Burkina Faso

Hello…

The title is trite and kind of lame, but it seemed to fit; it’s been many months since I last posted to the blog. This has not been for lack of interest or lack of care, but I have been unable to get to the blog. A lot has happened since my last post- site visit, model school, finishing PST, swearing in and affectation, settling in to my site, the coup and consolidation, return to site, etude de milieu, starting school and now IST.

I am back to Ouaga for IST (In-Service Training), and I have WIFI. It’s nice to be back in Ouaga and have some of the comforts that I am accustomed to back in the states, but I have come to enjoy my village. I live in a village called Gogo, which is in the central southeast portion of the country. In Gogo, I live with a host family- Basillime, Rosaline, Judite, Sandrine, Ella, Flaviandre, Deronae and baby Dorian. They are a farming family, and have been extraordinarily accommodating of me. I consider myself to be very lucky. The village folks are kind, I have a sweet bike that I ride around, I have a great nongovernmental organization right down the street from me (Bornefonden), many amenities (grocery stores, restaurants, bike repair shops, meat vendors, CSPS, police station), I work at a bisongo with a lot of promise and I have a cat named Momo.

After about a month at site, the country experienced a coup and all the volunteers were moved to a hotel in Leo. The coup was both a frightening time for the country as a whole and for Peace Corps volunteers. For a period of a week and a half, the country was at risk to undo all the progress it has made over the past year. For the volunteers, we were faced with the prospect of possibly having to go home… this was especially upsetting for my group, as we had only been in the country for about 4 months. The hotel we stayed at was very nice; it has a pool, nice rooms with TVs, they provided meals, in-room showers and lots of nasty Burkina booze to keep the volunteers in a pacified stupor. All of this sounds like a dream for a group of people who live in pretty simple conditions, but it eventually started to feel like a recurring nightmare. Nerves were frayed after having to cope with the prospect of having to go home, living without privacy in cramped conditions, doing the same thing every day, seeing the same sights and people every day and feeling sick from drinking rubbing alcohol at night. Needless to say, it was a relief to find myself back in Gogo after two weeks at camp coup. I returned with lots of energy to start work and projects, my village seemed happy to see me and I had a new friend for Momo. Life has gone by quickly since camp coup, and bisongo work has kept me pretty well occupied and alert. My bisongo has many resources and lots of potential to function, but does not work correctly. At the moment, I am acting as the director of the school and am training one of my coworkers to function as the director of the bisongo. I see the irony in this, as I have always been very critical of administrators, but I’m happy to have had the education to be able to exist in this role. On top of this, I have implemented the usage of curriculums and attendance taking. When I return to village, my goal is to meet with my colleagues and discuss my role and expectations for the bisongo, since these things are not clear. I also plan to obtain a grant to build a wall around the school and fix the gate, as both are broken and people come to the school and run amok. While it is nice to speak of my accomplishments and plans for the future, it’s going to be a long road to hoe. I have also been working on vaccination awareness in both my village and Kondre. On top of this, I have spoken with the lycée inspector to start community English classes and a soccer club for the kids. I am very excited to be in Gogo, and I am very much enjoying my work and prospective projects.

Life in village is simple, but I am happy. As I had mentioned, I live with a host family, who have a great influence on my village life. My host sister Judite acts as my village guide, and oftentimes translates for me. My family is Christian, and I go to church with them every Sunday. On some Sundays, Judite and I will travel to my regional capital of Manga for mass at the big church. Most of the people in my village are very kind, and have gotten to know me better because of my role as a teacher in the village. The kids are awesome- they oftentimes yell at me when I ride my bike through the village, which always makes me smile. My cat is a terror, but she makes my stay much better. I am getting another cat when I return to village, who will keep Momo company. I had a friend for her in the past, named Toothless, but she passed away. Hopefully a new friend will chill out Momo, and keep her from attacking me. I have a lot of free time in village, which I enjoy- I cook, play music, do yoga, read, meditate, ride my bike, learn things, exercise, work on projects and school related stuff, fix things in village or at home, hang out with my host family, spend time with other villagers, work on language skills, play with Momo. I’m hoping to get more into playing soccer when I get back to village, thanks to mom sending me my cleats. Thanks mom!

 

Photos:

– This is the picture of my stage at swearing-in at the US Embassy in Ouaga, when we first became volunteers.

– That is me weeding cotton. I have just finished helping to pick the final crop.

– That’s Momo when I first got her. She is much much bigger now.

– That is the upside down end of model school picture. Model school is where we learned to teach preschool according to the Burkina system.

– A picture of me with a mohawk. I was very proud of this mohawk… but the trainers at PST made me shave it off.

– Ousseni and me. He was my host brother in Leo.

– Rascidatou and me. She is the daughter of my host sister in Leo.

– The mural that is in the wall at the training center in Leo.

– My host father in Leo. Derra

– Ousseni, trying to look big for the camera.

– Mama Moussa. My host mother in Leo.

