On Burkina Time

I am now in Burkina Faso, and am again being reminded that here things function on a different timetable as in most of Africa. It looks like Ezéchiel is going to be staying put for the time being since the border with Mali remains closed, so I am working on getting authorization to purchase new computers for the two libraries in Ouagadougou and Abidjan.  I would like to get the one bought for Ouaga before I leave on the 20th because I can show Ezéchiel how to install the new software on the two computers [librarian's computer and the one for public access] and network them so he can do it in the future if necessary.  Ezéchiel has also shown me his plan for library outreach, primarily through local churches, to which I have given my blessing.

Meanwhile I have sent out a barrage of emails to people following up on unfinished library business on various fronts from two years ago.  It is that long since I was here last, and much seems to have fallen through the cracks ...

The "jewelry lady" has discovered to her delight that I am back, and I have already made a purchase [see the purplish and white necklace below].  And Edith Bilba, the former cleaning lady, now receptionist, has a pagne business on the side and has also sold me a length of cloth... I like to frequent the local businesses and here the businesses are coming to me 😄

Here's the crazy print I bought this time--the sticky orange labels are just advertising, are not part of the design, and will be simply peeled off. This is a waxed block print, hence it has a very shiny surface, at least for now...  Maybe I'll make placemats or napkins with some of it as there are about 6 yards of fabric.  It will actually go with some tableware I already have...  And with a couple of the remaining yards I'll either make, or have made [provided I can find the number of Sharyn's tailor again,] a simple sheath sundress...

 Fina invited me over to spend the weekend at her place and to join her at her Saturday afternoon Kid's Club in Saaba, on the outskirts of the city.   I brought along my latest cache of children's titles for her and she seemed quite pleased.  She also introduced me to the growing menagerie of wild animals that she has been inheriting from various expats.  Turtles, tortoises, roosters, hens and chicks... in addition to her two African dogs.

Rooster (above) and hen and chicks (below) There are two more teenage chickens not shown. .

   

The photo of the turtles is below, followed by one of the tortoises ages 8 (female) and 12 (male). The teenage chickens and rooster, and eventually the hen and chicks, will soon be on their way to the new children's school and center that Fina is having built in the countryside in Bonheur-ville, several kilometres outside of Ouagadougou, as there is someone living on site to take care of them. I understand that the tortoises will eventually move there as well...

 

The tortoises are below and are really quite large. The last photo is me with one of the tortoises that managed to walk in the front door...

No day would be complete without its crise du jour and it came soon enough.  While at Fina's, my housesitter emailed me to say that the switch controling the 7 lights in the kitchen was no longer working and I had her check the electric panel in the basement.  Since there were no apparent tripped switches that she could see, I needed to call an electrician using Skype.  The number I had once used was no longer valid so I Skyped Stuart Showalter, who lives not too terribly far from me, asked him if he knew anyone, then had him check Nextdoor for neighborhood recommendations when he came up blank.  It was more complicated than I had hoped, but we got someone and I paid him by PayPal.  Whew !

Saturday before her Kid's Club in Saaba [suburb of Ouagadougou] met in the afternoon, Fina drove me out further into the countryside via the Fada highway that eventually leads to Niger.  Several kilometres out she showed me another piece of land she has bought where she is building another children's center and elementary school/middle school.  On the way we stopped at a place with a traditional outdoor bread oven where she bought some bread.  It is much better than the industrial stuff they sell in the stores.

Above you can see the bread over and, where the two men are standing, the bread being sold.

This is the entrance to the property where she has already started building.

Here Fina talks with Simplice, one of the volunteers she works with.  Simplice has been very enthusiastic about the improvements to the SIL library and I talked with him for an extended period about libraries, the problems of copyright, borrowing books via interlibrary loan and the possibility of downloading eBooks from Amazon. The idea of intellectual property is an alien concept here, as is the complicated business of publishing and why some titles are available for download in one country and not another.. 

Below I wait in the shade as they continue to talk in the sun.

