That Which Empowers All.

Hello friends and blogger-goers. I'm back in Ouaga after what seems like only a few days (it has been, in fact, 17 days since I was last here). Myself, along with a handful of other GEE compatriots are in town to meet with a "Consultant" from D.C., I believe, to discuss the GEE program. It's my understanding that our overall project plan for GEE is taking on some changes, so they have called in a few volunteers to provide input (they also are visiting many volunteers at their sites).

While my time in village was relatively brief, I found myself busy with, well, WORK. Before you all rub your eyes and verify that I did say the word "Work", keep in mind that while the PCV is "on the clock, 24/7 "...what many in the United States would consider "work work", I do about 3-5 hours a week. Nevertheless, I feel productive... on my game, if you will.

Women, namely Pobe-Mengao Women, rock.

My Women's association is off and running. While I was in Ouaga enjoying FESPACO, they had a meeting, where all 20 of the members cotiser'd (pitched in) 1,000 f.cfa (about 2 bucks) to the treasury of the association. They have used 10 of the 20,000 francs to purchase a demand for membership with the Provincial offices in Djibo. While such a following of protocol is not necessary, it is good to register your association with the government in the event that it grows or you choose to handle any significant sum of money, through savings and credit and or simple monthly dues. I recently learned that there is a department in the government loosely termed, "the morality police." They are known to check up on associations, savings and credit groups, no matter how small, to ensure they are not "bouffing" (West African slang for skimming the fat...stealing, if you will) the funds that members give. Personally, I am really excited to see the level of motivation and organization that already exists in the association. They even came up with a name for their association. Namanegb Zanga, Moore for "That Which Empowers All". I happen to like it. The English version, at least, has a nice ring to it. I cannot, for the life of me, pronounce the Moore version. Once we get the green light, so to speak, from the Provincial offices (you think U.S. bureaucracy is slow...), our plan is to kick off by having a General Assembly meeting with the entire community. Here, we will explain our mission (That being 1) Raise awareness about issues facing women, such as maternal health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, etc 2) Increase literacy among males and females in the community 3) help create small-scale savings and credit groups, primarily for women), and announce a tentative schedule of events. Since our association is made up of a bureau of 9 men and women and 11 representatives (all women) from each sector of the village, we hope that a "trickle-down effect" of awareness-raising with oversight on the part of the "permanent 9" will be the general method of action. Essentially, we sensibilize the 11, they carry the info to women in their family compounds, and thus the info spreads. Something like that.

What I love about this setup is that it shows promise of sustainability. Sensibilizations (awareness-raising) is a significant part of a PCVs job description, but what is the village to do once the PCV leaves? It is my hope that with this association, they will acquire the resources and know-how to carry this on regardless of Tall-White-Guy-Presence. Make sense? Its far from a perfect world, but it's a start.

Theatre/Debate

After what seems like 6 months (wait, it HAS been 6 months) of trying to get a Boys/Girls club started at the Junior High (C.E.G.) in Pobe, Kim and I finally smelled the sweet scent of success. We just wrapped up yesterday a shorter-than-desired Theatre/Debate camp with 14 C.E.G. students. All students were encouraged to apply to join the club, by writing a letter of interest. In the end, we received 14 letters. Hence why there are 14 members of our club (its complicated, I know). The idea of the club is simple, Kim, with a strong background in theatre as a means of raising awareness, would take up the theatre half and myself, having a year of coaching debate(for whatever it's worth), would attempt to introduce these teenagers to the idea of organized argumentation. We then took major issues facing people in village (such as polygamy, female genital mutilation, Forced Marriage) and filter the issues through the lenses of theatre and debate. Though our camp is over, we will continue to have weekly sessions. We hope to have an end of the year theatre presentation, open to the whole community. The assistant director of the C.E.G. even asked us if we would be interested in starting a debate class, 8 hours a week. I am still undecided about this, as I haven't really the expertise to lead a class on debate (in French, no less), but I must admit the prospect is highly compelling. Perhaps something to look into next year.

What I do the other 163 hours of the week

The beauty of life here as a PCV is even if you put in a full-day's work (2-3 hours) you still have a full day to relax, read a book, perfect your preparation of instant oatmeal, or knock back a cup of tea with neighbors. I recently received a care package from my wonderful friend, Wyndi. Aside from the usual but always welcome selection of goodies (Skittles, Caramel Apple Suckers...delicious), she threw a curve ball in this package in the form of a Sudoku puzzle book. I am not ashamed to say that I am scared of Sudoku's, what with their deceptively challenging layout and their eraser-friendly squares within squares within squares. With a sudoku, looks are most definitely deceiving. But seeing as how my Association meeting had come and gone and debate club wasn't for two days, I felt I could sacrifice an hour or two (or 14) for a few puzzles. After 4 hours of undivided concentration, a sensation I have not experienced since writing my Modern Political Theories term paper two years ago, I completed, correctly, my first Sudoku Puzzle. I was absolved of all logic puzzle ghosts.

Seeing as how one of the three goals of Peace Corps is "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of peoples served" and also considering that Sudoku's are the sole reason 60% of US Americans buy newspapers nowadays, AND, realizing that I still had only occupied 1 hour of that day with actual work, I thought I would take my sudoku puzzle book outside, and see if my neighbors would like to learn, thus working towards Goal #2 of Peace Corps. My first contestant: Maiga. 20-something, civil servant, well-educated, slightly resembles Dave Chappelle, perfect candidate for Sudoku exposure. After explaining the general rules of the puzzle, the 1 through 9's, the lines, columns, boxes (you ALL know what I'm talking about), he takes the book from me with functionaire-like certainty and says, "Joel, here is the strategy. You check to see if a particular number already exists in a particular line. If no, you can put it in a box." I chose not to argue with him...I let him have this moment of tutelage over me...even though he was explaining one of multiple necessary strategies. He continues, "Joel, this game is simple. Give me your pencil. I will be done in five minutes." Knowing Maiga's competitive nature, I had pre-traced a particular puzzle and we started together, working on the same Sudoku. After 45 minutes, I completed my puzzle. Maiga asks to see my puzzle. "Joel, all of your numbers are in different places than mine. What does that mean?" With calm humility, I tell him that he screwed up. Moments later, Bas, the local veterinarian, stormed up in his motorcycle. When he saw that Maiga was scribbling numbers into a book, he naturally asked what he was doing. Maiga proceeded to explain the rules of the game, only this time, providing the addendum "it's more challenging than one might think." Whereupon Bas retorts, "Maiga, this game sounds simple. I can finish it in 5 minutes."

And so it goes in village. There are always ups and downs. Nothing will change the inevitability of ebb and flow at site. The next few months will be the hottest of the year. Temperatures are already roaming between 90 and 107 (lows and highs) and are expected to get even warmer in the coming weeks. This will be a new challenge. Okay, it's going to suck. But if the presence of older volunteers is any indication, I think I'll survive the heat. I'll let you know how it goes in letters from village.

That's all the time I have for now. Expect a post that I wrote and mailed snail mail to my family in the US o A, whereupon my loving father will transcribe the written word onto the blog. I completely forgot what I wrote, it may be a lot of the same stuff here. I guess we'll all find out sooner or later.

Thanks for reading.

Wend na kond nidaare!

joel