Douentza

We have now been in Douentza almost a week. We arrived here last Sunday after a long and hot bus ride. We were expecting to drive for 8 hours, but we ended up having a nearly 14 hour trip. I guess it is just the African style of traveling. We stopped many times for eating, praying and police... ect.

We are staying at a home of a Canadian lady Lorna. She is working with the Garibou kids among other things around this area. The weather here is nice. It is not hot season yet, but hot enough for us sometimes. Mornings are cold, but in the afternoon the temperature goes up to 30c.

Dust and sand can be found everywhere.. even in my ears, nose, eyes, mouth.. ;)

THE GARIBOU BOYS

Parents send their children away to a marabou to study the Koran. Some are as young as 4 years old. They are sent from the marabou to peg their food and their have to survive on their own with out parents or anyone who really takes care of them. These children are really smart, but they are not going to a normal school, so they don’t get any other kind of other teaching (except the Koran witch is in Arabic and they don’t understand what is says they just repeat). The Kids are sent to the streets to peg their food and everything... rough life reality hits them too early..

Lorna gives daily food to the kids, washes them and tries to teach them some basic things.. manners ect. The kids are great. It is always the same group of kids who come 14 kids from 3 different marabous. So we have learned to know them quite well already. J

Our days start early around 6am (the sun is up at 6:30am). The Garibou kids arrive for breakfast around 7am. They came back in the afternoon and in the evening for dinner. But on the last days (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) they have been here all day long because they don’t have to study on those days. In addition to that we have been playing with the kids from the village… and there is a never ending number of them around... It is so amazing how much you can actually communicate without understanding the language.

WORKING WITH THE KIDS

On Wednesday we had a “big washing day”. We washed the kids, did their laundry, fixed their clothes and gave out new shirts. Some kids were first little embarrassed that white girls wanted to wash their clothes, but after a while they all got excited and were really enjoying and happy about it..

Some boys and Jakob before "their treatment"

Hanna and Lenneke washing clothes... those clothes are extremely dirty...

fixing clothes...

Some boys with their new and shiny clothes

We have a night guard Josei, who rescues us from all the nasty and evil mousses, scorpions, snakes, cockroaches and kills them for us. :) He rescued our outreach leader one day from a group of little bit too excited village kids, who were surrounding her and not letting go … Our heroic guard came running to the scene and saved the day.

So we are well protected in many ways. For so far no one has been really sick and we are doing just great.
… :D