Rachel In Mali

Guinea Worm Hunting

2007-09-06T13:53:00.000Z

“Somebody Poisoned the Water Hole!”
by Julia Day

Mid-August, Sarah "Juicy" Zuger, Rachel Emmick and I set out on one of the greatest adventures that we've had to date: a twenty hour bus ride to Gao to get involved with the eradication of Guinea Worm in northern Mali. Back in the day guinea worm was quite widespread, reaching all the way to Europe. Interestingly enough, the snake on a stick symbol that is used today in the medical field originates from healers’ signs depicting place to come for guinea worm extraction. Today, guinea worm cases are decreasing as organizations, such as the Carter Center, fight to stop transmission. Mali is one of the few remaining countries in the world with guinea worm cases, mostly in the Douentza, Gao, and Kidal areas.

For those of you who have not yet read Where There is No Doctor from cover to cover, guinea worm is transmitted by ingesting drinking water contaminated by guinea worm eggs. When an infected person enters the water source, the worm pokes out of the wound it creates and sprays its eggs into the water. Water fleas, acting as the primary host, pick up the eggs. The eggs cause the fleas to become lethargic and float to the surface of the water hole. That way, when someone new comes to drink from that water source, they scoop the surface water, including the tiny fleas, and ingest the worm eggs. The worm takes around 9-12 months to develop. A painful sore or blister forms, usually on the lower part of the body, and the worm will poke out when it senses water to continue the lifecycle.

The Carter Center doctors and staff are working to eradicate guinea worm in Mali in three main ways: distributing cloth water filters that catch the infected flea, chemical treatment of contaminated water sources, and isolating current cases to ensure they do not contaminate water sources. Guinea worm can be easily avoided if everyone in the area follows one or more of the above guidelines. If infected people stay out of the water, or if everyone agrees to filter their water it will break the guinea worm lifecycle. But as an extra measure of safety, the Carter Center also puts a chemical called “Abate” in the water holes to kill the water fleas.

Treatment for someone hosting guinea worm is simple, yet painful and slow. Once the worm sticks out of the wound it should be tied to a string or a small stick and slowly pulled out. This process may happen quickly or over a week. The worm can be more than a meter long! It is important that this process happens slowly and thoroughly because serious infection may result if the worm is broken. Also, it is very painful for the patient if the worm is forced out more than it is willing to yield.

Though the days were long, it was the highlight of my Peace Corps career. I felt like I finally made it to that romanticized Africa you always see on TV. Expect to get up early to a huge breakfast of greasy spaghetti and a tabaski amount of “bush meat,” drive en brusse to the most remote villages (not even huts, just stick support structures with leather hide tarp) you’ve ever been in your life, see camels and milk them, hand out filters, poison water holes, hunt antelope and utards (giant birds) from a land rover, drink cow, goat, and camel milk daily, meet the most hard core and rustic people in the world, extract some guinea worm (if your lucky), see incredible sunsets, eat a dinner of greasy zamé and another tabaski amount of meat, and do some awesome star gazing. I highly recommend you all take advantage of this opportunity as, Inshallah, guinea worm will soon be extinct. It really is an opportunity of a lifetime.

2007-08-17T13:17:00.000Z

Well, some bad news. Since it took so long to get the paperwork pushed through Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington DC, it was decided that I wouldn't have enough time to complete the funded youth soccer project before I leave Mali. I suppose it was the responsible decision, but I'm still rather disappointed. So for now, I apologize and we won't be taking donations for the soccer team. Of course, I wouldn't just give up on these kids:) My friend Paul and I might begin setting up a "sister soccer team" project to get donations from and establish connections with youth soccer teams in his area. Also, there will be a volunteer in Tioribougou after I leave who will hopefully try to write a new grant.
The days go by exponentially faster as I prepare myself to leave while trying to keep my head in Mali. I know I have a lot to come back to, but it will be really hard to leave Mali. After two years, it really feels like home. It's my life. I speak the language and enjoy eating to and I'm even starting to like coupe de coule music. But, life goes on and I'm looking forward to starting pre-requisites for nursing school. And I miss blackberry-apple pie and tortilla chips:) I leave country September 8th and will head to Morocco with my sister and two Peace Corps friends Juicy and Lindsay. I'll be in Portland for my cousins wedding on the 15th and be in Seattle shortly after that! I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon!!
Oh...and I just took a crazy trip all the way to Gao to fight Guinea Worm (gross). I'll write a good long post about that when I get more internet time:)

Want to get involved?

2007-07-14T16:46:00.001Z

As I near the end of my service, I have decided on one last project to do in my village and this time, I'd like to include you all who are at home in Ameriki. As I said in my last post, a youth soccer club in Tioribougou has started playing everyday. It is well-supervised and a great opportunity for these kids. However, they have very little equipment, even for soccer which doesn't take much. My villagers and I have decided to get uniforms, shoes, and soccer balls for them to show our support for the club. It's not a complicated, expensive project, and will easily be finished before September if the funding comes in quickly. If you're at all interested in helping us out with this, or even if you don't think you can but want more information, check out the project description on the Peace Corps web page. http://www.peacecorps.gov/. Click on Donate Now, Volunteer Projects, and then look for my name under Mali. (As of today, the project has not been posted online yet but should be within a week). Writing the proposal, we made efforts to ensure that this project will be sustainable, benefit boys and girls alike, and will be responsibly supervised. Anything you can contribute would help, even some words of encouragement to the kids!

