In the capital

I'm spending a few days in the capital (Ouagadougou).
Every three months we have to fill out a report so I decided
to head on up here and get it done.

In the village it has been pretty regular on the activity front.
We are still trying to finish off the last hundred or so kids
with our sex-education sensibilization. It's been one thing
after another and with the school year is winding down and exam
time is coming up, it doesn't look like it's going to get done.
As of now I will be here until the middle of December and
school will re-open at the end of September ... so still a
chance.

Miracles do happen at times and they have installed poles
for electrical wires. They've threatened to install them in
the past but never by the date they stated. But, lo and behold
it's coming true. Sure giving the skeptics here one less
subject to be negative about.
At the beginning it will be installed in the health clinic and
schools and the village chief's house only ... but a beginning.
I am hoping that I can have at least 4 months or so here with
electricity to recharge my laptop. I'd like to try and make a
few little videos before I leave. Without the electricity it is
almost impossible to put a video together. It would be take
some time to video and then the time consuming editing
with running back and forth to another town to charge,
it would be months to get even one done. But if it comes then
it would be a fun way to finish out here.

It is close to the end of the dry season as we had some rain
last Saturday and it will be time for the farmers to start cultivating
their fields. With the two seasons here (dry and rainy)  it is difficult
to get financial momentum if one is a farmer. There is one chance a
year to get it right so to speak. But it will be good to see things
turn green and have the people active.

Other than that it will be looking for new avenues for activities
with the school closing out but something will show up. And
with the time winding down it is also the time to start
wrapping up loose ends. But if the electricity comes then
that'll open a bunch of new opportunities but little time.

New experiences

One of the perks of being a Peace Corps Volunteer

is that you're put in places that are new and different.

Which results in new experiences.

I work at the maternity building every morning. 

No big stuff, just weighing babies to monitor if

they are mal-nutritioned and fixing things or helping

to clean up. Basically trying to be a team player.

This morning a lady was there in labor when I 

arrived. The mid-wife said she was expecting twins

and the mid-wife herself was excited about it.

About an hour and a half later ... it is time. 

The women here don't make much or any noise

when they are giving birth. It's very rare to hear

a lady scream. I'm am amazed by this. Don't

know how they do it.

It was very hot and we have no electricity, which

leads to no refrigerators or cold/cool water. 

But we do have these kids from the next village

(which has electricity) that tie Igloo coolers on 

the back of their bicycles and sell cold water.

I figured to buy the mid-wives and the mother

some to just make life a little better.

As I come back I see the mother being helped to

the mini ward where the beds are. I give her water

and head towards the birthing room to give the 

mid-wives theirs.

I see the two babies wrapped in cloth side by side.

So I ask if they are girls or boys. One mid-wife 

tells me that one is dead. The babies were covered

from the eyes down and upon looking I could see

the one's furthest away skin was gray. 

Story was the first came out head first and the 

second (as the majority does) came out feet first.

The mother didn't have the strength to push and

the second baby basically suffocated.

I am sure if there are more details but this is the 

info I got. 

We are in a rural clinic and the personnel are 

fantastic with what they have to work with and

what they are up against.

This was a new thing for me to see and it just made me

think about the cliche .... draw of the cards ...

as it pertained to the first baby out.

Also thought ... one goes home and one is going to

their grave. Draw of the cards.

This is surely one of many similar daily happenings

not only unique to here.

Even at my age there are still these new experiences.

It seems that there is more to see and ponder about. 

As this reminds me that the draw of my card was ok,

maybe there's really no need to stress about those

mundane things in our lives.

Because of Rihanata

Rihanata is a young teenaged girl in my village
who had potential. Last year at the lycee/college
(middle school) there was a theater group and girl's
soccer team.She was one of the motivated

young girls who participated in both.

One day while at the maternity building I saw
Rihanata waiting in line for a CPN or pre-natal
consultation. She had become pregnant and
my heart just sank.

The first 4 months in site is usually a lot of talking
and trying to determine what project opportunities
may exist. We at the health clinic were talking
about sex-ed education with the emphasis of
providing information that may help to prevent
teenage pregnancy. At that point it was just the
usual talk with no concrete action in sight.

But after seeing Rihanata I thought … sorry …
forget the talk and let's get to action before another
'Rihanata' arrived for a CPN.

So, starting with the mid-wife at the clinic we
discussed the need to mobilize asap and begin
a project of sex-ed sensibilizations. She agreed
and the next step was to approach the school director.
He definitely agreed that action had to be taken.
So, it was just a matter of organizing the material
that would be presented.

If one know's the trials of scheduling activities
in rural villages, they could appreciate the challenges
of just simply beginning. It was back and forth
between the school and the maternity a few times
till we were able to invite the first group of girls
to the maternity building.

During a hands on training in Ouagadougou
concerning sex-ed, one aspect I was impressed with
dividing the girls from the boys. This definitely
allowed the girls to open up without the boys
usually trying to dominate the session.

