The daily commute

You know how a whale in the ocean constantly has a school of minnows in its wake - well in village, guess who's the whale. From my front doorstep to the health center, my usual commute along the sand dune next the the herd of cattle on their way to graze, I am accompanied by 2 - 8 children, they never travel alone. They giggle, whisper, test how much I know in Sonrai or chant my name, "Rou-kie! Rou-kie!", a veritable parade in which I am always the lead float. Along the way I practice my Miss America wave (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wipe a tear, blow a kiss) as I greet every living creature we pass. If I don't they will undoubtedly greet me giving me no choice but to respond. Some of the families I know, many more I don't, but regardless as to whether or not we've been formally introduced they will pause what they're doing whether its getting water from the pump, pounding millet, gathering firewood, washing clothes, washing babies or going to the bathroom (this last one applies only to children who take two steps off the beaten path and pop a squat, I still don't know how to respond) and they yell over courtyard walls, across fields (of sand) to ask how I'm doing? How's my morning? Am I in good health? Are the people of my courtyard in good health? How are my children? In turn I give the appropriate one word response to each question to confirm; I'm doing fine (bansammi), my morning is good (kannkbanndi), I have my health (huksaabo), my courtyard is doing well (windogsaabo), and my children are good (koitiaysaabo). I have stopped arguing and trying to explain why I am 23 and have no children, but don't worry Tom, I still take the time to clarify that I can't marry them, their son or their sheepherder because I have a husband in America. They go on to tell me, Oh, he doesn't have to know, I tell them, Yes, but I would know - but in true patriarchal style this last point doesn't seem to register as a problem.

I did have a very enlightening conversation with my counterpart, the head nurse of the health center. Due to his fluency in french and level of education we can discuss almost any topic because this is, after all a cultural exchange and its fun to use the shock factor by just describing what its like in the US. "So, they don't practice polygamy there?" "No, it's actually illegal" (I don't bother to bring up Utah and the mormon tradition, that's a whole nother story) So we discussed why they still practice it here and why a man feels the need to have three wives and on average 15 children, but usually more. My counterpart told me that a man will usually ask his wife before taking on a second, but for her to refuse would imply that she isn't a social person and doesn't like people in general. If a man has enough money, then it would only be natural for him to want to share that with more people by expanding his family. And the two wives share the workload and typically get along to the best of my understanding so it's really a win-win situation. I have yet to find a woman with a clear enough undertanding of french or a translator who is trustworthy, to pose the same question but I will let you know when I do.

My counter arugment was to pose the possibility of a woman taking on two husbands, my counterpart just laughed wholeheartedly, as if this thought had never once crossed his mind. But this is the bulk of my work, asking questions, getting responses that would have social services up in arms back home and posing the one question that I never hear, "Why?" If your baby has not eaten in three days Why have you not gone to the health center? If you have a cut that is literally turning green and swarming with flies, Why don't you clean it with soap and water? If you are 21 and have had 2 children in 20 months then Why don't you take some sort of birth control? The answer is hopefully where my full time position will be of some use because it will address the sustainability aspect of my work instead of the typical band-aid donor solution in the form of more money. But I will cross that bridge when I come to it because first I need to know why. And before I can find that I need a translator who will honestly tell me what one woman just said. One man that I asked to translate for me told me that the woman I was talking to said she understood perfectly well, "Really?" I said, "Because she didn't even open her mouth." This is why two years is looking like an appropriate length of time to discover the source of the problems and address them in a manner comprehensible to everyone. Two years will most likely be insufficient but I will oblige to leave some work to be done for my replacement volunteer. ;)