Written by Limbani Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
​Reposted from Tobiyasi in Chiradzulu

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do"
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"A scared dog barks to pretend to its master but a brave dog bites to protect him"
- An African Proverb

July 2016 marked the midway of my service and now being August, I am looking at 5 more months before I pack my belongings and move on with my life. To add flavor to the halfway landmark of our service, CorpsAfrica Malawi held a Mid Service Training (MST), which was particularly intended to help volunteers to reflect systematically on their individual experiences this far and prepare each one of us to finish in the strongest way possible. For more information on MST and what it meant to be there, check out Deborah's and Tusa's blog entries. Otherwise, in addition to the jolly that came with this precious reunion, our resolve as a group and as individuals was tested in an unforeseen way but I am glad that we continue to march on as a group with unscathed determination. Splendid!

Teenage Pregnancy & Early Marriage: Since arriving in my community, my efforts to get a firsthand appreciation of the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and early marriages had proven futile for technical reasons. I mean, I had heard of the existence of these problems but without seeing girls that are affected by these two vices, what I had been hearing remained mere speculation. I needed to see and, if possible, interact with girls that are caught up in this predicament. But as a young bachelor working in a culturally conservative society, simply going into the community and start asking for young ladies with kids would have raised eyebrows. An alternative was to observe such girls during community meetings but, unfortunately, millennials hardly attend community meetings here. I had to be creative.

Unmoved, I had to devised a smart strategy that would not only allow me to circumvent these restrictions but also provide fun for my subjects. After much contemplation and looking at the minimal resources I had, I organized a netball match for females in my community. Generally, women in my community (and many rural areas in Malawi) lack recreation activities, so I was convinced that a netball match would attract scores of females from their cocoons. Maybe this lack of recreation activities partly explains why most girls are prone to teenage pregnancies in the first place. To incentivize as many females as possible to grace the occasion, I pledged a whooping K2000.00 (approximately, $2.80) as a sponsorship package for this match and, as expected, a large number of female residents came to play and cheer. Goal achieved.

Cutting a long story short, what I observed as the netball match unfolded confirmed what I had been hearing on the severity of teenage pregnancy and early marriages in Likoswe village. Roughly, more than 95% of the women (girls) that participated in the match were aged between 15 and 20, out of which, 75% of them have toddlers. Most of them had gotten pregnant before completing primary school, got married, delivered, and are now divorced. As the match progressed, the toddlers kept running into the playing field while crying and thereby interrupting their mothers in the process. To a candid observer, it was a deploring view.

Aftermath: Upon consulting several senior residents, it turns out that there is a heinous circle that perpetuates this problem in the community. Teenage pregnancies and eventual early marriages are a common occurrence here and people have simply allowed this ugly phenomena to be ingrained on their minds as a normality of life. A girl child and even boys failing to progress with education does not warrant serious contemplation and agency here. But as a man who is chronically allergic to mediocrity, I will not tolerate this mentality. Obviously, this problem cannot be reverted overnight, but I won't standby and let this aspect lead me to idleness. Because you what? Knowing is not enough, but applying. At the moment, the plan is to organize a team of residents that are interested to join my efforts to fight for this noble cause. I don't know what we will achieve in the remaining 5 months that I will be here, but one thing I am sure about is that we will do something. Something that will be ongoing even after I leave. Watch this space.

After PST came In Service Training where most of it was to share how the first three months went and equip us with Monitoring and Evaluation ideas. It was also a journey of preparing us on what shall come next in terms of starting assessing/ finding out the community needs and implementing a community project. But still I felt like they were giving me too much information on top from that of PST but actually the truth was, my fellow Volunteers and I should have an awesome service and integrating with our respective communities could help us to enjoy the service by working as a team with the community people and at the same time having fun. IST also helped me to have an eye of the challenges and good things that might appear or happen on my way of working in this community and how I can personally handle them and now, I am half way through.

Just recently, we had Mid Service Training and it was also a wonderful training. It was good and nice to share all kinds of stories and ideas with my fellow Volunteers. But, the most interesting part of it was at least we all (Volunteers) have other things in common despite living in different communities. Integrating with communities was a big deal for a better work environment for most of us. Some of the topics that were covered during the training and that we might use in our respective communities depending on the needs and wants were, gender, project management and leadership, crash course in business, Peace Corps Camp GLOW and CorpsAfrica working together with youth groups, and an over view of Monitoring and Evaluation as it is the center of being a CorpsAfrica Volunteer. All those topics were to help us as Volunteers since we are on the half way point to start implementing sustainable community projects. A lot of resources on every topic were given to us in order to help implement/facilitate whatever program a Volunteer and its community are interested in. We were equipped with all that knowledge and skills because we are a half way through and implementing those sustainable community projects with the community will make /help them to remember us for ever when the service is over and now, I am half way through.

