Dust

Hello Family and Friends! Happy End of January! It’s been a loooooooooooooonnnnnnnng month here. One word to describe this month: dusty. Dust is everywhere you want to be. Especially being located on a “main road” (main road meaning, maybe, a car an hour passes)that is not cemented, means that whenever a car or moto passes, whoever is the fortuitous person to be next to the road is the lucky recipient of dust.
Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank family and friends for all the donations that have been given to my Peace Corps project. Words cannot express how thankful I, and my community, are. Thank you. The project is to construct a women’s and community center in the middle of town. It is a very worthwhile project for women for many reasons; 1. there are no central places to have meetings. Women need permission to leave their house to go to meetings and since the location is central they will not have to walk far. 2. There are 6 sewing machines that have been dormant for the last year. The center will hold the sewing machines and act as a work-space to learn how to sew=income generation! The center is worthwhile for men; because, once again, no neutral place to meet. About 15 years ago there were political rifts within the two dominant political parties, thwarting development in Tournignal. The village was split and the two rival fractions did not speak for many years. Still to this day an undercurrent of vengeance can slightly be felt, and the two sides rarely go into the others’ houses. Thee center will be worthwhile for everyone in the community; because it is a place to have: community events, cultural/ health seminars, and to welcome dignitaries, ambassadors etc. Last year when the Ambassador came to Tourningal we had to welcome her in my house.
Voila—mon projet. I hope to get it underway in a few weeks with the construction, especially before the rainy season commences. Besides doing the project, lately I have been busy with organizing women’s groups and teaching girls how to sew. The women’s groups is probably my passion. The natural high I get after I have helped organize and inform a group of women is immeasurable. Women generally never have the chance to work together and mobilize in village. For instance, unlike men they do not even have the right to pray together. Secondly, I will estimate that about 95% of the women I work with have never been formally educated. They do not speak nor write or read french. They have no chances to gain revenue. Most, unfortunately, do not know about birth control methods; thus, they routinely have children every 1. 5 years. Teaching family planning methods is on my agenda for this year. So, I try to inform the women about an array of topics; clean water, malaria, HIV, hygiene, etc. Yesterday some women were amazed about my lecture in regards to water drinking. No one drinks water here. We’ll see if any of them actually start drinking 1-3 L /day. In addition to teaching them health topics is the undercover goal of forming sustainable women’s groups. I hope to routinely meet with these groups over the next year to solidify their raison d’etre.
Sewing….has been a challenge. I have had to teach myself how to sew and have had to have enough self confidence to teach others how to sew with the little experience I have. The girls thoroughly enjoy the class. To see the smiles and passion they have for their finished products is priceless. We are starting on cross-stitch this week. Then go onto sewing machines. My goal is that even if the majority of these girls have to marry in the next few years, they will have learned a skill, and perhaps income generating activity, to keep them busy and help their families.
Well, that’s about it. Things have been slow. Dusty and slow. The fun of living in a place where everyone knows your name--The joys of living in a place where your every move is known by the community. Much peace and happiness, Sey yeeso, Ali