Our first session was that of about 35 girls from
the 4ieme who attended the optional session.and
As of now here in Burkina speaking about sex is
kind of a sensitive issue. For that, at the beginning
of the activity the girls were shy but after about
15 minutes they were able to begin to speak and
ask questions openly.

I was very fortunate to had been left with a
photocopied manual called ' Le Livre d'images
de la Naissance' by the volunteer whom I replaced.
In contained all the information (in French) that
we needed to share with the students.

We spoke of the ABC's of becoming pregnant such
as ovulation, spermatozoides and menstrual cycles.
We explained how it all fits in to becoming and preventing
pregnancy. We talked about STD's and had a condom
demonstration. The mid-wife explained family
planning and methods of protection.

At the end it was open to all questions regarding our
topics and also any others the girls may have had
regarding their menstrual cycles ... etc.

The boys session was held at the school with a male
teacher and I working as a team.

All sessions have been held with Burkinabe in leading
roles. I have found that even if I would have perfect
language, the locals know better how to get the point
across. My place is as kind of an emcee and condom
demonstration guy.

As always is it hasn't been without it's challenges.
Change of mid-wives, school vacations and exams
are just a few of the hurdles that were faced. In the
end it has taken 11 months to speak with 390 students
with about another 75 to go.

Success can be evaluated in many ways. Some are
obvious and others are subtle. In our case, we were
doing well with not one of the girls becoming pregnant
until 2 weeks ago. Now the count is one and it was
inevitable and reluctantly expected. Our goal of 100%
non pregnant students was probably naïve.

But there are phases of success to note. There have
been girls coming to the maternity for family planning.
Our clinic's pharmacy has been selling more condoms.
Another success was in having the Burkinabe enthused
and participating magnificently in the sessions.

Truly it is all about saving the futures of the young girls.
Here with a baby, it is virtually a 100% sure that they
will have to leave school. 

So we continue.

Another Saturday night

Yup, another Saturday night in the village with

no electricity. It means early crash times and 

shortwave radio (BBC) from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on 

weekends. But rumor has it that in 10 days they

should be arriving to start to bring power lines in. 

Got ta see it.

School is on a 2 week break so work is slow but

we did have one girl from our sex-ed sensibilizations

fall pregnant. No more 100% that we can boast about

rate but still less than before.

It has been hot here with 100 degree temps and 

cruising around on the bicycle is a bit of a challenge

in regards to staying hydrated. With the running

t-shirts I brought from the States it makes it a little

tricky. The shirts wick off the sweat and the sun and

hot air dries it virtually immediately. Which makes

you think that you're not sweating. Had a mild

case of de-hydration last hot season but am ready

due to experience for this hot season.

We are continuing to sing the Burkina national

anthem twice a day when raising and lowering 

the flag. As far as anyone knows we are the only

health clinic doing it. It is actually fun with a whole

bunch of kids getting excited when it's drapeau (flag)

time. It makes for a nice beginning and end of the 

day. 

We have 8 stagaires (trainees) from the health schools

and tomorrow 4 will finish their two month field 

training. They participated in one of our sex-ed 

sessions and they added to it's quality. They were

also there for every singing of the national anthem.

They were troopers and should do well in their 

future endeavors.

Trash is a problem here and I've decided to begin

selling the idea of cleaning up. I've been cleaning 

the health clinic and it and the primary school 

are the cleanest areas in the village. I'm not expecting

any results or changes but we've begun to have

small conversations here and there ... a start.

With eight months or so left I am trying to do only

what I feel can be effective within the time. The 

biggest problem with the garbage is the awareness.

I believe they just don't actually see it ... so that's

the new challenge. How to bring it 'in sight'  

without being pushy or being a pain. 

Got the rest this Saturday night to think about it.

Hot season a coming

I took the picture looking out on the back of my

house at 12:30 p.m. today. I am trying to

show the dryness and the intensity of the

sun. Put them together and you have
101 F at noon time. 

It is a dry heat but the sun has got some 

power to it. So what do you do on a 101

degree Sunday ... at the beginning of the 

hot season ... sit in your house that's about

99.9 F and blog, naturally.

Like mentioned, it is a dry heat but one can

sweat nonetheless.

I have a strategy to build resistance so as to

be able to do things and not suffer as much.

My plan is to get out there and buck through

it. Yesterday is was biking about 65 km during 

the hottest part of the day. Of course I drank 

a sufficient amount of water and did a self 

monitoring as to how I was feeling. Made 

it in a kind of no sweat way.

One of the high points was at about the 55 km

which put me on the paved road, was that of 

seeing two vultures doing their thing on the

carcass of what appeared to be a freshly road

killed teenaged goat.

It was one of those animal/nature shows right

there. They were pulling on something that 

was long and stringy. 

Maybe a little gruesome but that is nature in

it's glory, nonetheless.