I'd like to thank Aunt Colleen for her generosity and initiative. After merely mentioning the project over the phone to her, she sent ten quality soccer balls through the mail! I wish you could have been there, Aunt Colleen, to see the look on the coach's face when I handed them to him. Your generosity meant so much to him and the team! I ni ce, i ni baragi!

Timbuktu!

2007-05-15T19:17:00.000Z

For most of my life, I thought Timbuktu was a parking spot far away from one's destination. Turns out there's much more to this mythical place than that. Having gotten it's reputation because of the difficulty explorers had in locating it, Timbuktu continues to be a city on the edge of the world, a challenge for travellers. Six of us decided to brave the heat and sand and distance last week with the goal of conquering the mystery. After 28 hours on a bus (a stretch which should have taken 10 hours, but when our bus broke down we had to sleep on the side of the road) and 8 more in an 80's era Land Cruiser over Sahelian scrub into Saharan sand, we finally arrived exhausted, dirty, and triumphant. A language professor from the Peace Corps lives there now and invited us to stay with him, so we were able to avoid the aggressive tour guides and souvenier vendors for the most part. I was able to talk on the phone that first night to my sister who graduated May 5th from the University of Portland! Go Becca!! Then we spent some time wandering the streets of sand admiring the unique architecture and history...mud mosques, Moroccan doors and gates, ancient manuscripts. One can't visit Timbuktu without taking camels out into the desert for a night. Camels are rediculous looking animals...like caricatures of real animals. We all wrapped our heads up in turbans for protection against the sun and sand, and headed out 8 kilometers to live with the Touregs for a night. I fell in love with the stark beauty of the desert, but my heart is on a coast. I'm looking forward to being home in September where I hope to start nursing school!

As far as work goes, I'm still going Hearths, giving impromtu health talks, and tutoring English students. I've been doing alot of work with the women's organizations on various income generating activities and with the nearby town to put in a small dam. A youth soccer club has been set up recently and has asked for equipment so they don't have to play barefoot. Hopefully, this will be a really rewarding project and I'd like to give you all the opportunity to contribute. If you're interested, look out for my next post for more details.

Work and WAIST

2007-03-15T13:17:00.000Z

Not only has it been too long since I've written, but a lot has happened in the past 2 months. At the begining of February I did a Hearth in the little tiny village of N'Guinia. Since it's farther away than most of the villages I've worked in, I decided to stay there for the twelve days instead of going back and forth from my village each day. This was the best project so far because I was able to spend the afternoons visiting the women and their families, learning what its like to really live in the bush. The women were more interesd than ever in the health talks, and the babies had the best average weight gain yet. My favorite little girl was Djoni, a smiley little 1 year old who it was worth spending time with even if I did catch pink eye from her.
After the Hearth, a bunch of PCVs and I hopped on a bus for WAIST (the West African Intermural Softball Tournament) in Senegal. For 3 days each year, ex-pats all across West Africa (which is in large part made up of Peace Corps volunteers) gather in Dakar to play a lot of softball and drink alot of beer. It was fun meeting volunteers in other countries at the games during the days and at the dance parties at night! Us Mali volunteers loved wandering around downtown of what, to us, is a huge metropolitan city. After the tournament, we took off down the coast to find a little beach town, and we found paradise. We rented a house right on the beach and spent every possible moment in the waves. I had missed the ocean just a little bit:) Fortunately, some of my closest friends and I were able to spend a few extra hours on the beach because after the 36 hour bus ride from Bamako (3 hours of which my eyes were completely sealed shut thanks to Djoni and her pink eye), we had made the genius decision to fly back. 1 hour with an inflight meal beats 36 hours living on egg sandwiches and peanuts.
Back in Tioribougou, I started another Hearth in the village of Djanyabougou. Since the water table is higher there, there's a big, beautiful vegetable garden and I often came back with papayas, lemon grass, and salad. It's amazing. Remember when I wrote that I thought I had seen everything, then witnessed the bean-smearing fertility ritual? I continue to be amazed. Once day during our session, what strode into the concession? None other than an enourmous white camel and it's rider all the way from Timbuktu. He told me the journey had taken two months. I asked if I could ride his camel and after making me promise I wouldn't fall off, he clicked his tongue and the animal gracefully knelt. I climbed on amidst laughter and "je! wallahi!" from the women. The owner clicked his tongue again and I was suddenly 7 feet in the air. So yes, there are camels in my own backyard.
What else is new...mango season aka hot season is begining, I've adopted an orphaned baby chick, I'll most likely be home at the end of September, and I'll be spending St. Patrick's day rock climbing in Siby. There you have it!

