Camp GLOW

Living here in Burkina, I have grown to understand the power of “brainwashing”.  Since coming to this culture which is so new to me, I have realized how much I have been conditioned by the messages and behaviors of society in America.  For example, it is nothing here for someone to throw a used plastic bag on the ground and continue on with their day.  In fact, it is even expected to leave it on the ground instead of saving it to recycle or searching for a trash can.  Or if you are at a restaurant or bar, in order to get the server’s attention the Burkinabés usually make a very loud Pssstttt sound.  While these things are completely normal and acceptable here, I can’t bring myself to do them; the former because I have been brainwashed (in a good way) to never throw trash on the ground, and the latter because I have been conditioned that I would probably get slapped or beaten if I were to call a server in that manner in the US.  The weird thing is that it isn’t a conscious response; I simply can’t will myself to do it.

 While there are certainly many bad aspects of the brainwashing and the conditioning that we receive in the US, there are plenty of extremely useful and beneficial messages that have been burned into our minds.  Unfortunately, here in Burkina the amount of good brainwashing that children receive is very minimal.  Often, topics such as gender equality, reproductive health, and hygiene aren’t even discussed here let alone pounded into people’s brains in the ways that we are fortunate to be accustomed to.  Without this conditioning, the decision making skills that seem so intuitive to us (though often neglected) are much more difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.  There simply are not enough good messages being bombarded into the developing minds of children in my experiences here in Burkina.  While this is perhaps a twisted view and certainly not officially Peace Corps sanctioned, it is how I view a good portion of my work here.  That is why I was excited to learn that we will have the opportunity to host Camp GLOW here at my site this summer.    

 Below is some information on Camp GLOW and its objectives and activities.   If you would like to donate, click the link below or copy and paste it in your browser.  All donations are 100% tax deductible. 

Click here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=686-174
  

 Soccer. Arts and crafts. Songs. S’mores. Talent shows. If you spent any time as a camper when you were younger, these might sound familiar. Add in sessions on nutrition, healthy decision making, future career goals, family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention and you have Camp G²LOW Burkina Faso.

 Camp G²LOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World) is an already well-established national camp happening annually in 22 Peace Corps countries around the world. Burkina Faso became the 23^rd country to host Camp G²LOW in August 2011, starting the first edition of Camp G²LOW at the regional level in the cities of Kaya and Boromo. Our goal is to add two more regions each year until it reaches the national level with a two week long camp: one week of boys and one week of girls. Next year, in 2012, we hope to expand Camp G²LOW to include not only Kaya and Boromo, but also Léo and Fada as well. That way the camp will touch four different regions of the country.

 The camp trains 6^eme and 5^eme (6^th and 7^th grade) boys and girls and focuses on three main themes: healthy living practices, leadership development, and the promotion of gender equality. Some of our sessions during 2011 included:

• Men as partners/developing equality
• Leadership
• Hygiene and sanitation
• Effects of alcohol and cigarette consumption
• Healthy relationships
• Effective communication skills
• Self-esteem
• Reproductive and sexual education
• HIV/AIDS
• Family planning
• Making the right decisions
• Planning for the future
• What is violence?
• Career panel with Burkinabe businessmen and women

 In 2011, the Peace Corps Burkina Faso team of volunteers and staff put forth a lot of effort to reassure the community participation and sustainability of the camp. Villages were requested to choose 4 girls and 4 boys to attend the camp based on their school performance and character. They also helped to choose a host country national (HCN) to work with each Peace Corps volunteer (PCV) and to help be a counselor during the camp after completion of a comprehensive training. Communities also helped pay for student transport, housing, and materials.

In order for Camp G²LOW to take place again in 2012, in addition to the 25% community contribution by the villages involved, Burkina Faso PCVs as well as Burkina Faso HCNs must raise $44,000.  This is where your generosity can help!  With your help and donations, we will be able to achieve our goal.  Any donations, big or small, are greatly appreciated.  We are hoping to raise $24,000 through the help of our family and friends through the Peace Corps Partnership Program.  If you are interested in making a 100% tax-deductible donation and would like more information on how to donate, please go to http://pcburkina.org/camp-glow.