And that was at 100 degree Farenheit too.

We are planning to follow up our sex-ed 

sensibilization with a discussion panel group

of teenagers. Here in the villages there isn't

much communication between husband and

wives, men and women or boys and girls.

I'm guessing in the Capital, Ouagadougou,

that there is some.

The goal is to encourage the girls to speak

up a bit. Usually they just sit there if there

are boys in the group. The point is to get the 

girls a little empowered and the boys to be 

listening a bit more. Voila if a girl will have 

more courage to ask/demand condom usage.

One teacher and I (or me) are compiling and

going over questions that the panel of 10 boys

and 10 girls will comment on and hopefully

discuss.

It is a first time thing, so not sure if it will pan

out.

Not all questions are on condom use but the

goal in essence is to understand that each

other are individual human beings with thoughts

and opinions.

If it could come to that, it would go far to 

empowering the girls.

Update on the sex-ed results ... again ... so far

no girls who participed are pregnant. Also the 

number of condoms being sold at our clinic's

pharmacy has gone from 1 box of 150 every 7

months, to 1 box every two months, to as of

the end of January ... 1 box per month.

As a volunteer it sure helps to see something

positive and it keeps ya wanting to play

the game.

So as the temperature seems to have even

risen since I began banging out this post ...

we welcome the beginning of the hot season.

As for you guys in the cold northeast ... pray

for us. Your turn will come in about 4 months.

Yeah, probably some sarcasm there. But you 

guys have electricity and running water.

We have heat and no electric or water bills.

Humm ... 

Challenges of rural living

There definitely are challenges encountered in

partaking, embracing or just plain having no 

other choice to living a rural African bush mode

life.

The obvious ones like electricity, running water,

heat, dust are unavoidable and can be worked

around with some ingenuity. 

But the greatest I've faced yet was trying to keep

up with the Super Bowl they called number 49.

In the last blog entry it was mentioned that certain

preparations were made to ensure an acceptable

Super Sunday experience. 

All the best laid plans of mice or men and throw in

... all the kings horses and men couldn't put the

internet connection back together again. 

It was as close to hell on earth that a person with

interest in the Super Bowl outcome could be.

From the kick off till the animated powering down 

of the smart phone when the chosen ones were 

down 24 to 14, it was an battle of want over ..

just wasn't. 

The sports (ESPN) app is supposed to update but

that wasn't seeming to happen. Lulls of what seemed

to be close to the true meaning of forever were all 

there was. After starting, restarting and other 

desperate restartings ... it was too much for even

a rock headed fool to take.

In the end ... the only way was to accept that in 

every situtation there is a possibility that the 

weak link syndrome will rear it's ugly head.

Voila ... a Super Frustrating Sunday (SFS).

There are definite challenges to living as a Peace

Corps volunteer in rural areas. 

But none greater than expecting a civilized SB 

moment. 

Alls well that ends well though ... the good guys won.

A little break

I am up in the capital (Ouagadougou) for a few days to fill out
a report and just take a break from the village. Every once in a while
living with the amenities like electricity and the ability to charge
electronics such as phones at will, is a nice luxury.

Tomorrow it is out at 5:30 a.m., load the bicycle and start pedaling
towards the village. Ouagadougou is a bustling capital on any
given day but at the break of dawn ... it is just a pleasure to traverse.
By the time I arrive at the main road that leads out to the village,
the traffic is up to speed and I am heading in the right direction ...
away.

On the village front it has been continuing to hammer away at the
sex-ed teenage pregnancy project. We are about finished with
the college and lycee (middle and high school) kids and have a
group of about 15 girls to finish off the whole lot. These 15 kids
are a little older and in lower grades. Their other class mates are
a little young to participate in the sensibilization but these are
definitely of the 'age'. In fact the only girl known to be pregnant
is within that group and she didn't receive the sensibilization.

With the project close to completion it is time to look for new
opportunities and I've stopped by several schools and have some
feelers out on possible activities. The possibilities are spelling
bees, soccer matches featuring girls teams and a track and
field/Olympic type event between two local schools. These
are normal activities for schools in the States but for here, it is not.
So, I have put out the ideas and it seems like each one has been
acceptable in principle but now it's making it a reality. So, that
is the challenge and hopefully upcoming attractions to future
blog posts.

With being in the bush comes some challenges and one big one
is being able to follow the Super Bowl this upcoming Sunday.
With being from New England and with the Patriots playing ...
it is imperative that the internet capable phone is charged,
the unite (air time) is sufficient and the internet works. The
best way I've found to keep up with it is through an ESPN
app for an Android phone. Oh yeah, also we are five hours
ahead and setting the alarm clock is imperative.

Time to head out and enjoy a cold soda or drink and suck up
the amenities of big city living before 5:30 tomorrow morning.
Then it will be hot cool drinks and cold hot showers ... a total
flip of living styles.