Cell phone junkies, it's true

2007-01-19T10:27:00.000Z

I just got back from our training center, Tubani So, where I hosted sessions on needs assesment, reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, and my absolute favorite thing to do, Hearth. The new volunteers are really picking up the language quickly and I'm so excited for them to finally dig in and get some good work done at their sites. Go Belushi's!

I've been getting inquiries regarding a rumor that I have a phone here. Yes, it's true, but I don't get cell phone reception at my site so it only works when I'm in Bamako. Just in case you get an email from me or see that I've updated my blog in the past day and thus discover that I am in Bamako, please call! It's a bit expensive unless you use Skype or Zaptel, but 011-223-525-9971.

I know this was short and doesn't count as a real update...I'll try again soon. Tons of love from Mali, anyway!!

A Wonderfully Dogon Christmas

2006-12-28T17:46:00.000Z

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you were all safe and healthy and with people you love. I know I was:) Spending Christmas in Dogon country this year was incredible, and it was so nice to see a bunch of my PCV friends. We stayed in the town of Sangha, which is on the top of the cliffs. Thanks to Cristina and Jesse, the two volunteers posted there (jealous!!), housing at the mission, meals, and tours were all pre-arranged for us. This was my second trip to the area, but it doesn't get old. I can't describe how unbelievable it is to see villages built straight into the side of a cliff. The Dogon legends say that the Tellum people, the original inhabitants of these villages, had wings, or sticky hands, and built the houses with magic. That's the only explanation we were able to get out of the guide, so I'm still at a loss. Lots of hiking, rock climbing, singing Christmas carols, dancing, tasting traditional millet beer (just tasting, really...it's an acquired taste I haven't yet acquired. I think it tastes like stomach acid), and just spending time together made for a very merry Christmas this year.

The ride back was quite and adventure. We left Sangha for Severe mid-day, so by the time we left Severe for San, it was pretty late and we didn't have many transportation options. After waiting for a few hours on the side of the road we found a bus claiming to have just enough seats for the group of us. Seats, yes. Room, no. Every square inch of room on the floor of the bus was covered with sheep. Instead of walking down the isle, we stepped on the edges of the seats. Instead of putting our feet on the floor, we rested them on the backs of sheep. Add to that our huge bags on our laps and the smell of the whole ordeal, we were rather uncomfortable. This was the first time we were actually relieved when the bus broke down (under the weight of us all) and we had to unload and find a new one. We got into San very late, had a few minutes to talk to the volunteer there, Eric, and left for Bamako very early. Home sweet home!

Tired as we were by this point, my teammates Lindsay, Sarah, and Jacqui and I rallied to meet a friend for dinner and to check out a Salif Keita concert. The information about the concert was a little sketchy, and we weren't sure we were going to find it at all or if Salif Keita was really going to be performing. Once we did find it, after a couple of fun acts with lots of dancing and drumming, we learned he wouldn't be. Luckily, thanks to a connection via our friend, we weren't dissappointed!! After the show we had the opportunity to meet the famous Malian singer and snap a few pictures. A wonderful end to a wonderful vacation.

Now, I'm ready to head back to Tioribougou in time for Tabaski, the Muslim holiday at which we all eat lots of mutton:) This time, I'll finally be heading back with the funding to open our health center's pharmacy! It wasn't always this way, but the during the last couple of months I've felt really good about being in village instead of only looking forward to getting back into Bamako. I'm crazy about my host family and have finally overcome the language barrier enough to make some really good friends. I'm falling head over heels in love with Mali.

Mali, anyone?

2006-11-11T13:24:00.000Z

I've always thought of my parents as remarkably positive and optimistic people, but during this last week they blew me away. Coming directly from a whirlwind tour of Morocco, they spent only one day resting in Bamako before we took off for my little village via Malian public transportation. Even if they complained about the over-packed, breaking-down, roasting-hot van with painfully wooden benches, the smiles never left our faces. In Tioribougou they picked up a few Malian greetings and exclaimations, and we spent lots of time visiting my friends and a couple local authorities (mayor, village chief, doctor, school principals). Walking all over town in the hot sun was exhausting and I was waiting for the words "can't we go back to your house yet?" but they continued smiling and laughing and bean-joking with the Traore's. We attended a funeral party, drank Malian tea, ate to and tigadegena with our hands, and explored the market. I had planned on only making them stay over one night in village, but they enjoyed it so much they stayed three! The day we went back into Bamako, we spent a little time in the Grand Marche before they took off that night for the last leg of their trip: a South African safari. It was incredible to have them here and I feel that when I come back "state side," they'll understand me a little better knowing how I've lived. Mom and Dad, thanks for coming all the way over here to see me:)

My next topic: How to Visit Mali

-Go to your doctor and get your shots and Malaria prevention meds.

-Research flights (you should be able to find something significantly lower than $2000).

-Tell me when you'll get here and what kinds of things you hope to do (Timbuktu? payes Dogon? Bike tour? Time in village?).

-Pack your bags and go to the airport.

