Mosquito Net Distributions in Fongolimbi

I am really proud of my fellow volunteers right now. This last week the volunteers in the Kedougou region pulled together and made some pretty incredible things happen. One of those things was the distribution of over 4000 mosquito bed nets, the first line of defense against Malaria.

We biked from village to village with huge compressed bails of nets in tow. Going out in pairs, we covered 16 villages in nets, sometimes working all day long without food or drink. There were so many people who had never owned a bed net because it was prohibitively expensive. Free bed net distribution has been shown to have the greatest effect on decreasing malaria contraction. In my village I see the Malaria ravage all members of society, seriously affecting their ability to generate income and lift them selves out of poverty. It felt so good to do something for the people of Kedougou that was tangible and necessary.

A pile of nets await their new homes.



Kay writes names on nets with a beautiful village scene in the background.




This village, Thioune, was stunning!






Walking home we saw a huge rainbow.




The next day, an old man and a young boy wait for their nets.




A sweet angel of a little girl goes home with her new mosquito net.



An old woman and young man rest in the shade of a tree.



The chief of the village in Lombel was so happy he gave us a chicken.



And I intended to ride it home on the handlebars like Kevin and Winnie from Wonder Years.



But it broke free and we had to chase it down in the bush. Not taking any chances we tied it to my baggage carrier.




Yummy…



Can you believe I was a vegetarian for 10 years.

And the best part, we found even more waterfalls. This one in Thioune was stunning, and gave a great northern view of unblemished forest.




As we retired to Fongolimbi after a day in the bush a scary tree says good night to the sky.




And the sun sets on a day spent well.

Perspective

Skin color is a fascinating subject.

Pick out the Toubab (means foreigner or white person).



The girl in the middle is very light skinned and people told her that she was one of us, a Toubab. Literally they told her that her skin was red.

Pick out the albino.




Albinos intrigue me. That may not be kosher to say but it still rings true. Enough said.

Girls Leadership Camp

This weekend was the Girls Leadership Camp I organized. I invited a friend and Peace Corps trainer Awa Traore to come and talk to 18 high school girls. She spoke on premarital sex, early marriage, unplanned pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, the importance of education, etc. The day was a true success.

Thanks to Annie Weston who provided the gift bags. The girls loved their goodies.

In search of waterfalls

I am cherishing my last few weeks in Kedougou. The landscape has gotten so green it is like living in the shire. So these past few days I took off on a 3 day bike ride through the country side.

Of course every good bike ride deserves several breaks to play with your camera.


One of our newest volunteers Kay got schooled in badass-ery. How to walk through crocodile territory with your ride on your shoulder.


The road has become inundated with water, but at least the swirls are pretty.


I am always willing to ham it up in front our our beautiful mountain range.


Here is the most photographed waterfall in Senegal, Dindefello. It is cool but kinda like the Yosemite of the region, there are always tourists. I prefer some of the falls farther off the beaten path.



But while beating that path you may encounter bugs of incredibly large size.



One of the nights I stopped off at a friend's house and watched her wash her little baby in a bucket. It was too cute.



I went off in search of a far off waterfall called Thiokoye but never got there. The hike was great but it was disappointing never to have found the fall.





In a few weeks I am going to go out and find even more waterfalls. For now I am getting ready to head off to Fongolimbi to distribute mosquito bed nets. The volunteers in the Kedougou region are going to extend bed nets to 16 villages. It is going to be a lot of bike riding but will be very rewarding. Who has the coolest job on earth? I do, that's who.

And for some final images, here is the dinner that I have had almost every night for the last two years, lachiri hakko. It is corn couscous with leave sauce and is not my favorite meal. After I leave Senegal I will never EVER eat this again. EVER.



For me this is laundry. I crave the day I can throw it into a machine and walk away.



And for the image that I want to carry you thru the weekend, a shot one of my favorite down hill runs. Imagine the wind whipping thru your hair as you point your trusty velo down the hill and let 'er rip. Classic Kedougou fun.

My life

moves at a snail's pace

For the birds

I have mentioned that I am an avid bird watcher. It seems more and more of my days slip away holding the gaze of a feather specimen. I have taken to drawing the birds I see, but have not proven to be very skilled at this.



My field guide book has been leafed thru extensively and I have not found all of the birds I have seen. My favorite bird for a long time was the Abyssinian Roller, pictured below in the center. I didn't know it's name for a long time so I called it the Alexa bird, after myself. Humble, I know.

To the Bat Cave!!!

I have been seeing bats around my lair lately. Recently I looked down and saw what I thought was bat poop. Instead it was a baby bat covered in red fleas. It's face looks a lot like a little puppy dog.



It was only as big as the end of my pinkie.