The second week of community demos was pretty much the same as the first. I have so many pictures of me and the people of Camp Luka (Bon Berger's neighborhood). So many. I only post a few here because really, after a while they all look kind of similar*:
Some people listening to a demo, looking miserable (the woman in front of the chair has twins!)*:
This family gets their water from the crack between those stone slabs there:
I saw an albino last week! Albinism is actually fairly common here, and there's even a society for albinos in Kinshasa. Here they are treated like anyone else, but in places like Burundi and some parts of Rwanda and Uganda, they are seen as cursed or sorcerers and cast out of villages or even killed. Anyway, I felt bad for this one, as sunscreen is expensive and hard to find, and he kept squinting and closing his eye. I bought him a bunch of it, as well as some sunglasses and a hat. Here he is with his younger brother:
Kids lining up so I could take their arm circumference (I was really only concerned about the girl on the far left and the one in orange in the middle, but figured I might as well do the rest too. I love the expression on the far right one's face):
Me actually doing the measurements*:
Everyone turned out fine, but the girl in orange was awfully close to the yellow. I suggested they go to a cooking demonstration at least. Also, yes, I have my purse with me. I need it to carry my phone, camera, and room key, as well as the money I need for the day. It made me nervous the first day, but in spite of the poverty, crime isn't a big issue here. It’s like a big family- everyone greets each other on the street and is willing to help if someone is in need. For example, we gave some random woman carrying an infant a ride the other day just because. People visit each other unannounced and hospitality is expected and delivered. My first day with the teams, I asked if the people we were visiting had agreed to it beforehand. They thought that was pretty funny. We just wander into people’s “yards” (i.e. patches of dirt in front of their houses), see who’s around, and wait for them to bring us chairs and gather around. They always offer me a chair first, and at first I protested and insisted I didn’t need one, but I think I offend them if I say that, or at least come across as really strange. Now I just take the chair. Children kind of belong to everyone here too. There is a lot of respect for elders, and anyone can discipline anyone else’s kid/give them candy or something without being really creepy. This applies even to random children on the street. On the way to the clinic one morning, Delphin yelled at some kid to hurry up and get to school. I’ve given up asking if they know people, because it’s pretty 50/50, and it doesn’t seem to matter. Oh, and the guy in the bright yellow vest behind me is the chief (for lack of a better word I guess) of the neighborhood.
An assortment of children in the street gathered to see the mundele (I’ve also been called “chinois” (Chinese) by several kids. Not quite):
The kids love having their picture taken. After, they all run up excitedly to see it, laughing and squealing.
Each team pretty much just picks a street and tries to cover all of the houses on that street in three and a half hours or so. They all live here too, and when one team didn't show up and Erik the photo guy ended up doing the demo, he chose his street. I should add he was sick with malaria the whole time because his room is too small for a mosquito net, apparently (really?). I felt bad, but it really underscores just how badly this work is needed. Erik and his family:
Friday, after having spent two weeks with the teams, I was asked to give an evaluation of my time with them- what I thought of the program and the teams, if it and they were effective, what was good and what should be changed. They had a meeting Saturday morning to discuss my feedback. I assumed I would be attending, but nope. I just gave my feedback to Papa Moku and he’ll be sharing that with the teams. I said that generally, I think the work they’re doing is fantastic. It’s pretty much the development ideal- the community volunteers are just that, people who live there and want to improve their neighborhood. The people we visit mostly seem to listen, though sometimes I think it’s more out of respect than interest. The solutions are simple and either very cheap or free, and all have the potential to have a huge impact. Some teams are obviously more effective than others, and I tried to include their methods when making suggestions for everyone. I ended up suggesting that they make it more of a dialogue than a lecture, and come up with a guide for the teams of several questions to ask (and to help them remember all of the information). Some of the questions were: what are the diseases that most commonly affect the household? What do you think causes these diseases? Where do you get your water? What is the current state of your latrine? Are you happy with it? Why or why not? (these last two for both the water and latrine questions) How do you think you can prevent malaria? How and when do you wash your hands (ask for a demonstration)? There are more, and the questions engage the listeners (especially children) and provide the opportunity to praise knowledge (use of soap, mosquito nets, etc) and explain corrections and methods of improving hygiene and water quality. Also, it’s important to ask for questions at the end in case something needs to be clarified or comprehension is lacking. We tried this model out on Monday and it seemed to work really well, so hopefully the teams respond well to it. I also suggested they take note of how many people in the household have had malaria, typhoid, and general diarrhea in the last month. That way, they can have a quantitative measure for the program’s effectiveness when they go back to the same households for their own evaluation.
In other news, Pierre’s wife had their first baby on Wednesday! It’s a girl named Sublime (pronounced like Subleem). We all had a homecoming party for her on Thursday:
Here's a less fortunate baby born at the clinic with malaria. It's only a day old here:
Friday night, we went to a traditional dance show at the French Institute. It was really fun and energetic, and showcased dances and music from a bunch of different regions of the Congo. I'll try to post a video next time, but I'd rather not risk another power outage while trying to load it now. Also, yesterday, we went to a marriage at the church. Wow. Just... wow. It lasted for 4 hours. FOUR HOURS of people screaming and blowing whistles (all of whom I wanted to murder after the first hour). At the end, people brought a bunch of gifts into the church for the couple. These included a couch, a loveseat, a fan, a rug, a mattress, and assorted other household stuff. Pictures and video of that next time too. Afterward, we got pizza. It was delicious. Oh, and speaking of marriage, whenever people ask about my future plans here, they keep going... and then? ... and then? And finally... so when are you getting married? Nice.
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