That's pretty much it. I'll take care of stuff that needs to be taken care of over here. The flight is the biggest cost. Once you get here, depending on what you want to do, you'll spend next to nothing. I'm accepting (and expecting:)) visitors until next August and anyone is welcome. I hope some of you are able to make it! This is an opportunity to see Mali, which not many people get to see at all, from an insider's perspective rather than a tourist's. Let me know!

Just when I thought I'd seen it all...

2006-09-28T18:41:00.000Z

I swear I can't go a day in Mali , even after having been here for an entire year, without seeing something new. Last week I attended a naming ceremony for the newborn son of my coworker Chacka Jakite. Naming ceremonies for the Bambara people are usually held a week or two after a baby is born. First thing after breakfast, dressed in their colorful Malian best, everyone gathers at the house bringing gifts of soap or fabric or a little money. In return, we're given sweet, sticky balls of millet. Delicious is probably too strong of a word for them. The men all sit together in one area and the women crowd into another. Then the baby's name is announced (Moussa Jakite) and everyone goes home to do their daily work.

We come back at lunch time and this is when crazy things start happening. First of all, a good number of people are no longer wearing their formal outfits, but some women are dressed as hunters or beggers and some men are dressed as women. And we all dance to the balafone music: clapping, waving our arms, comically acting out scenes from the lives of Moussa's ancestors, yelling "show! show!" and generally making fools out of ourselves. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, five of the more important and gregarious women of the village began their ritual for fertility for the other women. The young women I was sitting next to was suddenly wisked off the bench by them. She was dragged, struggling and screaming and half laughing, to the cooking area where she was smothered head to toe in cooked beans and oil. In the hair, on the face, under the clothes, everywhere. This was repeated for a couple of the women who haven't had kids lately, or at all. Reflecting on this, and on the constant questions I recieve from them about why I'm not married and why I don't have kids at the ripe old age of 23, I admit I started sweating a bit. I'm happy to report that I came out of the ceremony clean.

Finally, the family serves a big lunch of fried rice, complete with the luxuries of meat and sweet potatos, then we all drink a few rounds of sweet, minty Malian green tea. This has been a successful naming ceremony for little Moussa.

Newbies

2006-08-31T15:37:00.000Z

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still here and still alive. I've finished another Hearth and have been working on a grant proposal to open the pharmacy at our health center. We need $2000 to buy the initial stock of medicine, then the pharmacy will be sustainable and even income generating. After awhile, the health center will be able to purchase additional equipment and supplies. Pray for us!

The new volunteers arrived in country a month ago. Though I haven't seen too much of them yet, they seem to be doing well- practicing Bambara and adjusting to the sketchy food. I can't believe we've been here for nearly a year! Paul Sari said it well: the days go slowly but the months fly by. My group last year started with 30 volunteers (though we're down to 23 now). Theirs? 76! Potentially a logistical nightmare for those involved with training, but they've been doing an amazing job. Any college seniors thinking about the Peace Corps next year? It's a good idea to start the application in the next month or two. The process can take a LONG time. And if you are thinking about it, feel free to email me with questions!

More Hearth Madness

2006-07-08T10:38:00.000Z

I'm finally back in Bamako after spending over a month at site. Update from the Sirado Hearth: 4 women have formed (completely on their own initiative!) a cooking group in which they take turns each day cooking ameliorated porridge for their kids. I'm so proud of them:) I was able to fit two Hearths into the month of June, the first in Kanekebougou and the second in my own village, Tioribougou. That was a bit tiring, but it feels wonderful to be getting some substantial work done. Both Hearths went well and I already have other women from my village asking me when we're starting the next one. Soon, I hope, but rainy season might complicate things as everyone, men and women, go into the fields to farm millet, beans, and peanuts. It had already rained a few times when I began the project in Kanekebougou, making the road nearly impassable with mud some days. A few days dark clouds on the horizon made me nervous about going out there, but I was always lucky enough to make it back to my house before any serious deluges caught me. Is it strange that I seem so wary of the rain here after having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, loving the gray, rainy days? Rain in Mali is not like rain in Seattle. Here, there are no "rainy days" but rather sunny days with wicked rain storms with plenty of thunder which last no longer than an hour. I still love the rain, but neither Malians nor Seattlites dare venture out in these showers. Much more pleasant to enjoy from inside the view of the quickly flooding streets and the sound of huge drops on the tin roof. Another obstacle to getting out to Kanekebougou quickly became apparent. Along the road to Kanekebougou grows a certain bush with lots of sharp thorns. Coming into the Peace Corps I didn't even know what a tire iron was, but after changing and patching 8 tires in 12 days, I've developed an intimate working relationship with my Trek. In the end, the Hearth was very successful and I got a chicken out of it. Yes, I live squaking chicken which the women hung by the feet from the handle bar of my bike to take home, and my host family killed, feathered and cooked. Don't think I'm a horribly heartless person when I say this, but it was delicious. I hope you're all having a crazy fun summer. Until next time!

