Manolos on a Mission

November 2008
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My First MEME

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Kash

I’m not going to lie. I am being lazy today. I should post a fantastic story about Malian culture but I’m tired. Give me the weekend to rest. In lieu of something you really want to read, I am going to post my first MEME, which isn’t a real meme, since no one ever tagged me, but I found it on another blogger’s website and tagged myself. I’ve read online, you should do MEMEs when you first start blogging so your audience gets a better idea of who you are, but I just checked and this will be my 81st post, so this About You meme is a little late, but better late than never. Have a great weekend.

Meme Response #1: 7 or 8 Random Things About Me
1. I majored in Japanese in college. And then moved to Africa post college. Logical? Not my forte.

2. I’m the middle child. It’s pretty obvious. I had to go all the way to Timbuktu for to get some attention! (Ha ha, my sister would disagree arguing I always get attention).

3. I am a dog fanatic, often spending several hours a day perusing dog websites, breed guides, and youtube videos. My childhood library put a cap on the number of dog breed books I could check out a week.

4. I like to do things myself. I like to “learn to fish” rather than “buy a fish.” In other words, I’d rather make my own projects than commission them to others . I always try my hardest to learn computer software, languages, plan my own vacations, etc so that I can take care of things myself. That way I know it’ll meet my high expectations. It doesn’t always work, but I try. Yes, it’s a tad controlling. (Disclaimer: this does not apply to mechanics, finance or sports).

5. My first language was German. Born in Communist Poland, we crossed the border to Austria seeking refuge, just as I was nearing my first birthday. I spent nearly two years there bi-lingual (German and Polish) before setting off for the States where I would grow up.

6. There are times when I wish I was a damsel in distress. Sometimes, I am jealous of Disney princesses. I wish I could just turn “me” off and pretend like I need help with everything. From what I’ve heard, it’s the ancient recipe to marriage (making a man feel needed). I often hear, “Kash, you are so strong, so independent, so together” but really I just want to scream, “I’m tired. I am weak. Please help me.” (But then again, see number 4, I’d probably want to do it myself).

7. I survived a traumatic scuba diving incident at age 13. I lost my breathing device, and had my first panic attack….20 meters deep underwater. After struggling and looking up at the sun, the last thing I remember thinking before I woke , “Let go, it’s all ok, just let go.” I woke up to a team of instructors crowded around me on a boat as I was spitting and coughing up water. For the following hour I was shaking and kept on exclaiming “OH MY GOD” on repeat for nearly an hour before I could say anything else.

8. My first job was at my parent’s hardware store, working Saturdays with my brother and sister. Besides working the cash register and bagging goods, our favorite task was pretending we were mannequins in the storefront window, holding tools and BELIEVING we were fooling passerby.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, personal, travel | 3 Comments »

The Untouchables of Mali

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Kash

It’s no secret that West Africans were taken against their will to work as slaves in the Western world; it was a surprise to me, however, to discover that slavery has deep roots in West Africa amongst a few of its own ethnic groups that has continued disputably, to this day.

The first question on our questionnaires during the study, was “What ethnicity are you?” We explicitly told our interviewers not to list the 12 most numerous ethnic groups in Mali but rather wanted to know how the locals identified themselves.

As my job was to correct the questionnaires and look for errors as soon as they were done, I perused nearly 1000 answers. During the course of our survey, the three of the most common ethnic groups were Fulani, Tuareg, and Dogon. However, in the Fulani and Tuareg villages, we often came across people identifying themselves as the ethnicity of, “esclave” or literally, slave. My initial reaction was one of shock and outrage. After countless philosophical discussions with my colleagues, I learned that both the Tuareg and Fulani were historically known to have slaves, and that actually their slaves are considered entirely different ethnicities, although they look the same and speak the same languages as their captors. The Fulani slaves are known as the Rimaibe tribe and the Tuareg slaves, as the “Bella.” Furthermore, although slavery is outlawed in Mali (outlawed, but is it practiced? That’s a good question) and was outlawed as recently as the 1980s in Mauritania, it is not uncommon to find the Rimaibe and Bella working still for Fulani and Tuareg families. Although they are technically no longer slaves, I was informed that to this date, the Rimaibe can’t hold any political power in the country, either nationally or locally, not even in their own villages. If there are no Fulani in a Rimaibe village, a chief and town committee is selected from a nearby village, managing the Rimaibe’s affairs. Discrimination? I think so.

