Well, we are back in kedougou again. We have been in the village for the last few days. Rainy season is upon us, lowering temperatures and providing ample breeding ground for mosquitoes. We spent some time in Thokie Than (pronounced choky chan), Andy's old village, which was near some villages of concern. This morning we got up at dawn and biked off to Petassi, passing beneath some beautiful bluffs. In Petassi we found that nearly everyone in this village had mosquito nets! We were pleasantly surprised that one of the local campaigns had reached this village. Generally, all the nets end up near the larger towns and don't make it out that far. We stealthily avoiding discussing our current project with the villagers and simply greeted the chief and some acquaintances.
We moved onto Boundacoundi, where we delivered letters from their much loved form peace corps volunteer, Meta Diallo (Holly Parker). The chief was very excited to hear about our project and will be spending the next week collecting a census of adults in need of nets.
In thokie than we picked up a traveler, Salu Diallo. Salu is an 11 year old boy that has a bad seconday syphilis infection in his feet. His feet have been dry and cracking for years, leading to bleeding and opportunistic infection. He cannot work in the fields often because his feet hurt him so much. After discussing his problem with Mos, the local nurse, we determined the cause of his infection. However, the medicine that he needs is only available in Kedougou. So, we brought him down, taking shifts with him on the back of our bikes. Salu is great to have around, he has been a help with our meetings and helped us determine how many people in petassi had nets. His gentle manner and his huge smile are striking.
Next up: Distribution in Busera, followed by Asoni, Afia Magazine, Afia Point, Wandintu, and Darsalam.
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