Fabulous Malian Women

2006-05-25T17:52:00.000Z

Rarely does anything in Mali go completely smoothly, and my latest project was no exception, but overall I think it was successful and that's what's important, right? I've just finished a Hearth (see the 2.02.2006 post) in Sirado, a little village 3k outside of Tioribougou. Why did I think that biking out every day to do a Hearth during the harshest part of Malian hot season was a good idea? That still eludes me, but I did it. I am completely crazy about the women who I worked with during this project, to say nothing of their beautiful children. Three of the women in particular deserve extra praise.
Elizabete made the whole Hearth possible. A well respected member of the community, she is extremely intelligent and involved in many aspects of community development even though she never attended a day of school. She helped me select participants, organize supplies, motivate the community, and fortunately, she could translate my poor Bambara into understandable Bambara for the other women during the sessions.
Each day, Seje was my motivation to ride out there. Her son, Sekena, is severely undernourished and though his smile is beautiful, the empty look in his eyes broke my heart again every morning. At a year and 7 months, he is still not walking or talking, and has earned the nickname cekorobani, or little old man, because a baby's face without it's baby fat looks like an old man's face. Seje is sweet and quiet and loves her son deeply. Sekena did not gain as much weight as I had hoped for. Please keep Seje and Sekena in your prayers.
At the end of each day, Sirantu was usually the one who made me feel the session had been successful. Bright and outspoken, Sirantu was always able to flawlessly repeat the health information presented that day and eagerly promised to implement positive changes such as properly sanitizing drinking water, sleeping under a mosquito net, and most importantly continuing to make the ameliorated porridge on her own after the Hearth. Her son, Gwanze, was the most successful regarding weight gain: 600 grams! (The average for my Hearth kids was 333 grams).
Plenty of little things went wrong throughout, but enough went right that I'm looking forward to my next Hearth in Kanegebougou. All about that next time!

P.S. Thanks to so many of you for the birthday wishes! Most Malians don't know what day their own birthday is, let alone understand our tradition of celebrating, so I just treated myself to a plantain sandwich:) Yumm...

"Jimmy Buffet ain't got nothin' on us."

2006-04-29T09:44:00.000Z

In a semi-successful attempt at escaping the oppressive heat of Mali's hot season (the humidity made up for slightly lower temperatures), Lindsay, Sarah, and I made the 3 day overland trek to the coast of Ghana. After a dream-like week on the beaches I have a bone to pick with my PC placement officer. Why wasn't I posted in Peace Corps Ghana?? I am not yet an accomplished enough writer to adequately relate how refreshing the green tropical forests felt after 7 months in Mali's Sahel desert. This Seattle girl had been land-locked for too long.
At Mole National Park in the north of Ghana, a two hour walking tour allowed us to see elephants, antelope, water buffalo, warthogs, little monkey, and big baboons. Actually, we didn't even need the tour to see the baboons. They came right up to our breakfast table and stole our coffee pot. The park staffers weren't quite as excited by that as we were:)
So much time on African transport left us completely wiped out, and spending two nights at the secluded Ankobra beach was exactly what we needed. Nestled in a grove of coconut palms, a short walk from the fishing village Axim, we had Ankobra lodge practically to ourselves. There, we dined on lobster skewers (3 small, locally caught tails per skewer) and cocktails in coconuts that a Ghanain boy had recently scrambled up a tree and plucked for us. It was here that we met Dale, the American who basically lives at this lodge and kept saying "welcome to paradise, girls" and "Jimmy Buffet ain't got nothin' on me." We agreed.
Our next spot was the Rastafarian beach, Busua. Righteous. What a crazy culture. After banana pancakes and fresh juice, Sarah and I tried our hand at surfing. Actually standing up on the board proved to be harder than I expected, but playing in the waves was a blast anyway.
The historical slave fort we toured at Cape Coast could have been a downer after so many carefree days on the beach, and it certainly was horrifying, but I believe one can use for good the passion stirred by powerful experiences. Not only do the remnants of slave trade still afflict West Africans today, but some forms of slavery are still very much in exsistence around the world. I'm newly motivated to return to Tioribougou and work with my people.
The vacation eneded up in the Ghanain capital, Accra, where I was able to meet up with the wonderful Paul Sari. A GU and GIF grad, he's now doing Peace Corps Ghana in the northern city of Tamale. Finally seeing a familiar face was pretty exciting. Sarah, Lindsay, and I spent the afternoon at the botanical gardens just north of Accra. Who knew there are so many different varieties of palm trees? The exotic flowers are also spectacular, but my favorite are the spice trees: cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg:)
Coming home was rough. It took much longer than we expected, and I've never been so dirty and tired. Plus, returning back to the desert is less fun than heading down for a vacation in paradise. Still, we did make it safely and considering the conditions of the vehicles and roads, we're grateful just to have made it. Now I'm ready to be back in Tioribougou to start Hearths and malaria prevention projects before rainy season hits in early July. Keep me in your prayers and in the words of our Rasta friends, "be free."

