“Medicine from the Cold”

Sometimes the joy comes in simply just giving an unexpected but desired gift.  This year, I was given the opportunity to take a Christmas gift to the villagers in Kongu  ...blankets!!  A few years ago, our team was given bundles of quilts that were donated to an organization – a gift to us to give to others!

Though most of my readers would disagree ...it does indeed get cold in Niger.  Cold season is upon us – and with temperatures dipping to a low of +17 degrees at night (or lower, I admittedly do not check the temperature at 3am!) – my national friends (and I) are cold at night.  When one is used to +45 (or hotter) than anything below +25 is cold indeed!

Throughout November, the odd person would ask me for a blanket to meet their needs of warmth, for it was getting colder.  It was all I could do to keep my secret!  Yes – I had blankets!!  And they were going to get one!  I had to organize the list of recipients from the mosquito net distribution the year prior – subtracting the families who had moved to other countries and adding in families that had been missed in prior distributions.

I finally had the list compiled and met with the village elders to announce the news – the following day, they gathered on the chief’s land to receive their blankets.  Representatives coming from each area to receive the blankets for their village site and families!

It was a cold morning for the wind was blowing off the “mountain”.  It is really a plateau, but in the local language, they call the hill a “mountain”.  (They have no idea!)  But at any rate, I was grateful for the jacket that the team director Tim gallantly gave me for use as I was just as cold as the villagers!

Each of the bundles of 27-33 blankets were wrapped in 3 metal ties which we could not open with the jackknife Tim brought for what should have been plastic ties.  But no worries – the villagers improvised and quickly became proficient at balancing their machete on a shepherd herding stick to snap the metal ties without cutting the blankets!

As I read through the list of names, the elder from each village site distributed the quilts to those family representatives who had come on behalf of their family.

 

At one point, a lizard fell off the straw roof ceiling onto the bundle of quilts – those of us next to the bundle startled in surprise.  The man next to me recuperated faster than the lizard and he flung it off the quilts – sadly though, flinging the lizard not onto the ground but onto the skirts of the lady standing by the door.  She then squealed and flung her skirts around until the lizard dropped on the ground at her feet and scurried away!!  I am not sure who was more scared – the lizard or the lady.  We all had a laugh and then got back to the blanket distribution!!

As I passed out each blanket, I thought of the women in the States who quilted and stitched each of these beautiful blankets together – and I thank them for their gift of time and love.  Each quilt so unique.  Some were even done in material of comics that reminded me of my childhood.  Some were bright and zany, others in more stately themes of flowers reminiscent of gardens back home.  It felt a little awkward passing out the blanket in a pink pig theme!  A couple were gorgeous quilts done in my favourite colours – I have to confess to some serious quilt envy as I passed those ones on! 

Soon all the blankets were distributed and the village representatives were heading back to their sites with their bundle of blankets!

The following week, as I visited with various villagers, I was greeted with the beautiful expressions of the Fulani to describe their pleasure and thankfulness for the gift:

• last year, you brought us medicine from the mosquitos and this year you brought us medicine from the cold!
• thank you for bringing “healing from the cold”!

Yes indeed, my heart is joyful in the simple giving – a small blanket and yet their hearts are overflowing with the joy and gratitude of receiving so small and yet not insignificant a gift!

My First Day of School

Well …. I know what you are all thinking: “first day of school … is not Kristi well past the age for a “first day of school??!?”  This is true – yet still, I attended my first day of school … in a village “mini-school” in Niger!!

The school that my team has sponsored in the village of Kongu, where I work, has opened it’s doors!!  Last Wednesday was the inauguration day … and Saturday last was the first day of school.  I excitedly attended school with the children!!

When the teacher and I arrived, the children had already spread out the mats and were sitting quietly in rows awaiting our arrival.  While other children were walking through the fields on their way to class!

The teacher began the day starting to teach the chidlren French – the language of instruction in Niger – so the morning was filled with a mix of French, Fulfulde, and Djerma – myself catching only two-thirds of the morning.  But, dutifully standing with the children when told to stand and sitting when told to sit.

We then started to learn to say “Bonjour Monsieur” and “Bonjour Madame”.  The children learning through skits as they all took their turns coming to greet another student.

During the morning break – the girls danced under a tree and the boys ran around the fields!