Even if the Rimaibe and Bella are no longer slaves, what bothers me the most is that they identify themselves that way. Mali has such a rich history of music, culture and so much pride in its ethnic groups, yet the Rimaibe, can’t even call themselves the Rimaibe.

Anyway, just thought I would share with you another heartbreak I experienced while in the field, because it seems no one else is talking about it (I googled the Rimaibe and only found a handful of citations referring to ‘ancient’ slavery. Um, not so ancient misters.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, travel | 6 Comments »

The Post I said I wasn’t going to Post

Posted on November 17, 2008 by Kash

When I first started this blog in preparation of my big move back to Africa, I made a promise to myself and to my readers that I wasn’t going to get all sappy. I thought I had exhausted my ability to transmit the hardships of life in rural Africa when I blogged about them for over two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. During that time I lived in a village side by side with the most hospitable, wise and beautiful people I had ever met, yet that was often overshadowed by my tales of disease, accidents, and poverty. So this time, I took a more light-hearted approach, hoping to prove to you all that Africa is NOT the Dark Continent.

Then I went back to the field.

Again, I experienced that one of a kind West African hospitality. I saw the most beautiful ornamental women on this side of the continent, saw majestic scenery that looked as if it had been painted in watercolors, and was accosted every day by bubbly, smiling, rambunctious children. You would have agreed with me that Africa is in fact the continent of Light had you been by my side on this journey (not only because you would have been burnt crisp by the sun).

But there were scenes I witnessed that could not be ignored.

I saw a whole village supply of food for the year literally diminish overnight, when their fields were attacked by crickets a week prior.

Infested millet stalks

I saw the brown, parasite infested ponds that another village uses as their primary source of drinking water.

Muddy manmade ponds of rain water accumulation

And the hardest thing to see, was always the malnourished children. We came across dozens of acutely malnourished children along the way, and each time we did, we turned a blind eye to work policy, as we immediately rushed the child and their mother to the nearest health clinics, often a hundred kilometers away. The mothers knew their children were sick, but they could not do anything about that. Imagine that! Most of the people we interviewed were only eating one or two meals a day, as it was the difficult season, right before harvest. Their meals usually consist of 150g of millet or rice. That’s all.

So despite my initial instincts to make this blog more light-hearted, and I hope that you have enjoyed the many lovely and bright stories about life in Mali, I also want to share with you just a few of the reasons I came back.

If the band crosses into the red, it means the child is severely malnourished and must be rushed to a hospital. As you can see, this poor baby was way into the red.

If you’d like to donate money to causes such as this, first of all, I’d suggest you research the poverty levels in the world and donate your money to countries that are always at the bottom, such as Mali. Although donating to emergencies should be applauded, too often peaceful countries are left to bite the dust.

Some great organizations to donate to in Mali are the Peace Corps, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Helen Keller International. If you go to the Peace Corps site, you could literally search volunteers by where they are from in their states as well as what project they are raising money for. Peace Corps volunteers receive no funding so all the money they use for projects is from their own fund raising. I would bet that 95% of the money donated goes straight to the program they are installing, and in my case it was 100% when I was a volunteer. In addition the other three organizations are well respected in Mali and have a very good reputation in the field. Thanks for listening.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, charity, children, kids, people, poverty, travel | 8 Comments »