PPST

2006-03-17T08:32:00.000Z

For all those not familiar with Peace Corps jargon, PPST stands for Post Pre Service Training. Really. Whatever. So for the last two weeks the 24 PCVs in my stage returned to Tubani So to get a little more technical and language training. We had sessions on how to start a health committee, more info on Hearth, and some speakers on female excision, nutrition, breast feeding, and radio programs (did you know that mali has more independant radio stations than any other country in the world? mostly thanks to USAID, actually). It has been really nice to be back here with my friends, as February was a pretty rough month. Another nice thing about being at Tubani So is that we get salad and fresh fruit every single day. Every day! I feel healthy again.

Yesterday I braved the grand marche with a couple friends to pick up some things. When I was sixteen, my mom took me to Gene Jaurez in the mall to get my ears peirced. Everything was very clean and sterile and I sat down and relaxed and when it was done, I passed out. Hit the floor like a rock. Since then, the holes have closed in. Yesterday, I found myself standing on a dirty, busy street corner in the middle of the market while a loud, pushy Malian woman pushed new fake-gold studs through my ears. Didnt even hurt:) I guess that's what 13 vaccinations will do to a person. (Dont worry mom, Im keeping them very clean.)

Wish I had more time, but we're visiting the fine folks at Helen Keller International this morning to check out what they're doing in Mali. K'an ben dooni!

Hearth - making babies bigger

2006-02-02T14:12:00.000Z

This past week was spent at a fellow PCVs site for a technical exchange. It was such a great experience! Liz has been here for over a year so it was really good to see how she's gotten settled into her home and how well she's working with her community. This was the second "hearth" she's put on in her town so it went really smoothly (relatively speaking...we're still in Mali). Each morning for 12 days (I was there for the first five days) 15 women and they're undernourished babies meet us at the local health center. We make ameliorated porraige by adding some peanut powder and bean powder instead of simply millet powder so that the babies are getting more protein. The babies are weighed every day and it's amazing to see how quickly they actually gain weight! Also, various health topics are discussed such as water sanitation, weaning, vaccinations, pre-natal consulations, etc. I led the discussion Wednesday on what to do if you're child has diarrhea and how to make an easy Oral Rehydration Solution. I'm really excited to take this program back up to Tioribougou! There are definitely women and children up there who could benefit from some better eating.

Besides working on hearth, I had a blast with Liz and Chamonix. We watched movies on a portable dvd player hooked up to a car battery, took lots of bike rides (16 kilometers just to get out to Liz's village, Monzonbala!), and ate wonderful food. Liz a talented and resourceful cook, and after a year here she knows how to make the most of what food is available here. Babies aren't the only ones who gained a few pounds this week!

Thank you to all those who sent Christmas cards! It was wonderful to read about what's going on with you all in the states. Especially thanks to mom, dad, and Becca for the packages, and Shaun for the books! You're the best:)

One last thought: Of course the Seahawks finally make it to the superbowl and Im half way around the world with no television. I should've done JVC Detroit with you, David.

Mailing address

2005-12-26T15:10:00.000Z

By the way...since I'm so close to Bamako, I've decided to keep the Peace Corps mailing address instead of opening a new box. So, if you'd like, you can still mail things to:

Rachel Emmick, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali

Mail is ALWAYS welcome! Just be sure to send via airmail, but dont pay for fedex or dhl...not worth it. I'm working on getting letters out to all you folks at home, too:)

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-26T12:06:00.000Z

Back in Bamako for Christmas with you'll-never-guess-who. The one and only FR. BRUNO SEGATTA! No kidding. He travelled overland from Morocco through Mauritania to Mali with the final destination of Madagascar because...well...because he's Bruno and he does things like that. So we've been hanging out at the stage house together with Kevin (another Gonzaga-in-Florence alumn from a few years back), and a few other PCVs. It doesn't espcially feel like the Christmas season here, being an Islamic country and all, but we did what we could. The tubab stores have little plastic Christmas trees and we played some Christmas music brought from home. Not quite the same, though. Christmas Eve we all cooked a wonderful dinner together complete with fresh chicken (we had the vendors kill and feather them for us...we're not quite THAT integrated yet), mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and sugar cookies:) followed by a wonderful Fr. Bruno-style mass. Christmas Day started with brunch at the Plaza Hotel, then some cake baking, which we took to Cheryl's house for dinner. Cheryl is an APCD aka my boss. There were about 15 people there...PCVs and NGO workers alike, all far away from our families but putting on smiles in the spirit of Christmas cheer. It was actually a pretty good way to spend the day, though I really miss you all...especially Dad, Mom, and Becca.
I'm headed back to site later today, which is still going really well. Bambara is coming along nicely, if slowly. I'm meeting lots of welcoming people and starting to feel very much at home there. Thanks for all your posts and emails. I love hearing from you all! Kan b'u fo!

