I’ve been back at site for a month now, and things have been going really well so far. The new environment volunteer who’s 25km south of me seems like she’ll be great to work with, and I’ve met up with her a couple times since I’ve been back. We’re thinking of doing some bio-intensive gardens with the nutrition organization here to encourage people to use kitchen gardens to improve their food security. We’re also planning on getting funding for some public wells and latrines in rural areas, building some improved cookstoves and possibly painting a large map of the world in one of the primary schools as part of Peace Corp’s World Map Project.
Lately I’ve been biking or hiking out to the more rural areas to carry out health education activities. I really enjoy getting the exercise everyday and meeting new people. So far I’ve taught at four different primary schools and have been carrying out a training program for health educators at another primary school. I’ve also brought some materials to construct hand-washing stations at a few of the schools I have taught at. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming, because there can be as many as 80-100 kids in a class, but it’s still really fun. The kids really enjoy the pictures I draw on my health posters, and the songs about healthy foods and hand-washing are a big hit. Malagasy love to sing, no matter how tone deaf some of them might be (some are really talented singers, though). I also often work with a doctor posted at a much smaller rural clinic 9km south of me. I go there at least once a week and help out with family planning or vaccines. I really enjoy talking to the people who visit the clinic about their daily struggles and about different options they have to improve the health of their families. It’s so beautiful out in the countryside of Madagascar, so even just traveling out to the different villages is an amazing experience in itself. I just need to remember to bring my camera more often! My garden is starting to come along too. Ive got tomato plants, onions, eggplant, cilantro, green beans, cucumbers, carrots and radishes already growing. The tomato plants already have little tomatoes on them. Hopefully we'll be able to use the veggies for cooking demos with the nutrition organiation.
I’ve also been doing some informal English lessons on the side. I’m more about the health education than English, but there are so many people here that want to learn and it is a nice way to make friends. I also end up picking up a little more Malagasy and French too, and I often get “voandalanas,” or, gifts for the road (cucumbers, bananas, coconuts, etc.).
June 26th was Madagascar’s Independence Day, which is a huge celebration here. The past weekend was really fun. A couple of friends had me over for meals, I participated in a bike race, watched a parade through town, watched a soccer match, heard a speech given by the village president and went to a dance party on Saturday night. Needless to say I was completely exhausted on Sunday, but it was a really fun experience. The Malagasy really know how to party!
Quite a few people have TVs here, and there’s electricity in town from 2pm-12am everyday, so I’ve even been able to catch some of the World Cup action. People here really enjoy watching Brazil (like everyone else). When I’m not able to make it over to a neighbor’s house to catch the games, I listen on my radio. The local Malagasy station in town runs commentaries on the matches every evening. It’s hard to understand a lot of it, since they speak so fast (like commentators in the U.S.) and it’s not in the same dialect, but once in a while I can figure out what’s going on, and it’s a good way for me to work on my language.
My Malagasy has been coming a long much better now that I’ve been back at site. I find that when I’m listening in on other’s conversations I can understand a lot more than I could before. I’m able to mix the dialects a little better now. Even though I was trained in the northern dialect, Sakalava, the people in this region speak a mix of several different dialects. In addition to Sakalava, there’s also Betsimasaraka, Tsimihety and Antandroy. Many people take words and expressions from multiple dialects, and when I travel from village to village (even if it’s only a few km away) there are clusters of groups, so I’ll find people speaking more Betsimasaraka than Sakalava or more Tsimihety than Betsimasaraka. I notice that some of the villages I go to, I really have a hard time understanding them because they tend to use more of one dialect than another. It’s a real challenge. Some days are really frustrating, because I feel like I’m back at day one, but then other days are encouraging because I feel that I’m really picking up on the language.
This weekend I’ll be meeting up with the other three volunteers in my region to celebrate 4th of July and watch a little World Cup. Then in mid-July I’m headed back to Tana (the capital) for a meeting and a training session since I’ll be helping train the next batch of health volunteers that come in August. I’m also going to help out with a bike tour against AIDS that some of the other health volunteers are organizing up at Lake Alaotra. I’m really excited to see everyone again and to help out with the bike tour. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully somewhere in there I’ll be able to get the funding straightened out for the public latrine and well projects that I’m working on. It’s been a challenge since a lot of the US gov. funding has been cut for aid/assistance with projects in Madagascar. That’s about it for now. My next post will probably be from Tana in a couple weeks.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
In-Service Training/Antananarivo
It's been so strange to be away from site for such a long time! A little over two weeks ago, I hopped on an Air Madagascar plane along with the midwife from my health clinic in Antsirabe Nord to head down to the capital, Antananarivo (a.k.a. Tana) for in-service training. After arriving in town, I stayed at the Peace Corps hostile and then headed up to the Peace Corps training site 2hrs outside of the city.
