The Heat is On

Today is the 87th day of the year and there's still no sign of rain. Actually there hasn't been any kind of precipitation since last October. So strange coming from a place where there is a lot of snow fall each winter. The dry season has officially begun as has left me longing for fruit and vegetables and most importantly water. I've never been more aware of just how dependent we are on water up until this point. Here, water is scarce and is increasingly difficult to come by, as is evidenced by the ladies now sleeping by the water pump in hopes to be among the first the fill their buckets before the water is finished. While water is always a challenge, during the dry season you really feel the pinch, particularly when you're faced to make decisions about whether or not to take a second bucket bath that day because then you might not have enough water to wash clothes or dishes. For families and animal herders the dilemma is that much greater. Will I have enough water for my family as well as my 50 cattle? At the height of the water shortage, I hear that sometimes fights break out at the pumps because people actually bring their animals to the pumps to drink while others are still waiting in line to get water for their families. Suffice it to say it looks like there will be difficult times ahead.

Now that the water is just about finished, the community gardens are as well. On a recent trip to the capital I went to the grocery store, AKA expat central, and stocked up on canned fruit. About an hour later I checked out and my tab was 25,000CFA ($50), almost a ¼ of my monthly income. Some things are costly but worth it. (Funny...I used to use the same reasoning when it came to buying the occasional handbag.) I also decided that it might be a good idea to start drying veggies so that I have some to carry me through the dry season so at our market this week I bought what I thought was a bunch of green peppers and onions to cut them up and dry them. Little did I know what little that would actually reap. Seven fresh peppers in the desert sun shrinks down to about less than one cupful. Hopefully I'll still be able to find them next week; I'll be sure to buy a lot more. Yesterday I also tried my hand at making granola which I'm happy to say turned out a lot better. Thanks for the nuts, dried fruit, honey!! I'm able to find yogurt here so I'm looking forward to having a different breakfast option.

For the past three weeks, I've had in-service training (IST), one week in Ouagadougou, one week in Ouhigouya and the third week here back at my site with four other volunteers for local language. I decided to go down to Ouaga a couple of days early to check out FESPACO, the two week, bi-annual West African film festival that features films from around the world from sun-up to sun-down at participating theaters. The only film that I actually made it to was the Last King of Scotland, which at the time seemed like a good idea. But at 12:00am when I was leaving the theater all I wanted was to be back in America. I don't know if you've seen this film but it isn't exactly a feel-good film, and my uneasiness was only exacerbated by seeing this film while living in Africa. Walking out of the theater, all of us had the same feeling as we hurriedly walked towards a cab to take us back to the safety and security of the PC house. I'm curious to see if I'll have the same reaction when I watch this movie again, in English once I back at home.

During our week in Ouagadougou, we visited a handful of different NGOs working here in Burkina which was really useful particularly as I consider the different projects that I'd like to work on. One organization does a lot of work with composting, specifically, composting latrines and how to treat and use human waste so that it can be used again in gardening projects. The soil here in Burkina is lacking in nutrients so there are a lot of projects targeted at enhancing the soil quality to help the agricultural business and productivity. It has been said that the Burkinabe are among the world's best farmers and considering the circumstances under which they farm, I am inclined to agree. I'm interested in learning more about these composting latrines because I think that this could potentially be a way to help taper the spread of disease. Every day I walk down the street and see people squatting alongside the road instead of using a latrine. Then a few minutes later, I might see some goats or chickens or pigs rummaging through the trash as they try to find something to eat next to where the man just went to the bathroom. A few weeks later that same goat might be killed in celebration of a big holiday and everyone merrily eats the goat meat without any regard for the condition of that animal. Not good.

With the completion of my first four months at site I now have the green light to officially start working. Having spent a lot of time talking to people in the community I have a lot of ideas for possible projects and am anxious to get going. Wish me luck!!