remember nessie? i think about her everytime i go swimming in the river (because the hot season decided to come two months early this year) as i swim farther away from the beach i can't help but wonder what exactly is below me. it doesn't help when i see a six foot eel with teeth the size of a bear claw for sale at the market. being sold by a lady from the village right next to mine. whose husband fished it out of the river that very morning. now between thoughts of nessie swimming slowly and gracefully below me i have thoughts of the screeching eels slithering closer and closer to my toes which look oh so edible. but still, it's hot and the river is blessedly cool. and so i go swimming.
two weeks ago while i was in dakar for our cos (close of service!!!) conference nessie made another appearance in the village. my brothers rushed to tell me this when i got back home. now one sighting is cool, but two? does that mean nessie's made a home? with male-nessie? and nessie-pups? i needed to know what exactly nessie was. is she safe? does she like meat? what would she feel about the pale figure who doesn't stay close to the river bank? so i hunted down my friend oumar who is often not in the village but working in a different one. he speaks english like i speak pulaar; one part cave-man, one part three year old adolescent so i felt that he could answer my nessie dilemma. i find oumar and make him sit down and tell me about this creature, my dictionary in hand. one way or another, nessie's going to have a name. we flipped through a few names to try to match the word with what i remembered and what oumar knew of nessie, because, as he put it, it's a big blobby thing that swims. they're very special.
so i started saying every single word i knew for things that lived in the river. i started small. minnow? no. fish? no. eel? wait, what did you say? no, not eel. but close. hmm...okay... catfish? no. human? idiot who doesn't know how to swim? no, banel. you think of the darndest things. hippo? no. yes. well, not a hippo. it swims. but is big like a hippo. okay. so what is something that is like a hippo but swims instead of walks? think, banel, think. (the would-be marine biologist of my third grade youth would have known this right away.) wait a minute.... and then i drew it out. is this what it is oumar? yes! that's it. very good. how do you say it in english? well, funny you should ask oumar...
manatee.
nessie is a west african fresh water manatee. there have been many sightings of them this past year because of the very successful rainy season. one was accidently killed near the city of bakel, which on the map is as far inland as you can get in senegal, right by the mali and mauritanian border. how freaking unblievably cool is it that i have manatees in my river? soooooo freaking unbelievably cool.
in case you're curious, a bit on freshwater manatees via wikipedia:
West African
They are found in coastal marine and estuarine habitats, and in freshwater river systems along the west coast of Africa from the Senegal River (AKA RIGHT OUTSIDE MY HUT!) south to the Kwanza River in Angola, including areas in Gambia, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
They live as high upriver on the Niger River as Gao, Mali.
Communication
They emit a wide range of sounds used in communication, especially between cows and their calves. Adults communicate to maintain contact and during sexual and play behaviors. Taste and smell, in addition to sight, sound, and touch, may also be forms of communication.
Diet
Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different plant species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae, using their divided upper lip. An adult manatee will commonly eat up to 10% of its body weight (approx 50 kg) per day. Manatees have been known to eat small amounts of fish from nets.[12]
Predation
Manatees have few natural predators (sharks, crocodiles, orcas, and alligators.) Predation does not present a significant threat to their survival. Humans do.African manatee's only significant threats are due to poaching, habitat loss, and other environmental impacts. They occasionally get stranded as the river dries up at the end of rainy season and are cooked for a meal.
In West African folklore, they were sacred and thought to have been once human. Killing one was taboo and required penance.
so now when i'm swimming i will think lovingly of the gentle giants who swim beneath me, munching on river grass and generally loving their beautiful african habitat.
i'll be thinking of them. and the eels.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
saving the talies!
what is a talibe?
they are little boys (usually ages 5-15) who go to koranic school to learn the koran. most of these boys live at the school under the supervision of a imam or marabou (religous leader and teacher). during the day when they are not in class these boys will go throughout towns begging for food and money which is then given to the marabou and is (supposed to be but never enforced) used to clothe, feed, and raise the talibes. however, this is rarely the case, especially in large cities. marabous often take the money themselves and beat talibes who only bring back food or not enough money. (many talibes have quotas they need to fill by the end of the day). as a result, these boys are often the most malnourished and overlooked part of senegal. they sleep in overcrowded, dirty spaces and usually just on the floor with no mats or blankets. it's rare to see a talibe wearing shoes or clothes that properly fit them.
