The Little Things

Each evening as the fiery hot Senegalese sun sets over the sparse, dust-tornado-ridden plains of Tambacounda, my body literally swells with joy (or is that just the heat?) that I have survived another day of this extreme adventure known as Peace Corps West Africa.

I eagerly await the mid-night temperature drop from the 110s to the 90s, then laugh hysterically at the absurdity of my life, and wonder if the malaria medication Mefloquin (which most people have switched off of due to increased anxiety) is making me crazy, or if I'm doing that all on my own.

I then proceed to take my daily "shower" which consists of pouring a bucket of boiling hot water over my head (no, I do not prefer my water to be hot enough to cook an egg, but there is no way to keep the water cool, even if it is in the shade all day).

The best part of my day is the two hours from 7pm to 9pm we spend lying around waiting for dinner. Often all eight of my immediate family members and I lay on one stick bed laughing and cuddling and looking at the stars. A soft breeze begins to cool us off and my youngest siblings fall into peaceful sleep. These are the moments that make me feel full and infinite.

The ensuing dinner experience is not the best part of my day. Twelve of us crowd around a single bowl of millet, grabbing handfuls with our filthy hands. After about three bites my apetite is gone, which is fitting because that is about the time the food runs out.

BUT, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about: the Advanced Gardening and Vegetable Production training I put on in my community garden a couple days ago! As the first major event I organized myself, it went fairly well, but there are definitely improvements I can make for next time.

Planting lettuce and jaxatu in the nursery

The Sitch: Program Training Assistant Youssapha Boye came to my village to do a hands-on training on soil fertility and amendments, vegetable nurseries, and natural pest management.

Lessons Learned: 
1) Senegalese Time - As Youssapha put it, Senegalese have "no concept of time", and the majority of participants showed up to the 9am training at about 11am. If any of you know me well, you know I am a huge fan of punctuality, so this was frustrating even if to be expected. Next time I should account for this and ask people to arrive much earlier that I plan on starting.

2) Prep Work - The day before the training I went on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find everything I would need for the soil amendment and natural pesticide demonstrations: 250g of garlic and onions, hot pepper powder, liquid soap, one sack of wood ash, one sack of charcoal, a bucket full of neem leaves, a sifter, a tablespoon, 3 large buckets, 3 sacks of manure, a mortar and pestle, seeds, shovels, rakes, etc. Needless to say I did my best but next time I will start this earlier.

3) Accountability - Other PCVs recommend reminding people of your training in person everyday for at least two weeks leading up to the event. Besides being a lot of work this seemed a little excessive to me, but I was disappointed that not everyone I wanted to be there showed up. We did have 44 women attend and I think they got a lot out of it.

At the end we passed out vegetable seed varieties suitable for the climate in my village:
- lettuce - hibiscus - eggplant - bitter tomato - hot pepper - parsley

Learning how to make natural pesticides to spray on the vegetables

Overall the project was successful and I got a lot of positive feedback from the women. A couple of days later when I went to help out in the garden, I was really pleased to see women double-digging garden beds and amending the soil like they learned in the training.

Final thought: While I do find what most people think of as the main purpose of Peace Corps very important: disseminating technical training and knowledge to aid international development, I am beginning to put more weight on the 2nd goal of Peace Corps: helping promote a better understanding of Americans with my host country. Especially living in a predominantly conservative Muslim country, bordered by Mali and Mauritania which are exposed to Extremists, often with very anti-american sentiments.  I am proud to share that Americans can be humble, hard-working, and kind, and do care about what is happening in the rest of the world.

Studying Environmental Sciences at Berkeley, I learned a lot about the problems we face in the United States (overwhelmingly of our own creation), and had countless discussions on corruption in our Government and corporations. It wasn't until really living in another country that I fully appreciate the opportunity we are afforded. Now, for the first time, I feel sincerely proud to be an American.

