Weekend Girls' Camp at my site!

Ahh yes, Weekend Girls' Camp #2 chez moi! We continued using the same four themes: Life Skills, English, Health and Sports.

Preparing for the camp was a little less insane at my house -- organizing the middle school visit; organizing the ridiculously huge task of feeding 22 people (may not seem like much but damn, do these kids eat a lot!); preparing the school; talking with guest speakers and school officials; dealing with my corrupt school director (long story short, the moment he found out I got a grant for this Girls' Camp, he straight up asked me for money because he deserved it and that because I was using the school. WTF?! You're obviously new and don't know that I work for the school too, douchebag. Ugh. Excuse the angry sentiment...); etc. So it was a lot of running around and calling people to prepare...

On Saturday morning, Jon and his 10 girls arrived at my site. What's crazy is that many of my girls are children of fonctionnaires (civil servants) that have salaried jobs. So they've had more of an opportunity to travel around Burkina Faso and have a little more means. Not so much the case for Jon's girls, which is why it was such a treat for them especially to come to my site!

We headed straight for the Collège (middle school) which is fortunately within walking distance. They JUST built it andit looks brand spankin' new! I had their Director, a very nice man named Mr. Meda, give them a little tour and encourage them to continue their studies to the secondary level and beyond. When we went back to the school, we continued the Life Skills activity on creating goals and objectives in life, which actually turned out really well!

Regarding Health activities, we focused on proper handwashing and Moringa/its nutritional value. Maybe it seemed a little like class but our hope is that they learned something that they'll carry with them. We also invited my friend, Koro, who works at the CSPS (village medical center) as a sage-femme (midwife?) to give a session using an image flipbook that I had on HIV/AIDS...clearly a very sensitive subject but something that definitely needed to be addressed. Never too early, especially here in Burkina Faso/Africa!

We did a little English this time around and the Sports focus this time was soccer which EVERY child in Burkina Faso -- heck, all of Africa -- enjoys! These girls are good!

All in all, an excellent final weekend followed by handing out Certificates of Participation and a grand group photo.

All right, enjoy the pictures, round 2:

Jon, Mr. Meda (middle school director) and the girls after their little field trip to the middle school. When Mr. Meda talked to the girls about the importance of working hard to get to the secondary level and seeing how different the environment was (and how new the school was!) got them really motivated. I started seeing lightbulbs flickering!

My 10 girls and I at one of the entrance signs to my site.

Talking to the girls about proper handwashing and why it's important to use water that's either running or tossed on your hands AND soap. The two girls to the right (Adissa and Aicha) are so ridiculously intelligent, it's inspiring.

We did this experiment with three girls and fabricated stories to make it interesting. The first girl went to play soccer out in the field and ended up touching the ground a lot. The second girl simply was in class all day. The third girl just washed her hands after using the bathroom. The idea was to have each of the girls was their hands with soap and water in the small white basin and show that washing your hands with running water is extremely important, but most especially with soap and by rubbing your hands to get rid of all the germs.

Jon conducting a cool English game where the girls race to draw a specific object and then they learn the translation in English.

My good friend Koro from the CSPS, using the image flipbook to discuss HIV/AIDS -- who it concerns, modes of transmission and ways of prevention. A very successful presentation; hopefully she can come again for a final Girls' Camp I'd like to host before leaving this year!

First group picture at my site.

Ali leading the girls in soccer. Damn, they're good and many of them have never played before in their lives!

A special dinner treat out at a restaurant in town.

Moringa and nutrition presentation.

After the presentation, we went outside and the girls made their own Moringa nursery that they could take home and grow by themselves.

After packing the empty water sachet with dirt, we watered it a little to get the soil moist.

Then we put in a couple of seeds to ensure that if one doesn't grow, the other will.

A really good picture of Alimata (one of the girls in my Girls' Club). Good job, Jon!

Explaining that when they get home, they need to poke two holes in the bottom to let the roots breathe and have excess water leave. That way, it'll be easier to transplant it to the ground.

Clémence and Franck helping bring the food over. Mmmm!

Madame Hien and Ali preparing the salad -- a real treat since it's lettuce season right now and not too far from my house, either. Holla!

Jon with the massive amounts of food. Rice with eggplant and fish sauce (sounds weird but it really, really good!) and salad with onions and spices. A true feast!

Jon and I with our 20 girls and their Certificates of Participation. A final picture!

Jon and I after the Camp...exhausted but well worth it. =)

Moringa and MSC!

The couple of weeks that I have been able to return to site during this vacation have gone by quickly. What with PST and everything else that's been going on these past couple of months, I still want to keep busy, even if school is now over and everyone has either left to go to their families or is out working the fields (rainy season = cultivating season).

The week before demyst when I was home for a couple of days, my Moringa nursery was sprouting with many leaves. Amazing! Many thanks to Kadidja, one of the leaders of my Girls' Club and probably my favoritest kid!

Kadidja and I with my Moringa nursery. Look how fast they grew in a matter of 3-4 weeks!

Me teaching Kadidja the "slide baby" hand game. I just figured out that it's a fun activity that the kids can do anytime AND practice their numbers in English!

After demyst, I had to leave to work a week of training...I come back and find that the (stupid) goats had eaten ALL the Moringa leaves! Grrrr! Fortunately, Moringa grows relatively quickly but it got me all worried because I was going to do a sensibilisation (community awareness session) with my counterpart, Jean, on the importance of planting Moringa and the high vitamin/nutrient content in its leaves, particularly for malnourished babies and children.

