Christmas

Christmas was fun! We all took our annual showers, but on clothes that were clean (or GASP new!) and spent some quality time together!

Universal Net Distribution

Yay free stuff! Universal net distribution was recently in my village and I was lucky enough to be involved in the entire process! Net distribution is a government organized, USAID funded program with the ultimate goal of every person to have a net to sleep under, every night, all year long.  While there are flaws to this plan, it is not because of the project structure.  People just don't like to sleep under nets.  Some people find them too hot, others think the pesticide coating causes itching, and many people simply say they don't have enough money to buy them.  Net distribution addresses the last excuse.

The process for me began with a census.  I went with my counterpart and the other relais from my health area (Bignarabe) and went house to house, asking how many people lived in each compound and looking at each sleeping space.  Why not beds? you might be asking. Not everyone has a bed, and kids often sleep on a mat or mattress on the floor, and other people have areas set up outside.  These are all included in the census.  I hit 7 villages in 3 days and went to approximately 200 compounds.  This was just a fraction of the villages and compounds we were expected to cover, but other relais went to other villages.  Once we were done we brought our results back to the health post, who took them to the regional capital in order to actually request the nets.

Fun midway fact, I was the only female involved in the census.  I pointed this out to my counterpart, who has come to understand my sensitivity to gender differences, and he said it was because women can't ride bikes, and the whole census was done on bikes.  That's ridiculous! I ride a bike.  Then I asked Fatou, my female counterpart, and she confirmed it- none of the women could ride a bike, and the only one that could was a teenager and needed to go to school instead.  Thinking about it later it would have been hilarious to see these cheb mama women riding their bikes through bush-beaten tracks.  But I digress.

We had two days of distribution prep and a full day of actual distribution.  Prep involved unwrapping each net and writing the name of the head of household, town, area, year, and date.  We were provided with four pens, all of which ran out on the first day.  We poured water into them to get every last mark we could, and we able to borrow two pens from the Totstan teacher.  Things would have gone much quicker and a little less frustrating though if we were all able to have pens.

I really wanted a good pen.

The day of was very simply people coming to my village and picking up their nets.  We tried to give a talk beforehand, but we hadn't told anyone this was a requirement and everyone thought they could just pick up their nets and go back to cooking or the fields.  The rest of the day went well though, and I got to see everyone from my village as well as meet people from the surrounding villages.

Nima with her new nets!

For your viewing pleasure.

Scholarship Complete

     I have wrapped up my scholarship program for the 2013-2014 school year.  Yes, school has started.  Most of the students have finally arrived in village to begin the scholarly year, and that includes my six beautiful, smart scholarship girls.

     The process began right after I installed in May.  First their teachers recommended them, then they had to undergo an interview, write an essay, and introduce me to their families.  Once this was over, the Peace Corps SENEGAD (our PC gender equality board) approved their application, sent me the money, and I was able to pay their inscription and go shopping for them.  Senegal does not have a free public school system, so if parents want their children to learn they have to pay for them to go to school.  Primary school is a 500 cfa inscription fee (roughly $2), middle school is a 5 mille inscription fee (roughly $10), and Arab school is free. Buying school supplies here is not easy.  Families often have to scrounge the money for he inscription let alone notebooks, backpacks, pens, etc.  I bought each girl a bookbag and filled it with notebooks, pens, and a geometry set.  I was also able to purchase them each a math textbook.  This is great because it will ease the contribution of the family.  With that money they could send another child to school or buy more food- the possibilities are endless.  And most importantly, the girls get to learn.

I presented Djeneba with her certificate. Isn't my mansuit fetch?

The girls, the principal, and me with their certificates.

When I was conducting my family visits, my site mate and I made the trek to a village 20 km away
 to see two of the girls. We went to meet the first family, and the father wasn't there- they sent a child to the field to get him.  We waited probably half an hour and decided to go see the other family and come back.  That went fine.  Everyone was welcoming and polite; only later did I learn that she was supposed to get married and the decision to send her back to school for another year was made last minute.  She is currently in my village and has kept learning.  When we returned to the first family the father had still not come back.  After a while he finally came back, and we told him why we were there and what we were offering, not even thinking that he would turn it down.  Who would turn down money? He did not seem excited.  We asked him if he was ok, and he told us he had to talk to his older brother; they weren't sure if she was going back to school.  Families here are hierarchical, so younger brothers must consult older brothers about important issues.  They talked for what felt like a long time, and I was very nervous.  What if they told her she couldn't go back to school? What was the reasoning?  Fortunately, I did not have to find out.  Her father and uncle came back, and said she was going to learn.

    I was nervous she wouldn't show up when school started, so I brought each girl their backpack of goodies right after Tabaski, when everyone told me school was about to start.  I wanted to remind them of what I was offering and make sure they would come back.  I'm very glad I did.  I'm not sure if they forgot or were originally underwhelmed anyway, but I brought my village cheif with me and he made a huge show of asking every child in the village if they were going to school this year, and he talked to the parents explaining the program in native Pulaar tongue.  His family hosts several students from this village, and he greeted all of their families too and made sure they were returning.  Would they have come back without this push? I'm not sure.

     School in Senegal is difficult, especially for the children who have to leave home to learn.  The kids in my village are able to stay with their families, but there is only one other middle school in my area outside of Kolda, and no high schools.  Kids have to find homestays or walk ridiculous distances in order to get the most basic of educations.  Primary schools are more abundant, but if the goal is an educated population Senegal is not meeting it's mark.

   So what I'd like to say is thank you to everyone who donated, and for those who did not I will be doing the same program starting this March, so look for my donation link.  If you don't have the money, I would love it if everyone just appreciated what they have been given.  Education is a beautiful thing, and since I've been here I thank God every day for the opportunities I've been given.


JAM TAN.