From Demyst to Deliveries

So two weeks ago I got to host 3 new volunteers at my site.    The new group of Community Health and Community Economic Development (CED) volunteers arrived in Burkina in October and are currently doing training in Leo (just like me about a year ago.)  Part of the training includes shadowing a volunteer for 3 days to see what type of work we do, what it is like to live in a village, and to provide an opportunity to ask questions. (The event is called demyst in Peace Corps lingo.)  It was an awesome experience. I got to show off my village, the work I’m doing and how much local language I speak.   It really made me realize that I’ve learned  a lot since a year ago.  I’ve come a long way! 

 The volunteers arrived on Thursday.  I biked out to the intersection to meet them when they got off the transport.  Then we biked back  (for them this was their first bike ride in Burkina) to my house and made eggplant, cheese, tomato, garlic an onion sandwiches.  Food is another important aspect of the weekend because volunteers have been in the country just long enough to be craving American food and sick of the food their host families have been giving them.  After the sandwiches we biked over to my friend Fatimata's house.  Fatimata is one of the ladies that came with me to Fada for the Soy Transformation Workshop.(She learned how to make tofu.)  She currently is President of the Mother’s Association at one of the primary schools and she makes tofu on Thursdays to sell at the Friday market.  We went to her house to meet the other members of the association and to show the new volunteers how to make tofu.  On the way home from her house we passed a wedding and went to go say congrats to the bride and groom.  The new volunteers thought it was so funny that we could just invite ourselves over to their wedding, but that’s how it is here!   It was interesting to realize how normal I felt doing it and how accustomed to village life I am.  People here love guests and feel honored to have Americans at their party.  

The group with the tofu ladies! 

Friday morning I gave them a tour of my clinic and introduced them to the staff.  Every Friday morning is baby weightings so I got to show them how to weigh babies, decide if they are malnourished, and how to advise the mothers if needed.  Next, we went to the local preschool to play with the kids and show the volunteers a song I taught them called “Lave Les Mains” (Wash Your Hands).  Later in the day there was a Polio Campaign going on in my village so we went and followed one of my good friends, and community health worker, Dabre.  We walked around vaccinating children and also giving them vitamin A supplements. 

In the afternoon, I arranged for a 5^th grade class to ask questions about the United States to the “panel” of Americans.  Some kids had funny questions like where does the sun rise and set, or do you use a marmite to cook (marmite is a metal pot  that they cook to or rice in).  Other kids asked about what it was like to go to school in the USA. They were all surprised that kids take a bus to school and that they don’t go to school on Saturdays. They were also interested to know  that class sizes are between 18-25.  Here, kids walk or bike to school, they have school Saturday mornings, and there are about 80-100 kids in each class.  The panel asked the kids if they thought  there are  black people in the United States and many kids answered with a confident no!  However, the teacher reminded them that everyone knows Obama and with that they could put two and two together.  We also showed them a map of the world  to point out exactly where the United States is.  Many of the kids were surprised to realize it’s not close to Europe or even that the USA is different than Europe. 

That night we made Alfredo pasta and brochetta.   After dinner we went to my friend Dabre’s house to watch a movie (on my computer).  She was also going to show the new volunteers how to make liquid soap, something the first volunteer in Komtoega taught her how to do.   When we arrived she had made us benga (rice+beans) so we ate a second meal, watched Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and made soap! 

Saturday was market day in my village.  We spent the day walking around saying hi to friends and introducing the volunteers to village leaders.  We also sampled a bunch of market snacks like beignets (bean pastry), benga (rice+beans), bissap (hibiscus juice), and mutton (sheep).  We also went and got henna done at my friend’s boutique.  Leah, one of the volunteers, also got her hair braided with purple weave!  That afternoon the mayor invited us over to sample a traditional Bissa dish.  When we arrived he had set up a big table outside and invited a bunch of people over.  His wife made us bean pancakes that were delicious!  That night the mayor, the head nurse, a village friend, and all the new volunteers went to the local bar where the owner had killed some chickens for us.  The Land Chief (different from the Chief of the Village) was also there along with some teachers who were having a going away party for a high school teacher.   By the end of the night everyone was up dancing together and having a great time!  The weekend went by really quickly and on Sunday they left to go back to Leo for the rest of the training.

On Wednesday of the following week I traveled to Bobo, a big city in the southwest of the country.  Some of my friends were getting together for Halloween.  We made makeshift costumes and went out for some drinks.  Bobo is a really cool city, with a more laid-back vibe than Ouaga.  We were able to hang out by a pool during the day and see live music at night.  

Halloween! 

The next weekend I stayed in village.  On Sunday afternoon Dabre (village midwife) called me and told me to come over to the maternity.  (Since I live on the grounds of the clinic, I was able to walk there quickly.)  I went over and she told me our friend was about to have a baby and asked if I wanted to watch.  Some other volunteers have seen births but I had been avoiding the idea.  I was nervous and had heard some bad stories from other volunteers.  However, since it was my friend who was delivering the baby, and because I knew the mother, I decided to go for it. 

 It was the mother’s second child.  She, like many of the women in my village, was circumcised (female genital mutilation, excision) as a child.  This makes birth more complicated and the hole where the baby needs to come out is smaller than the average women.  The birthing room is basically one room, with recently installed electricity, no running water, no equipment, no towels, hospital clothes, etc.  It is just a room with a black hospital chair that the lady can sit on.  There are no screens on the windows so bugs can fly in and out and outside the window sheep, donkeys and dogs roam around.  The husband does not come to the maternity when his wife is delivering, so usually, a few friends wait outside the room.  Inside, it is usually just the person delivering the baby (whether it’s a village midwife who's never been trained in a school setting, or a nurse) and the mother.  The whole time Dabre was delivering the baby she was carrying another child on her back!   

NEW BABY GIRL 

The birth went fairly smoothly and afterwards they gave the mother a shot so she wouldn’t hemorrhage.  I found myself tearing up when the baby was born.  It was a girl and the mother seemed happy!  They cut the umbilical cord, cleaned the mother and baby, delivered the placenta, and then moved her into a room with some beds.  The next day the mother biked back to her house to show off her new baby!  Seeing a baby being born here was one of the coolest things that I have experienced in this country.  I have never seen a birth in the states before coming here, although I know what a hospital looks like and I’ve seen births on the television.  It was incredibly eye-opening to see how different it is done here.  They have nothing to work with and if something were to happen, the nearest hospital is about an hour away- yet they are so calm and confident.   I hope to see another birth soon, as long as Dabre is delivering it! 

Up next: Dance Marathon, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and then home for the holidays!  Happy Holidays in advance!  Hope to see everyone when I’m home. 

     N