Evacuation tore me away not only from those people, but also from the projects that I had put all of my energy behind over the past year and a half. As I told my village, 'I had planned on being here to help with this work until at least September. But 'Allah ma son' (God didn't allow it). I have to leave, it is out of my hands.'
But I also told them, 'my work here has always been to teach you all the skills you need to work on your own to better yourselves and your community. Therefore, if we have done good work together while I was here, it shouldn't matter moving forward whether I am present or not. The projects we had planned can continue.'
During our emotional final committee meetings together, the villagers all assured me that our projects will not end. They will see them through to completion.
Since leaving Mali, I have been in regular communication with my friends and work partners back in Makili. Besides catching up on each other's personal lives, I have continued to advise them on our projects and receive updates on their work.
Makili is still in the throes of hot season, but the villagers are enjoying themselves greatly in spite of the heat. I have frequently documented my love of the culture found in Malian weddings, and the fun involved in these gatherings. And most people are currently attending one to three weddings every week.
With all of the fun, work can be difficult to accomplish. This is the building season, where men work to build/rebuild their mud houses, walls, and latrines as needed. But since people are frequently traveling for weddings, meetings and village projects prove especially difficult.
Notice that I haven't mentioned a thing about the government or the coup d'état. Although a major topic of conversation, the people in rural, southern Mali remain largely disconnected from their political system as a whole. My villagers haven't noticed the slightest change in their daily lives.
(Note, however, that many people in the capital city of Bamako have seen dramatic changes to their lives. And the people in the vast northern territory, where the rebels have declared the Republic of Azawad, are subject to horrifying crimes against humanity on a daily basis. Additionally, the country may soon suffer greatly if democracy is not returned, especially due to famine originating from the drought of the previous year.)
Below is a synopses on how our projects are proceeding:
Water and Sanitation Committee
I have been in touch with one of five men on our Water and Sanitation Committee almost every other day since being back in the states. I have not only wanted to keep tabs on their work, but they also became some of my closest friends over the past year and a half.
The committee meets monthly on the first 'ntene su' (Monday night by the African calender, Sunday night by our calender) of every month (also determined by the African calender). Dramani, the president of our Water and Sanitation Committee, had planned to hold this meeting on Sunday night, April 29th. However, that night a respected, elderly woman passed away. Therefore, they were forced to postpone the meeting until the following Sunday since it was an obligation for much of the village to support the family and be at the funeral. This meeting did go off as planned.
Another monthly activity that must be done is well treatment. As I had mentioned in a blog post from February, the last time I left village for an extended period of time the committee failed to treat the wells without me. I had talked and worked with them on this topic since, and I believe they have gotten the message.
We had last treated all of the village wells together on March 22nd, the night following the coup d'état. And on April 21st, right on schedule, the committee treated the wells on their own without me reminding them.
At the time when we had replaced the two pumps, we had established monthly dues which are kept in a 'kɛsu' for use in water and sanitation initiatives. The committee is also continuing to regularly collect these dues from each 'duba' (household) within the village.
I have also asked the men about the 'ɲama fili yɔrɔw' (trash collection bins) we were encouraging every household to construct. They told me that it is still early in the building season, so no one has constructed any yet. But several people, including my neighbor Sortiba, have made a lot of bricks to do so. I had planned on working with Sortiba to construct one since I share his trash pile.
Currently, the well building project is the major project of this committee. We had been planning to build one drinking-water well completely planned, funded, and constructed by the villagers themselves. While I was still in village, we were struggling through the money collection part of this project. At my time of leaving, only four out of 62 'duba' had paid, and that includes myself!
I called Dramani, the president of our committee, on Wednesday, April 11th while I was in Ghana for our transition conference. He, at the time, told me that all of the committee members' dues have now been paid, and a couple other 'dubaw' had paid. Getting all of the committee members' households to pay first was a key priority, since it eliminates the perception of hypocrisy and implores the rest of the community to become more open to contributing. He said that they plan to collect money across the entire village on Monday.
On Wednesday, April 18th, I called Aliwata, our secretary, on the way to the airport after having just completed my vacationing in Ghana. I was excited to hear about their progress in money collection. I asked him how it was going, and he said 'good, more money has been collected.' But when I asked for specifics, he told me that 7 'dubaw' (households) had paid at that point. This was not what I had hoped for! I told him, 'that's bad! You all have to hurry to be able to build this year!'
