Week 4--how time flies!

It has struck me how quickly the time is passing because my stay here has been curtailed greatly by my sister's passing.  On the other hand, the weekdays are filled with activities but the weekends can be long if I have to stay by myself at the Center.  Fortunately people have been coming and going, many from different [mostly Christian] organizations, and I have met a few new interesting people as a result.  It is convenient for many working in different parts of Burkina Faso to come through here on their way to and from their home country since the airport is in Ouagadougou. On Saturday I went with Idda to the [American] Rec Center where she lead a group of seven people in water aerobics.  I was exhausted by the time it was over, but the cool water felt good mid-morning while we were there. In case you have forgotten, Idda is the one I have walked with in the park [Parc Urbain Bangr-Weoogo] on occasion.

On Friday evening, Janet Guizzetti also arranged a movie night, complete with popcorn and lemonade, in the tent on the Tele-Vie-Deo campus where we met for church on Sunday. It was such a hit with the ex-pats that they might make it a regular event.

 

Monday I was feeling a bit under the weather so I didn't get much done, but decided that those siestas after lunch are really a great invention.  Idda snapped a photo of me with the Fulani hat perched on my head the day I bought it--I had bags of groceries in my hands plus the fushia-colored basket so I had to wear it from the parking lot to where I was staying...  The five Swiss visitors she had with her were most amused...

But most exciting of all, I got to squeeze in a visit to see Simon Nacoulma's new library (to be opened at the end of July), and visit some of his other projects.  I took along two other people that I thought might be interested in his work as well.

I mentioned him and his organization ICCV-Nasemse, in an earlier posting, the later portion of the name coming from the Mooré "We can succeed if we work together."  He has been doing community development work in one of the poorer sectors of Ouagadougou, starting out with his library as the centerpiece.  This former high school teacher now runs, among other things, a clinic which provides health education as well as vaccinations, a women's cooperative where they produce and sell agricultural products at reduced prices to the disadvantaged, provides agricultural training in organic farming, and now just opened a teaching restaurant.  The man is absolutely amazing, and definitely not your typical Bukinabè.

Here's the old library that you might recall from an earlier post

 One of the five (!) staff that works there says that they serve some 32 schools--quite a few more than the 12 the envisioned at the beginning.

The 'Maison de la Femme' next door which opened a year ago

 Drawing on his own background of being raised by a single mother after his own father died at an early age, Simon is attempting to educate women on their rights, and trying to create a way for them to become self-sufficient in creating "La Maison de la Femme" and its "le champ de la ville" [the field in the city].

agricultural products for sale at reduced prices

By encouraging good health and nutritional practices, as well as training in beneficial agricultural ones, including organic farming, he hopes to give women, above all, a good all-around grounding in what they will need to succeed.

Pauline, in charge of logistics, gives us a rundown 

To listen to a short segment of Pauline's presentation to us about "La Maison de la Femme" in French, click here.

The new library from the street

The new library has steps on one side that allow seating for street theater productions and films projected on the wall nearby

library interior

Atrium and upper deck

View from the library deck showing the adjacent restaurant below

 The restaurant with its own on-site herb and produce garden

According to the publicity, the restaurant "La Jardinière" offers "traditional and modern cuisine made from sustainable and local agricultural products."  Workshops are given to explain the importance of a balanced diet, help is available on farming techniques, there are recipes for incorporating produce that may be unfamiliar, and there are even cooking classes from time to time.

As a parting gift for his new library, I gave Simon a copy of Le Pays Dogon by the same Malian writer, Moussa Konaté, who had written the titles I had given to representatives of FAVL for the past two years.  He was delighted at the choice and said that the Dogon had lived in Ouagadougou before the Mossi (speakers of Mooré), who had driven them out centuries ago.  It was part of their heritage. . .

I told him that Mr. Konaté, now deceased, had intended to create, with the help of the Malian government, a collection of books for use in the schools there in Mali.  He was very interested in the publisher, Scolibris, and where the books might be available.

Le Pays Dogon by Moussa Konaté

And that same evening, friends of Stuart and Cathie started to arrive in Ouagadougou from the U.S., including a woman from my church, a former Peace Corps staff member, Jane Gore. And this morning Scottie Griffen and Angela showed up.  The weekend of the the Kaansa New Testament Dedication Ceremony in Obiré has come!  Only a village really, Obiré, located in the very south of Burkina Faso close to Ghana and the Côte d'Ivoire, is about to become overrun with guests from abroad! 

After most had an opportunity to settle in, a large group of us were off to the American Embassy to meet the ambassador, who it turns out, also studied linguistics at Georgetown University (as did Stuart), and I had the briefest glimpse of the library there.  Unfortunately no photos were allowed. . .

Dinner, though, was at the Sika Lounge--very nice--one of the best restaurants in Ouagadougou. I was quite surprised when Mary Hendershott, also mentioned in an earlier blog, turned out to play the sax there!

A view of the interior from outside

 Here Mary plays a flute