Getting Comfortable

My week usually starts out by making trips to the water pump with my bicycle to fill up the 200 litre water storage container (a big plastic garbage can) at my house. I try to speak the local language with the women at the pump -- its a great place to learn. And the more I talk to people, the more I learn about the activities and needs of Karfiguela. I talk to the women at the pump a lot because there is always a long wait for water. As it turns out, there is a huge need for at least one more pump in the village. There is only two right now, which prompts many women to use the canal water for washing and laundry. The canal water is extremely dirty and also carries some nasty parasites, making it less than ideal for regular use. I am going to research the cost and methods of an additional pump, which could be placed between the school and the clinic.

In Senior Seminar last spring Dr. Lyon frequently asked the question which is more difficult, formulation or implementation?. We speculated that is was implementation. After the last month I am certain that it is implementation. It is easy for me to look at my village and formulate ideas about what would make life easier for the Karaboro people and income generating activities that they could use to meet their needs, but explaining the ideas and motivating the people to try them is a-whole-nother cup of tea. So my tactic is to let them do most of the formulating and I will help them implement their ideas.

I have two women's groups in my village and they both want to make soap. So I have been researching different methods and I successfully tried one out last week. I am also working with a man in Banfora to produce lye, the essential ingredient in soap that is difficult to access in Burkina. If we are successful the women could produce soap without having to go outside of their village for the ingredients.

I have also been trying to teach the store proprietor in Karfiguela how to calculate Cost of Goods Sold so that he can generate quarterly financial statements. Karim has a lot of natural business sense, but he is illiterate, so its going to be a challenge! One day last week we inventoried his store together. He understands the logic behind what we are doing and he is very eager to analyze the information to improve his store.

In my spare time I visit the cascades and the domes, which are 2 km from my doorstep. The cascades are wonderful this time of year, as it is the hottest season in Burkina. The Domes are a grouping of stunning rock formations that are reminiscent of Utah. I also have been playing my flute and reading under the huge mango tree in my yard. Its mango season now as well! Life in Africa isn't so difficult after all.

One Month at Site

I read somewhere that a person should treat bargaining like a mellow drama rather than a business transaction. I put the theory to practice and it made shopping in the Banfora marché less intimidating and loads of fun (without making significant contributions to rapidly increasing local inflation). After feigning a heart attacks over the outrageous opening prices of a table, chairs, buckets, kitchen supplies, I was equipped to spend a relatively comfortable two years in Karfiguela.

I arrived at a cement house with a tin roof at nine in the morning on December 30th, 2008. It was filthy. The driver dropped my stuff in a pile outside and I went to work cleaning. In a few minutes a caravan of women appeared carrying huge containers of water on their heads. I felt like the whole village descended on my house and four hours later we were all sitting on my cement patio drinking tea and enjoying the afternoon. Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of the bats.

The most difficult part is...everything. I am trying to work with the people of Karfiguela to help them meet their needs. I don't know what their needs are, and, as it turns out, they don't really know either. On top of that, my primary language is English, they speak Karaboro and we are trying to communicate in French. They are not well educated in the traditional sense of the word - finishing primary school is rare for the men and even more rare for the women. They have a little equipment from NGOs, but they don't know how to use it. Suddenly, I appreciate that I can read and write and use a computer because I have access to knowledge, and knowledge gives you power and opportunity. They don't seem to know what opportunity is and they don't seem to care what power is. At first, I think that might be a better way to live, but then again, I'm not mal-nourished, living next to a garden, selling my vegetables at a loss so I can eat millet paste and sleep outside on the ground with my three kids and no husband. Its hard because everybody wants something from me -- a visa, marriage, a free ride to the states, money, a contact in the states, a cadeau, 50 CFA. Sometimes, I'm overwhelmed and I feel like I can't give anybody anything. I don't have anything to give except ideas. And I have no idea what I am doing here.

But I am not discouraged. I am confused, but I'll figure it out. There is so much work to be done here and it will take patience for me to do it.

Holidays

Its Christmas Eve. Tonight I will attend a Christian Mass with my host family. My host mother is going to play the Wambes (upside down giant dried gourds) and my little sister is promising lots of dancing! Tomorrow the other 32 trainees and I are going to have a small celebration together, and we will all part ways to different villages throughout Burkina Faso on the 26th of December.

I have officially sworn in as a Volunteer and I am excited to begin work in Karfiguela. We have met our host country counterparts, whom we will be working closely with for the next two years. Siaka is energetic and motivated. He will put me in contact with the Ministry of Tourism, the Banfora Guide Association, the 957 residents of Karfiguela, the Chef de Village, the Chef de Terre, the Mayor of Banfora, and many other organizations and people who are anticipating a small business advisor Peace Corps volunteer in the area! I am the first volunteer at the sight, so my biggest concern in the next week will be shopping in the bustling market place in Banfora for all of my household items -- from furniture to candlesticks.

Its hard to believe that there are places where it is snowing right now. If you are in one of them, I hope you enjoy your White Christmas. I'll be dreaming of one and enjoying my Sub-Saharan Christmas.