Life at site

2005-12-10T10:24:00.000Z

Tioribougou is the wonderful little town which I now call home. Having lived there for almost two weeks now, it's nice to finally not be living out of a suitcase. I live in a little cement house with a tin roof with my tiny white kitten (Jakoman Coulibaly... jakoman is "cat" in Bambara and I'll explain Coulibaly later), a bat, a family of birds, the few spiders which neither jaki nor I can reach, and a ton of terminites who will hopefully move out when I get around to painting the walls inside. It's a pretty exciting little house, actually. I have a gas stove on which I make tea or coffee every morning, a big water filter, a bed complete with mosquito net, a bamboo chair, a reed mat, and a bamboo dresser. First thing in the morning I walk down the road to buy bread and maybe furufuru (fried millet-dough balls). I prepare breakfast and feed Jaki, then read awhile before going out to greet my supervisor (Abdullay the doctor) and counterpart (Sitan the matron). They usually take me around to meet different families in the town, or we just sit and chat (they chat...I try to figure out what is being said) outside the health center. Three days a week I have Bambara lessons in the afternoon with Sitan's husband who is a TROURE which brings me to my explanation of why Jaki's last name is Coulibably. Mali has this wonderful little thing we call "joking cousins." There are only a few last names here (mine is Diarra) and certain families joke with certain other families. We say things like, "you eat beans," "you're my slave," "you're a cat/dog/donkey/etc." It's hilarious and never gets old...well, doesn't get old to Malians, anyway. Diarra's mainly joke with Troure's, and everybody jokes with Coulibaly's (my host family is Coulibably) hence, Jakoman Coulibaly. It's a riot whenever I tell people that:) Alright, well I'll be back in for Christmas and hopefully have time to write some more then. But until then, Merry Christmas season! Enjoy the snow extra much for me cause there sure isn't any here!

My 2 year journey begins...

2005-11-27T08:59:00.000Z

Training is over! Friday morning we swore in as volunteers and I head out to site on Tuesday. Swear-in day was a blast. The ceremony was held at the ambassador's residence which is absolutely beautiful. We had a few hours of paperwork stuff at the bureau and then the 27 of us headed back to the ambassador's house for a bbq and pool party!! I would LOVE to enter the foriegn service some day... That evening we went out in Bamako with some current volunteers and danced until our feet broke (that's a Malian expression...strange). Im out of time...Ill update again with lots of news from Tioribougou!

2005-11-09T16:36:00.000Z

All is still well in Mali! I'm as healthy as ever and Bambara is coming along nicely. We're all getting a little anxious to get to our sites at this point, but at the same time we're all growing so close it will be hard to leave each other to our respective parts of the country. That hadn't fully occurred to me until the wonderful Katie Wootten told us she was ETing and left us today. That was a hard, sudden goodbye but Im glad she's proactive about what she needs to do. She's the kind of girl who will be happy wherever she is. On the other hand, welcome to Matt...a volunteer who completed his service in Chad and decided to extend his stay, but to Mali. He joined us a few days ago.
I received my first package from home today. Thanks mom!! So it looks like packages generally take just over two weeks and letters take even less. Mail is always a highlight to the day:) I've decided to keep receiving mail at the Peace Corps office because I imagine I'll be going into Bamako for the bank just as often as I would go to the closer city, Kolokani. So, same address as previously posted.
We were in Banankoro for the end of Ramadan celebration and it was pretty awesome. Lots of meat was eaten, everyone went visiting to the neighbors, and we all went to the mosque. It's fascinating to learn so much about another religion, and a rare opportunity to do it in such an immersed way.
Signing off...

Tioribougou

2005-10-29T08:55:00.000Z

Just got back into Bamako from "site visit." I've been completely spoiled in regards to travel. It took only an hour and a half by bache (ill explain public transport later...crazy stuff) on all paved roads. Not all the volunteers are so lucky! The PCTs in the Kayes region had to take the train because the roads are next to impossible. The APCD travelling with them explained that when the train slows down, it's because the conductor knows where the weak spots in the tracks are and if the train derails, at least they'll be going slow and won't get hurt. They made it there and back safely:)
I spent 3 days in my house in Tioribougou. It's the old Maternite of the village, so it's a cement structure with a tin roof (most houses are mud with thatch roofs). Tin roofs are great because they leak less often, but it's INCREDIBLY loud when it rains. You can't even talk to people. Rain here isn't like Seattle, though. It rains much harder but never lasts more than an hour...usually less. So all in all, Im very happy with my little house. It could use a paint job inside, but that can wait. The town is planning on building me a gwa, as well (thatch roof on sticks for a shady area outside). I'm about 20 ft away from the CSCom (community health center) where I'll be working and I'm right next to the main road the goes to Bamako. The town in beautiful...coconut trees, millet fields, and a nice market on Tuesdays. People there were so welcoming and friendly! I really want to get better at Bambara quickly in order to form better relationships. My host family cooked meals for me and Assitan, a Peace Corps language tutor who accompanied me, taught me how to make Jinjinberi.
Approximate recipe: Two ginger roots, 2 liters water, juice of 2 oranges, 1 tbls vanilla, half cup sugar (or more if you like...Malians like it VERY sweet, I don't) and lots of ice. Mash the ginger, add water and orange juice, mix, strain out ginger gunk, add vanilla and ice. It's a common drink for breaking the fast. That's right, ít's Ramadan right now and the good Muslims here fast from sun up until sun down. Fasting muslim style means nothing goes in your mouth... not even water. With this heat, nothing tastes better at sundown than cold jiniberi:)
I have one more month of training in Banankoro and Tubani So before I head off to Tioribougou for good. Ala ka tilen here caya!

