Hey Everyone!
Wow, sorry for the long pause there. I hope you are all
doing well. Here in Benin there have been some slow moments, but in general
things are getting busier. Thank goodness.
In my last entry, I was looking forward to a big meeting
about my latrine project. I’m happy to say that went really well. I was nervous
that the project participants wouldn’t show up. It’s very difficult to organize
meetings here. There isn’t a culture of punctuality, or the importance of being
on time, and many people don’t really have calendars, or even the correct time
in their phone. However, the latrine committee and I did a good job of
publicizing the meeting. We announced it on the new Founougo Radio, and
committee members delivered paper invitations to each beneficiary. We actually
had 38 out of 40 beneficiaries present, and another 9 people who were hoping to
take the spaces of absent beneficiaries! That will be an interesting
conversation.
Anyway, the meeting was to inform beneficiaries about the
important logistics of the project and also to have a short training about good
hygiene practices (namely hand washing) that need to go with latrine use. We
had one of the beneficiaries translate. In the first portion, the stone mason
and I explained logistics together and answered some questions. It was
satisfying to present the stone mason to the beneficiaries, even though a lot
of them probably already knew him.
I lead the second section about hygiene and hand washing
based on some Peace Corps materials. It would have been even better if a
Beninese health worker could have lead or co-lead that, but I just didn’t get
the networking together in time. I /did/ get to make some illustrated posters
which were well received. I felt like pictures would really help since
everything was being translated into Bariba, so there was a middle step between
me and at least half the audience. They seemed to really follow it and stick
with me. The whole process was very successful and very satisfying and I hope
that I can do more sessions like that!
About a week after the latrine meeting I undertook an epic
voyage to the south of Benin for my mid-service medical exam. I got to meet
some of the new volunteers, which was great. They all seem very capable and
optimistic. It’s exciting to have new people around! I also got to visit a few
‘old’ friends, which was great. It’s cool to see what other volunteers are
doing at their post, and of course it’s always nice to catch up!
I also got to visit my host family for the first time in a
long while. I can’t believe it, but it had been nine months since the last time
I’d seen them,. All the kids have grown some and are just about to start the
next year of school. The craziest part was how much better I could understand
them. Even when the kids would speak French to each other, I could follow what
they were saying! At one point my host Papa observed me watching TV and he
said, “you can follow everything they are saying.” “well, yeah, pretty much.” I
said. “You speak French now!” Thanks Papa. That visit went by too fast, it was
great to see them all.
Mid service medical itself went pretty well. I was nervous
that they would want to keep me there for a long time, but everything was fine.
However, we did find that I had intestinal amoebas. I’m not exactly happy to
know that I had contracted amoebas, but it is not at all uncommon among
volunteers in Benin. It does also explain occasional digestive woes that I had
just been writing off. All in all I’m glad to know, and glad to be taking my
medicine!
The trip north was pretty tiring, even though it was nice to
get to travel. I want to randomly list a few travel highlights: One day I got a
ride from a guy named Smeal (like Ishmael) who was driving a car completely
packed with green peppers across the country. Me, Smael, and the peppers all
road together for 8 hours one day. Another day I was trying to get a good price
for a taxi-moto (zemidjan) at a tough time of day, and a man came over to help
me out. I had been ripped off a few times earlier due to not knowing the price
and this time I was being stubborn. The man who was helping me, (whose name was
Raoul, I found out) pressed half the money I needed into my hand and said, ‘Add
that to your cost’ I was surprised and grateful and told him I’d pray for him.
Another time I wound up in a taxi that was so packed that by the time we
arrived at our destination I felt angry, even though I wasn’t angry at any one
person. I just needed to get out of the car. It didn’t help that there was the
normal politics of unclear expectations. People said we wouldn’t stop in
Parakou and then we stopped there for an hour or more and switched cars. Bah!
Anyway, the whole trip was mercifully incident free. No major break-downs, and
some interesting people along the way.
I had a few days to recover from my travels before the
launch of an Alibori volunteer Malaria tour. Five volunteers participated and
it was generally supposed to be a bike tour, where volunteers ride their bikes
from one village to the next. Camille and I both decided to zem it and take
motos for various reasons. Her bike is being repaired and loaning one would be
complicated at least. I was still feeling pretty beat, and I guess I didn’t
love the idea of biking without Camille!
The tour was great though, in total I think we visited more
than 350 households. We asked them if they had mosquito nets and if they used
them. We got to help make quick repairs to some and even helped hang up some
nets that hadn’t ever been installed! We also did tours around the yard to
check for mosquito breeding sights and teach people how to minimize them.
It was so nice to have some scheduled work that really
seemed to have a direct impact. It gave us more information and encouraged and
informed the people we visited without having to give out any ‘gifts’. The last
night we all wound up at my house and we made chili and brownies to celebrate
the end of the tour. I have to say I was sad to see it end and sad to see
people bike off to their posts.
So what’s next? Latrine construction should start soon, and
I’m working on the logistics of buying cement for that. School will also be
starting up and everyone is gearing up. I have a couple project ideas in the
works for year two, but I think I’ll spare you guys the details until they get
underway.
Thanks so much for reading. Sorry again for the space
between entries there! I am thinking of you all back east and missing you very
much. I hope to get in touch again soon.
With love,
Lauren
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