And what village school would be completed without the village herd of cows snuffling and munching their way past the straw hut school?!!

My friend Abdoulaye is a local teacher in Niamey – and he is proud to be teaching out in this school:

The second lesson of the day, was learning to draw circles – some of the students will need some practice, having never before held a pencil or chalk.  But all were excited to come draw on the big chalkboard and then practice on their mini-chalkboards as well.

As honorary student of the day … I also learned how to draw circles on my little blackboard too!!

The three hours of school passed by very quickly … and soon I had all the students outside with their teacher for the official school photo

And then the children headed home, excited for having learned something new that day!!  I am so proud of all “my” students!

“Mini-School” for a Brighter Future

Words …. language …. reading … writing – all have meant a lot to me from a very young age.  I’ve been told that I taught myself to read at age 4 and I’ve not looked back since … an insatiable appetite for reading from the get-go!  I loved school: reading, writing, learning (not so much math!).  I loved languages.  I loved biology.  I loved high school English and all things Shakespeare.  Learning and studying has been and continues to be a HUGE part of my life.  Teaching taking a close second – I still remember the joy of having a reading buddy when I was in Grade 9 … she was in Grade 1 and could not read.  By the end of the school year, her appetite and love for reading all but matched mine! 

I grew up in a privileged world

Never is this so more obvious to me than since my arrival in Niger.  Many are the children – oft too many to count – who do not have the privilege of going to school.  The streets are rife with little beggar boys who spend their days begging for money to take back to the religious leader who is in charge of their ‘education’.  The little girls are often married at a young age: 14+ being the appropriate age to be married off and start a family.

Life in the village harder than that of the city – many villages do not have a school for the children to attend.  Their only hope of education walking 4-10 km to the nearest school or being sent to family in the city for a chance to learn.

One of the village sites where I focus work is just such a village.  At the beginning of our work in this village, when we surveyed the village elders and community as to their needs – the lack of a school scored high on their list.  Admittedly, this was a need that I felt I could never address – all it would take to build, staff and supply a school astronomical in light of the work we are here to do in Niger – albeit a need that was always close to my heart.

These children need a school … one hope in a changing world … a brighter future.

But this year – we dared to DREAM big!!

For my village – the dream for these children is two-fold.  The first step is helping the village petition the government to have a public school started in their village.  The second step is the starting of the “mini-school”.

This“mini-school”  will be classes 2 mornings per week – and is being taught by a local teacher … in fact, the chief’s son!  The children will learn French, Reading and Mathematics!  

The “mini-school” is a shared partnership between the parents and the contributions from my team. 

Classroom: The parents are building the classroom (straw and wood structure) and we have supplied the mats for the children to sit on and the blackboard.

School Supplies: The parents are contributing ~ $1.25 per child towards their school supplies (exercise book, pen, pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener).  Our team is supplying the mini blackboards, chalk, textbooks.

Teacher Gift: The parents will contribute ~ $0.25 per child per month towards gifting the teacher to pay for motorcycle gas to travel to the village and we will supplementing a gift to the teacher as well.

In a meeting with the parents last weekend – the parents agreed to the details of the program …. declared it “good” and thanked us for our aid.

Wednesday: Opening Ceremony of the School

This last Wednesday, we held the opening ceremony of the school!!!  The parents and their children came – it was an afternoon of joy to see all these children arrive and so many parents come to support them!

Of course, no African ceremony is complete without the speeches from every party involved.  So, I gave a speech.  The director of our team – Timothy Tjosvold – spoke as well. 

A few parents spoke on behalf of the group, thanking us for the project – and the chief declared that “it is sweet to my mouth that you have started a school”!

And then the fun part …. passing out the school supplies to each the children who came!!!:

The children all looked pretty excited and proud to receive their supplies and start school!

In total, there are 57 children registered in school this year …. these young students range ages 6-13 …. none have ever before attended school, so all are at the same level: Grade 1! …. 57 students for whom a Brighter Future will include an education!

There are a few different projects being spearheaded by my teammates and I … all part of the Brighter Future program sponsored through the Justice and Compassion Gift Catalogue.  Funds through this program not only help these children in this village – but also help to 1) sponsor 24 children to attend school and 2) run a library and tutoring program for children of our neighbourhood who are enrolled in school.

