Last night we met with the dugutigi, chief, of the village of Sorakabougou. It was really a trip to meet with this older man and exchange Bambara greetings under the stars. This morning my host brother, one of his friends, and I discussed polygamous marriages. Their main argument for polygamy? What does the man do when his wife gets pregnant? Wait, my response. Impossible! their rebuttle. Interesting, anyways.
Today was a few hours meeting about the project with our Director, Modibo Niang. There are two main things for me to focus on right now. One is working with a committee, a grant from the embassy, the community, and the mayors office to get funding to build a clinic. I feel like I finally understand the need for this, as we visited the existing clinic on the edge of Sikoroni, then walked many kilometers of rough roads into the rest of Sikoroni. Women sometimes give birth on the side of the road on the way to the existing clinic, and the distance truly prevents the best care. It is going to be hard to get the appropriate funding, especially the portion the community needs to raise, since no one wants to give to something that isnt started! We cant start, however, until we have funding from the community to show their support and interest in the work. As our American founder put it, this is not the toubabou, white person, clinic, it is THEIR clinic. Little bit of a catch 22.
The other project is more manageable and has been planned by the health committee that exists here. We fund clinic fees...about a dollar and fifty cents each...for unvaccinated kids under 5 years and consultations for pregnant women. We organize a day to bring each section of the community to the clinic. Once they receive this care, these at risk people get free mosquito nets from the clinic to protect them from malaria. Neat project, eh?!
Miss you all, and share your stories with me, too!
Love!