I have been living in my community for almost two weeks, and
am still adjusting to life in the bush. Everything
is still so new, and my Basseri language skills are not much beyond the
obligatory salutations. Basseri is the
language of my village, so if I want to communicate with my neighbors with
something more than a smile and a wave of the hand, I don’t really have a
choice. I am also learning Pular, as it
is the language of the neighboring villages.
Not only am I trying to establish my own routine, but I also am trying
to observe what habits and customs the community will be most amenable to
change or improve. Some of these changes
are as simple as teaching my village a more humane way to kill a chicken, or
getting my counterpart to help me extend a well next to a (currently) fallow
garden.
Though I am still very much a new arrival in my village, I
have already had a meeting with the “president” of the local groupements (somewhat
similar to the business cooperative concept in the United States) and with the
superintendent of the region’s school system.
The three of us spent a recent afternoon reviewing activities I should
be focusing on in my first month. (I am still trying to figure out why the
superintendent of the school system is interested in working with an
Agroforestry extension PCV, but as long as he can help me with my projects, I’m
glad to have him.) In addition, I am not
sure if this level of support or expectation is typical of the Peace Corps
experience, but it can be a bit overwhelming.
We came up with a list of EIGHT projects I need to start in the next
month. And I thought the typical PCV
only worked on one or two projects! Generally, the communities seem pretty
excited that I am here and eager to lend my expertise and knowledge. I’ve told them that I don’t have all the
answers and will likely make many mistakes, but they keep looking at me as if I
am some sort of magician! Usually,
volunteers don’t start any projects until they’ve been living in their
communities for a few months, but I guess you have to consider the needs and
the work cycle of each village.
Finally, if this isn’t enough for me to think about so
quickly, unforeseen incidents “happen” in my village. For example, the other night my counterpart (I
will call him Robert) comes home from a trip to Koundara where he sold a sack
of peanuts and tells me that 4 of his chickens died today after eating rodent
poison that was in the grain storage hut.
His wife had discovered them after he had already left for town. All livestock animals are highly valued in
Guinea, as they are a source of either food for the family, or money from their
sale at the market. Robert was really
upset with himself, as he valued the loss as equal to one adult sheep, which
for the family, was not insignificant.
After having been informed of the deaths while in Koundara, Robert
decides to buy a 3 month old kitten from a friend, wisely thinking that the cat
will be a safer alternative than poison to control the mice/rat population. Unfortunately, Robert makes the decision to
transport the kitten in a woven grain sack for the journey back to the
village. At some point in his journey
back home, the cat starts getting really anxious (or angry) and bites Robert
through the feedbag. This prompts Robert
to jettison the grain sack by the side of the road, losing both the bag and the
kitten.
Upon hearing that Robert has been bitten by a potentially
rabid animal, I try to explain to him the potential seriousness of his
situation. Since my French still is at
an intermediate low level, I also enlist the help of the Peace Corps’ regional coordinator in Boké to
explain what rabies is and why Robert needs to be on guard for the next 10
days, (in addition to seeing a doctor.)
If this wasn’t enough to think about, Robert (and the rest
of the family), decide to eat the poisoned chickens! He assures me that he has done this (eat
poisoned chickens) several times before, and that I have nothing to worry
about. (Yet he still keeps using poison rodent
bait and losing chickens!) Robert, being
the culturally sensitive Guinean that he is, respects my decision not to eat
any of the poisoned chicken meat.
However, he is open to other forms of rodent control that are more
effective and safer than poison or freaked out kittens!
So if someone could send me some mice and rat traps, it
would greatly be appreciated!
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