Now: Off to spend my 23rd birthday with my sister in Argentina! REALLY looking forward to the Weather and Wine :)

PEACE OUT

Success at the Tambacounda Girl's Leadership Camp!

I had an inspiring four days with 25 young women and their fathers at my region's annual Girl's Leadership camp. 

Highlights include:

- The incredible Awa Traore giving motivational discussions on the importance of education and dangers of early marriage

- Q&A with inspirational panel of working women in Senegal

- Session on reproductive health from a local nurse

- Group art project: Patchwork quilt with phrases and drawings about the girl's futures

- Action-plan creation to envision clear goals for the future

Hula-hoop art project

The three girls from my village: Bora Diallo, Mariatou Diallo, and Khady Gheuye

Friendship Bracelet session

I was in charge of arts and crafts: we made bracelets, a quilt, and decorated hula hoops.

I sewed all of the squares together by hand... I think it looks pretty good :)

 My favorite quilt square: "I would like to be Secretary General of Unesco to meet the challenge of bringing peace, health, and education to the world" - Aminata Mamadou Ba age 13

Group shot!

Beautiful colors.

Sanity Check

Hello my dear friends and family,

It is hard to believe I have now been in country for over 6 months! So much has happened, good and bad. I've started writing down the best and worst moments of each day to keep me sane, or keep me insane, we will see... Here are my entries from last week:

Date	Best of the Day	Worst of the Day
3/19	Seriously moved by the progress of the Women’s Garden	Cold dry millet for dinner every night is testing my gag reflex
3/20	New friend and roommate Ender the kitten	Only 10% success rate for latrine $ collection – can be difficult and awk culturally
3/21	Breathtaking hot red sunset against the silhouette of an enormous baobab Lying on mats with my entire fam under the glowing canopy of stars feels like a big sleepover every night	It is so hot that I can no longer enjoy the taste of food My little brother defaced the journal that Dillon gave me and I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to tell my parents because they might beat him
3/22	My boss Djitte visited my site, was impressed with my projects, and had relevant suggestions for improvement	Massive dust storms + 115 degree weather + no real showers for 70km = hard to imagine ever feeling clean again
3/23	Started working on a food security grant through Obama’s Feed the Future initiative and excited about the potential	The Imam’s wife died today and there is a heavy sadness about the village
3/24	Enjoyed Carl Sagan’s book The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God	I’m pretty sure this is the temperature of Hell
3/25	Mango season is here! And it is so sweet	Sleep struggles: night sweats in an inescapable sauna

Right now I am preparing for my region's Girl's Leadership Camp and I am so excited! 30 middle-school aged girls along with their fathers are coming from villages all over the region for this 4 day women's empowerment camp. We have a panel of working women from the region discussing having a career as a woman in Senegal, along with sessions on sexual health, the importance of education, and fathers working as champions for their daughters. I am in charge of arts & crafts and photo documentation, and will write a blog post on the event when it's complete!

In the Women's Garden

Tambacounda, the hottest place on earth.

Mom and Dad in Senegal

At first I was a little worried about my parents visiting so early in my two years of service. My language skills and the projects I am working on are not as solid and impressive as they will be a year from now. BUT it turned out to be an incredible 10 days and I am so happy that now when I mention my crazy host mom, or doing laundry in front of my hut, or the painfully hot 9 hour drive from Dakar to my village, they will REALLY understand what I am talking about!

They were real troopers and slept in my hut for 3 nights in the 110 degree weather. It was really special for them to meet the people that have become my family here in Senegal and will be taking care of me for the next two years. We through a big party for the village on their last night (complete with a generator and dj blasting scratchy Senegalese music into our hut all night)! They also did a major spring cleaning in my hut and removed all the hanging branches and cobwebs and built me a shelf for my outdoor bucket shower (thanks guys!!).