I ni sogoma!

2005-10-09T09:08:00.000Z

I've been in Mali for 2 weeks and i've been loving it. The first week was spent at Tubani So, the Peace Corps Mali training site, which feels alot like summer camp. I share a little hut (with electricity) with Jen. An average day: breakfast at 7 (tea or instant coffee with condensed milk, french bread with peanut butter, and maybe a banana). Cross culture, health education tech, or personal health (everyone's favorite...we learn about worms, malaria, diarrhea, and all kinds of horrible stuff) classes from 8-12. Lunch is usually rice with sauce and meat, salad, and it's watermelon season! Life is good:) Siesta for the hotter part of the day, classes again from 2:30-5, rest/sports/bathe until dinner at 7. In the evenings we usually all gather around one of the guys who has a guitar and chat for hours.
We've also spent a week at homestays in villages not far from the capital, Bamako. I'm in Banankoro and my new name is Aminata Samake (Ami for short:)). My jatigi is wonderful! They are so generous and patient with my weak French and begining Bambara. The food they serve isn't great, but I don't go hungry. Everyday those of us in Banankoro (15 of 30...the rest are in Sanankoroba) meet for language class under the mango trees. It's so beautiful that it's surreal. I absolutley love our language professors. They are incredibly kind and helpful during this strange transitional stage. We often go to their house in the afternoons for very strong, very sweet green tea.
The heat hasn't been unbearable, but it's still the cooler season. Everyone stays in the shade and look out for us Toubabs (foreigners) when we don't know any better than to linger in the sun. I take lots of bucket baths, do my business in a whole in the ground, sleep under a mosquito net, eat with my hands, and love (nearly) every minute of it:)
We recieved our site announcements yesterday! Begining at the end of November, I'll be in Tiorobougou (pop. 4000) which is just 120km north of the capital and 20km south of my market town, Kolokani. There's a Catholic mission not too far away, as well:) I'll be openening up a new site (no PVCs before me) working in a local health clinic and living in an old maternite. Not sure what that means, but no electricity or running water. I'll probably get to Bamako (and the internet) at least once a month. Keep sending news of the good old USA! I miss you all...and good coffee.

Staging in "the city that loves you back!"

2005-09-20T16:38:00.000Z

The trip to Philadelphia could not have gone more smoothly. Everything was on time, luggage arrived safely, and people were helpful and friendly the whole way. I've gotten a chance to see quite a bit of the city, have dinner with Emmanuelle (friend from Gonzaga, now Peace Corps - Togo) and her roommates, and spend some time with my staging roommate, Barbara, from Texas. I've decided that if I ever had to, I could definitely live in Philly and be happy here (but Seattle is still 1st place). One of Emmanuelle's friends who I met last night had spent 6 months in Mali and just loved it. She had only good things to say about the country and it's people, so that's reassuring:) Well, I've got to get back to the hotel before our orientation begins today. Thanks for all your prayers and emails!

One more month!

2005-08-23T03:20:00.000Z

Today marks the one month point before leaving for Mali so I thought I'd update the blog. I've been back at home in Issaquah getting ready, spending time with my family, and truly appreciating the luxuries that life in a first world country affords us! My French studying is probably not coming along as well as it should, but it's coming.

So what exactly will I be doing in West Africa? Like I said, it's a health education position, so I'll be setting up and running various community programs on things like nutrition, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, water borne disease prevention, things like that. I'll also most likely be working in a health clinic for a few hours every day. The Peace Corps is very grassroots/ self-motivated so it sounds like alot of what I do will be based on what the community and I decide is needed. Which is great:)

I have my address for the first 2 months of training in Bamako and would love to send and recieve mail. Just remember it can take a month to get there, but even after I leave the training site I'll always be able to come back here and pick stuff up.
Rachel Emmick, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali

There you have it. Ciao per adesso i miei amici!

2005-08-23T03:09:00.000Z

with Mary and Diane at Nyumbani in Kenya

Here's the deal

2005-06-14T23:15:00.000Z

I've known for a long time that I wanted to do service work abroad as a major part of my life, and I've known for sure that I would be going into the Peace Corps since November 2004. After a long application process while I was finishing up school at Gonzaga (I graduated with a BA in political science, international relations, and italian studies), I received my official invitation to serve as a Health Educator in Mali! I won't have frequent access to the internet, but I want to try to maintain this website as much as possible. If you know anyone who is interested in the Peace Corps or serving in Africa, feel free to give them this web address! Keep me in your prayers. I'll do the same.

Disclaimer:

2005-06-14T20:34:00.000Z

The contents of this site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Peace Corps or the U.S. government.