Below is one of the gates to the compound.

And this photo shows just how scrubby the land actually is.

 Afterward we returned to her place before heading off the the compound where she runs her Saturday Kid's Club.  She has put together a useful training handbook for those working with children, particularly adolescents, and has used for training Sunday School teachers in several churches locally.  Below are some scenes from my visit on Saturday.

And on Sunday, Fina and I attended a local African church that has been meeting at the ANTBA [L'Association Nationale pour la Traduction de la Bible et l'Alphabétisation] Center.  The congregation is a very youthful one, and I understand the pastor has an advanced degree in Early Childhood Education, which I learned later.  

For those interested in the service, it began with 45 minutes of singing [including various groups in the church], 1/2 hour of announcements, the taking an offering and prayer-- the people walked forward and placed envelopes with their monetary gifts in a basket to much singing. The children were then excused for Sunday School. This was followed by 50 minutes of sermon ! The pastor incorporated a song into the sermon, had congregants read the lesson from Scripture, along with subsequent relevant verses. This was a nice change from the Jeremiah/Jonathan Edwards style frequent in West Africa where the hearers are frequently yelled at sternly from the pulpit during the sermon, and sometimes over and over in almost a chant. Here the pastor occasionally stepped off the platform and walked around close to his hearers, and encouraged their participation [and agreement] with him in responding to rhetorical questions. He struck me as a youth pastor in his style, but then, looking around, I realized that I was the oldest one in the room ! 😅  But that is still way to long a time to be sitting...

After church Fina drove me out to the compound where she is building her new children's center and school and she held another Kid's Club there along with her volunteer help.  One of the men she has helping out is a natural presenter, quite talented and very good with children, although I understand he only has an elementary school education.  Much of the program, especially the portion aimed at the younger children was in the Mooré language, or, at best Mooré, alternating with African French, so I frequently had trouble following what was going on...

 

The surrounding area seemed to be inhabited by donkeys and goats (and one of Fina's dogs)

Below the long grasses are dried in the trees

The area where Fina is building is called Bonheur-Ville, although I didn't see a sign of any sort indicating the name

On the other hand, I found the sign for this nearby village most encouraging "Boasome -- village without plastic waste..."   Plastic waste--bottles, bags, etc. are a real blight on the African continent [a little seen in the photo just above this one] and I was amazed to see this little sign in the middle of nowhere...

                                                                 🕂🕂🕂🕂🕂🕂

And to update you on a few other people whom you may have encountered through my blogs in the past:  Kate Royal continues to work with the "marabout boys," those boys who beg on the streets to support their marabouts.  But there are now "marabout girls" that she has taken under her wing as well... !

Paul Solomiac, director of Language Programs for SIL-WAF [SIL-West Africa], fell off his bicycle a month ago and is still limping around. I understand there was a cat involved... ??! At any rate, he had a doctors appointment Friday and I am not sure of the outcome, but he seems to improve daily.  Fadoul, the person responsible for the kitchen here at the Center, has been out sick as well, and although he returned to work today, looked a little tired...

I understand that Gloria Scott, Stuart Showalter's former translation partner for the Bible into Kaansa, is now working for SIM, and was hoping to make it to Burkina this week from the US, but is delayed because she came down with Covid... I saw one of Stuart's local language translation partners, Rafael Farma, at the Center here recently helping lead a workshop.  I understand that linguists Urs and Idda Niggli are also working for SIM and are still in Ouagadougou.

Sharyn Thomson, director of SIL-WAF, is due to return to Abidjan on March 5.  Our paths should cross just before I leave there on the 7th.

The Guizzettis are currently in the US, Don having returned just before I left for France in mid-January.

And Simon Nacoulma, director of the ICCV-Nazemse center was in Bobo when I emailed him, and is traveling around the country.  I believe his wife is currently in the Côte d'Ivoire with the children.  Simon said that with Covid and the terrorism in the country, he hasn't really been taking on any new initiatives.