Dramani told me that same day that money collection had been difficult due to all of the weddings. But by Monday, April 30th, he told me that they should have all of the money collected. I expressed my concern that it may be getting too late to complete the well this year since the rains will come soon, but he assured me that it will be built before then.
On Friday, April 27th, Dramani told me that work is moving along very well. 'Much money was found.' I asked him how many 'duw.' He answered, '25 this week.' I asked if he thinks the rest will be collected the following week. He said yes, the project will happen, they will build the well. I was very excited by this news. My feeling was that once you get nearly half of the village to buy into the project, pressure will escalate on those that hadn't paid such that holding out will become untenable. Although the timeframe keeps slipping and slipping, for the first time I felt fairly confident that the project will happen. So I congratulated him on the good work.
On Tuesday, May 8th, Aliwata told me that they plan to have all of the money collected by next month. The rains may begin in a month, and once that happens, the construction season will be over. So I am quite certain that this project will not actually be completed this year.
Dramani told me today that the rest of the money has not yet been collected due to everyone leaving village for weddings. But when I asked him whether he thinks they will be able to collect all of the money this year, he said no, because at that point the rains will come and everyone will go to the fields. He insists the rest will be collected and 'wadallaye' the well will be built next year.
I told them that it would be very good to me if they build it this year, but if they can't they should still collect all of the money now, that way they can buy the required materials early and build first thing next year. If this is not done, the project could easily continue to drag on and the well might not even be built next year. Also, the longer time passes, the harder it will be to convince people to contribute money to the project. He said he understood and will work with the others on this.
Fish Farm Committee
On Wednesday, April 18th, the day I was being evacuated to Bamako, the villagers began harvesting the fish pond. Sorti, the acting 'dugutigi' (chief of village) and the president of our committee, told me that he followed my previous suggestion and made sure that people from every 'kin' (neighborhood) within the village was involved. The intent behind this was to make sure that the entire village takes ownership of the pond, and not just Sorti's 'kin' (neighborhood).
On Tuesday, May 1st, I spoke with Sorti. He said that all of the fish had been harvested. They placed 380 'mannɔgɔ' in the concrete fingerlings pond, which will then be used for restocking the pond in the upcoming season. I warned them that they need to be careful, since the fish we placed in their last time had died due to, we believe, dirty water and a lack of oxygen. He promised that they will watch over and take good care of them.
On Wednesday, May 2nd, I spoke with Youssoufu. He told me that they did not count how many fish were sold, but they did weigh them. He will give me the weight later.
They raised a total of 110,000 CFA (220 USD) from fish sales this year, a dramatic increase from the 51,500 CFA (103 USD) raised last year. However, a pond this size should raise significantly more money. I told Youssoufu that they should be able to improve this figure dramatically in the coming year if they follow the advice I gave them in our last meeting together. He agreed, and promised to do so.
On Thursday, May 10th, I checked in again with Youssoufu. I asked him if they are working with the pond at all right now. He told me yes, even today people are cleaning up the pond by picking up all of the trash which had accumulated there. I was very happy to hear that they have taken that initiative.
I also reminded him that it is important that they begin making compost piles of rice and millet husks, cow manure, plant material, and soil. This compost must age for at least a month before it should be cast across the pond surface as fish food. If they make compost piles now, they will have food ready to use once the pond is restocked in a couple of months. He promised me that it will be done. All of the work we had discussed will be done.
Women's Garden Committee
In describing the status of the Women's Garden Committee, I must rehash the happenings just prior to my evacuation.
Our last full meeting together was on Tuesday, February 28th. As I described in my blog post from March 10th, the committee was in bad shape. We had previously decided to hold regular meetings every two weeks, but four months had passed without even a meeting.
During this meting I spoke to the women about their responsibility and their obligations to each-other, to the committee, and to the village as a whole. The women agreed with me, and made a new commitment to meet every other Tuesday and remain diligent in their efforts of monthly dues collection.
