Week #4 - A visit to Yirimadjo. The Swimmers.

As we got ready to head to Bamako we were reminded how small the world really can be by friends who sent us names of people they knew in Bamako or larger Mali who would be happy to help get us oriented, etc. One of these connections is Kat Johnson. Kat came to Mali in May to spend a year working with a project on the outskirts of Bamako in a town called Yirimadjo. The project was started several years ago by a group of Brown University grads and has three main components: 1) to help expand the facilities of a medical clinic that serves that district of Bamako; 2) to train women as community health workers with a strong emphasis on malaria prevention in kids under the age of 5, and; 3) to help develop women's cooperatives through microfinance and other training. See the project web-site at www.projectmuso.org/programs/malaria to learn more.

We got in touch with Kat not long after we arrived and she and friend/colleague Mary Virginia, a third year Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, came in for dinner and a swim one night. This past weekend they invited us out to see the new clinic which the project has built, to meet Kat's host family, and to take a hike in the hills behind her house. We took lots of pictures during our adventure...

The grand opening of the new clinic takes place this Saturday! While we were there, they were painting the signs on the building. There are two other buildings already at the site but it was clear they need more space. While touring near the maternity area, we were invited in to see a newborn and his proud mama. It was her first baby and he was literally hours old. Jenna and Gus were awestruck. We also met some of the doctors and nurses outside. Mary Virginia joined them for a picture outside the clinic.

Tu veut la cassette? Moin cher! Moin cher! We are an obvious target for anyone trying to sell goods by the side of the road. Sometimes they are cards with extra minutes for your cell phone, and often they are cassettes. While we were at the Clinic Randy's entrepreneurial instincts kicked in and he decided to start a side business selling pirated cassette tapes in the market to make a bit of extra money. Unfortunately, the lady in this photo would only trade some of her peanuts! It was a short-lived business.

We drove to Kat's house for lunch. Her host family had prepared a huge lunch of traditional "Zame" with fish for us during our visit. Her host-mother Coro and sister Awa served the lunch. Although the food was amazing, Jenna wanted nothing to do with it.. Gus found eating a bit challenging with a moto helmet on his head!


Kat's host brother was excited to show us the animals which live in the compound - hawks, a tortoise, and sheep.

Lots of local kids popped in for a glimpse of us. Jenna and Gus aren't quite sure what to make of this kind of attention...

Kat and her host-mother Coro. In addition to being a wonderful cook and very welcoming to Kat, Coro is also a facilitrice/teacher for the Community Health Workers portion of the project.

After eating, we took a hike in the hills above Kat's house. Her host-brother was happy to lead us up the trail and then across the open rock. Here's a view looking down on the town of Yirimadjo from the hills above.

Randy couldn't resist trying a few bouldering moves, and Gus was carefully watching each movement.

Even on a hike in the bush, Gus is always in the mood for making funny faces! "Hey Dad, look at this face!"

Although the feminist movement has been slow to reach the Sahel, the proliferation of small grain grinding machines like the one in this photo free women from what would otherwise be hours of labor pounding grain with a mortar and pestle.



Some photos of our house in Bamako .... Wait a minute..that doesn't look like a mud hut!




Swimmers

The kids are spending more time in the water then they ever have before - and it shows! Jenna is turning into a mermaid - swimming all the way across the pool "even when it's over your head"! Both kids start swimming lessons next week as part of their after-school activities.