Two weeks in four different cities. 60 middle school aged students a week.  Giving students a week to just be kids. Giving students a week to learn more about their bodies and how to make good decisions. Developing tomorrow’s leaders. Won’t you consider donating to the future of Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world, by helping to educate the youth?

If you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello, please email me at jgras330@gmail.com.  And in advance, thank you for your support! 

______

Peace Corps Volunteer, Burkina Faso 2010-2012 

●●●● 

Camp G²LOW Boromo Boys and Girls Results 2011

 

Results	Pre test	Post Test	% Increase	6 Months After	1 Year After
Participants who have planned their future and thought about their education	56.73%	69.02%	12.29%	TBA	TBA
Participants who have a career in mind	61.82%	84.31%	22.50%	TBA	TBA
Participants who better understand the changes that occur during puberty and know basic sexual anatomy of both sexes	55.30%	69.12%	13.82%	TBA	TBA
Participants who recognize that a person with HIV/AIDS cannot be identified physically	53.64%	93.14%	39.50%	TBA	TBA
Participants capable of citing at least 3 methods of Family Planning	8.18%	44.12%	35.94%	TBA	TBA
Participants capable of listing the three modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS	16.36%	47.06%	30.70%	TBA	TBA
Participants able to cite that abstinence is the only method 100% effective in preventing HIV/AIDS/STIs and unwanted pregnancies	1.82%	66.67%	64.85%	TBA	TBA
Participants who understand a woman’s right to refuse sexual relations with her husband	33.64%	58.82%	25.19%	TBA	TBA
Participants who understand hitting a woman is never acceptable	35.45%	55.88%	20.43%	TBA	TBA
Participants capable of defining sexual harassment	26.36%	55.88%	29.52%	TBA	TBA

 

Fada Christmas Spectacular

Though it is always hard being apart from your family during the holidays, this year we definitely made the most of what we had to celebrate a jolly Christmas in Burkina Faso.  Altogether, we were 17 Peace Corps Volunteers here in my town to make merry with some Burkinabe friends of ours.  We ate great food and had even better times.  Here are some pictures to help tell the story. 

On Christmas Eve, we all went to a Christmas pageant put on by the youth center in my town which featured performances by local children.

 

On Christmas Day, Luis set up a pig pickin' at our friend's bar. Luis and our friend know a Burkinabe who lived in Cuba for 8 years (training to be a revolutionary) who managed and prepared the roast. Here are Michael, Nick, Tarek, Jon, and Luis.

 

The pig roasting in action. It tasted amazing.

 

We also had a pinata for our Burkinabe friends' children. Cindy is putting the final touches on the only snowman in Burkina.

 

The Volunteers had a nice little Happy Hour before the Burkinabe guests arrived (and then again after they left as well).

 

Of course we had the most important part of Christmas as well, the cookies. Cindy, Doug, Chad and Tana made some amazing cookies and even an apple pie. After dessert we sang Christmas carols around a bonfire to wrap up a pretty amazing day.

Happy Holidays everyone!

World AIDS Day 2011

This year on December 1st, World AIDS Day, Peace Corps sponsored an initiative to paint murals all over Burkina while teaching children and adults about HIV/AIDS and the methods of prevention. After the seminars, the people present would make a promise to live a healthy lifestyle by practicing the methods of prevention as well as accept those people who are living with HIV in their community. (As I mentioned last year, around 67% of the people in the world living with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa and the culture here is not welcoming at all of those who have the disease.) Once they took the promise, the children would then put their hands in paint and then against the mural to signify and help them remember that they took their pledge.