Malaria …. Be Gone!!

Well, in May 2012, this would be the sentiment behind the malaria training and mosquito net distribution in my village.  The fight against malaria …. it is the number 1 cause of death in Niger!!  With the children and the elderly being the most vulnerable population to this statistic!

Though I was leaving shortly after I completed the training, I knew in my heart, that this could not last until my return – giving that our goings and comings rotate around the rainy season (height of malaria infection) …. I knew that would mean that I could not teach on the topic again until May of 2014.  And I was unwilling to allow another 2 rainy seasons to pass in which the villagers would be susceptible to dying of malaria.  I desired to say “malaria … be gone from this village!”

Lofty goal … the mosquito is a persistent little entity here … but no less sincere of a goal in my heart!

The malaria training consisted of four parts:

1. causes of malaria …. that it comes from mosquitos and not from eating new grain or germs on the wind!

2. signs/symptoms of malaria

3. treatment of malaria – how to treat at home and when to take people to the hospital (especially children under 5 … they need to go right away!)

3. prevention of malaria

• reducing standing water around their huts, cutting down tall grass where the mosquitos live
• sleeping under mosquito nets

 

Following the training – we did a mosquito net distribution in the village, sufficient nets for everyone to be able to sleep under in protection!

Mosquito Nets: Road of Escape

Fast Forward to 2013:

After my return to the field in June 2013, I was anxious to visit the villagers and follow-up on the training and mosquito nets.  As the villagers are busy in their fields throughout the rainy season, I drove around to each of the village sites – driving hut to hut to visit with the villagers.  This gave me the chance to also see where everyone lives and map out the village area and its resources.

As I interviewed the families in each area – it was immediately evident which areas were next to the marsh or standing water (in the city) ….. for the incidences of malaria were greatly increased the closer to the water (and the higher population of mosquitos). 

I wish it could have been achieved 100% … but, the last village I visited, it was reported that one child died of malaria last year.  In all, I need to remember that 1 death in a population of 1,400 is a huge step forward for this country!

And even at that – it was greatly encouraging to see that the nets were still tied above the beds.  The villagers talked of all they had applied from the lessons as well:

• reducing standing water in their hut compounds
• using damp cloths to reduce their fevers
• taking their children to the clinics (which is an astronomical change in behaviour – the children rarely being taken, or only when it is too late and they die on the road in)
• cutting the grass down around their huts
• washing and care of nets

Most of the villagers were able to report knowing that their children or they as adults received the mosquito bites in the evening before they entered under their nets.  The Fulani eat their supper meal around 8pm, after the sun has set, and then they go to bed.  So until that time, they are vulnerable.

Even those families where people were sick with malaria, and this family where the child died, spoke of their gratefulness for the nets and cited the nets as being useful to their lives!

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

• “we are anxious to go to bed now, so we can enter the nets”
• “the year before, my daughter went to the clinic 5x with malaria – last year, not once!”
• “I didn’t know about the nets before.  My children always cried from the bites.  But now, praise God, this is no more.”
• “Sleeping with the nets has become a habit now; without them, we cannot sleep!”
• “every night, before we had the nets, I was bothered by mosquitos … now I sleep in peace!”
• “even the guests in my home slept under a net I provided for them”
• “everything you taught, I wrote down and I told people everywhere I went how to get rid of mosquitos and standing water in their yards”
• “we have no problems – we have been saved from mosquitos”
• “we were always having to go to the clinic, but now that is finished. when we have health, all is good!”

And my favourite, yet odd quote: “every time we went to bed under the nets, we remembered you in your absence”.  Not quite sure what to do with that one, but sweet nonetheless!

Thank you to all who prayed for the malaria training and the receptivity of the villagers to this new knowledge!!  I have been blown away by the degree to which each and everyone of them embraced this teaching!

Thank you to all who have contributed to the mosquito nets through our Justice and Compassion Catalogue … it is because of your contributions that I was able to purchase these mosquito nets which went to the village and have made such an impact on their health and wellness!!

Construction????

After I moved into my home last month, I noticed that my office seemed to always house multiple geckos.  I then began to notice that when I entered the office, they always scurried to hide behind a piece of wood nailed to the wall beside the a/c unit.  The wood being warped slightly, provided ample hiding space.