They visited my regional house and met a bunch of my Peace Corps friends. We took everyone out to Warthog and beer, which was a great time, until both Mom and Dad got epically sick a couple hours later. After throwing up all night they rallied for another 9 hour public transportation ride without air conditioning (hey- welcome to my life!).

We staying at an incredibly beautiful resort in the beach town of Saly. It was SUCH a nice break for me to be able to relax and hang by the pool (and in our ice-cold room) with my parents. Below is a photo from "Obama Beach" in Saly.

I LOVED having visitors and my hut is open to all if you feel the inclination to come explore Senegal!

Lots of Love, Lolo

PC Senegal's Gender and Development Board!

Last month I was elected to the board of Peace Corps Senegal's Gender and Development organization SeneGAD. I am really stoked to be involved with this critical organization! Our mission is to empower Senegalese women, men and youth to effectively integrate gender equality into their daily lives, with the support of Peace Corps Volunteers.

Gene Sperling, one the the President's top economic advisors said, “educating girls is the most important investment in the world [because of] how much they give back to their families”. So far in my service I have found that statement wildly accurate and I long to drive positive change for these women and girls who give so much to their communities.

As Communications Coordinator, I help manage our facebook, blog, twitter, and write press releases and news articles about our organization.

Here is my most recent interview with my friend Connor on the self-defense classes he is starting!

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER STARTS GYM NEGECEE

Peace Corps Senegal Volunteer Connor LaClair starts local and sustainable gym with self-defense classes for girls and boys.

Amy, Asu, Safi, and Sorhna – the first class of Gym Negecee!

An Interview with Connor LaClair

Tell me about the exercise program you are implementing in your village:

I founded Gym Negecee (Bambara for ‘Ironman Gym’) in late January. I built a simple gym structure in the backyard of my hut out of posts and double-thick rice sacks filled with peanut shells. I have a strong background in workout/self-defense methods, and I am currently teaching three self-defense classes for an hour each week to eight girls and four boys aged 9-12.

What kind of classes do you hold?

When I introduced the idea of a gym program to my community there was massive initial interest and the potential for incredible demands on my time. I made it clear I would only accept up to four classes of four students each, and planned to set a number of demanding credentials for the small number of students I wanted to teach. With the aid of teachers at the French school and adults from throughout the community, I chose twelve students who were not only very interested in the program, but also had good reputations as mature, responsible, studious, and committed young men and women. After working with them for almost a month now, I can say that those are the students I received.

I teach proper technique and self defense methods to my students, but Gym Negecee is more than just a gym. I do all my lessons in French, and lecture my students every lesson about morals, mental and physical health, working hard, and living their dreams.

What was your inspiration to start Gym Negecee?

Gym Negecee is a team, and I tell my students to stand up for not only themselves but for each other. The guiding philosophy of my Gym is a well-known quote from Spiderman; ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

Why is it important to include women in your classes?

In my village, and in all of Senegal, there are not many options for girls to be part of a team, and to train and exercise in an environment that has traditionally been the domain of males only. At Gym Negecee, everyone is equal, and Negemusoow (Ironwomen) get just as much attention and opportunity as Negeceew (Ironmen). I hope that my program allows all my students to not only better envision their dreams, but to build their confidence and believe in themselves and their capabilities.

Where do you see this project going in the future?

I am taking the time to build a strong foundation for my Gym so that it may continue when I complete my service, and next year I envision expanding the program to a few more classes each week.

Anyway, at the very least I showed my community that they can easily build an entire gym out of materials that are readily available in just about any Senegalese community. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Connor is a Sustainable Agriculture Volunteer in Botou, Tambacounda,  and originally from Hyde Park, VT.

Please continue to email your SeneGAD updates and stories to your communication coordinators Lauren and Lisa at thomas.lauren.nicole@gmail.com and lisajbacon@gmail.com

If you want to help me out, LIKE our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/SeneGAD/379567262087810?fref=ts 

and check out our blog senegad.wordpress.com for more info :)

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Work Projects

Hey Ya'll! I'm back at the training center for a month of intensive trainings and workshops. I just finished 3 long days of Peer Support Counselor training. I am excited to be a resource for my friends and will be available 24/7 to talk on the phone about common Peace Corps issues like culture, environment, and relationship stress.