Regarding the committee's ‘kɛsu' (savings account), the women had decided last year to begin loaning money out to a couple of women each month to ‘jagokɛ’ (sell items), in order to grow the money. They had agreed on a standard amount each woman would have to pay back per month as interest for each 5,000 CFA withdrawn.
The next scheduled meeting was the afternoon of Tuesday, March 13th. Unfortunately, only four out of the ten women had shown up. The women explained that if they were unable to collect all of the dues in their 'kin' (neighborhood) over the previous couple of weeks, they are often shy to come.
So I again spoke to the women about commitment and the need to develop a habit of meeting regardless of the circumstances, so that their work becomes easier over-time and the committee will last. I also made sure to explain to them that this is not just a 'barani' (a money savings club). There is much more work to discuss.
I gave the example of an earthen dike they had previously discussed building along a frayed portion of fencing in order to prevent animals from eating their plants. 'Was this ever done?' It wasn't. So I told them, 'anything that you all want to do to improve the garden, we need to talk about it in this committee. This is your forum, and if we don't meet regularly, nothing will ever be improved. The fence will break, no vegetables will be grown, and you'll forever eat 'to' (food) without onions or tomatoes or okra.'
We then planned on holding a meeting the following week, on Tuesday, March 20th. But unfortunately a well-respected, elder woman in the village passed away the night before, and the village was busy with her funeral. Due to other commitments regarding the funeral throughout the week, we had to postpone the next meeting until the following Tuesday.
But the following day, Wednesday, March 21st, was the Coup d'état, and by the following Monday I was gone. So I was unable to see any further work through, which brings me to my coordination efforts following evacuation.
Reaching women within rural Mali is difficult. Whereas nearly every man above the age of 16 tends to own a cellphone or two or three, very few women do. But fortunately, one of the exceptions is Aissetta, the secretary of our Women's Garden Committee.
I was able to get a hold of her on Wednesday, May 2nd. She informed me that they have successfully been holding their regular meetings every other week, but not all of the monthly dues owed have been paid. This is primarily because of difficulties related to the wedding season. Women are constantly traveling to other villages nearby for weddings of friends and family. I had encountered this last year, and it is the truth. This is the hardest time to work with women our region of Mali.
At the time of my call, Aissetta herself was in the nearby village of Babugu where she planned to stay for ten days for a wedding. She told me that as soon as she returns, she plans to call a meeting with the committee and ramp up their money collection efforts.
On Friday, April 27th, Dramani told me that work is moving along very well. 'Much money was found.' I asked him how many 'duw.' He answered, '25 this week.' I asked if he thinks the rest will be collected the following week. He said yes, the project will happen, they will build the well. I was very excited by this news. My feeling was that once you get nearly half of the village to buy into the project, pressure will escalate on those that hadn't paid such that holding out will become untenable. Although the timeframe keeps slipping and slipping, for the first time I felt fairly confident that the project will happen. So I congratulated him on the good work.
On Tuesday, May 8th, Aliwata told me that they plan to have all of the money collected by next month. The rains may begin in a month, and once that happens, the construction season will be over. So I am quite certain that this project will not actually be completed this year.
Dramani told me today that the rest of the money has not yet been collected due to everyone leaving village for weddings. But when I asked him whether he thinks they will be able to collect all of the money this year, he said no, because at that point the rains will come and everyone will go to the fields. He insists the rest will be collected and 'wadallaye' the well will be built next year.
I told them that it would be very good to me if they build it this year, but if they can't they should still collect all of the money now, that way they can buy the required materials early and build first thing next year. If this is not done, the project could easily continue to drag on and the well might not even be built next year. Also, the longer time passes, the harder it will be to convince people to contribute money to the project. He said he understood and will work with the others on this.
Fish Farm Committee
On Wednesday, April 18th, the day I was being evacuated to Bamako, the villagers began harvesting the fish pond. Sorti, the acting 'dugutigi' (chief of village) and the president of our committee, told me that he followed my previous suggestion and made sure that people from every 'kin' (neighborhood) within the village was involved. The intent behind this was to make sure that the entire village takes ownership of the pond, and not just Sorti's 'kin' (neighborhood).