One Month Down

My french is improving exponentially. I can actually have conversations with my host family. My mother is a cashier at the Caisse Populaire, which is similar to a bank. She has taught me how to make a wonderful piment (a spicy condiment which is a God send and culinary delight) and a traditional remedy for malaria (although I might add some Western medicine to the recipe if I do get malaria). Her role is to teach me all of the domestic skills that I will need in village life, and she is very good at this job, although I am her first Peace Corps "daughter".

I had the opportunity to travel to the south of Burkina to visit a current volunteer and observe different project possibilities. The much greener, slightly cooler south was a welcomed change. Seeing what volunteers actually do made me anxious to get my own site.

We also made a stop in Ouagadougou (the very chic capital city) and visited the SIAO (Salon International de l'artisanat de Ouagadougou) festival. The international festival features artists and craftsmen from all over Africa, and, as expected, the art here is plentiful, resourceful, creative, and absolutely gorgeous. I purchased a Batik (a local technique for tapestry-making) with a picture of a woman riding a bicycle with her baby tied to her back, hauling a huge load of wood underneath a Baobob tree -- the woman multi-task here like you would not believe. After the festival we returned to Ouahigouya in the north central part of the country.

I received my official site assignment last week! The following is a condensed version of my invitation letter:

"Congratulations Kat!

You've been chosen to serve in Karfigula, a rural community ten kilometers form Banfora. Your counterpart is Siaka Tou...[a] young, motivated member of the community who received the endorsement of the community's traditional and elected leaders.

Peace Corps has chosen you to work in this site because of your stated preference for a rural site with a significant amount of biking. Proximity to Banfora should provide you access to the music and culture that you requested. Understand that despite the proximity to Banfora, the site is extremely small and remote, but given the scenic beauty of the waterfall, and the nearby tourist traffic, the site is also full of the most potential."

I'll be living in a village of less than 1,000 people with no electricity or running water right next to the biggest waterfall in the country. The site is a tourist attraction, but currently there are limited services offered there, and it is hard to find because there are no signs. My job will be to teach basic savings, accounting and marketing skills and facilitate income generating activities according to the needs assessment of the community. In addition, I can collaborate with other volunteers and initiate side projects in health and education for the community. Four more weeks of training...

Training in Ouhahigouya

The Peace Corps training is impressive and extensive. For the next 8 weeks I will be learning about language, culture, medicine, and safety from a Burkinabé staff. The Peace Corps also provides experienced volunteers to answer questions during the training. Its nice to have them around because the Burkinabé staff primarily speaks French and Mooré. My French will have to improve quickly for my classes. However, many local people do not even speak French, so hopefully I will be proficient in a local language as well!

I love my host family, which is comprised of Sanata (Mama Africa, as she prefers to be called), her sister Maria, and her two daughters, Fieda and Nadia. I spent the first day calling Nadia, "kukunadia", only to find out that "kuku" means little in Mooré. It sometime takes us more than ten minutes to communicate a simple idea. When we finally connect we all feel relieved and laugh hysterically. Imagine playing charades to find out which bucket to use to fill up your water filter.

I find a familiar comfort in my bicycle. Its not exactly the high-end bikes that I'm used to riding, but it does closely resemble them! I gave another volunteer a biking lesson today, and I am thankful for what bike maintenance experience that I have. It will help me out considerably!

Assignment

I began my application for the Peace Corps last fall. After anxiously waiting for my assignment, I received and accepted an invitation to do volunteer service in Burkina Faso, Africa. Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) is located in West Africa, north of Ghana. The country's official language is French, and several other local languages, which I'm excited to learn, are spoken there. There are two seasons in Burkina Faso: the wet season and the dry season. The temperatures range from 50 degrees F during cooler nights to over 104 degrees F during the hotter days. The country is about the size of Colorado and has a population of 13.7 million people.

My position will be Small Business Advisor in a Small Enterprise Development program. My work will include riding a mountain bike to different work activities within a six mile radius and completing tasks such as organizing and assisting local management teams, organizing savings and credit clubs, analyzing resource/training needs, designing bookkeeping, marketing and accounting workshops, conducting market surveys, and assisting entrepreneurs in developing business plans. I'll be putting my Accounting degree to good use! The work will be challenging. I will be performing these tasks within the constraints of a weaker economy. Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 176 out of 177 on the 2008 United Nations Human Development Index. Its culture is rich in arts and crafts, and I am excited to bring entrepreneurial skills to the people who have requested that advice!

My living conditions will be interesting. I will likely have a mud-brick home with a thatched roof, no electricity and no running water. You might wonder why (mom), but I am excited to live this way! Its making life now seem so vivid. Last night, as I thought of my future unvarying diet of millet paste, my Filet Mignon tasted more succulent, the contrasting textures of my sauteed mushrooms and the little crispy tips of my grilled asparagus seemed more interesting, and the nose of my California Cabernet seemed to have more chocolate, more violet and more than just a hint of oak. It helped me remember why I applied to the Peace Corps in the first place. I feel very fortunate. I want to give back what I can for the greater good of humanity, and I'll probably learn more than I teach at the end of it all!