Kadidja and her little sister, Mariam, playing the "slide baby" hand game. In the background, you can see my Moringa nursery all destroyed (stupid goats!!).

Regardless, I still needed to do this sensibilisation because I received a small grant for this (thanks Food Security Committee!) and want to follow through, regardless of any setbacks. So Jean, my counterpart, and I decided to work with two women's groups.

One women's group that meets every Wednesday is in a village about 2km from my house (closer to Jean's house). They weigh their babies (in cooperation with a small community center built by the European Union and the Red Cross) and make enriched porridge for their babies. Unfortunately, most of the babies there are either slightly or severly malnourished. Jean told me about this opportunity and said it would be a great way to introduce Moringa and promote the environment at the same time. Sweet! So I ended up helping to weigh babies and then Jean and I introduced Moringa.

Baby weighings!

It's hilarious...the babies are either terrified of me, complacent or get really giddy and happy.

Jean talked more about the agricultural aspect of it, and with the help of some of the people who coordinate this every Wednesday event, we chose 20 women to give the Moringa plants to. Throughout the month of August while I'm off finishing the rest of training, Jean would check in periodically with these 20 women to see how their Moringa plants were growing and to ensure they were well protected.

Giving the Moringa plantling to one of the 20 women we chose.

Me with some of the 20 women who received the Moringa plantlings. See y'all in a month!

When I come back to site in the beginning of September, it would be part two of this sensibilisation where someone from the CSPS (village medical center) would speak more on the high nutritional value of Moringa and how this could positively alter a baby's health.

The other women's group I want to work with is actually at the CSPS itself. Every Thursday, I weigh babies as a secondary project and thought it would be good to gather some of the women I've been working with for a while now and do this same type of sensibilisation with them as well, so we were thinking when I come back in September, this would be a day-long event.

In other news, my Mid-Service Conference (MSC) just happened. ONE YEAR IN BURKINA FASO! One year as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Absolutely insane. It was mostly medical tests and dental clean-ups, interspersed with a day full of sessions where we discussed our successes/challenges during our first year and some of the things we'd like to accomplish during our second year. I felt really empowered coming from that, motivated to start all the new projects at my site and continue the ones I've found most successful. Jon and I are lucky enough to live so close to each other and have made a pact to do more collaborative work together. Holla! More so, MSC made me realize how close-knit our training group is. I love these people! Seriously, they're yet another group of people I can now consider a part of my (extended) family.

The GEE fam, all smiles. Check out Evan and Devin!

...and I like to title this the "awkward/uncomfortable" picture. Hahaha. I love us.

Year two -- let's go!!

A Moringa pepinière!

When I went back to site for a few days after TOT Workshop, I decided that I needed to make the most of it since I'd be gone for a few weeks for VAC and the start of PST. Talked to the teachers at my primary school for a bit about the end of the school year activities, weighed babies at the CSPS (village medical center) and decided to start a Moringa pepinière (nursery) since it's rainy season is about to begin and everyone's hitting the fields.

A few of the really dedicated girls in my CM1 Girls' Club helped me out with everything from beginning to end to make this Moringa pepinière a reality. My hope is that when I return to site in the beginning of July, I'll have a full-grown nursery that I can begin to plant at the school, in my courtyard and at the CSPS.

Planting Moringa is something that was emphasized as an excellent secondary project. Personally, I don't have much experience planting, except for when my little brother David and I were little and we helped our Dad plant things in our backyard (I'm talking 5 years old, so really, we didn't do much!). But what happens is that if done correctly, the Moringa tree can survive in pretty harsh conditions. The leaves (also if dried/used properly) have ridiculous amounts of vitamins and nutrients that can be added to any dish. A perfect way to combat malnutrition and help save the environment too. Read it up!

The girls collected the water sachets along the street in town. Littering is such a huge problem here in Burkina (I admit, I can be guilty of it, too) so it wasn't difficult to collect water sachets.

I showed the girls how to cut the appropriate holes into the water sachets so that water can exit in the bottom.

We then got a wheelbarrow and collected some dirt to place into the water sachets.

Hard work, yo! The cultivating tool they use is called the "daba."

Placing the dirt into the water sachets. Ideally, you should mix dirt with compost and manure...because time was of the essence, I just used really moist dirt.

We lined them up on my porch and poked our thumbs into each dirt-filled water sachet. You insert the seeds and voila! You're almost done.

Watering them initially is extremely important.

While I'm gone, one of my CM1 Girls' Club leaders (Kadidja) will be helping to water them everyday. She is without a doubt one of my favorite students! You'll be hearing more about her later, I'm sure. She'll definitely go far in life!

Jon and I constructed this net cover over the Moringa pepinière to protect it from hungry goats and sheep that will definitely munch on the plants once they start to sprout.

Special thanks to my good pal and closest PCV neighbor Jon for helping me out and taking pictures!! My New Year's Resolution to take more pictures is definitely working. We just need to take more pictures of our daily life!

Okay, so that's that. This might be the last blog in a while because I'm heading to Ouahigouya to start training for the new Volunteers. Exciting!

ALSO, IT'S OFFICIAL! I'VE LIVED HERE IN AFRICA FOR MORE THAN A YEAR!