The training site is a beautiful place next to a lake up in the mountains in the center of the island, but it is quite chilly and rainy there. It was so wonderful to meet up with the other volunteers in my stage, since we hadn't seen each other in so long. The first week was filled with training sessions on how to apply for funding for projects, how to work with our counterparts and our community, how to do community analysis and needs assessment, some hands-on bio-intensive gardening as well as some HIV/AIDS prevention education strategies. We also did a bit more language training, which was very helpful since I'm still not proficient in my dialect of Malagasy. At the end of the first week, the counterparts that we brought from our sites went home and just the volunteers stayed on for a second week of training. We did a little more sector specific training (health for health volunteers, business for business volunteers, etc.) and some strategizing for what we plan to do when we return back to site. We also managed to find a little time to hang out and have fun too :)
I was very excited to hear that there is a new stage of health and education volunteers coming soon, and some of us might get to come back to help train them during the months of August and September. I'm hoping I get to be one of the trainers, because I really appreciated the help and advice I received from volunteers in the field when I was a Peace Corps trainee. Another advantage of being a trainer is that Peace Corps would fly me down to Tana, and then I could also take part in an upcoming Bike Tour against AIDS that some volunteers are planning in the Ambato region. Otherwise, it would be too far and too expensive for me to travel from my site to where the bike tour will be held in July.
The past few days I've been hanging out in the capital until my flight leaves to go back to site. It's expensive here in Tana, but it is quite an interesting city. Sometimes it seems very crowded and overwhelming, but I'm starting to enjoy it more, now that I've been able to see more of the city. The public bus system has been quite an adventure to explore. There are hundreds of different bus numbers that go all over town, and it only costs 300 ariary (15 cents) to get on one. I've gone all around the city on it. The markets are so fun to look at, because there is so much variety here: tomatoes, carrots, persimmons, tangerines, pineapples, papayas, avocados, apples, bok choy, cabbage, lettuce, sweet potatoes, peanuts, many different kinds of rice, tons of used clothing (fripery), electronics, toys, handicrafts. It's like sensory overload after four months of rural life! The big city doesn't come without it's downsides though. There are lots of pickpocketers, pollution, children begging on the streets, seas of dilapitated houses and buildings all connected to each other in a jumbled mess... Part of me is definitely anxious to get back to site to start working with rural communities again. That's about it for now. A manaraka indray!
The training site is a beautiful place next to a lake up in the mountains in the center of the island, but it is quite chilly and rainy there. It was so wonderful to meet up with the other volunteers in my stage, since we hadn't seen each other in so long. The first week was filled with training sessions on how to apply for funding for projects, how to work with our counterparts and our community, how to do community analysis and needs assessment, some hands-on bio-intensive gardening as well as some HIV/AIDS prevention education strategies. We also did a bit more language training, which was very helpful since I'm still not proficient in my dialect of Malagasy. At the end of the first week, the counterparts that we brought from our sites went home and just the volunteers stayed on for a second week of training. We did a little more sector specific training (health for health volunteers, business for business volunteers, etc.) and some strategizing for what we plan to do when we return back to site. We also managed to find a little time to hang out and have fun too :)
I was very excited to hear that there is a new stage of health and education volunteers coming soon, and some of us might get to come back to help train them during the months of August and September. I'm hoping I get to be one of the trainers, because I really appreciated the help and advice I received from volunteers in the field when I was a Peace Corps trainee. Another advantage of being a trainer is that Peace Corps would fly me down to Tana, and then I could also take part in an upcoming Bike Tour against AIDS that some volunteers are planning in the Ambato region. Otherwise, it would be too far and too expensive for me to travel from my site to where the bike tour will be held in July.
The past few days I've been hanging out in the capital until my flight leaves to go back to site. It's expensive here in Tana, but it is quite an interesting city. Sometimes it seems very crowded and overwhelming, but I'm starting to enjoy it more, now that I've been able to see more of the city. The public bus system has been quite an adventure to explore. There are hundreds of different bus numbers that go all over town, and it only costs 300 ariary (15 cents) to get on one. I've gone all around the city on it. The markets are so fun to look at, because there is so much variety here: tomatoes, carrots, persimmons, tangerines, pineapples, papayas, avocados, apples, bok choy, cabbage, lettuce, sweet potatoes, peanuts, many different kinds of rice, tons of used clothing (fripery), electronics, toys, handicrafts. It's like sensory overload after four months of rural life! The big city doesn't come without it's downsides though. There are lots of pickpocketers, pollution, children begging on the streets, seas of dilapitated houses and buildings all connected to each other in a jumbled mess... Part of me is definitely anxious to get back to site to start working with rural communities again. That's about it for now. A manaraka indray!