Speaking of HIV/AIDS, my cousin Samantha participated in an amazing fundraiser (Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up) to donate money to the American Foundation for Children with AIDS and had the chance to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro last September.  You can check out her experiences on her blog by clicking here. 

Here are some pictures of our AIDS Day activity.  Photo credits: Scott

Since neither Luis, Scott nor I possess any great skills as a painter, we decided to hire a local painter to help us with the stencil. Here, Luis and Scott are hard at work while the painter applies a 2nd coat to the wall.

Here the painter removes the stencil which reads that the town I live in is committing itself to the struggle against AIDS.

We asked some Burkinabe friends to lead the seminars for us since their French sexual reproduction vocabulary is much stronger than ours. We did two seminars and this is from the second which is why there are handprints already on the wall.

Luis demonstrates how to properly apply a condom.

At the end of the seminar, the kids take the pledge to lead a healthy lifestyle and accept those living with HIV/AIDS.

 

After the pledge, the kids put their hand in paint and then press their palm on the wall.

This is the wall at the end of the day after the 2 seminars.

 

Pictured are (back row) Luis, Scott and I with (front row) some kids who made the pledge.

 

Myself and Peace Corps (though not officially) thank you for paying your taxes and giving us the opportunity to educate about 130 children on the subject of HIV who, otherwise, probably never would have received that knowledge.

Happy Thanksgiving

Surprisingly, the rest of the world does not celebrate the day when the Pilgrims and the Native Americans dined together during the chaotic times of European settlement in North America.  I often forget the cross-cultural exchange aspect that must have taken place during that meal 400 years ago.  In that regard, here in Africa, everyday is like Thanksgiving for me.  This is probably what would have happened if Thanksgiving had taken place here in Burkina Faso between a group of Americans and Burkinabé:

• Seven people would have to sign the perfectly scripted formal letter of invitation to the Burkinabé officials before a decision would be made to attend.
• The meal would be set for 6 pm, the Burkinabé would arrive around 8:30 pm.
• Instead of turducken, we would eat tôbengice – tô stuffed with beans stuffed with rice and covered in peanut sauce – and it would probably be delicious.
• The kids table would be a mat on the floor.
• The Burkinabé would be incredibly gracious hosts and the visiting Americans would be forced to eat until it was no longer physically possible, and then eat some more.
• Just like the Puritans, we would drink dolo and dance for 10 hours straight without resting.

My Thanksgiving dinner tonight consisted of attieké (thinly chopped manioch) and fried sweet potato like things – not quite bourbon sweet potato casserole but it will do.  Since everyday is Thanksgiving for me here cross-culturally speaking, I often think of the things I am thankful for.  Here is a list of a few: 

• The African sky.
• The sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations that I had never dreamt I would ever experience.
• Having the opportunity to take a chance.
• The support of my family and friends.

 Thanks everyone, and bon appétit!

Luis and I with our friend Fati at Tabaski dinner (kind of like the Muslim version of Thanksgiving) a couple weeks ago on November 6th.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of my students as they are actually relaxed instead of trying to look serious. This is the group of first-year secretary students.

 

This is some form of new species of frog I found in my house a few weeks ago. It is clearly a cross between a bird and a frog. I call it the toabird. Finding this guy wasn't quite as startling as the 5 foot snake I found in my classroom today.

La Recolte

Last weekend, after three months, I finally harvested my peanut crop.  The leaves towards the base of the plant started to turn yellow and dry out which meant it was time to do the pickin.  I recruited a few neighborhood women and kids to come help me and we simply yanked the plants out of the ground to get to the peanuts which grow from the roots.   Then we tore the peanuts off of the roots and started eating.  They tasted like dirt to me but everyone else really seemed to like them.  I gave them all away to my friends as well as to the people who helped me plant and harvest, who in fact were working for peanuts.  It was a good harvest with a high ratio of plump peanuts though there was an unfortunately low ratio of peanuts with monocles and/or top hats. 

