The good news is that my malaria is gone! The not so good news is that because of my weakened immune system, I somehow contracted a parasite known as giardia. As of right now, that is completely cleared up too - cross your fingers that February will be disease free, as I will be traveling to Senegal and the Gambia for a much needed vacation!
Overall, January was a super productive month for me:
1. My site buddy and I killed and ate a delicious chicken. My site buddy killed it after I chickened out (haha), and village children plucked it and roasted off the feathers for us. They just love to help out the Toubabs, and I'm sure that my title of "karate master" among them didn't hurt their willingness to assist us. We cooked it in a tomato/chili sauce and ate it with a lovely side of bacon baked beans. It was an amazing day.
2. I had a meeting with about 20 people in my village - 10 men and 10 women. We talked, completely in Bambara, about future plans for the village, and together, we decided that our main priority should be building a vaccination hangar for the CSCOM. We will soon be able to give mothers and children vaccinations without crowding the already busy CSCOM building, and will additionally weigh babies for malnutrition and give talks on healthy life choices, like using a latrine, hand washing, and eating foods with nutrients in them. The village came up with all of these ideas on their own, and I fully support them!
3. I filled out my SPA proposal to get funding for the vaccination hangar project, and I am currently waiting for Admin's approval. My village did all of the work for me, like pricing the materials and finding skilled and unskilled labor. Step one accomplished!
4. I try to remind myself that I can only help people who are willing to help themselves and initiate change. So, in order to reach out to the people who refuse to put in effort and instead choose to wait for handouts that will never come, I am going to use my house as a huge mural. I am going to paint a mural on my latrine that depicts the importance of using a latrine and not defecating outside, and I am going to paint a hand washing mural on my porch wall that shows people washing their hands after using the latrine, before cooking, and after eating. Hopefully, this will spark some questions from passers-by, and when they tell me that they do not have money for soap, I will then come to the rescue and tell them that I can show them how to make soap for very little money. Then, they can make soap, use it, be healthier, and then sell the rest in market for a profit. This is the ideal situation, but of course, we will see how it actually pans out. The murals will definitely happen, though.
5. I have a meeting in a few days with my women's association to show them how to make soap. They are interested in selling the soap in order to earn the money towards a women's association vegetable garden. Girl power! The women in my village are amazing, especially my homologue.
6. There was a party in another volunteer's village in my region. What was the purpose of this party? It was to praise us as Peace Corps volunteers for all of the good work that we do! There was food, dancing, and tea, and considering how one volunteer's homologue organized and paid for the ENTIRE fete, I would consider it a huge success.
7. My parents sent me an awesome Christmas package that included mac and cheese, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia DVD's, family pictures (which both the Malians and I love), and TEQUILA. I literally jumped up and down for five minutes after receiving this package. THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has sent me letters, cards, packages, and emails! It means so much that you all care about keeping up with me and Skyping me, and when I have bad days, I think of all the cheerleaders that I have and am very grateful!
I will keep everyone updated on my projects, and please continue to keep me updated on your lives!
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