Monday, May 3, 2010
2 May 2010
The past week has been really busy, but really fun also. It was “herinandran’ny fahasalamana” (health week) here in Madagascar, which basically means mass distribution of Vitamin A and deworming pills for pregnant women and children under 5. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I went with one of the midwives at the hospital and a few other helpers to surrounding smaller villages to distribute the medicine. Before we gave out the pills, I did a little health education on various topics (prevention of diarrheal disease, nutrition and vaccinations) for all the women and children waiting to get the medicine. It was really fun to meet all the new people and to help give the medicine to the children (Malagasy kids are so cute!). On Wednesday and Friday, I still helped with prenatal consultations and family planning at the clinic, but now we finally have the HIV and syphilis tests again. Before we were supposed to be testing all the pregnant women so that they wouldn’t pass any diseases on to their babies, but there was a problem with the supply chain (probably related to the current unstable government situation). Because of health week, we now have the tests again and medication for those who test positive for syphilis, which I’m really happy about.
On Saturday I went with a friend to a village 17km out in the countryside. It was an exhausting 3 ½ hr hike, but really fun because the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The forest/jungle here is really beautiful and really fun to go hiking in. Once we arrived, we rested, had lunch with his family, and then walked around the village. It’s a really cute place surrounded by mountains and forest and a windy creek. There’s also a small clinic with one doctor and a small primary school. I got to talk with the doctor at the clinic and the teachers at the school, so hopefully I can come back again soon and do some health education projects with the folks there. Everyone was so nice, and as usual I came back with a bunch of gifts (oranges, avocados, bananas and beans). Can’t wait to explore more of the surrounding rural areas when I get the chance. There are still so many villages I haven’t seen yet and so many new people to meet.
Oh, and thank you to everyone who sent me cards or packages or called. I had a great birthday thanks to you all!
On Saturday I went with a friend to a village 17km out in the countryside. It was an exhausting 3 ½ hr hike, but really fun because the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The forest/jungle here is really beautiful and really fun to go hiking in. Once we arrived, we rested, had lunch with his family, and then walked around the village. It’s a really cute place surrounded by mountains and forest and a windy creek. There’s also a small clinic with one doctor and a small primary school. I got to talk with the doctor at the clinic and the teachers at the school, so hopefully I can come back again soon and do some health education projects with the folks there. Everyone was so nice, and as usual I came back with a bunch of gifts (oranges, avocados, bananas and beans). Can’t wait to explore more of the surrounding rural areas when I get the chance. There are still so many villages I haven’t seen yet and so many new people to meet.
Oh, and thank you to everyone who sent me cards or packages or called. I had a great birthday thanks to you all!
18 Avril 2010
Some exciting things have happened since the last time I posted. One of my good friends here is part of a local NGO in town that wants to build a bunch of public latrines in town and in the surrounding rural areas. They also want to do a health education program in conjunction with the latrine construction to encourage use of the latrines (and good hygiene in general) once built. I already know several of the folks in the NGO fairly well, and they are really excited to have me involved with the project. I helped put them in touch with a French NGO in Ampanefena, just 15k north of us, that specializes in building latrines. The same NGO in Ampanefena also wants to build a water system here in Antsirabe Nord that will bring potable water to public taps in town and at the clinic. They’ve already implemented the water system (and have already built several public latrines) in Ampanefena. They already have funding, have already talked with our mayor, and want to break ground in August! Hopefully we can all work together to improve the water and sanitation situation here in Antsirabe Nord, because it really is problematic. Many people just use the woods as the bathroom and there’s also tons of trash by the river side, so when it rains, the river gets really dirty. People still bathe, wash clothes, wash dishes and fetch water from the river…especially when the public taps that we do have in town break (which happens frequently).
