On Sunday we transported 70 nets to Dindefelo, which is 4 Km from Busera. We passed the evening at Badgi's house. He is the Dindefelo nurse that came with us to the distribution and has given us valuable data regarding local malaria rates. That evening we spoke to the chief of Busera and made the plan for the following days distribution.
After breakfast we bike down to Busera, with some villagers helping with the nets. When we arrived in the village a group of chairs had been placed in a semi-circle under the shade of a large Baobab tree. There we sat with Badji, his local health officers, and the chief of Busera. Slowly the women of the village arrived and took their seats on logs or mats, preferably in the shade.
I started first by greeting the village and began to explain the nature of our project, who we are and why we do what we do. Badji repeated much of what i said for emphasis and clarity. Then andy stood up and talked about the care of nets, their use, and their benefits. After Andy, badji and his health officers spoke briefly about vaccination, malaria testing, symptoms, pregnancy and sanitation.
After talking for a bit and making sure that people understood, which can be tough, we proceeded with the distribution. One of the health officers held the list of all the adult females in the village and went down the list calling out names like Salumata Kata or Miriama Diallo. Each woman would come up with her identity card, as the health officer wrote down her identity number, Andy and I were opening the packages and labeling them with the NETLIFE logo and the date.
Distributions always give me a rush. Everything seems to make sense for a while. It is local custom to celebrate happy events with a little dance party, and of course Andy and I participated, giving our renditions of the traditional Danes and throwing in some American originals, the lawn-mower, the butterfly and of course the sprinkler.
After the distribution we were invited for lunch. It is particularly on special occasions that meat is prepared in the village, where livestock is often minimal. In this case 2 chickens were prepared for one lunch! We had a busera special concoction consisting of rice, with a sauce made of chicken, spices, lots of oil, onions and macaroni noodles!
Next up: travel to afia tomorrow to start distributions for afia, asoni, afia point, wandintu, and darsalam.
-jesse
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2 comments:
Woah! such exciting news you've covered busura! how are the maris, the chief's wives? i remember 2 of amy (mari toure's) wives were named mari. such a great village with beautiful people - and views. please greet badji for me. tell him i want to come for a liter of coke. haha. good luck with afia and beyond. i'm so excited to hear about the trip out there. i know it's a treck, but all the more reason to see those villages on the list.
i continue to think of you guys every day. i wish i had my old green treck - not to mention a RT tic to Dakar - so i could join you. in spirit, si Allah jabi.
xo
meta
Hey Guys,
Thanks for the description of how distribution works, sounds like a great experience to be a part of.
This month's National Geographic cover story is about malaria, I'm sure you'll see it soon. Anyhow, there is a map showing world wide malaria rates. Senegal is pretty small on the map, and most of the country is in the highest category, but there are two or three small patches where the rate is significantly lower than the surrounding areas. One is directly over the area you are traveling in. I know the Peace Corps have been active there for a while now so it looks like you are part of a group of people and organizations that are clearly making a difference. I'm sure you guys already knew this because you are so in touch with the local health care workers, but for the rest of us it's pretty impressive! Keep up the good work!
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