Over the past few weeks, I have felt many gratifying highs and some dispiriting lows. Fortunately, the lows that I have experienced have only been health related, and once I push them out of the way, I feel confident in my abilities and the experiences to come.
I have felt that over the course of my recent time in village, my language skills have improved ten-fold. I am confident in my abilities to communicate with locals on really any necessary topic, and I am able to understand much more of their day-to-day conversations amongst themselves, even with their fast-paced speech. I still need to continue to work on my skills in order to better harness an ability to have deeper intellectually stimulating conversations, but I have plenty of time to work on that.
I am also excited to report that I have begun work on my baseline survey. The baseline survey is a host of questions I intend to ask the dutigi (head of household) in each concession (each extended family) in my village, and is designed to ascertain the water and sanitation practices currently utilized. These include issues related to drinking water quality and availability, ɲɛgɛn (latrine) availability and construction, common illnesses which affect the community, community organizations currently in-place, the community’s desire for a Water and Sanitation Committee, and the women’s garden. I will compile the results of this survey and use them as a guide to determine where my efforts will be best served.
Thus far, I have learned that several of the precious few wells in village go dry throughout the hot season, making the availability of water scarce. Assisting the villagers in repairing the two broken foot pumps is a high priority for me, but building deeper wells may also be required to further address this concern. I have also yet to come across a family in-village who washes their hands with soap, most only use water before eating, and most do not wash their hands after using the ɲɛgɛn. Therefore, I plan on performing some handwashing animations/demonstrations to convince villagers of the practice’s importance to their health. This is just the tip of what I believe this baseline survey will uncover in the coming months.
And briefly, the reason I am in Ségou right now... I have been battling a bout of Giardia for the past couple of months, and over the past few weeks, it has been flaring up way too regularly. Giardia is a very unpleasant illness which makes it’s presence known through diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and sulfur burps. It is no doubt a reason for my weight-loss in Mali. I believe I contracted it back in homestay when I ate some fish my host family bought already cooked, but contaminated, in the market. I had taken medication at the time, but apparently it was not the proper medication so the illness kept resurfacing. The medical office sent me the medication Fastogen, which I just picked up here in Ségou, and I feel better already. So I should be able to put that unfortunate stage behind me and focus on all of the positives I continue to experience.
So I am sticking around here for our Ségoukaw (Ségou people) Halloween party, after which I will return to my village until I head back into the city to celebrate Thanksgiving. The following month should be busy, as I intend to make major headway on my baseline survey, in addition to celebrating the Muslim holiday of Tabaski, where I may even slaughter a goat!
Oh, and GO ORANGE! Big wins over South Florida and West Virginia already make this season a success. I knew my footballers would turn things around! If anyone has any ideas for catching the games internationally, please pass them along.
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