Time Flies...

Just as I was so surprised how quickly our In-Service Training came, it is also suddenly over. It seems true that while days go by really slowly for a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, the weeks and months start flying by. IST was fairly productive; I have a better plan of what to do when getting back to my village and I actually feel somewhat busy and I wonder if I can actually get it all done. It was also nice to hang out with friends everyday and do “American” things, or just speak in English. (I am afraid that I have forgotten a good chunk of Bambara; something again to work on when I get back to my village.)

Hearing everyone else’s experiences at site was also reassuring. Quite a few other people in the health program also felt like they have counterparts who are already trained to give causeries, which was the said purpose of the health program. It is clear now that the Project Plan for health volunteers in Senegal needs to be changed, and in fact, it is in that process already. It is also interesting though that other NGOs (like Africare) and the Senegalese government itself through the district health posts are already training village counterparts to give health talks and basic first aid. If this is happening at such a systemic level, have Peace Corps volunteers outlived their usefulness? There is obviously much that can still be done, in my opinion (or else I would go home tomorrow!). Just the fact that handfuls of people have already gotten malaria the past few months in my village is one indicator.

I’ve had a bit of time to really think about my role here, as well. As a “development worker,” the idea is to make all of our projects completely sustainable through “skills transfer.” Instead of building development “skeletons,” buildings or structures that end up not being utilized, the focus of Peace Corps is to train or teach others. The three “big” things that my village has asked me for has been a small bridge to cross the creek that forms during the rainy season, a health hut so there is a place to receive medical care, and an addition to the school (about half of the students have class outside under a thatch shade structure). I don’t want to spend all of my time during my service just fundraising, but at the same time, these are the problems that they approached me with. If I do have access to resources, even just other NGOs in Tamba, who am I to tell them “I don’t want to”? (Sorry for the rambling, but there is a new computer at the regional house and while it doesn’t have internet, it has a beautiful word processor!)

Besides these big ticket projects, I also want to start a weekly girls’ group and teach a weekly class at the primary school. The next month or two I also want to do a vaccination project (to find how who still needs vaccinations and why they haven’t gone). I’ll also be working with some other volunteers to plan a “Tour des Femmes,” a 7-day bike tour in January with 15 middle school girls from Kolda to Tamba, a 225 km ride here in southern Senegal. Each day we will stop at a new village along the way and give talks/skits on health and education. In addition to starting these discussions in the villages we hit, we also hope to really empower the girls to see the importance in their own education and their own “mobility.”

To regress, training ended in Thies on Saturday. I went to Dakar for a few days to a SeneGAD meeting (a committee of volunteers to work on gender and development issues), and also just to see some of Dakar. Now that I have a better idea of the layout of the city and all it has to offer, it no longer seems like such a scary place. We took one day to go to Goree Island, a slave trading post. Unfortunately there wasn’t too much information on its history, but despite its horrible past, it was quite a beautiful little island that is now inhabited with lots of artists, some of whom live in old WWII bunkers. The last primary activity of my few days in Dakar was eating; in four days I think I had four falafels and four bowls of ice cream. Oh how spoiled I was!

A few of us took a car back to Tamba yesterday. We ended up leaving close to 9 AM and arrived somewhere around 6 PM. It wouldn’t take that long in the States, but most of the time the road has so many potholes that it is quicker to drive on the dirt shoulder. Nevertheless, dodging the potholes makes for a long ride that sometimes feels like we are in a video game with all the swerving. It is incredible to see how much the landscape has changed since the first time I made this trip in May. It was mostly desert then, but now corn has grown above my head and green grass is waist high. Instead of never seeing a cloud, it rains everyday here and cumulous clouds are stacked high into the sky. Living in a beautiful place makes life a tad bit easier!

I’ll be riding my bike back to my village the next couple of days after getting some stuff done here in Tamba. I’m a bit nervous to go back after being gone for almost a month. (I hope I haven’t forgotten too much of my language!) It will be nice to really get started on some projects, but at the same time, there is now an expectation that I will really “deliver.” I am glad that the orientation stages of being here are (for the most part) over, but I hope I can easily transition into a “productive” stage.

I hope all is well in the States… Happy Labor Day!

Perspective

Being back in Thies for training is like a trip back in time. It is strange to be back in the place where I started, and it is really nice to see how much I have changed. My first time walking through the market here made me nervous and stressed out and now it is not a big deal at all. I can speak with my family in Mandinka or French and we can easily understand each other. So many times I feel completely inept in the village with my language and my role, yet now I feel so much more confident. It is a relief to see that I actually do know a bit about this place and am not just fresh off the plane.

Our three-week language and technical training started yesterday. I tested higher in my Mandinka/Bambara so am now taking Pulafuta, a Fula language. Fula/Pulaar is apparently the largest language in West Africa. Pulaar people were traditionally nomadic herders. The language is completely different from Mandinka/Bambara and after 3 hours today my mind feels like mush. But I forgot to mention the reason why I am taking Pulafuta... My village is 1/3 Bambara and 2/3 Pulafuta. The Pulafuta moved to Senegal from Guinea at least 40 years ago. However, they settled in the national park just south of where I live. About 30 years ago the Senegalese government decided this was unacceptable and relocated them to my village. There is virtually no integration in my village between the two ethnic groups. Thus, the Pulafuta's don't speak Bambara and I have done a poor job interacting with them thus far. These next few weeks may make me utterly confused, but it will be worth it. And it will be pretty awesome to know Pulafuta, Bambara/Mandinka/Jaxanke, and French. =)

Being back in Thies is great, too, because it is a city! People are used to foreigners so I don't get harassed a s much. Probably the best part about being back (besides seeing old friends) is that there is food. I am afraid I have become really obsessed with food after 2 1/2 months in the village. I had a dream last night about going to a supermarket and seeing all the cereal (of all things) for purchase. The food at the training center is full of vegtables and protein and the possibilities seem endless at the few restaurants in town. I might gain a few pounds in the next 3 weeks. (I think everyone but me has lost weight, one person over 40 pounds!)

A Plan

The past couple of weeks I have had meetings with both the women and the men in the village to discuss the problems they face and possible solutions. The discussions quickly turned into wish lists, but it was nevertheless interesting and productive to hold the meetings. While the women focused on getting mosquito nets and medicine for the children, the men (who are also more used to having meetings) informed me that a bridge really is needed to get from Madina to the road (to get in to the main town). During the rainy season a low point turns into a creek; I can attest to that fact since it happened on Monday. The kids had a great time swimming but it was fairly impassable. The second thing they would like to have is a health hut (a small clinic) so that they wouldn't have to go all the way to Missirah if they have a minor injury or malaria. They also mentioned a tractor and surprisingly, help with a watermelon garden. I'm going to gladly look for seeds while I am in Thies. I'm really thankful for some direction and especially direction that has come directly from the community.

The next 3 weeks will be spent doing the final part of our training in Thies. I'll get a bit more language (hopefully the right language this time) and some other technical training. I'm going to start to try to make contacts with local NGOs who might be able to fund or help with my new projects. I'm pretty excited to catch up with the other volunteers again and also to be in a city for a few weeks. (Namely, I can't wait for the food!)

Happy August!