Lastly, as I am half way through the service, my eye is focusing on what comes next in terms of project implementation. CorpsAfrica staff is there to provide all that necessary support to be able to work and implement projects. Holding hands and working together in the developmental sector, now it may seem like we have a long way to go but with hope in the near future will have developed our people, our nation and our world. Until next month for more updates, ndikuti zikomo kwambiri ndimakunyadirani nthawi zonse!!!!!!  (I'm saying thank you so much and I'm proud of you all the time [for reading]!!!!!!)

Written by Boubacar Diallo, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal ​
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Baba Garage is located in the Diourbel region in central Senegal, 120 km east of Dakar and in the department of Bambey. This rural community of about 2000 inhabitants became a town since March 2014 with the introduction of the Act III of decentralization, creating new municipality districts. Baba Garage has 52 villages over an area of ​​156 km² with 53.3% women.
Ndieulbert is a village in the municipality district of Baba Garage. According to legend, it was founded in 1864 by Yacine Diouf Deguène Kafa, son of the famous king of Sine Coumba DIOUF Ndofène.
Etymologically, the name comes Ndieulbert from two Wolof words (NJËLU which means dawn) and (BEER is the name of the old village plant, one that people came to gather at dawn).
  It is in this beautiful village we visited the brave women who do embroidery by hand.
After hours of discussion about their activities, we conducted video interviews in Wolof with Ms. Sai KAMA and Aminata MBOW
 
Interview 1: With Mrs. SAÏ KAMA

​“ Assalamou alaykoum,
We extend our greetings and thank you so much, Boubacar.
Since your arrival in our village you’re fulfilling your duty, you often visit us and asking us about our needs concerning our activities.
My name is SAÏ Kama, I live in Ndieulbert, I do embroidery by hand using traditional technics and I need support. I have 10 years of experience with this job, and make a variety of things such as bed sheets, clothes for men and women. As for bed sheets I spend from about 7000 to 7500 CFA and sell them for 10000 CFA, with a profit of 2500 to 3000 CFA. My main difficulty is marketing and selling our products, because I sometimes make so many things and just store them here because I have nowhere to sell them. We are soliciting you to help us get sewing materials and sale agents because we are really tired (laughs). Once again, we thank Boubacar and count on you! "
 
Interview 2: With Mrs Ami MBOW

​“Assalamou alaykoum,
I, Ami MBOW, greet you Boubacar and you, his supervisors who assigned him here in our village, because we know that he comes from very far, Casamance, to support us in our activities. He is a very respectful boy and does his job well, so thank you very much.
We’ve been doing embroidery by hand for 10 years now but commercialization is our primary need. We make dresses, clothes, bed linens, and more. This job is a tradition in my family. We sell large “boubou” at 15000 CFA, dresses at 10000 CFA. We buy the files and sewing needles. Our concern is not having the market where we could sell the fabric that we make, and sellers who would purchase our products. This is why we ask for your help and we thank you very much. "

Interview by:
Boubacar Biro DIALLO
CorpsAfrica Volunteer/ Sénégal
Baba Garage (Bambey/ Diourbel)
Tel : 00221 77 718 76 47
Email : bbirojallow@gmail.com
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​Version originale en français

Femmes et artisanat local à Baba Garage
L’exemple des femmes de Ndieulbert dans la broderie à la main.

Baba Garage est situé dans la région de Diourbel au centre du Sénégal à 120 km à l’est de Dakar, dans le département de Bambey. Cette communauté rurale d’environ 2000 habitants est devenu commune d’arrondissement depuis le mois de mars 2014 avec l’entré en vigueur de l’acte III de la décentralisation portant la création des nouvelles communes d’arrondissements.
Baba Garage compte  52 villages sur une superficie de 156 km² avec 53.3% de femmes.
Ndieulbert est un village de la commune d’arrondissement de Baba Garage. Selon la légende, il est fondé en 1864 par Yacine Deguène Kafa DIOUF fils du célèbre roi du Sine Coumba Ndofène DIOUF.
Etymologiquement le nom Ndieulbert provient de deux mots wolofs (NJËLU qui signifie aube) et (BEER c’est le nom des plantes du village auparavant dont les populations venaient cueillir dès l’aube).
                       