Malian Christmas Trees

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Kash

People come to Africa for the animals, but boy oh boy, if you come to Mali, your eyes will rather feast in the orchestral femininity of Malian women. Sparkling like Christmas trees in the stark desolate landscape make them seem all the more mystical, decorated from head to toe in vibrant and bold displays of colors, sparkles, bells and whistles. Ornamental hair coins, yards of yarn strewn throughout their braids, golden nose rings, tattooed mouths, distinct scarring, and heels, always heels! Oh, I felt like such a poor representative of our gender as I sat in my field gear consisting of cargo pants, white t-shirt and sorting a Chicago Cubs cap. Atleast I had my gold sparkly flip flips on. Despite battling sand storms, disease, dirt roads, muddy homes, and working 24/7, beauty remains one thing Malian women don’t skimp on in their lives, or rather, their Men don’t skimp on. Crop failures, drought, polygamy, run rampant, yet these men find ways to sell a goat when they need too in order to make that one woman in their lives (or two) feel like a Goddess. They know the secret to staying happily married, I suppose

Of course, the definition of beauty differs in Mali than from in the States. Nose rings are perceived as dignified and mature, rather than punk rock or trendy. Women’s jaws are tattooed black, either to make the teeth look whiter or to display their status of wealth. The more ear piercings you have, the wealthier you are. The bigger your jewelry, the more your man loves you (well I made that up, but maybe it’s true). What surprised me what that this emphasis on appearance begins at very early ages, with ear piercings done within days of a child’s birth and nose rings a few years later. Girls become obsessed with changing their hairstyles routinely and wearing beads of necklaces that make noise as they strut through the village, all without the influence of Hannah Montana or Barbie dolls. Here are some photos I took of Malian women in their day to day environment, often in villages hundreds of kilometers away from a road.

Getting old doesn't mean you stop taking care of yourself. Here are two beautiful grandmothers, one with a hair cowrie shell bead and nose ring, the other with the infamous mouth tattoo.

Less is not more. Nose ring, gold beads cascading down off her braids, amber jewels.

I called her the Angelina Jolie of Mali. Just beautiful. And sassy too!

Head beads, head coins, head braids.

Mother and Daughter decked out. Mother wearing the infamous large gold and red Fulani wedding earrings. I noticed Malian women gave their children funky hairstyles such as the Mohawk above. Why? They said, just because it's fun.

Starting early. Scarring, earrings, funky braids.

Women begin tattooing their mouths when they reach maraigeable age. This women looks about 13.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, beauty, life, travel, women | 7 Comments »

The Greatest Job You’ll Ever Hate

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Kash

The motto of the Peace Corps is The Greatest Job You’ll Ever Love, and as a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I’d say that is dead-on. I feel the motto can also be applied to my current job, although perhaps calling it The Greatest Job I’ll Ever Hate is a little more accurate.

I’ve just come back from nearly a month “in the field,” as part of a evaluation team that included 15 Malians and one other American colleague, conducting an agricultural and nutrition assessment of 30 villages as part of a bigger multi-year project we will begin implementing this year. We woke up each morning at 6 and headed out to villages where we spent the day under trees or shade structures interviewing over 50 people each day and measuring just as many children under the age of 5. At night, we would camp out together under the stars and often were out cold by 9pm, due to the long days of activity in the grueling sun.

The villages we interviewed represent just a sample of the 120 villages we will begin assisting, but 30 was more than enough to experience the magnitude of forces we were fighting against: malnourishment, drought, flood, inaccessibility, malaria, disease, no access to schools, lack of resources, etc.

Although I love my job, I wish there was no need for it here.

On the bright side, I witnessed and experienced Mali in all its riches. Although most villages had very little or no resources, they were brimming with social capital: the beautiful ornamental woman, the mile-wide smiles, the bubbling children, the endless generosity and the friendly hospitality.

I will organize some themes from this experience and begin writing about them this week, but in an effort to give you some context to work with, here is a short (10 minute) video montage of the last four weeks.

p.s. I know the text is corny, but I can’t help it!

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, mali, people, travel | 10 Comments »

“Lorraine of Arabia”

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Kash

The color of the turban I chose reflects the naivety I possessed regarding the situation.

