Going from Mali to America and back to Mali, it's hard to decide which feels more like a dream. I got to spend the holidays home with family and friends and had a wonderful time, ate good food, and generally lived it up:
Now I'm back, and I'd almost say it seems like I never left. I got quickly back to work on the school project, and progress is slowly being made! We had a big meeting at the mayor's office in Cinzana with all the key players involved, many of whom were meeting for the first time. Now that we're all on the same page, the next step is to finalize the budget, which means negotiating. No one in Mali can ever just say what the price of something is. Sometimes getting prices can be like talking to a small child: " How much is cement?" "I don't know, how much IS cement? How much can you give me?" Infinitely frustrating. But we're all still optimistic about starting soon. It's amazing to think that this dream of a project which started almost 2 years ago as an inkling of an idea, is now so close to being actualized. Exciting!
In the meantime, life in Tongo goes on. The garden project is a total success. The women have planted tomatoes, onions, peppers, cabbage, papaya, okra, and whatever else suits their fancy. They show such pride in their accomplishments, and compete for the most luscious plot:
I've also found a little spare time to relax by the river. Kyle and I went fishing and caught several plastic bags, an old shirt, and a huge mango tree (twice). We think we need to go a little farther upriver...
And apparently I'm famous now - check out these links about the project:
1 comment:
you're back to blogging! happy to see that you're up and running again with the project. Can't wait to see the results.
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