I have currently run out of brain cells and things to talk about. If you’d like more specific information or would like to say hey, you can e-mail me at apmello462@gmail.com (or send me a WhatsApp message).

I’d like to send my thanks, thoughts, hello’s, care, prayers and love to the people back in the states who have supported me and been my friend. I miss you all, and I wish you a very merry Christmas!

Be well

– Andy

 

 

Hello.

Sorry, its been a while since I’ve updated; it’s been difficult to get WIFI. If you would like to get in touch with me, please email me or message me on WhatsApp. My new number is 65691821. Although, I think that WhatsApp works better with my old number- I’m not sure. I somehow haven’t figured out technology (or how to get new pictures from my phone onto my computer… these three pictures are old).

The first photo is of Siaka (I think) when we first arrived in Ouagadougou. Siaka is one of the head staff for training (or stage as it’s called)- he’s pretty damn cool, and has an contagious laugh and love for life. The second photo is of a field where a bunch of Burkinabes are playing soccer. I took this picture upside down near the convent where we first stayed at when we got to Ouaga. The last picture is of a building in Tatouine.

I’m currently sitting on my bed, where this whole thing started… in the convent in Ouaga. I remember when I first saw Ouaga, and I thought of how run down it looked in comparison to what I was accustomed to in the states. After about 5 days at the convent, we moved to Leo to live with host families and start our real training. I like Leo, a lot. I also really like my host family- they’re funny, accommodating, and put up with my lack of understanding of the French language. I spend a lot of time hanging with my host brother, Ousseni (I think I spelled his name wrong, but thats how it’s spelled phonetically). I play a lot of soccer with him and the neighborhood kids, which has been my favorite part of training. The Peace Corps has given me a sweet bike, which I also enjoy riding. There are many highlights to training: safety, a host family and staff to vouch for you, contact with other Americans and a bar right next to the center; but training can be something of a drag. Its long days, lacks freedom and it’s repetitive. Although, I cannot complain because the whole set up and experience is sweet; that’s just an objective opinion shared by me and almost every other Peace Corps Volunteer. In training, we learn French, cultural stuff, Peace Corps policies and sector specific information. The food isn’t bad, here- it’s a ton of carbs and sauces (I actually like to (toe) sometimes). Although, there’s a huge lack of protein.

Now that I am back in the capital, after what seems like an eternity in Leo, Ouaga seems like a paradise. This is not to say that Leo is worse than Ouaga, in any way (I actually prefer Leo to Ouaga)… there’s just more conveniences in Ouaga. Tomorrow, I will be traveling with my counterpart to Gogo for a 3 day site visit. Gogo is where I will serve as a Peace Corps volunteer, in a Bisongo (Burkina preschool). I cannot wait to start my work- the children here are entirely something else. Their enthusiasm and love of life is tremendous and more infectious than malaria. In fact, that sentiment goes for the Burkinabe’s, in general- they are truly amazing people. They are kind, brave, smart, inspiring, welcoming, practical, beautiful, funny- I could not have found a better place to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

This whole trip seems like some grand dream. It’s incredibly surreal, but it’s funny that it’s the reality of the whole thing that makes it so surreal. Some of it seems so entirely opposite to what we are accustomed to and lead to understand, but this seems to make a whole lot more sense. It’s a constant though to ask myself whether the reality of the states is more or less REAL than the type of reality found in Africa. One is definitely more comfortable, but the other is certainly more like life. Comfort is always preferable, but doesn’t always seem real- artificial in many ways. The comfort of Africa is entirely different to the comfort that I find in the states. African comfort exists on a more basic and humanistic level; it’s awesome. Those material comforts from the states that you can find in Ouaga seem almost entirely out of place…. I don’t know- just thinking out loud.

To say it simply, Burkina Faso is awesome- I feel entirely blessed to be here, and to be working with the Peace Corps.

I think that’s the end of my post- I’m beat and have run out of disjointed things to talk about. I hope that this post has informed many of you who are interested and has answered some of the questions that you may or may not have. If you have any questions for me (or would like to say hello), please e-mail me or contact me on WhatsApp. I would enjoy hearing from all the people that I miss and care for.

I wish all of you health, happiness, luck, peace, nice dreams, love and good vibes.

– Andy

 

Hello, my name is Andrew Mello.

I have been lucky enough to be accepted into the Peace Corps, to serve as a preschool teacher in Burkina Faso- this is a true honor. To keep in touch, my aunt Dayle had the great idea for me to keep a blog (which she purchased for me)…      Thanks Dayle!

I have never formally kept a blog, nor have I ever been to Africa, so you guys are lucky (or unlucky) enough to watch me fumble through both of these experiences.

I would like to thank my family, friends and those who have been in my life, who have offered their camaraderie and support; I know that I would not be where I am if it was not for these special people. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.

You can keep in touch with me by posting replies to posts, or you can send me an e-mail at apmello462@gmail.com. You can also e-mail my mother at margo.mello@umassmemorial.org- she will know of my whereabouts, even if I don’t.

Cheers,                                                                       Andy