The geckos often just hide their head behind the wood, while their bodies and tail stuck out in plain view.  It reminded me of an ostrich sticking its head in the sand!  “If I cannot see you, surely you cannot see me!!”

Anyways, one day, I flattened up against the wall to look behind the wood to find the gecko and was startled to see sunlight streaming through!  That cannot be good, I thought to myself, if the sunlight and geckos can get through – so can also the mosquitos!! 

As the painter and general handy man was coming to fix a few things in my house, I determined that this hole to the outside should be cemented over.  The cement job when they installed the a/c unit missed a spot!  When he came over to survey the work needed, we went outside to see how big the hole was and how much cement would need to be bought …..

Shock …. horror … and then laughter!!!!!  Some days, it’s laugh or cry!  I generally choose laughter, but this one deserved an uproarious laughter of disbelief.  I’m still chuckling while shaking my head!

While I know that construction standards are not the same here … this one floored me and I think “takes the cake”!!!  Yes, there you have it – a large hole was cut in the wall, the a/c unit installed.  But, the hole cut was too big for the a/c unit.  So, instead of cementing the hole back up – no, they took the styrofoam from the box that the a/c unit arrived in ….. and used it to plug the hole!!  Um – no wonder the geckos get in!!  And undoubtedly the mosquitos will as well next rainy season!

My repair man has now nailed wood all around the unit and cemented the edges so that there are no more holes or entry points to be found!  My office is now gecko-less and also minus the gecko poop ordainments clinging to the wall!  And my home shall be one more entry point safe from mosquitos!

… and the Marriage Proposal!!

While in the village on Sunday to do a census of the local children, my guides and I entered a small Djarma village located down the hill (“mountain” in Fulfulde!) from the chief’s land.  I have been in this village a few times, so I am getting to know these villagers – a grouping of about 10 huts.

The men of the village were off in their gardens working, but the women and children gathered around to provide the names and ages of their children.  As they speak Djarma in this village, my guides also interpreted for me as I can only converse in a few greetings.

As we were getting ready to leave, one of the men wandered into the village.  It didn’t take a translator to interpret that the laughter and gestures of the ladies was to indicate that I should write down this man’s name to the list – for surely this “child” needed to go to school as well.  (I’d estimate he is in his forties!)  It appears the Djarma like to tease each other as much as the Fulani!

We laughed for a while …. but then the joke turned on me as the man said something while everyone laughed – my guide then translated what the man had said: “I have always wanted a white wife!”

To which I responded:  “I don’t know a white lady.  As for me – I am a Fulani!  But, I will keep my eye out for you, in case I meet a white lady!!”

As my guide interpreted my response back, while laughing himself, the ladies, the man, and then I burst into uproarious laughter!!! 

So, there we have it ….. four months in and I have my first official marriage proposal of my second term!  Proposed and avoided … but then I realized that my brilliant evasion will only work in a Djarma village and not in a Fulani village.  So, I will need to think hard to determine how to joke my way out of a Fulani proposal!

A Brighter Future

Sunday marked another day in the village … out in the one site that does not have a school – the nearest school being 4 km away!  This is a long distance for children to walk, especially considering the school day in Niger is divided – meaning the students go to school in the morning, return home at 1pm for lunch and a siesta and then return to school again at 3pm for another few hours!  This walk four times a day is too much and too far – so many children from the village do not attend school.

This year, my team and I are seeking to help in two ways – help the village apply to the government for a school to be built, and start a “mini-school” …. a straw hut building where the children can come twice per week to start learning French and literacy – getting a step up on their education until such a time as the government can open a public school.

The chief’s son and I, plus another village guide, headed out to count how many children live in the area – Djarma and Fulani children – both those in school and those who are not.  Within a two km radius of the chief’s land, we found 62 children ages 5-10; of which, 10 are in school (some living with relatives in Niamey) and 52 children who are not attending school.

Though there are more Djarma and Fulani sites behind the marsh that will benefit from the government school - I am estimating at this point approximately 200 children who are not in school – we will cap our “mini-school” at these children immediately in the area!!  The chief’s son is a teacher and he will be teaching these children.  There are many details to work out yet, but it is exciting to see what can be done for these children!