Homestay: The Final Week

An old tree in my homestay village. It appears that some other type of vine/tree has overtaken it to give the tree this unique look.

Sunday, we left our homestay sites for the last time to head back to Tubaniso before swear-in on Friday at the US Ambassador’s residence, and all of the shenanigans that go along with it. Next Sunday, we will begin the trek to our permanent sites to begin integrating into our respective communities.

Homestay really flew by, and I became fairly close to my host family, considering the language barrier. It was sad to leave so soon, and I am planning on visiting them again when my Bambara improves. Below is a brief summary of the week that was…

My 'immediate' host family. Adema Doubia, my host-father, is back-right. 

Another one of my 'immediate' host family. In the back row are Adema's two wives,  Aminata Coulibaly and Miriam Samake.

I arrived back at my homestay village on Friday, August 20th. On Sunday, Isa, my host-uncle of around 21 years of age, took my Bambara-English-French study materials to make copies 10 km away at our market town. He is very motivated to learn English, and plans to go back to school in October, after the growing season.

Another picture with my host family. From left, Drissa, Solomen, Isa, Sitafa (or as I call him, 'Stephan'), myself, and Lameen.

My Site Visit to the Ségou Region as 'Maliki Jarra'

Scattered trees within the agricultural fields just outside of the village.

We have just returned from our initial visit to our respective sites for the next two years. I have been placed in a small village of around 1,400 people in the Region of Ségou, approximately 100 kilometers east of the city of Ségou, the regional capital. Due to my very persistent homologue, just after I finally got used to my Malian name in Homestay, I now have a new name… Maliki Jarra. This week certainly had it’s ups and downs, but I am excited about my new village.

The following is a brief rundown of the happenings at site…

The small mud-mosque located near the center of the village.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Myself, my fellow PCTs, and our homologues woke up at Tubaniso, ready to split off to our respective regions and sites. Hannah and I lucked out and got Peace Corps transport into Ségou, instead of having to negotiate Mali’s public transportation system the entire way. After a three-hour ride from Bamako, we arrived at the Peace Corps bureau in Ségou around 12:30pm, where I met Therese, the volunteer whom I am replacing. We then went to a local transportation stop, at which time my homologue, Lassana, left separately on his motorbike to spend a night with his third wife, who lives in a village approximately 30 kilometers from my site/his home.

A bush taxi headed for my market town 4 kilometers south of my village was waiting at the transportation stop when we arrived there around 1:00pm. A throng of people were already there ready to go, but the bush taxi waited for two more people to completely fill out the vehicle, and we left around 4:00pm after Therese pulled off some bargaining/haggling in Bambara.

The trip on the bush taxi was very, well, ‘cozy.’ There were five of us crammed into the last row of the taxi, and half-way through, one of them actually stood up, yelled at the driver to stop, and he went and sat on the roof instead. The bush taxi negotiated some very rough dirt roads, with large sporadic pools of water.

Site Announcement: Ségou Region

Our sites were announced today at Tubaniso. I am headed to a village of approximately 1,200-1,500 people; about twice the size of my homestay village. It is located in the region of Ségou, and is approximately 100 kilometers east of the city of Ségou. It is a Bamanakan village which predominantly practices Islam and speaks Bambara. The villagers are primarily farmers and fishermen. The village has four butigis (small food/supply stores), a primary school, two water pumps (one of which hasn’t worked in four years), and several improved large diameter wells. Similar to my homestay site, the houses are made of mud construction. I will have cell phone coverage in the village through Malitel.

I will be replacing the last of two consecutive volunteers placed in the village. It appears that they have implemented several current projects, which I will be continuing, including a fish farm, a community women’s garden, and community well construction. However, I look forward to evaluating the village’s needs in my first several months and implementing new projects to meet these needs throughout my term of service.

Tonight at dinner, I met my homologue, Lassana. Each volunteer is assigned a homologue, who is a well-regarded member of the village tasked with helping the volunteer implement their projects. The man is huge and looks like a football player from the states. He is maybe the only Malian I have met taller than me, and seems to be very outgoing and jovial. He only speaks Bambara, so communication is difficult at the moment.

Over the next couple of days, we will be in classes together here at Tubaniso. On Wednesday, August 11th, we will depart in the morning for my village in Ségou via my first foray on public transportation in Mali. Should be an interesting trip. I will stay at my site until Wednesday, August 18th, at which time I will head back to Tubaniso, debrief on Thursday, and head back to homestay on Friday, August 20th. I will try to post again at debrief.

Homestay, Part II

Today, we took a Peace Corps transport vehicle back to Tubaniso from our homestay village. The dirt road to our village from the national road is in utter disrepair, which even in dry days requires the most rugged of the land rover-type vehicles Peace Corps employees. Last night around 3AM, it began raining, and the rain continued, hard, until about 4PM. The driver had to navigate through several rivers and gullies the rain had caused, but we made it out, soaked gear strapped to the roof be damned.

We just completed our second stint at our homestay villages. Since we last left Tubaniso on Wednesday, July 21st, we have spent 18 days in our small village of 800 people in the Koulikoro Region of Mali. A lot has happened since my last post, so I will try to fill you all in on the details...

An adjacent concession in my homestay village, behind cornfields.

The 'kalanyoro' (school) in my homestay village. We spend most of our classes underneath the large tree in the center of the picture.

A view of the mud-construction gazebo in my concession.