Christina in Burkina... IN TOGO!: October 2007

19 October 2007

Just Try to Blend In...

19 October 2007

This village has about 3000 residents and draws a crowd of probably 2000 people on the big 21-day marché*. On October 15, I realized that I was literally the only white person in a 2000-person market. Not only was I the only white person in Béléhédé's market that day, but also the only non-African. This market is a completely local phenomenon; there would be no reason for anyone to come if they didn't live within 50kilometers. When I thought it out, I realized I could say with almost complete certainty that I was the only non-black, non-West African person within at least a 22K radius, and excepting my friend David in Tongomayel, make that 40K. Within 22K I would also be by far the most educated; probably the only person to have ever been in a plane; certainly the only person never to have experienced extreme poverty within my extended family; probably the only one to have ever been to a movie theater or an amusement park; and certainly the only individual with a gmail address.

Just some perspective.

*Béléhédé, my village, has a market every three days and each Monday. When these two markets collide every 21 days, there is a BIG market - le vingt-et-un marché.

17 October 2007

Tuesday Morning

17 October 2007

I went for a run yesterday around 9am. It was a real treat to be listening to a great song on my ipod which is filled with a random sampling of my brother's music. I only get a chance to charge the device every two weeks on average, so far, so when I heard to kids calling behind me, I ignored them. Well they were still there when I looked back a minute later and even after greeting them, they carried on behind me.

My plan was to run a little more than 2K to the hill with intermittent phone service. If I was lucky, I'd be able to check my text messages. When I got to the top of hill, I turned off my headset and looked back. Two kids were climbing up right behind me. After another minute or two I had six panting, 8-11 year-old girls (my neighbors) next to me while I turned on my phone.

Of course I couldn't get service. I held my arm up high and stood on my toes. I walked to the left, the girls walked to the left. I walked to backwards, forwards, and to the right; they followed back, forth, to the right.

So much for my plan. But since I had gathered a following, I figured I'd give the girls their money's worth. I let them off to get a drink of water*, lined them up double arms distance, and gave them a quick introduction to boxing.

Then I told the girls I would be going home so they picked up their flip flops and we ran back to village together. We were all keeping a similar, modest pace - me in my running sneakers and the girls on their bare-foot, 10 year-old feet.

*Actually it was stagnant, dirty water collected in a small pool on the rock hill but I know I couldn't stop villagers from drinking this even if I tried. Plus, considering the fact that these kids would be running behind me no matter what, I preferred that they hydrate.

05 October 2007

A Vampire? Maybe?

5 October, 2007

Last night I had an unwelcome visitor.

First I heard a nearby flapping sound which woke me up. In gauging nighttime terrors and threats I think in terms of the worst possible thing. So I thought, at least this sounds bigger than a cockroach... Second, I simultaneously grab my glasses (to the left) and my flashlight/ weapon (to the right). Third, I wield my light and assess the situation. Ah ha! I was right, it is not a cockroach! But... Oh-My-God... it is flying, bigger than my hand, and INSIDE my mosquito net! I dive out of bed to the right breaking the seal of the tucked-in net and run screaming and slapping myself into the living room.

It was a bat.

I examined the net for holes or entry points. That night I found nothing out-of-the ordinary, no rips or tears, and decided to leave the bat trapped. I'll ask someone for help in the morning. So I pitched my tent and slept under the stars. When I woke up at 5:30 (as usual) the bat was gone, there were no holes in my net, and my creepy bed-mate had left no trace.

What do you think, should I start sleeping with a wooden stake?

Facts & Figures on Girls' Ed

Out-of-school children

• There are 115 million children out of school – the majority of them, 62 million, are girls – and 77 million children not enrolled in school. The difference represents the millions of children who are enrolling in but not attending school.

• Children from the poorest household are three times less likely to be in school than their counterparts in the richest households.

Gender parity

• There are now 94 girls in primary school for every 100 boys, up from 92 in 1999.

• Of the 181 countries with 2004 data available, two thirds have achieved gender parity in primary education.

• The gender gap remains particularly large in Afghanistan (44 girls in school for every 100 boys), the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Pakistan and Yemen.

Illiteracy

• There are 781 million illiterate adults, two thirds of them women, worldwide.

Early childhood

• Children whose mothers have no education are more than twice as likely to be out of school as children whose mothers have some education

• In developing countries, 75 per cent of the children not in primary school have uneducated mothers

• One additional year of schooling for 1,000 women helps prevent two maternal deaths.

• Early childhood care and education establishes a solid foundation for learning and makes both girls and boys ready to attend school at the right age. It also improves parents’ and caregivers’ readiness to send their children to school by equipping them with deeper knowledge and skills.

• More girls can attend and complete school if other children they need to care for are receiving early childhood care and education; this is particularly crucial for children affected by HIV and AIDS.

HIV and AIDS

• If all children received a complete primary education, around 700,000 cases of HIV in young adults could be prevented each year.

• Women represent 62 per cent of the 15- to 24-year-olds living with HIV and AIDS globally

• The burden of AIDS care falls especially heavily on women, and can limit educational and economic opportunities for women and girls.

• Higher education levels for girls are associated with a reduced risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

• 15.2 million children under age 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS; 12 million of these children live in sub- Saharan Africa.

Violence

• Girls between 13 and 18 years old constitute the largest group exploited in the commercial sex industry. It is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18 are victims

of trafficking each year.

• Female genital mutilation/cutting affects 130 million girls and women globally and places 2 million at risk annually.

• In some cultures, the preference for boy children results in prenatal sex selection and infanticide of girls. In India, there are 933 Indian women for every 1,000 men,

reflecting 40 million ‘missing’ women.

Emergencies

• More than 80 per cent of the world’s 35 million refugees and displaced people are women and children.

• Emergencies put women at risk of extreme sexual violence and abuse. In Rwanda, 2,000 women, many of whom were survivors of rape, tested positive for HIV during the five years following the 1994 genocide.

In addition to its benefits for girls and women, education is a uniquely positive force with a wide-ranging impact on society and human development. Educated girls can better protect themselves against HIV, trafficking and abuse, and are more likely to grow up to have healthier families and send their children to school.

From United Nations Girls' Education Initiative