C’est dans ce magnifique village que nous avons rendu visite  aux braves femmes qui font la broderie à la main.
Après des heures d’échanges et de discussion sur leurs activités, nous avons réalisé des entretiens vidéo en wolof avec Mme Saï KAMA et Mme Aminata MBOW

Entretien 1 : Avec Madame SAÏ KAMA 
      
 « Assalamou alaykoum,
Nous te saluons et te remercions Boubacar,
Depuis que tu es venu dans notre village tu fais ton devoir, tu nous rends visite et demande nos besoins dans le cadre de nos activités.
 Je m’appelle SAÏ Kama, j’habite à Ndieulbert je fais la broderie à la main et j’ai besoin de soutien. Depuis 10ans j’exerce ce métier, je fais des draps de lit, habits d’hommes et de femmes. Pour les draps de lit je dépense environs 7000F à 7500F CFA et nous les vendons à 10000F Cfa, soit un bénéfice de 2500F à 3000f. J’ai des difficultés surtout pour la commercialisation car je confectionne beaucoup de tissus que je garde ici ; je n’ai pas où les vendre. Nous sollicitons de l’aide pour avoir des matériels de coutures et des agents commerciaux parce que vraiment on est fatigué (rire….).
Nous te remercions encore Boubacar et compte beaucoup sur vous. Merci ! »

Entretien 2 : avec Madame Ami MBOW
   
« Assalamou alaykoum,
Moi Ami MBOW je vous salue tous, je salue Boubacar et vous ses responsables qui l’ont affecté ici car il vient de loin très loin (Casamance) pour nous soutenir dans nos activités. C’est un enfant très polit et il fait bien son travail donc nous vous remercions beaucoup.
Nous faisons la broderie à la main depuis 10ans mais la commercialisation est notre principal besoin. Nous faisons des marinières, des robes, des pagnes, des draps de lits. Toute la famille fait se travail. Nous vendons les grands boubous à 15000F, les robes à 10000F CFA. Nous achetons les files à coudre et les aiguilles. Notre préoccupation c’est d’avoir un marché où vendre nos tissus mais aussi des vendeurs. C’est pour cette raison nous sollicitons de l’aide dans ce sens et nous vous remercions infiniment. »
     
Entretien réalisé par :
Boubacar Biro DIALLO
Volontaire CorpsAfrica/ Sénégal
Baba Garage (Bambey/ Diourbel)
Tel : 00221 77 718 76 47
Email : bbirojallow@gmail.com

Written by Isabel Mandiwa, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

Every child has the right to education we say. But how many kids have access to that education in their community?

My village, for instance, doesn't have one and at the moment we are trying everything to have it near us.  We would like to save our kids from walking very long distances to and from everyday and also for security reason especially for the young in Std1-4 whom have to cross broken bridges with running water during the rainy season.

We are working on a project to extend our primary school which at the moment only has one block for standard 1&2 students.

Because most or almost all donors require community participation and a 10% contribution to the whole project fund, my community agreed to put together money collected from each household in the six villages that will benefit from this project. This money that has already been and still is being payed is used to pay local people to make bricks, collect sand, quarry and water while we look for various funding.

It hasn't been easy for other households to pay all the amount that was required, some borrow from village savings banks, some wait to sell their farm produce, and some look for some piece of work but in the end everyone with the help of chiefs and group village head is trying to source the money for the project.

I must say I am particularly impressed with the way the community comes together; works together; encourages one another and even helps each other to develop their small community and make ends meet at the end of the day.

It's going to be a great moment to see these structures finished and see students come to this primary school in great numbers and produce great leaders that will contribute to the development of this nation and I will have known in some small way I helped make this happen.

I am optimistic!!!!

Written by Emas Potolani, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from eMas' Korner

In my previous post I shared more about women from my community, Chitete. And I tried to give some detailed account of the endeavors that these women are involved in here. Well, for those that run some small scale businesses, Zalewa turn-off is a must go destination so that they can capitalize on the many customers who invade the market on market days like today, Tuesday and Saturdays. Well, ever since I came here I have always been bothered by many thoughts, many thoughts on how I can help to transform the lives of the women here. Honestly, in as much as there are those women who are busy running up and down with various entrepreneurship activities, many women do not involve themselves in some activities that might in turn uplift them socioeconomically. I cited an example of the only woman who owns a small retail shop in the village and some who run various other activities like selling sugarcane and other local fruits. Not many of these women own and or run more sustainable businesses as compared to men of whom the greater percentage are running somewhat more sustainable businesses like motorcycle or bicycle taxi, retail shops and carpentry.

Well, in this post I would like to share with you about the IWETI (Integrated Women Empowerment Through Improved-Stove Production) project, that I am doing with a number of women in my community. The IWETI project is a project that I have just started following my deep thoughts about a practical way possible to help empower women without giving them handouts or anything near that. Well, it has been some rough road ever since I joined this community in February this year. I must appreciate the moral support I get from the CorpsAfrica family especially the Malawi team, they have helped me to take some precautions and consider a number of options before officially kicking off with projects involving women in my community. And the good thing is that I and my community have integrated amazingly over the past months as am their “alangizi a chitukuko” (Development facilitator), the name that most locals call me besides my other name, “sala” (a name the locals use to refer to a male teacher, borrowed from the English word Sir). I love my community really! it’s fun in its own way. I spent the month of May (2016) mobilizing women for the IWETI project. The mobilization was done through the community meetings which were attended by most community members here. Currently there are 10 women whom I am going to work with but the women suggested that we raise the membership number to 15.