Tomorrow I will attend the Senegal Gender and Development (SeneGAD) conference. This program is the one I am most passionate about and excited to get involved with. We work on gender equality issues in Senegal and empowering women and girls to continue their education. It is a critical issue here in Senegal while gender inequality is widespread. Some of our programs include scholarships to help low-income girls continue past middle school, and Girls Camps and Men as Partners camps for fathers and daughters to open discussion on empowering sustainable change in gender perspectives.

Following SeneGAD we have our All-Volunteer conference with sessions on project successes and failures to be shared between the 250+ awesome volunteers here in Senegal. Next comes the West African International Softball Tournament (WAIST), where I will be playing on a team with my region against other Peace Corps Volunteers, embassy workers, teachers, and ex-pats from all around West Africa! Then I have two weeks of hands on Ag training, which will hopefully prepare me a little more for my projects. And finally my wonderful parents Scott and Kristin will be arriving! A very busy but productive month.

Me carrying water on my head for the first time! Heavy.

Some of you have been asking for more info on the projects that I am working on. So far, learning Mandinka has really been my biggest project, but after two months in village here are my projects and plans!:

Koupentoum Moringa Formation: In January we held a two-day long seminar for about 40 Senegalese in our area. We had discussions on the amazing health benefits of the tree Moringa Oleifera and went over how to package and sell the powder as well as connecting the farmers with a buyer. It was a big success and we hope to continue this training in other areas.

Moringa Training

Maleme Niani Malaria Day: Also in January we held a Malaria info and bug-net washing and repair tutorial in my village.

Adam on Malaria Day

USAID/Pepam Latrine Project: Partnering with USAID, the volunteer before me successfully built 30 millenium development goal approved sanitary latrines in my village. 75 families have signed up for the second round in Maleme Niani. I will work with USAID and the masons and families in my village and this project will probably continue for at least my first year.

Tamba Radio Show: I recorded a radio show on malaria (completely in Mandinka) with a couple other volunteers. I am excited to use this outlet to spread information and hope to participate in about one radio show per month.

Maleme Women's Garden: The previous volunteer in my village secured a hectare of space for a women's garden and got grant funding for a chain-link fence around it. I will work with my Eux-et-Foret (forest service) to clear the space for the women. We are discussing the women producing vegetables to sell to supplement their incomes and also working with fruit trees and Moringa intensive beds in the space.

Environmental After-School Club: I have been attending my village's environmental club and plan on helping the teacher Mr. C with demonstrations.

Observetoire EVDS: I will sit on the board of this USAID program aiming to keep at risk students in school as the assistante sociale.


It is starting to get hot again after the brief "cool" season. So much has happened in the last 4 months, and it is starting to get a little less daunting that I will be here for 23 more! I miss all of you wonderful people back home! Lots of Love, lolo

The Mali Conflict and Kind Strangers

As I exit my hut after a nice long  bucket shower I see two toubabs (foreigners) chatting with my family in our compound... who could they be? There are rarely white people in my vil, and if there are, they are almost always Peace Corps volunteers. 

Hello! I say. Bonjour, the man replies.

He and his wife are showing my family a map with the words Route Meridian written across it, along with a bunch of signatures in a million different languages.

I discover that these two adventurous travelers are making their way from France to Ghana completely on foot. That's right, WALKING the entire way. Never once getting in a car or bus. They call their adventure Route Meridian because both their starting point in France and their ending point in Accra, the capital of Ghana are on the same Meridian line. They started walking in July and will likely finish almost a year later! They rely solely on the kindness of strangers for places to sleep and shower. All along the way people welcome them into their homes and share meals and stories with them.

