Odds, fortune and a beautiful country

What are the odds of finding an American cent in West Africa? Apparently they're not that bad, so it seems, because Derek found one this morning. While we were wading through the muddy trails that are called roads here -with our very fashionable rain ponchos- Derek could not believe his fortune. And he let us know this for it the rest of the 45 min. walk in the rain. This was accompanied by the beautiful singing voices of Fiona and Derk. Not enough that we are already attracting attention in this neighbourhood by having a lighter skin colour. Oh no. It seems we have to make sure that we were acknowledged by singing various songs regarding the rain such as “Its raining men” and “Under my umbrella” accompanied by a little skipping dance. The umbrellas that Derk and Derek were using just completed the picture. The local kids were amazed and called us Tubabu (in English: white people). Well, we are an unusual sight here in Kati. Or … at least we thought we were. This might be the reason why we were so surprised to see another female Tubabu walking towards us on the other side of the road. Keeping in mind that we have not seen any Caucasians since the arrival in Kati last week. After a friendly greeting we continued our walk to our final destination, the Ciwara School.

From there, after the usual very warm welcome from everyone, we quickly proceeded to the main task of our day; the interviews with the parents of the special needs children. We split up into two groups; Derk and Derek went to see the parents of Mahamadou, a mentally challenged boy of 11 years. Fiona and I were able to interview another two children. Even though both kids live in Kati the living conditions were surprisingly different. Sory, a young man of 20 years, who was abandoned by his mother after his birth, lives together with his grandparents, his aunt and his nieces and nephews in a house with little room to move in. The situation is not much better in the outdoor area; rocks and rubble make it hard to move around. The family doesn’t want to move because they fear that Sory won’t be accepted in the new neighbourhood. Sory was the boy who received one of the wheelchairs we brought with us from the Netherlands. His grandmother could not wait to get the wheelchair out of the corner and seat Sory in it to prove its use. He looked very content and happy.

The next stop was Alassane’s home; this is the boy who got the CLEVY keyboard to help him typing on the computer. Again, we were welcomed very warmly by the family. This home was quite different from Sory’s home. It was a stable brick building with a solid tin sheeted roof equipped with things such refrigerator and television. Unfortunately Alassane wasn’t very well. Apparently he got so excited after he heard that we were coming to see him he fell over and bruised his head badly. Luckily our worries about him were quickly taken away after seeing how much he is loved and cared for by his twin brother and his mother; he fell asleep quickly after we arrived.

Back at the school we got our luxury – Nutella and peanut butter bread. Yes, we do get treated very well! Then it was time to hit the road again and visit the local “Reference Centre” we heard so much about the day before. First we were able to ask all our questions to one of the doctors and numerous medical students at the centre. This was followed by a very interesting tour through the various sectors. We were able to see the Radiology Department, the Pharmacy, the Optician, the Consultation Rooms and, last but not least, the Laboratory. Another very interesting part was the Maternity Wing of the centre. This experience made us remember and appreciate how fortunate we are in the Western hemisphere, where having baby is a nothing but a joy, whereas here it could be a life threatening experience. To quote the doctor who so generously showed us his centre “Any help, however small it may seem, will mean a lot to the centre and the community that so much depends on it”.

After a break with a little Frisbee-ing, during which we were curiously being observed by our hosts, we squeezed ourselves, along with 6 others, into the usual 4x4 and headed off towards Bamako. There we were expected by the mother of Aminantha, a child with special needs, who is in the process of setting up an association for parents with handicapped children. The interview went very well, we were able to gather a lot of useful information. Aminantha's mother is very eager to get parents from the neighborhood together to help each other and improve the overall situation of the special needs children. Aminantha was a bit nervous at first with all the unknown people around her but she quickly adapted and interacted with us.

The trip to Bamako was an interesting experience, but the journey there and back to Kati can, without hesitation, be called memorable. I have never in my entire life been so scared. And after seeing the alternating white and green face of Derk, I believe I wasn't the only one. I am quite sure that his foot went through the floor from the numerous attempts to step on the imaginary break from his passenger seat. Definitely an adventure to remember!

Anyway all went well and now we are sitting in the common room writing this blog. I hope we have given an into about our work here. If you have the impression that we are having fun, considering the reason why we are here; you are quite right. We are having a remarkable time. But how can we not feel happy with all these amazing, warm and open people around us? How can we not enjoy our stay here with all the teachers and children who do nothing but smile and who create a wonderful atmosphere which makes our task such a worthwhile experience?! And speaking of odds; how great is the chance of seeing a Malinese person in Bamako on a motorbike wearing a University of Leiden sweatshirt? Well ... we did!

Cheers, Jill