Tippy taps for all!!

The last couple of weeks at site have been fairly productive. We planted 22 Bashi Jiri (Moringa trees). The two I planted in my yard, although started out fabulously, were ravished by goats...I’m assuming. I did not see them in action but I heard the goats really love the leaves of the tree. The other 20 trees were planted in between the corn in the field next to the Matrone’s house. Since the goats don’t seem to bother with the corn I guessed this would be a fairly safe place to start the trees and they would have time to grow quite a bit before the corn has been harvested and the plants die off. That’s the plan anyway. The trees are in their third week.

This past weekend my homologue and I built two tippy taps in village. A tippy tap is a cheap, everyone can make one, hand washing station. Using tree branches as the frame, a 4 liter motor oil jug, a bar of soap and some rope (soap on a rope) everyone can wash their hands. There is also a 4th stick/branch used as a foot pedal if you will.  If everything gets set up properly when you step on the "foot pedal" the water jug will tip and water comes out of a hole on the top.  My idea was to put them in areas around the village (we are going to put up three more this week) were they would get the most visibility. This way everyone would have a chance to see them, use them and note how easy it would be to have one in their own compound. That’s the hope. We put one up in front of the Maternity building and one up in front of the butiki. Everyone who comes in and out of Maternity whether they are delivering a baby or there with a sick someone will see it. And of course at the butiki all the men hang out there during the day and the women and kids are in and out making purchases throughout each day as well. Unfortunately it has come to my attention that no one has actually used them yet.




Tippy tap at it's best.




The village Matrone using the tippy tap.


There is a volunteer from the previous group that keeps statistics in her village on the tippy taps that were built. She built several herself initially and since then there has been a total of 61 built in her village. She goes around village throughout the week, usually around lunch or dinner time, checking to see if the tippy tap is wet underneath. She also keeps track of the soap. Is it the initial bar they put up when they built the tippy tap, which means even if they are using the water they are not using soap, or have they replaced it recently. Unfortunately about half the tippy taps that were built are either broken or someone took the water jug or soap off of them. That’s too bad. Also, she noted from last year that during rainy season, which is planting and growing season, most people work and eat out in the fields so they don’t get much use during this time anyway. Which is a shame since this time of year sickness is definitely at a high. It’s the time of the year when hand washing is most important. I am going to keep a close eye on the tippy taps by maternity and the butiki and see what kind of action they’re getting. I’m expecting the worst and hoping for the best.




Now that's a tippy tap!!



The Matrone testing out the "foot pedal".
Looks like it's working.

July 24, 2011

Bougoula’s dugutigi (village chief) died last night. I heard drums at about 6 this morning. I knew something had happened.

He was very old and not very healthy. The Matrone said he was 98. I think he was old, very old, but I can’t imagine he was really 98. Maybe 90, 91, 92...but not 98. In separated groups, men from women, most of the people in village gathered at one point of the morning or another at the dugutigi’s and the neighbors compound. I put on a nice skirt and top. Put a scarf around my head and walked over as well. I only live right next door.

Everyone sat around talking and of course food was being prepared. After about 2 hours we walked out of the compounds towards the mosque. There was already a mound just outside the mosque were apparently the dugutigi had already been buried. A group of women danced around the gravesite laughing and playing instruments. Apparently death is a happy time...especially when you have lived a good long life as it should be.

It's been a while

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated my blog. I’m not sure why. I guess because there’s not much that is new. Site is fairly boring. There isn’t much to do in the way of work and of course these first 3 months were to be strictly devoted to integrating and continuing our language studies. My integrating consists of spending several hours a day sitting at the Matrone’s house, chatting and waiting for something to happen. Or sitting up at the boutiki with the same few men that hang out there drinking tea every day.
It’s a very interesting culture here. Unless it’s to work or go to the market for food or to sell their items the women stay at home. The men go to the fields or hang out at the boutiki or with their friends drinking tea. I was very surprised in my village, after all I had heard about the women doing the planting and caring for the fields, to see the men out there planting. Now the planting is done. They still go out into the fields every day to aerate the ground and try and keep the weeds to a minimum. With only the little bit of rain that we’ve gotten it appears that it’s only the weeds that are thriving. The village has planted cotton, corn (lots and lots of corn), peanuts and rice. August is supposed to be the absolute wettest month of the year. I know it’s only the 7th but it doesn’t appear to be raining much more than the months previous. Which is not a good sign. Most of what they grow in Bougoula they grow to sell so that they have money to feed their families. No growing, no selling, no food. This is the most unhealthy part of the year in most small villages. Besides the abundant diseases, infections and the such that most are more susceptible to during rainy season, malnutrition is a huge issue.

Malnutrition already seems to be an issue in my village. At first glance at the children you would think that they eat...plenty... and that they must be healthy. They are chubby and have lots of energy. But after further observation you notice that they are chubby, but only their bellies. A lot of the children have circles of missing hair, or their hair has lost the pigment and so it is red in color. They have dry scaly skin, edema and brown stains on their teeth and pitting due to decay. Also, chronic diarrhea is also a symptom of malnutrition. Unfortunately most Malians, including the little children have tooth decay due to not brushing their teeth and the horrid amounts of sugar they eat (most people in my village are missing some if not all of their teeth, especially the front ones, including the children. If they are there, they are rotting and will eventually come out. Then yet some, very few, but some, have beautiful teeth...go figure.); and most live with diarrhea regularly so they believe it to be somewhat normal. So these signs go unnoticed as actual symptoms of malnutrition. I imagine it will get worse as rainy season progresses.
Most of the families in my village eat serri (corn based cereal...with lots of sugar) for breakfast and toh (pr. toe) for lunch and dinner. All three are corn based meals. Corn is available in village, if not in market all year round. It is cheap and once it’s dried you do not have to worry about it going bad without having electricity/refrigeration. Very few families eat vegetables or fruits. And meat, is almost non-existent. They are none of these things available in village. The market town is only 7k away but is only on Thursday. They do sell some things there on the other days of the week but the only way to get there is to walk. Since most of every lit hour is spent working in the fields and walking 14k (7 there and 7 back) takes up most of the day it is not reasonable to go to the market more than once a week. So there just isn’t anything available. Even if these things were more readily available, most families, were the daily income is $1 or less per day, they just can’t afford it.



Classic case of malnutrition.  Scaley skin, reddish coloring of hair. 
Poor baby is rubbing and scrataching like she's on fire.