It makes me think about how much good and generosity there is in the world. It is easy to forget with things like the rampant malnutrition and the political turmoil people experience here in Africa, but I truly believe that people are innately good, and have sure found proof of that being so welcomed into my community here in Senegal, even as this foreign American who makes plenty of cultural blunders and struggles to understand the language.

The French travelers had met my host father walking through our village, and were invited to stay the night. They were utterly exhausted from months of walking, yet when my host brother Pape asked them for help on his Spanish homework, they happily obliged. Instruction in Senegalese schools is given in French, so they were able to converse using that, but my Mom Nene wanted to know what they were saying so I asked them in English then translated into Mandinka. Then Jun, the Japanese volunteer that lives in my village came to meet them. The travelers had picked up some Wolof, the national language of Senegal. That hour we were able to all communicate with many translations between English, French, Mandinka, Wolof, and Spanish. It was pretty incredible hearing so many languages and it felt good that I speak a little bit of each of them!

I don't have any way to get news or current events in village, except for word of mouth, but Peace Corps is keeping us up to date on the war in Northern Mali and any concerns they have for our safety. As many of you know, Islamic Extremists have been rallying in Northern Africa and are attempting to take over Mali. From CNN.com, 
"Islamic extremists carved out a large portion of northern Mali last year, taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup. They banned music, smoking, drinking and watching sports on television, and destroyed historic tombs and shrines in the region." 
France has sent troops to aid Mali and other countries are currently becoming involved. Although Senegal borders Mali, the conflict has not moved south and as of now we are not involved aside from sending 200 troops and donating $2 million dollars to aid the international effort against the extremists. 

Senegal has one of the most peaceful and stable governments in West Africa, and Senegalese have a long history of practicing moderate and peaceful Islam. Senegal has never taken well to radical Muslim views and extremists have always been pushed out.

Right now I feel completely safe in my village. The Peace Corps Safety and Security team is monitoring the conflict vigilantly and they have notified us that as of now there is nothing to worry about, we should remain cautious and they will contact us immediately if something changes. Peace Corps will not hesitate to evacuate us if they think we are in any danger. As of now that does not seem likely, but if the conflict starts moving closer to Senegal, it may be a reality. 

In the past few years most of the volunteers in the counties surrounding us have been evacuated and everything has gone smoothly. Many current volunteers here in Senegal are evacuees from Mali, Mauritania, Niger, etc. Peace Corps always airs on the side of caution in terms of consolidations and evacuations and I am in extremely capable hands! Living in a small village where everyone knows me and cares for me like a daughter, I am really in the safest place I can be.

The last email Safety and Security sent us explains, "French and Malian troops have re-taken the towns of Diabaly, Konna and Douentza.  France has about 2400 troops in Mali. The US and UK are aiding the French by transporting troops and materials, and by offering intelligence. French warplanes have continued a strategic bombing campaign of militant strongholds. A palace built by former Libyan ruler Moammar Kaddafi which was being used as a headquarters by militants in Timbuktu was reportedly destroyed in a French air raid along with caches of weapons and fuel.   Air raids have targeted militants near the northern city of Gao as well. French troops continue to expand their ground campaign, and have been joined by troops from several other West Africa nations, including Senegal. There have been no other confirmed reports of casualties among French and Malian forces. Thousands of refugees continue to flee the fighting. Malian troops have been accused of human rights abuses (including executions) of Touaregs and Arabs in the Sevare area."

Here is a link the the CNN article from today http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/31/world/africa/mali-conflict/index.html

Don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions! thomas.lauren.nicole@gmail.com

Much love and Peace to all my people.

Here are a couple recent photos:

The adorable pup that has become my friend.

Ridiculously cute chubby baby.

My sweet cousins.

My host father and I on Gamou, a Senegalese holiday celebrating the birth of a Muslim prophet.

When Nicky's parents came to visit Maleme Niani.