On Tuesday, May 1st, I spoke with Sorti. He said that all of the fish had been harvested. They placed 380 'mannɔgɔ' in the concrete fingerlings pond, which will then be used for restocking the pond in the upcoming season. I warned them that they need to be careful, since the fish we placed in their last time had died due to, we believe, dirty water and a lack of oxygen. He promised that they will watch over and take good care of them.
On Wednesday, May 2nd, I spoke with Youssoufu. He told me that they did not count how many fish were sold, but they did weigh them. He will give me the weight later.
They raised a total of 110,000 CFA (220 USD) from fish sales this year, a dramatic increase from the 51,500 CFA (103 USD) raised last year. However, a pond this size should raise significantly more money. I told Youssoufu that they should be able to improve this figure dramatically in the coming year if they follow the advice I gave them in our last meeting together. He agreed, and promised to do so.
On Thursday, May 10th, I checked in again with Youssoufu. I asked him if they are working with the pond at all right now. He told me yes, even today people are cleaning up the pond by picking up all of the trash which had accumulated there. I was very happy to hear that they have taken that initiative.
I also reminded him that it is important that they begin making compost piles of rice and millet husks, cow manure, plant material, and soil. This compost must age for at least a month before it should be cast across the pond surface as fish food. If they make compost piles now, they will have food ready to use once the pond is restocked in a couple of months. He promised me that it will be done. All of the work we had discussed will be done.
Women's Garden Committee
In describing the status of the Women's Garden Committee, I must rehash the happenings just prior to my evacuation.
Our last full meeting together was on Tuesday, February 28th. As I described in my blog post from March 10th, the committee was in bad shape. We had previously decided to hold regular meetings every two weeks, but four months had passed without even a meeting.
During this meting I spoke to the women about their responsibility and their obligations to each-other, to the committee, and to the village as a whole. The women agreed with me, and made a new commitment to meet every other Tuesday and remain diligent in their efforts of monthly dues collection.
Regarding the committee's ‘kɛsu' (savings account), the women had decided last year to begin loaning money out to a couple of women each month to ‘jagokɛ’ (sell items), in order to grow the money. They had agreed on a standard amount each woman would have to pay back per month as interest for each 5,000 CFA withdrawn.
The next scheduled meeting was the afternoon of Tuesday, March 13th. Unfortunately, only four out of the ten women had shown up. The women explained that if they were unable to collect all of the dues in their 'kin' (neighborhood) over the previous couple of weeks, they are often shy to come.
So I again spoke to the women about commitment and the need to develop a habit of meeting regardless of the circumstances, so that their work becomes easier over-time and the committee will last. I also made sure to explain to them that this is not just a 'barani' (a money savings club). There is much more work to discuss.
I gave the example of an earthen dike they had previously discussed building along a frayed portion of fencing in order to prevent animals from eating their plants. 'Was this ever done?' It wasn't. So I told them, 'anything that you all want to do to improve the garden, we need to talk about it in this committee. This is your forum, and if we don't meet regularly, nothing will ever be improved. The fence will break, no vegetables will be grown, and you'll forever eat 'to' (food) without onions or tomatoes or okra.'
We then planned on holding a meeting the following week, on Tuesday, March 20th. But unfortunately a well-respected, elder woman in the village passed away the night before, and the village was busy with her funeral. Due to other commitments regarding the funeral throughout the week, we had to postpone the next meeting until the following Tuesday.
But the following day, Wednesday, March 21st, was the Coup d'état, and by the following Monday I was gone. So I was unable to see any further work through, which brings me to my coordination efforts following evacuation.
Reaching women within rural Mali is difficult. Whereas nearly every man above the age of 16 tends to own a cellphone or two or three, very few women do. But fortunately, one of the exceptions is Aissetta, the secretary of our Women's Garden Committee.
I was able to get a hold of her on Wednesday, May 2nd. She informed me that they have successfully been holding their regular meetings every other week, but not all of the monthly dues owed have been paid. This is primarily because of difficulties related to the wedding season. Women are constantly traveling to other villages nearby for weddings of friends and family. I had encountered this last year, and it is the truth. This is the hardest time to work with women our region of Mali.
At the time of my call, Aissetta herself was in the nearby village of Babugu where she planned to stay for ten days for a wedding. She told me that as soon as she returns, she plans to call a meeting with the committee and ramp up their money collection efforts.
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