and Niger. So, rather then posting a whole string of photos in one blog, I've decided to do one (or sometimes a few) a week as my Wordless Wednesday - something to give you an idea of what I see as part of my daily life driving around town!

So - without further ado or words - Wordless Wednesday Photo #1:

Spa Day

Well, the other day, the 'ministry of hanging out' took a turn. I showed up at my friend Aissa's house on what appeared to be her 'spa day'. Aissa was diligently applying henna to her feet. The Fulani women use the henna to turn the bottoms of their feet black. It is quite the lengthy process:

• wash your feet
• apply black electrical tape around the edge of your feet and around the toenails
• smear the mixture (that looks like leaves and clay) along the bottom of your foot, up to the tape and around your toes
• wrap your foot in black plastic bags
• tie shut
• be lazy for four hours with your feet up (walking is limited so as not to displace the mixture and end up with blotchy feet)
• untie and wash the mixture off

Aissa asked if I had ever done henna. I responded that I not done it yet - but had always wanted to do the henna with flowers drawn on your hands and feet. So, one of the household children was sent off to find the Djarma neighbour lady who does this. After Aissa's feet were dry, we headed off to the neighbour girl and I had my hands and feet henna'd for the first time! My friends all asked me where I had the henna done - and all I could say was: 'A lady in the hut down the street from my friend's house!'.

I figure, if I ever had the incentive to open a henna spa in Calgary, I would call it 'Lady in a Hut' and decorate the place like Africa!! It has a nice sort-of ring to it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't help any of my friends find her in order to get their henna - but, everyone who does this has a similar response. 'I saw someone on the road doing it' or 'a friend of a friend'.

I loved the outcome, but decided that I will likely only do my hands next time. The entire process took about 3 hours! But it was a wonderful 'spa day' and a concentrated day of language practice as we sat 4 hours for Aissa's henna to set and another 3 for mine. As the lady doing the henna spoke Djarma, I had to relay my requests in Fulfulde through Aissa - it was interesting to hear which words she spoke in French as opposed to Djarma - flower apparently either doesn't have a word in Djarma or is better known in French. At any rate, as I spoke my desires in Fulfulde and she relayed the information in Djarma - I began to wonder what exactly would come out. It was a practical test of my fulfulde!!

The unfortunate (or at least unanticipated) side-effect of my henna efforts started as I headed home - for that day, and for weeks to come (until it wore off) people stopped me on the road wherever I went. They wanted to tell me it was beautiful. And then to ask me where my husband was - back home in your country?? Though young women who are unmarried - and all the white ladies - do this type of henna, it is (I've been told) traditionally done for a bride in the days before her wedding. As I've been seen around town without a husband, and un-henna'd, for the last 2.5 years - apparently my newly henna'd hands and feet sparked rumours, interest and hope of my upcoming wedding!!