as a toubak, i have a huge target on my back for talibes, as does any visitor. this often means we get followed anywhere we go by one or two whenever we are in dakar, saint-louis, etc. it's frustrating because while you feel so incredibly bad for these kids who are forced to beg, you are also extremely annoyed because they do not leave you alone until you give them something. this is one of the many many many reasons it is hard for me to accept a culture that condones begging and neglects children.
so, lauren and i decided to do something for these guys. we had a few mosquito nets left over from our distributions and we decided to give these nets to the various koranic schools in podor. though podor is a smaller city (about the size of platteville) there are over 400 talibes, about two thirds are 12 and under. lauren went around to each of the schools, talked to the marabous and tallied up the number of talibes (aka the tali' tally) i came up for a few days and we were able to distribute to all twelve schools.
this was a great project for me for many reasons. not only were talibes given mosquito nets and now completely covered at night from malaria, but they were also given medicine for schistosomiasis from the health center at the same time. we got to spend time with each school, play with the boys, and talk to the marabou's about malaria and taking care of the boys. in general, the distribution went really well i think it will be a great help for these schools.
it was also really interesting to see the differences between the schools. there were a few school that were clean, had sleeping spaces for each boy, had a schedule for class, fieldwork, etc and the marabous knew each and every kid's name. then there were marabous who had no idea what kids were in their school, were overcrowded, dirty, didn't take care of their kids and even hit the kids in front of us. one even started pulling boys off the street so that we would give them more nets. it was so incredible to see such great differences between schools, even in a small city like podor. it was really obvious which marabous took care of their boys and took their job seriously and lived out the koran truely, while others just took advantage of their power position within their communities.
at the end, the boys were what really mattered and now when we're in podor, we are loved by the talibes and they no longer hassel us but follow us around because they're so thankful. it isn't much, just a few mosquito nets, but for these kids it made all the difference.
cheers!
they are little boys (usually ages 5-15) who go to koranic school to learn the koran. most of these boys live at the school under the supervision of a imam or marabou (religous leader and teacher). during the day when they are not in class these boys will go throughout towns begging for food and money which is then given to the marabou and is (supposed to be but never enforced) used to clothe, feed, and raise the talibes. however, this is rarely the case, especially in large cities. marabous often take the money themselves and beat talibes who only bring back food or not enough money. (many talibes have quotas they need to fill by the end of the day). as a result, these boys are often the most malnourished and overlooked part of senegal. they sleep in overcrowded, dirty spaces and usually just on the floor with no mats or blankets. it's rare to see a talibe wearing shoes or clothes that properly fit them.
as a toubak, i have a huge target on my back for talibes, as does any visitor. this often means we get followed anywhere we go by one or two whenever we are in dakar, saint-louis, etc. it's frustrating because while you feel so incredibly bad for these kids who are forced to beg, you are also extremely annoyed because they do not leave you alone until you give them something. this is one of the many many many reasons it is hard for me to accept a culture that condones begging and neglects children.
so, lauren and i decided to do something for these guys. we had a few mosquito nets left over from our distributions and we decided to give these nets to the various koranic schools in podor. though podor is a smaller city (about the size of platteville) there are over 400 talibes, about two thirds are 12 and under. lauren went around to each of the schools, talked to the marabous and tallied up the number of talibes (aka the tali' tally) i came up for a few days and we were able to distribute to all twelve schools.
this was a great project for me for many reasons. not only were talibes given mosquito nets and now completely covered at night from malaria, but they were also given medicine for schistosomiasis from the health center at the same time. we got to spend time with each school, play with the boys, and talk to the marabou's about malaria and taking care of the boys. in general, the distribution went really well i think it will be a great help for these schools.
it was also really interesting to see the differences between the schools. there were a few school that were clean, had sleeping spaces for each boy, had a schedule for class, fieldwork, etc and the marabous knew each and every kid's name. then there were marabous who had no idea what kids were in their school, were overcrowded, dirty, didn't take care of their kids and even hit the kids in front of us. one even started pulling boys off the street so that we would give them more nets. it was so incredible to see such great differences between schools, even in a small city like podor. it was really obvious which marabous took care of their boys and took their job seriously and lived out the koran truely, while others just took advantage of their power position within their communities.
at the end, the boys were what really mattered and now when we're in podor, we are loved by the talibes and they no longer hassel us but follow us around because they're so thankful. it isn't much, just a few mosquito nets, but for these kids it made all the difference.
cheers!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
when accidents happen
i know, two posts in one day! i came to the cyber prepared to write about jabbes then something happened on the way here that i wanted to write about too so my gift to you, a blog posting two...