When I was first asked to accompany the second team to the North-East desert region of Mali (500 km PAST Timbuktu), I was thrilled. Sure, I had read about the State department warnings of the region insinuating Al Qaeda activity, and also was privy to many stories of NGO car high-jackings through the expat grapevine in Bamako. Just months ago, I forwarded a BBC story about four French tourists being taken hostage in the area to my Peace Corps friends, and yet, despite all this, I leaped with both feet forward without thinking, thrilled at the possibility of exploring and working in the desert abyss.
Just as naïve as I had been when I joined the Peace Corps 5 years ago in Senegal, when I packed white sundresses hoping to look like Kim Basinger from “Out of Africa,” this time I chose a white turban to wear out in the desert, subconsciously hoping to reenact scenes from “Lawrence of Arabia”. I should have known that within minutes of entering the desert winds, my turban would turn the color of the Sahara.
Furthermore, there were several red flags just days preceding the trip. My supervisor decided to leave our NGO car at the military base in the nearest town for protection, instead renting an old crickety SUV for the desert to pass by unnoticed by the “bandits.”
All wrapped up like a mummy, I dove into the desert Sunday morning immediately tackling sand dunes, dust storms, and extreme heat within minutes. Our destination was a village that would take 5 hours to get too, given we were riding over sand dunes rather than paved roads. We stopped at a village two hours in, to relax and eat, when the situation turned for the worse. We were stopped by the mayor who alerted our team that they should leave me there. It was unsafe for me to go any further given recent reports of a car jacking nearby and my visibility and attraction as a foreign hostage.
A split decision was made, and I was told that I was going to stay in the village on my own for four days, at a friend’s home, while the rest of the team went on. Before they left in a flurry, my colleague looked at me with eyes wide open and whispered in English, “Don’t go anywhere. Stay in this compound. We’ll be back in four days. Be careful.”
Fear finally struck me. And with that fear, came action (also known as adrenaline). Within minutes of the team leaving, I was on the phone (Thank God there was one in town) with staff in Bamako. With visions of what could happen to me the following four days, I could not risk my safety an longer. Normally, very laid back and easy going, this time I insisted on hiring a vehicle to come get me, ASAP, whatever the cost.
When the driver arrived 10 hours later, he looked at me and told me to put on long sleeves and to wrap my turban around my head….he was not kidding around. No signs of my white skin were to be exposed.
So hear I am evacuated to the nearest town, safe and sound, breathing a HUGE sigh of relief that I am out of harm’s way.
In other news, I have SO much to write about, I don’t even know how to begin. I have had the most amazing three weeks of work of my entire life. I am still trying to sort out the photos, the days, the villages, the stories, and the messages that I took from this field experience. When I get back home this weekend, I promise to begin writing. One thing is for sure, I have definitely seen the real Mali, the good and the bad.

Filed under: africa, travel, travel africa | Tagged: africa, desert, life, thoughts, travel | 15 Comments »

Babies-R-Us

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Kash

One of our program objectives is to increase the level of nutrition and improve health in the villages we will be targeting the next five years. In order to measure whether or not our program activities will help achieve that (in 5 years) we have to measure children under 5 today in order to get our baseline data, that data we will be measuring against in 5 years.

Today, we spent the whole day weighing babies, taking their heights and interviewing their mothers. The children were ridiculously adorable, but VERY scared, as they had no idea what 20 people wanted to do with them. Nonetheless, they were very good sports and acted ahead of their age (well most of them atleast). Here are some photos from today.

P.S. As I mentioned in my last post, I am off to the field tomorrow for two weeks. Take care and see you all soon!

Weighing babies from a scale hung on a tree.

The kids get so scared as everyone gathers around to measure them. (Breaks my heart. but we are checking them for malnourishment)

Babies in Mali are decked out with talismans....around their neck, their waist, their hands and their feet. Each one is to fend off an illness or bad spirit, i.e. teething, flu, Malaria, etc..

For our research on malnutrition we must measure the height and weight of children under 5 years of age. However, many mothers don't know how old their children are. In order to estimate, we ask children to put their arms over their heads. If they can reach their ears, they are 5 or over. If not, it's time to get measured.

