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.

Typical Senegalese Party: Video

It has been a wild ride so far and everyday really is like a roller-coaster. I will be sitting around the kitchen campfire with all my siblings looking up at the incredible stars with my adorable sister sleeping on my lap and my heart will swell with joy.
Then my host grandfather will tell me that I am a woman and no one will ever love me because I am not a good cook, and my sister will kick the puppy that wanders into our compound, and I will feel like I am in this cruel foreign place where no one understands me.
It really goes up and down like that in at least a dozen cycles everyday! Its nothing if not constantly interesting, but I don't know if my body can handle these crazy emotion changes for much more than two years.
I like to think I have been at a pretty constant happy for most of my life. Here my range of emotions varies drastically from satisfaction to frustration, empathy to anger, and deep joy to deep discomfort.
Everyone here in the Peace Corps says, "living in a vastly different culture builds character", "living in one of the hottest places on earth builds character", "living with the crazy health challenges builds character", "living in a hut with no electricity, running water, or people that speak your language builds character"... so... I'm planning on returning home with a lot of character :)

Lots of love and hugs and kisses to ya'll. Lo

Merry Christmas from Senegal!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to my wonderful friends and family! It is weird to be spending Christmas without you, which is fitting, because this has probably been the weirdest couple months of my life. A lot has happened and it has been a tough first month in village. On Christmas Eve I am going to attend Catholic mass, which will be held in French, here in this 90% Muslim West African country - should be another interesting cultural experience! Here are a few of my journal entries from December:

December 6th, 2012

As I pull up to my new village I feel a nervous current running through me. This is IT! The first day of my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Maleme Niani, Senegal. I have successfully completed a grueling yet enjoyable two months of in-county training, now I'm on my own in a small village in Africa. 

The hut they built for me is literally the size of a king-sized bed. There is not enough room for my double mattress-pad and the rest of my things which amount to two suitcases of stuff. We drop my things off in the hut and I try to keep an open-mind and role with the punches, as is always necessary in the Peace Corps.

We immediately head to the village center to meet with the elders and important people in the vil, and I'm feeling a little discouraged about my living situation. I put on a smile as I walk into the room and sit at the head of the table with 20 intent Senegalese staring at me, Oh shit, was I supposed to prepare a speech??

The women are clad in beautiful bright Senegalese dress and look to be the oldest women in the village. They all wear scarves covering their heads. The men look serious and are wearing their boubous.

Djitte introduces me before I have time to stumble on my words (Alhamdullilah/Thanks to Allah). Djitte is in charge of Agroforestry programming and came to my vil to help install me. Each person gives me a little welcome speech, and Djitte translates for me. Although their cadence sounds very rough and angry (like all Senegalese), the messages are friendly and welcoming and the villagers are eager to get started on projects!

As we head back to my house I decide to pull Djitte and my host father Souleyman aside and discuss my hut. I figure this will be my home for two full years and I might as well voice my concern right away. I ask them if I can move into one of the other huts on the compound. Djitte then calls Mboulle, the PC Safety & Security officer because everything goes through him...

Mboulle and my host father agree to the move. I am SO GLAD I spoke up. My new hut feels like a PALACE compared to the other one. I am all settled in and feel at home in my new hut.

Sunset from my family compound

My new host mother NeeNee reminds me a lot of my host mother during training; she is very large, warm, and has a wise and comforting tone to her voice even though she is only in her 30s. When it gets too hot she takes off her shirt and her giant breasts sag very low, her nipples the lowest point almost touching her belt line. Before dinner, my 1 year old sister Mane starts running naked around the compound with a Machete. I am mortified that she is going to trip and hurt herself, but my family notifies me that this happens all the time. Hey, T.I.A. (This is Africa).

My mom shows me her Senegalese ID card and I am surprised to learn that she was born in 1981! I believe that is around the time my real mom graduated from college (sorry mom!). NeeNee is only 9 years older than me and she already has 6 children. The oldest, Pape, is 15. That means she started having children when she was 16, common in Senegal. 

NeeNee is my host father's first wife. In Senegal, a man may have up to 4 wives, so long as he can financially provide for all of them and their children. Souleyman recently married another woman named Isatu- she is very young, he thinks between 20 and 22 (many people don't know their ages here), and she does not live with us. My mom does not like her; who can blame her? It's safe to say I wouldn't be happy about my husband marrying another woman. My mom says this second wife is "mang beteyaa" (not good) and men should only have "musoo killing" (one wife). I agree. After talking to other Peace Corps volunteers, I hear that sometimes having many wives actually can work really well, because when families get larger it is really nice to be able to share the large workload of cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. I have been informed that a lot of volunteers moms are best friends! I will let you know how my family dynamic develops.

My mom NeeNee and lil sis Mane eating lunch

December 9th, 2012

My second night in village was definitely my most physically exhausting and painful night in the Peace Corps so far. I had been feeling pretty crappy all day, and shared a lunch bowl with 8 dirty children (the norm - both the feeling crappy and the lunch bowl). As dusk began to fall the gut-wrenching vomitting session commenced. I sat outside wrenching over a puke bucket until dawn. I literally did not get more than a 60 second break at any point to catch my breath and by hour three it was all dry heaves and stomach acid. The vomit erupted with such force and noise that I swear every person in the village could hear me! My neighbor and siblings came and checked on me. My host parents were so worried and wanted me to go to the hospital. They sat with me  the entire night getting me water and squeezing a cool cloth on my neck. They spoke to the PC doctor on the phone, who informed them that the hospital would not help and I just need to wait it out (the hospital would probably give me a shot of large spectrum antibiotics, which they do for most anything - we aren't supposed to ever go there unless it is a life threatening emergency). Unfortunately, everyone in PC Senegal has to experience a few awful nights of adjusting - hopefully it never happens to that degree again!