For as much as the peanuts flourished, the corn failed furiously.  Due to an unusually dry rainy season and my relatively late start in planting there was not enough water for the corn to grow its delicious seeds.  I was able to pick a few small but useless cobs off of the stalk but the rest had fallen and browned. Unfortunately, I was not alone in my loss of crop.  I have been hearing a lot of stories from all over my region of corn crops not producing.  Corn is essentially a staple here in Burkina and a poor corn crop can mean escalating food prices as we go into dry season.  By May and June of next year there may be potential for a food crisis.  Hopefully, the rest of the country faired better in their crop production to alleviate the deficit and maybe people will shift to more nutritious crops like soy, millet, and sorghum.  As my predecessor in the peanut industry, George Washington Carver, said, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”

A freshly harvested peanut plant.

This is the final product. This bucket was about one eighth of the harvest.

Sunday, we went to Doug's village to help him with his "Family Planning Fair" which took place under a neem tree.

As Earth's population reaches 7 billion, few places have a greater need to manage their resources than Burkina Faso. Here, Doug uses books to symbolize the difficulties of educating an increasing number of children if you don't have the resources (arm strength) to provide for them.

 

Chantal, Doug, Luis and I at the end of Doug's Fantastic Family Planning Fair.

Back to School

Last month, the PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers) of Burkina Faso held a fair in Ouagadougou to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. Many volunteers used the fair to showcase their projects as well as provide an opportunity for their counterparts in village to sell their goods in the capital city. It was a good time and included a carnival with a dunk tank, a local fabric fashion show, and a concert by Floby, the most popular Burkinabe musical artist. He gave us a special performance in which he sang a song that he wrote specially for Peace Corps Burkina Faso.

This month, October 1st was the first day of school. I’m really excited to be back. It has been such a different world so far this year now that I can actually understand my students, can actually explain what I want to say, and am much better prepared now that I am used to the system and know what to expect. Also, I spent most of the summer writing a text book to accompany my class which frees up a lot of time spent writing notes and makes things a whole lot easier. Now we just need to pray that we can actually get through a full year of school without too much chaos erupting. Inshallah.

Videos:

Here is a video about the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Fair in Ouagadougou.  About half way through you will see a random cameo of me (not really sure why).  Click here – Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Video

This is a video of Floby’s special performance for us singing his Peace Corps song.  Click here – Floby Performance

Pictures:

Many thanks to Lane Harper and Gulf Coast Office Products for donating much needed mouse pads to my school. Here is one of my classes saying, "Merci beaucoup!"

 

Merci bien also to Camille Ripley and Suntrust Mortgage. Believe it or not, mousepads really do make a difference to a young African touching a computer for the first time.

 

That is me getting dunked in the dunk tank at the 50th anniversary fair. It's not quite so perilous when it is 110 degrees outside and you are begging someone with good aim to make a toss.

 

Donuts, beer, and Settlers of Catan. Luis' birthday was the 17th so this is how we celebrated.

 

Sur leurs velos, pour le Faso

Last year, a group of volunteers did a tour of Burkina Faso on their bikes stopping at other volunteers’ sites along the way in an effort to raise money and awareness for gender equality. This year, they came back but with a lot more people and ambition. Knowing that we would have nearly 25 volunteers in our town, Luis, Scott, and I decided to make the most out of their presence. We put together a community fair in the town square to showcase Peace Corps as well as the other community development organizations and associations. After several weeks of constant planning, with the help of the bike tour volunteers, the fair went surprisingly well. We had around 250-300 people show up to watch theatre skits (a favorite of the Burkinabe) on sanitation and violence against women, workshops on nutrition, malaria, soap-making, and natural mosquito repellant, and a song from the Singing Nerd himself on the benefits of planting moringa (soon to hit Youtube).  This week is yet another fair, this time in the capital, Ouagadougou, to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Peace Corps. It will follow a similar format in regards to the educational workshops though it will be on a much larger scale than ours. Fortunately, I had no part in organizing this fair but I am going to help out as well as eat ice cream.  In all, one could say the weather, the work, and September in general have been “fair”.  Next month, back to school. 