For our research on malnutrition we must measure the height and weight of children under 5 years of age. However, many mothers don’t know the age of their children. So we ask kids that look borderline 5, to put one arm over their heads….if they can reach their other ear, they are most likely 5 and up. If not, it’s time to get measured.

More often that not, we measure children lying down so we can get the most accurate height.

She was more afraid of the 'toubob' (white person, aka me) than getting measured. About 5 kids ran away from me screaming, when they first caught sight of me coming towards them.

She was more afraid of me than getting measured. About 5 kids ran away from me screaming, "Toubob, Toubob (White person)!"

Sharing data with a colleague at the end of the day

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, african babies, african kids, babies, family, people, travel | 7 Comments »

Playing the field

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Kash

I’ve worked the past 6 weekends in a row, but I’ve never been happier being in the ‘office’. After six strenuous weeks of planning, we are finally getting ready to go to field to begin our ‘real’ work.

Beginning this Saturday I will be going out to the field (the field=the villages where we will be implementing our development programs for the following five years). We will be conducting an intense baseline study (evaluation) every day for the following two weeks, visiting over 40 villages and 250 households, interviewing each one.

My last two days working were spent testing the evaluation tools we developed (questionnaires in local languages) in two nearby villages. It was my first time spending a prolonged stint in a village since I left the Peace Corps, and I was in Heaven. I had a smile on my face both days. I can’t wait to get to the field.

As a result, I will be out in the boonies for two weeks, without access to internet. In the field, I will be visiting villages every single day helping compile all the questionnaires we conduct and will analyze the data in a team every night. It’s going to be intense. But I promise, I’ll have lots of stories and photos when I get back.

Here are some pictures of the village we were in the last two days and of us testing our tools.

: View of the Fulani village we were working in

: The village mosque

: The village town hall

: Introducing our project to the village community. I’m in the back

: The introduction meeting in the town hall

: Sleeping baby in the meeting

Filed under: africa, travel, travel africa | Tagged: africa, travel | 15 Comments »

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Kash

This year in Mali, Eid (the holiday celebrating the last day of Ramadan) and the first day of school were only a week apart. Lucky for the girls, the proximity of these two important events helped their mothers justify spending money to style their daughters’ hair. Lucky for me, I get to look at the girls all day long, all over town.

Modern way to use yarn and rubberbands

The classic hanging braids with modern beads.

I hope this cutie petutie keeps her smile tonight when she sleeps on those rough coils.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: africa, african girls, fashion, girls, hairstyles, travel | 6 Comments »

A Wrinkle in Time

Posted on October 7, 2008 by Kash

View of Djenne from a rooftop

Crossing the floodplain to Djenne

I wouldn’t have been surprised had Moses or Jesus crossed my path yesterday. In fact, I was kind of expecting it. In addition to being made entirely out of mud and sand, the sandcastle city that is Djenne, nestled between a river and a flood plain, requires one to take a ferry to even get there adding to its allure and intrigue. Sharing the narrow pathways, that curve like pasta noodles across town, with donkey carts, livestock and old men wearing turbans draped in yards of fabric, it is ONLY the bright neon colors of young girls’ hair beads and overstuffed cargo vans, that bring you back into the 21st century. In addition to having and annually preserving the largest mud mosque in the world (after the rainfalls), the residents of Djenne are also proud of living in one of the most important Muslim cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, once a major stop on the trans-Saharan caravan passing through Timbuktu to North Africa.

Boy playing in front of the Grand Mosque of Djenne

With this image in mind, imagine you are a French fashion magazine conducting a semi-naked photo shoot….Where would you go? Apparently, you would have gone to Djenne and flaunted half naked ladies deeply offending one of the most devout Muslim communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As a result, the mosque has been OFF LIMITS to foreigners since 1996. However, money talks, and we were able to smuggle in a 5 minute visit inside to my great delight. Sneaking in through the back women’s entrance, I found the interior charming and meditative, not to mention 15 degrees cooler than outside.