you often see the aftermaths of accidents here; a smashed up car next to a tree, a turned over motorcycle... accidents happen all the time here and are always really really dangerous and violent. i've seen semi trucks turned over because they were overloaded. i've seen--and been in--alhams that are full of thirty people and come sooo close to tipping. these always make me nervous because if something did happen- the alham i was in did tip over- what would happen? people would of course be hurt, some severely and some probably would be killed. forget help- the emergency services we have in the states don't exist here so anyone who couldn't walk away from the crash would probably not make it. needless to say that i travel tense and anxious until i get to my destination.
now, today i'm in a sept place on my way to podor to do a mosquito net distribution to the different koranic schools with lauren (more info on this in the next post i promise) and we're getting to one of the dips in the road. these dips are like a bridge in that they have steeped sides, but there's no body of water. as we're crossing, a two donkey charette is coming the other way. suddenly the charette driver loses control and the charette- and occupants- go over the side. donkeys and cart, everything flips over. as i was in the front seat i saw the whle thing happen and of course gasped, my heart thumping. immediately the driver stops and runs out of the car over to the charette. meanwhile i quickly open the rest of the doors (because they can only be opened from the outside in most cases) and everyone rushes out of the car to help. meanwhile a few other charettes come up, people bailing off to run over and help. luckily, no one was hurt, just a few scratches. the donkeys were okay two and were removed from the harness. five guys turned the charette over while the ladies picked up the articles that were thrown about.
while i was thankful that no one was seriously hurt, i also realized how fortunate that it was only a charette. we were only about 3 k from podor so we would be able to get help right away, but still. i am so happy that everyone rushed to help them though. no one decided to stand and watch, everyone acted which i think is a testimate to their characters. it's so important to help your neighbor here and yes, usually this doesn't ring true as much as today but when something like a charette tips over there will always be people to help. i will rest a little bit easier, though my heart is still pounding a bit.
off to go distribute nets!
jaime
you often see the aftermaths of accidents here; a smashed up car next to a tree, a turned over motorcycle... accidents happen all the time here and are always really really dangerous and violent. i've seen semi trucks turned over because they were overloaded. i've seen--and been in--alhams that are full of thirty people and come sooo close to tipping. these always make me nervous because if something did happen- the alham i was in did tip over- what would happen? people would of course be hurt, some severely and some probably would be killed. forget help- the emergency services we have in the states don't exist here so anyone who couldn't walk away from the crash would probably not make it. needless to say that i travel tense and anxious until i get to my destination.
now, today i'm in a sept place on my way to podor to do a mosquito net distribution to the different koranic schools with lauren (more info on this in the next post i promise) and we're getting to one of the dips in the road. these dips are like a bridge in that they have steeped sides, but there's no body of water. as we're crossing, a two donkey charette is coming the other way. suddenly the charette driver loses control and the charette- and occupants- go over the side. donkeys and cart, everything flips over. as i was in the front seat i saw the whle thing happen and of course gasped, my heart thumping. immediately the driver stops and runs out of the car over to the charette. meanwhile i quickly open the rest of the doors (because they can only be opened from the outside in most cases) and everyone rushes out of the car to help. meanwhile a few other charettes come up, people bailing off to run over and help. luckily, no one was hurt, just a few scratches. the donkeys were okay two and were removed from the harness. five guys turned the charette over while the ladies picked up the articles that were thrown about.
while i was thankful that no one was seriously hurt, i also realized how fortunate that it was only a charette. we were only about 3 k from podor so we would be able to get help right away, but still. i am so happy that everyone rushed to help them though. no one decided to stand and watch, everyone acted which i think is a testimate to their characters. it's so important to help your neighbor here and yes, usually this doesn't ring true as much as today but when something like a charette tips over there will always be people to help. i will rest a little bit easier, though my heart is still pounding a bit.
off to go distribute nets!
jaime
going on a berry hunt
there is an area just a short walk from the village where everyone gets their firewood, there's a few mango trees, lots of other trees and right by the river after the rainy season beans and corn are planted. i love this area for many reasons; it's a quiet place to go for a walk, there are plenty of shady areas to sit and watch the river, it's proof that trees do grow when you don't cut them down, and there are trees that grow this weird fruit thing called jabbe that are everywhere. jabbe season just wrapped up for us and these past few weeks i would often take whatever small children were around, a bowl, and a large stick and head out to the jabbe trees.