My site mate Nicky and me with some of my siblings

December 15th, 2012

My first week was rough: from health issues to contant miscommunications. I think my friend Rene put it best, "What a mega weird week in our lives". Things are picking up and getting closer with my host family is really helping me feel more comfortable. My neighbor Fofana asked me what the differences between families in "Amerik" and Senegal are. To start, families in Senegal usually have between 10 - 40 children from the 1 - 4 wives. I told him that in Amerik, it is normal for couples to have 2 or 3 children, or even none. It was hard for him to understand because children play such a large role in helping the family run, and he asks, what do families in Amerik do when children die and they only have 1 or 2?

(Side note: On December 21 my 3 year old host cousin passed away. All they said was that he "wasn't well" and died in the hospital. It was very sad but the family seemed to keeping functioning the same. It is not uncommon for young children to not be healthy and pass away.)

December 20th, 2012

My second week was much better than my first, and I am starting to fall into a routine. I wake up around 7 and try to go on an hour long bike ride every morning. Dawn is beautiful, the sky is peachy-orange and it is not yet too warm to exercise (because it is the cold season). I ride along a dirt path into the bush, surrounded by only trees and silence. It is an hour of quiet I do not see again until I retreat to into my hut for bed. After my bike ride I usually stop at Fa Ndou's breakfast stand and get a bean and tapilapa (freshly baked village bread) sandwich, then head home to the Gory family compound.

I am continuing Nicky's latrine project she started about a year ago. PEPAM and USAID provide materials to build UN approved sanitary latrines and we coordinate finding the masons and families. So far 30 latrines have been built in Maleme Niani and last week we visited all of them surveying if they were working and being used properly. 73 people have signed up for the second round of latrines, and coordinating the building of those will be a big undertaking.

In January we will hold Maleme Niani Malaria Day at the middle school, and also hold a regional training on the uses of the Moringa tree, which has incredible health benefits. Before I head back to Thies for my 10-day intensive technical training in mid-Feb, I need to plant 50 trees in a tree nursery, collect as many seeds from local varieties as i can for the seed bank, and create a 15 minute powerpoint presentation on my potential projects. I am interested in starting a large-scale fruit tree orchard in which the people of Maleme could harvest and sell to supplement their incomes.

Living in a Muslim country has been really educational. A lot of the words we use everyday are actually in Arabic. Most people pray 5 times a day and work must always be scheduled around prayer times. Drinking alcohol is strictly forbidden, and there is none available in villages. Women are expected to keep their heads covered at all times, but this is largely changing in the bigger cities. As a foreigner, I am not expected to wear a head scarf, thankfully, that shit gets HOT! The mosques all have loud speakers that play prayers seemingly all day and night. I am regularly woken up at 4:30am by the mosque speakers, but thankfully my compound is not directly next to one.

I am getting pretty comfortable with Wolof, French, Mandinka, and Pulaar greetings, and Maleme is really a mix of all of those languages and cultures. My name here is Mariatou Gory and some people call me Ma-tou for short, which I think is cute.

There are so many animals in my daily life, but not the ones you would typically picture in Africa. I share my hut with at least 3 large rats and 4 giant lizards. They noisily chase each other across my walls each night. My first night I could not sleep at all and I kept sitting up with a start shining my flashlight on the wall trying to figure out what was rustling through my things. I'm hoping to get a cat to help me out with the rats, but Senegalese don't keep animals as pets, and are often very cruel to them. There are tons of wild cats and dogs running around though, and I might just adopt one! Hoards of donkeys, horses, goats, sheep, and chickens wander aimlessly though our home everyday. Apparently they returen to their owner's homes each night, but that has yet to be corroborated! 

Donkey's hanging out in front of my hut

My bed 

 My toilet and shower

Potential space for a garden/orchard

Cool shot of some Maleme boys under a tree

Much love to all - so thankful for you guys and thank you so much to everyone for sending the letters and packages :)

Peace out, LO

YouTube Vid of the Swearing-In Ceremony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su6CF009zP4&feature=youtu.be

It's Official.

Yesterday I became an official Peace Corps Volunteer! I feel proud, nervous, and excited for what is to come.

I took the same oath that any individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office in the civil service or uniformed services, takes: 

“I, Lauren Thomas do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” 

Accepting my Peace Corps ID and certificate from Demba Sibite, the Agroforestry Associate Peace Corps Country Director

The Agroforestry group pic!

A couple quotations they shared with us during training:

Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start

with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best

leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will

say 'We have done this ourselves'. ― Lao Tzu

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. 
– Andre Gide.

Tomorrow I leave for my village of Maleme Niani and everything is going to change. I am sad to be saying goodbye for now to the 55 awesome volunteers in my group and the incredible trainers and staff here in Thies, but I cannot wait for the challenge and freedom of being in village!

Mandinka Dialogue: Video

Here is a short video of Sam and I speaking in Mandinka!

Translation:
L: Hello, peace be with you!
S: And peace to you.
L: How are you/is there any evil?
S: All good, no evil.
L: What is sweet?
S: Nothing much.
L: Thanks to Allah.
S: Thanks to Allah.
L: How is your garden?
S: My garden is very big. Hot Pepper and Bissap and Onions are there.
S: How many siblings do you have?
L: In Senegal, I have 5 siblings. Their names are Abdou, Diarra, Bainsa, Mabintu, and Basekou.
S: Troublemaker Basekou!
L: Troublemaker Basekou.