Jenna and Gus in Bamako: July 2009

Week #50 - A pilgrimage back to Niger

The end of the road! Twenty years of neglect have rendered the Say-Kobadjie road impassible for all but the most rugged of vehicles. I refused to let Soumana even consider traversing this section of the road, and thus departed by foot for the remaining 20 kilometers to Gueladio.

Although miles from any village, you are rarely alone in the bush. Here we crossed paths with several Fulani women on their way to the market in Tientiergo.

People were ecstatic when I arrived, and flocked to see photos of my family.

Children in Tchelo Djegou play atop the cattle cart.

Chatting it up with some Fulani herders near DiaKindi.

Fulani women in Tchelo Djegou. Sanda Oli heals a local herder with accupuncture.

Although the rains arrived late in the Sahel this year, people have planted their fields and I found them aggressively weeding/cultivating. Although tractors have partially replaced hand cultivation in places like Mali and Burkina, the great majority of farmer in Niger simply cannot afford such equipment, and thus must cultivate all of their fields hand. The tool of choice for this work is called a "Durow." It is essentially a horseshoe shaped blade attached to a long pole. Cultivating, or "remugal" is brutal work, where the farmer essentially reams the blade through the soil hacking away the weeds at their roots.

These two quick video clips below will give you a glimpse of this beast-of-burden toil.

My former neighbors: Dramani, Maiga and Dotia. Youba Lamido in front of his new bush taxi.

My Gueladio mother, Mme. Hadiza Pullo. Djibo, Sekou, Yousso and Maisamaria prepare

to send me on my way.

The road just outside of Gueladio

Soumana and Fatoumata waiting for me to arrive in Kobadjie.

Soumana's youngest daughter making very funny faces while getting a sponge bath.

A visit with Rabiatou Laouli's mother in Niamey. Rabia has lived in Burlington for many years, and but is currently studying nursing at Plattsburg State College.