the jabbe tree is like most trees that grow in the fuuta; there are thorns. and not just any thorns but little thorns that are shaped like hooks. so not only do you get stabbed by the thorns, they refuse to let you go. hence the large stick. when you're collecting jabbes it's best to just whack the tree and let the jabbes fall to the ground, where usually safe from thorns you can collect them almost pain free. so my job, as the only person over the age of five on these outings, is to beat the trees while the little munchkins gather up the jabbes. this goes on for about an hour or two until we've filled up the bowl. then we head back to the village, usually singing and me leading like the pied piper. once home, we deal out the jabbes and feast.
the first few trips it was just me and silleye who attches himself to my hip when i'm in the village. on our way home silleye would usually get tired (or lazy) so i'd carry him on my back where he imediately would go to sleep. then as our activities were noticed by more and more mothers (aka banel's going away for a couple of hours, let's dump the kids on her!) the number of kids grew so that i'd have anywhere from five to twelve kids with me. the more the kids, the louder the parade back to the village and the more the mothers would smile and laugh. the more i'd smile and laugh too.
now that the jabbes are over, you can only buy them at the markets, and so the trips have started to die down. but i still love going to the mango trees and just watch the river float on by...
the jabbe tree is like most trees that grow in the fuuta; there are thorns. and not just any thorns but little thorns that are shaped like hooks. so not only do you get stabbed by the thorns, they refuse to let you go. hence the large stick. when you're collecting jabbes it's best to just whack the tree and let the jabbes fall to the ground, where usually safe from thorns you can collect them almost pain free. so my job, as the only person over the age of five on these outings, is to beat the trees while the little munchkins gather up the jabbes. this goes on for about an hour or two until we've filled up the bowl. then we head back to the village, usually singing and me leading like the pied piper. once home, we deal out the jabbes and feast.
the first few trips it was just me and silleye who attches himself to my hip when i'm in the village. on our way home silleye would usually get tired (or lazy) so i'd carry him on my back where he imediately would go to sleep. then as our activities were noticed by more and more mothers (aka banel's going away for a couple of hours, let's dump the kids on her!) the number of kids grew so that i'd have anywhere from five to twelve kids with me. the more the kids, the louder the parade back to the village and the more the mothers would smile and laugh. the more i'd smile and laugh too.
now that the jabbes are over, you can only buy them at the markets, and so the trips have started to die down. but i still love going to the mango trees and just watch the river float on by...
Monday, January 11, 2010
au coeur de pete
these past few months, one of my favorite activities i've been doing is a monthly radio show with a few other volunteers, au coeur de pete (in the heart of pete. it's a play off a really really popular brazilian soap opera they play here). our show is on 102 fm radio communitaire de pete (pete being the town's name though it is also fart in french. hehehe. yea, that doesn't get old for me.) me, justin, marisa, and sarah go once a month and tape two shows which are played for that month on every tuesday afternoon. the shows basically consist of us greeting people in the area, playing american music (our theme songs are creedence and journey. with a distant chant of usa! usa! usa! in the background. i kid, i kid.) though everyone here is all about the phil collins which we do play just for them. in between songs we do skits and lessons about various topics from malaria, hiv/aids, breastfeeding, vaccinations, etc to environmental issues like the importance of trees and nursery building. everything is in pulaar which is also a great way for us to practice our language skills and writing in pulaar.
although my village doesn't get the station (sadly we're out of range and only get the saint-louis stations) the feedback we've gotten from people is really good. people will tell us they heard our program and then sum up the lesson or comment on some of the characters. everyone loves it when we greet them on the radio because they get to hear their name and sound important. we've also started taking requests for music. more dance, less classic rock. all in all it's a great way for us to spread health and environmental messages; more people hear it and because it's on the radio and not in the village via impromptu meeting, people are more likely to really take the lessons to heart.
to more radio programs, healthy babies, and mosquito nets... this is banel mall signing off.
cheers!
jaime
although my village doesn't get the station (sadly we're out of range and only get the saint-louis stations) the feedback we've gotten from people is really good. people will tell us they heard our program and then sum up the lesson or comment on some of the characters. everyone loves it when we greet them on the radio because they get to hear their name and sound important. we've also started taking requests for music. more dance, less classic rock. all in all it's a great way for us to spread health and environmental messages; more people hear it and because it's on the radio and not in the village via impromptu meeting, people are more likely to really take the lessons to heart.
to more radio programs, healthy babies, and mosquito nets... this is banel mall signing off.
cheers!
jaime
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