Other than getting involved with these two projects, I’ve been trying to learn more about daily life of people in and around Antsirable Nord by asking people about their daily and yearly schedules. It’s really interesting, because people’s lives here are often centered around when they plant and harvest crops (mainly rice and vanilla). It’s so different from in the U.S. where hardly anyone farms anymore because of the industrialized agriculture system and widespread importation of crops. In the U.S. what we eat and when we work isn’t as dependent on the growing seasons as it is here. Even those who live in town often have fields which they travel to on the weekends to farm, and almost everyone has family members who live and farm out in the countryside. Most people wake up around 6am. After they eat breakfast, the women go to the river to do the washing and the men go to the fields. Many women also go the fields to work during the day too if they’re not taking care of the children at home. They come back and eat lunch around noon. In the afternoon they pound rice with giant mortar and pestles in order to get the husks off. Most people here eat dinner around 7pm and go to bed soon after that (if they are out in the countryside and don’t have electricity). I found out that there are several different types of rice people plant: one that grows in 3 months, one in 4 months and one in 5 months. Most people plant rice in October through December and sometimes January. Then they harvest in February through June depending on the type of rice and when they planted. Then they prepare the fields for planting again in May through September. People also plant corn all year around. A lot of people also farm coffee, coconut, bananas, cassava, vanilla, oranges, avocado, peanuts, beans and cucumbers. Many also farm chickens, ducks, pigs and cows if they have the money. There are even a few goats around, which is rare for Madagascar.
What I think is really interesting is that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of division of labor, with the exception of the domestic tasks, like cooking, cleaning, washing and taking care of the kids, which is primarily the women’s job. However both men and women work out in the fields (and kids if they’re old enough and not in school), both men and women pound the rice, and both men and women sell things in the marketplace (although women tend to be the ones selling food items, and men seem to sell more of the hardware and other household items). I often see husbands and wives working together as one unit as they go out into the fields, run small restaurants or shops in town or sell things in the market.
Aside from that, I’ve had to travel down to Antalaha several times to visit the dentist because I apparently clench my teeth at night, and it’s causing problems with my gums. It’s a cute little town with a nice beach, though, so at least that part’s nice. There will also be two new environment volunteers coming to my region in May, which I’m excited about, since the only other volunteer who was up north here with me before quit Peace Corps and went home a few weeks ago because of some personal issues. I’ve been the only other American volunteer for miles around, which is kind of cool in its own way, but I miss the other volunteer and I’m excited to collaborate and do some cross-sector work with the two new ones who will be nearby.
Health week is coming up on April 26th, which is also my b-day (yay)! As hospital workers, we’ll be promoting and distributing vitamin A, deworming pills, vaccines and to women and children all around the area (and health information in general to as many people as we can, I hope). Then in mid-May I travel to the capital, Antananarivo, for two weeks of training with Peace Corps. I’m looking forward to seeing all my fellow volunteers. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone and see how they’ve been doing the past three months…a bit of separation anxiety since we were in such close quarters for several months before that.
Other than getting involved with these two projects, I’ve been trying to learn more about daily life of people in and around Antsirable Nord by asking people about their daily and yearly schedules. It’s really interesting, because people’s lives here are often centered around when they plant and harvest crops (mainly rice and vanilla). It’s so different from in the U.S. where hardly anyone farms anymore because of the industrialized agriculture system and widespread importation of crops. In the U.S. what we eat and when we work isn’t as dependent on the growing seasons as it is here. Even those who live in town often have fields which they travel to on the weekends to farm, and almost everyone has family members who live and farm out in the countryside. Most people wake up around 6am. After they eat breakfast, the women go to the river to do the washing and the men go to the fields. Many women also go the fields to work during the day too if they’re not taking care of the children at home. They come back and eat lunch around noon. In the afternoon they pound rice with giant mortar and pestles in order to get the husks off. Most people here eat dinner around 7pm and go to bed soon after that (if they are out in the countryside and don’t have electricity). I found out that there are several different types of rice people plant: one that grows in 3 months, one in 4 months and one in 5 months. Most people plant rice in October through December and sometimes January. Then they harvest in February through June depending on the type of rice and when they planted. Then they prepare the fields for planting again in May through September. People also plant corn all year around. A lot of people also farm coffee, coconut, bananas, cassava, vanilla, oranges, avocado, peanuts, beans and cucumbers. Many also farm chickens, ducks, pigs and cows if they have the money. There are even a few goats around, which is rare for Madagascar.
What I think is really interesting is that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of division of labor, with the exception of the domestic tasks, like cooking, cleaning, washing and taking care of the kids, which is primarily the women’s job. However both men and women work out in the fields (and kids if they’re old enough and not in school), both men and women pound the rice, and both men and women sell things in the marketplace (although women tend to be the ones selling food items, and men seem to sell more of the hardware and other household items). I often see husbands and wives working together as one unit as they go out into the fields, run small restaurants or shops in town or sell things in the market.
