Go Go Projects!

So, lots of stuff, gee, good news, bad news, great news.

Of course latrines are taking up nearly all of my time, but other stuff is going on: I have been going to the local middle school twice a week and have helped in a few English classes. I even did a lesson on environmental problems, in English! I, like totally, like speak that language! And I know all about environmental problems, that is like what I do! Anyway, so that went well, some of them even asked some good questions afterwards, like when there are less trees and plants is there also less rain. It was fun, they got to hear a native English speaker talk for a while, they learned some useful vocab, they all copied all my little bullit points into their notebooks and so may actually think about things like pollution and deforestation.

I also did a really fun lesson at the kindergarten. A big part of my service is supposed to be around supplementing teachers lessons with environmental and health knowledge, to give them a more rounded understanding of their environment and health and sanitation. I havent really been able to for my whole servie, mainly because the school has been such an extreme headache to work with- constant strikes, teachers never following through with plans, constantly leading me on then not doing anything, and more strikes. The local kindergarten teachers are a lot, a LOT easier to work with and I dont know why I havent done more with them. Mostly they are easier because they are local, they are from the village, and they are private, so dont strike. There is a building recently built next to the kindergarten that suddenly has a class in it. Evidently there is a private teacher there now with the youngest grade of primary school -the public school youngest class is tiny now- and he is supposedly going to take the same kids through the years teaching each class till they graduate primary school. It is pretty cool deal, he isnt a local guy, Wolof but nice, but he also doesnt strike, so big plus. I got all of them together one day, the one primary school class and the two kindergarten classes, about sixty children in all, and we did a lesson on handwashing. I had a bottle of glitter and after one of the kindergarten teachers, the most take charge, a woman named Marie Sarr, gave a nice simple engaging talk about where disease comes from and how microbes get you sick, I presented my glitter as bad microbes. The teachers and I put it all over our hands and hten went around shaking everyones hands. The children then looked to see if they had gotten it, if they were 'sick'. Then in small groups they all came up in front of the class and washed their hands well with soap and water till the glitter was gone while the teachers explained more about how washing was important and when they should do it. Definetly the best part was near the end when a teacher in wrap up asked where it was that people got microbes. Several students shouted 'from that bottle!' and 'from Ndiouma!' (my name). We all paused for a beat, then 'umm, ok, and where else?' That was awesome.

I have also been given premission to do some gardening and a tree nursury in the protective walled enclosure around the kindergarten. My school garden area has completely been destroyed once again, fence posts stolen and plants completely eaten. It was a failed project before I began and now it just needs to be moved somewhere else.

More fun, I also am doing a few mud stove repairs and building a couple from scratch. People here know how to make them from other trainings they have had in the past but people arent so motivated to do it unless someone takes some initiative. I hadn't done one on my own before and I am waiting to see if it all falls apart before I move on to the others. They are a great thing, they make the stove more efficient by channeling heat, you use less wood, food cooks faster, you dont have to gather as much, cut down so many trees in a year, everybody wins and it is free.

Lastly, latrine news, I will have to do a long entry on this one by itself when I have more time, but I can give some highlights: Construction is underway! We have gotten full monetary contributions from 23 families and partials from six others. Most families have dug their pits. The village doesnt like the composting idea, can explain later. And we have essentially finished construction on five so far! Well, we still need to but in the pipe that will actually make it usable an dnot just a box in hte ground, but they are basically done. Go go gadget- douche!