For more on the Bike Tour, click this link Burkina Faso Bike Tour.

Below are some pictures of the fair. For more and better pictures, click here to see Scott’s blog. (By the way, Scott does an AMAZING job of blogging so if you want to learn more about Burkina and life here from a different perspective, make sure to follow his posts.)

A picture from Scott of the stage area with some VIP seating at the fair.

Luis, Scott and I with Troupe Yenyema, who performed a skit about forced marriage, female excision, and violence against women.

Another theatre group who performed a skit about sanitation.

John singing his song "Mangez Moringa" while some lady dances with a baby moringa tree.

 

Field update: 2 months

Pregnant corn. That little furry thing half way down is a bun in the oven.

Peanuts. I was told that the plants need to flower 3 times before they are ready to harvest. If my calculations are correct, the next time it flowers they should be ripe for the pickin.

Moringa. Clearly, I need to do some weeding. Kind of embarrassing.

 

God help us!

Last summer, when I first arrived with my group in country, we had to go through three months of very intensive training.  We had almost no freedom and very little privacy; I thought I was going to lose my mind.  So, this summer, I decided to do it again.  This time however, I would be on the other side as a Facilitator.

In the role of Facilitator, we help the training staff prepare content for sessions, add color commentary in the form of stories from our experiences as Volunteers, and also provide moral support for the trainees who feel just as suffocated and overwhelmed as I did last year.  My primary role for the time I was there was as an evaluator of the teachers during Model School.  Model School is a chance for the Education volunteers to practice with actual classes of Burkinabe students who take the summer courses to prepare for the fall.  I got to watch close to 40 hours of other people teaching various subjects to their classes.

While I can’t say how my evaluations were received by the trainees, I can say that I probably learned just as much as they did.  It was a great experience observing other people and seeing what they do right and wrong, and thinking about how I can apply it to or change my style of teaching.  Hopefully, this will help me to become a better teacher. 

To add to the learning experience, I had a great time getting to meet the new trainees.  They are extremely intelligent and talented and many of them are just out of college.  I am hoping that a bit of their youth and enthusiasm can rub off on a salty old rogue like me.

Farmer's Update: It's been almost a month since I planted. After a lot of work, the field is coming around. You can kind of make out the small plants. I like to think of them as my children. They are thirsty right now.

One of my kids (young corn plant). I call him Ty. I'm pretty sure he came along after a night of heavy drinking.

Peanuts! These girls are the early bloomers and for some reason tend to be the most popular. I call them Lucy, Patty, and Red-Haired Girl.

This little guy is a young moringa tree. I know you're not supposed to say you have favorites but he has the most potential to be something big.

On Va Cultiver

You might be a redneck if… the back of your neck turns red from sunburn while farming. After 22 years growing up in Lower Alabama, I moved to Africa to become a redneck. No I didn’t get a lift with extra large tires on my Lady Bike, and I don’t say things like, “Ca la c’est ce qu‘on appelle un RV,” but I did spend last weekend planting seeds in my field and getting some good color on the back of my neck.

 

You see, here in Burkina, the rain starts to fall in June and lasts through the month of August. During that time, pretty much every Burkinabe man, woman, and child “cultivates” a field (no matter the size), plants seeds, and tends to the crops to prepare for the harvest in September/October. The most popular crops here are corn, peanuts, and beans that look like black-eyed peas. People use the corn to make tô (one of the staple foods here) or to grill and eat or sell on the street. With the peanuts they make a sauce for their rice, eat them, or sell them on the street. They mix the beans with rice and oil and eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or sell it on the street. As you can see, Burkina is very highly dependent on its rainy season crops, whether for subsistence farming or to make money to live on for the rest of the year. To fit in, I decided to do a little farming of my own. I mean, how hard could it be?