Aside from that, I’ve had to travel down to Antalaha several times to visit the dentist because I apparently clench my teeth at night, and it’s causing problems with my gums. It’s a cute little town with a nice beach, though, so at least that part’s nice. There will also be two new environment volunteers coming to my region in May, which I’m excited about, since the only other volunteer who was up north here with me before quit Peace Corps and went home a few weeks ago because of some personal issues. I’ve been the only other American volunteer for miles around, which is kind of cool in its own way, but I miss the other volunteer and I’m excited to collaborate and do some cross-sector work with the two new ones who will be nearby.
Health week is coming up on April 26th, which is also my b-day (yay)! As hospital workers, we’ll be promoting and distributing vitamin A, deworming pills, vaccines and to women and children all around the area (and health information in general to as many people as we can, I hope). Then in mid-May I travel to the capital, Antananarivo, for two weeks of training with Peace Corps. I’m looking forward to seeing all my fellow volunteers. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone and see how they’ve been doing the past three months…a bit of separation anxiety since we were in such close quarters for several months before that.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
5 April 2010
I’ve been at site for a little over two months now…can hardly believe it’s already been that long! I’m still helping with prenatal consultations and family planning twice a week, only I’ve started giving health talks on safe motherhood and reproductive health to all the women beforehand now that my Malagasy is a little better. I also help with baby weighing on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I’m still teaching at the local secondary school as well. I recently had a nice chat with one of the teachers from the primary school and it looks like I might be able to help out with health education there as well. I also found out that a project might be starting up in our town soon to build several latrines for public use (with government money no less), which I’m really excited about. Even though we have electricity and public taps around town, many people still don’t have latrines and use the woods instead. Then when it rains, the river is really dirty. Many people still wash dishes and bathe in the river, so one can easily imagine the hygiene and sanitation problems the situation causes. Hopefully I’ll be able to assist with the project and help it come to fruition.
I’ve also slowly been exploring more of the countryside on the outskirts of town where everyone farms rice. I’ve traveled with the SEECALINE (nutrition/baby weighing) lady to two nearby villages to weigh children under five and do some cooking demos on nutritious weaning foods. I’ve also walked with some friends to a village 2hrs away to visit with their relatives. The families who live out in the fields are always so friendly and seem genuinely excited to have visitors. Every time I’ve come back from the fields I’m laden with gifts: oranges, avocadoes, cucumbers, rice, coconuts…even a live chicken the last time (which one of my friends promptly sold for me to a passerby on the way back home, as I’m vegetarian and don’t know the first thing about raising chickens)! I can’t get over how nice everyone is here, sometimes.
The other day I rode my bicycle to explore some of the smaller towns just south of me. There are some more schools and a smaller clinic in one of the towns I passed, so I definitely want to go back soon to see if there’s any health programs I might be able to help with. Not only that, but I’ve been getting a little tired and overwhelmed with playing nanny for all the rambunctious neighborhood kids and so have consequently been making an effort to get out of the house more, although I still do enjoy them visiting from time to time. All joking aside though, I am always stunned by how beautiful this country is every time I go exploring around the area. The forests, rivers and mountains are breathtaking, and I still find it so surreal that Madagascar is actually going to be my home for the next two years.
I’ve also slowly been exploring more of the countryside on the outskirts of town where everyone farms rice. I’ve traveled with the SEECALINE (nutrition/baby weighing) lady to two nearby villages to weigh children under five and do some cooking demos on nutritious weaning foods. I’ve also walked with some friends to a village 2hrs away to visit with their relatives. The families who live out in the fields are always so friendly and seem genuinely excited to have visitors. Every time I’ve come back from the fields I’m laden with gifts: oranges, avocadoes, cucumbers, rice, coconuts…even a live chicken the last time (which one of my friends promptly sold for me to a passerby on the way back home, as I’m vegetarian and don’t know the first thing about raising chickens)! I can’t get over how nice everyone is here, sometimes.
The other day I rode my bicycle to explore some of the smaller towns just south of me. There are some more schools and a smaller clinic in one of the towns I passed, so I definitely want to go back soon to see if there’s any health programs I might be able to help with. Not only that, but I’ve been getting a little tired and overwhelmed with playing nanny for all the rambunctious neighborhood kids and so have consequently been making an effort to get out of the house more, although I still do enjoy them visiting from time to time. All joking aside though, I am always stunned by how beautiful this country is every time I go exploring around the area. The forests, rivers and mountains are breathtaking, and I still find it so surreal that Madagascar is actually going to be my home for the next two years.
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