Site Visit

Bonjour!

Right now I am using the wifi at a beautiful pool in Banfora eating salt and vinegar pringles and babybel cheese. My site is only about an hour bikeride (or 20 minute bush taxi ride) from Banfora where I can find cheese and cold drinks and cyber cafes and hotels and restaurants, including one called McDonald. I'm slowly but surely uploading pictures to my flickr but they're all on my facebook so you can view them there, too!

I got to see the house that I will be living in for the next 2 years as well as the cat that I will be living with! His name is George and he is the cat of the volunteer who I am replacing. My house is already decorated and ready to go, with a nice outdoor patio area with a hangar and bamboo shades that I can let down if it gets too sunny. I have a HUGE courtyard with my own mango tree, papaya tree, basil bush, small banana tree, and lots of room to plant tomatoes and other vegetables as well.

My town is surrounded by rolling green hills and there is also a lake within walking distance from my house. It is very small with only around 2000 residents but they are all very motivated. I was able to meet with a few of the women in the women's association that the volunteer I am replacing started. They make liquid and hard soap and neem creem (anti-mosquito cream) and sell it for a profit. I will be continuing her work with the women's group, her work doing health workshops on malaria and family planning, and her girls' clubs. I also hope to start a savings and credit program with the women's group so that they can have more power within their families. I will also start tutoring the CM2 girls since I recently found that very few of them passed the exam after primary school to continue on to middle school. As I mentioned earlier, there is an NGO who works with my town that pays for each girl who passes this exam to continue on to high school. I was able to meet the secretary of this organization in Banfora yesterday. I will also be working with the nutrition team at the health center in my town to organize a program where women can keep track of the weight of their babies and attend nutrition workshops.

I went around village with my homologue, or counterpart, who works at the health center. He introduced me to the chief and the chief of development in my village and I was able to visit both of the schools and the health center. I am excited to be replacing a volunteer who has done a lot already and who has given me a few ideas about what to do moving forward. I also think that I have the best of both worlds, since I have a small, manageable village where it will be easier to measure progress and integrate but I am only 20 minutes away from probably the best tourist town in Burkina. I can't wait to move in at the end of September after I have officially sworn in as a volunteer!

I will have a different address where you can send me packages once I move in and I will update that on my blog. I will also put up a wish list of things that I would like for you to send me! As always, I love receiving letters and calls, too!

Hope everything is well!

-Marlow