Really frickin’ hard. Hard enough to make me hire someone with a tractor to plow a field for 15 minutes. It is actually pretty common to do that in my town so I didn’t feel too bad. Afterwards, Luis and I along with our friends Rouki and Solange planted corn, peanuts, and Moringa – a tree whose leaves are really rich in vitamins and nutrients. There is definitely a technique and science to planting depending on the seeds so I was very happy to have my Burkinabe friends there. Having been doing it all their lives, they made the planting look easy while Luis and I just tried not to look like asses (they use donkeys to plow here, too).

Who would have thought that peanut seeds are actual peanuts? These are planted one per hole (fairly shallow) about a foot apart.

The good thing is that any seeds that dont get used can make a delicious snack. Corn is planted in shallow holes 2 or 3 seeds at a time (alternating) about 2 feet apart.

Solange, Luis, and Rouki using daba's to plant seeds.

Me, Solange, Rouki, and Luis. Farming is always more fun when you have cute girls showing you what to do.

I kicked off my summer vacation with an amazing trip to Paris with Mom and Dad.

32 Going on 11

Two weeks ago, June 9, marked my one year anniversary of landing in Burkina Faso. I remember thinking those first couple months that moving to a very different place, speaking a very different language, and meeting very different people was almost like being a baby again. When I first got here after going straight to the hotel, I was very curious as what was beyond its walls but was too scared to leave the hotel by myself. I had to rely on someone else to do just about everything for me. It’s amazing how quickly that first year went and at the same time it’s unbelievable how much I have learned and experienced in that one year. I think I now know how dogs feel, aging 7 years for every one human year. However, I think in Burkina years, I have aged closer to 10 years. So after arriving a baby, I believe that I am finally a big boy. Here are 10 examples of why I believe I am now the equivalent of a 10 year-old (in American culture) in Burkina:

1) I can speak good: I can now definitely do everything I need to do in French though I often struggle in grown-up conversations.

2) I am somewhat potty-trained: I poop my pants less often than I did when I first got here and I rarely miss the hole now.

Here is the hole I am supposed to aim for.

3) I would eat hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream for every meal if I could: When I go to Ouaga, my diet consists of only these 3 things and I am perfectly happy.

4) I often dread leaving my courtyard for fear of being taunted by other children: Hearing le blanc (“whitey” in French), nesara (“whitey” in moore), and onbompiano (“whitey” in gourmantche) 100 times a day wears on me if I don’t feel well or am really tired.

5) I drink lots of juice: Lots of juice.

Juice! On the left is baobob, right is bissap (hibiscus).

6) I ride my bicycle everywhere I go: I actually look the part when I do, wearing my giant helmet and my book bag on my way-too-small-for-my-growing-body bike.

Just me and Lady Bike (it actually says Lady Bike on the sticker).

7) I go to school everyday and count down the days until summer vacation: I love teaching but there is nothing like the prospect of having a whole summer off!

Me walking across the field, leaving school, eighties' movie style. I lack the jean jacket and hair but can you guess the reference?

8 ) When I spend the night at my friends’ houses, we stay up all night playing board games: Settlers of Catan.

The traveller's version. I owe this little goldmine to my friend Dylan Butler who passed it down to us as he is closing his service. Thanks Dylan, safe travels.

9) When I play soccer with other 10 year-old kids, they are usually much better than me: I am thinking about teaching them a new sport just so I can be relatively good at something again.

10) I can wear ridiculous looking clothes and no one thinks anything of it: They might even tell me my outfit is pretty (c’est jolie).

This snazzy little number complete with hat is traditional dress for hunters in western Burkina Faso.

 

 I think I can safely say, the past twelve months have been the most exciting 10 years of my life.

Picture of me and some friends one year ago.

Picture of me and some friends one month ago. I'm the one in the middle with the green shirt.