Now, what does IWETI aim to achieve by the end of the day, and what is its relevance after all? Maybe you might be wondering the same. Alright, this project will involve teaching women and providing them with skills in the production of improved stoves as an income-generating activity, with the aim of contributing towards the social and economic empowerment of womenand other disadvantaged groups in my community. The improved stoves will thus indeed compliment efforts by many other organizations in saving trees and towards saving the environment and in turn improve or achieve a better health for households in our community.

While other organizations are distributing similar stoves to communities, I believe the best way to empower women in my community is to train them, for herein lies true empowerment. After the women acquire this impeccable knowledge, they will be able to produce more Stoves as a group and later on take them to the market to sell. This will surely achieve social, environmental, and economic sustainability which are key pillars of rural community development. Socioeconomic empowerment is there because these women will be able to pocket some kwachas after selling these stoves at the market, and the environmental part is coming in because these stoves have been scientifically proved through research that they produce less smoke and most importantly that they use and require less firewood than the conventional method of cooking which uses 3 stones and a lot more firewood. 

The IWETI Project is on the Prototype stage and today, the 28th of June, 2016 we started off with a formal training on how to produce the improved stoves. Although 4 out of the 10 women showed up for the training, I was so marveled to share my knowledge with them. Being a market day, most of the women couldn’t make it and so we’ve now decided to change our meeting days to Mondays every week. The training today focused on how to construct an Improved Stationed Stove and also on how to make or produce a Moveable Improved Stove. Our target for today was to be able to learn and get familiarized with the how to and also produce a prototype of the two Improved Stoves, but since the turn up was not as expected and that we didn’t manage to assemble the materials needed for the production, we decided to produce the prototype next Monday, July 4th 2016. The few women present were thrilled and excitedly volunteered for the prototypes of the stationed stoves to be done at their houses. Each of the group members will own the stationed stove in their kitchens courtesy of the group and this process will help the women to get familiar with the stove production process.  I am so over the moon!

I will be sharing updates including pictures on the IWETI Project and I will very much appreciate your thoughts, feedback and possible partnership links to further help the women in my community. This project will need a good market for the produced stoves to make sure that the women make a good return out of the stoves. We will definitely need your hand. ​

Written by Gnagna Dabo, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal 

In our last blog, I mentioned the existence of the many resources at my site. Among these resources we will discuss today is salt, a resource as much as it is a threat to this community.
Indeed, regarded as a resource, salt mining is considered the second activity after agriculture in the municipality of Loulé Séssène. However, it is an artisanal exploitation well mastered by the people, which means that the community harvests more and more salt each year, and more that it can sell on the market.
Faced with competition and the lack of infrastructure such as roads, the flow of salt is increasingly difficult. Therefore, after the development of salt wells, these are sometimes abandoned or not harvested by their owners simply because even if they pay the labor for the harvest, they cannot sell it or are forced to sell off at ridiculously low prices like 250 francs per 50 Kg bag. At that price, they are forced because if it’s not sold the salt remains unsold and can be carried by rain or the river that rises in winter. All these factors show that even if the salt is an economic factor, its ways of exploitation must be improved in the municipality of Loulé Séssène.
On the health front, too, the salt that is used in homes comes directly from wells and is not iodized. This can cause certain diseases.
Given these many factors, we decided to organize a cooperative of salt farmers to better regulate the sale of salt. This will also facilitate the storage of salt will be purchased by the cooperative which will be the main seller to the external market. This project is one of our activities in the municipality of Loulé Séssène.
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Vesrion originale en français:

Dans notre dernier blog, nous avions mentionné l’existence des nombreuses ressources du site. Parmi ces ressources nous aborderons le sel qui aujourd’hui constitue autant une force qu’une menace dans cette localité.
En effet, considéré comme force, l’exploitation du sel constitue dans la commune de Loul Sesséne la deuxième activité après l’agriculture. Cependant, c’est une exploitation artisanale bien maitrisée par les populations, ce qui fait que la commune récolte tous les ans plus de sel que ce qu’elle peut vendre sur le marché.
Face à la concurrence et à l’absence d’infrastructures comme les pistes d’exploitation, l’écoulement du sel est de plus en plus difficile. Par conséquent, après l’aménagement des puits de sel, ceux-ci sont parfois abandonnés ou non récoltés par leurs propriétaires. Tout simplement, parce-que même s’ils payent la main d’œuvre pour le récolter, ils ne pourront pas le vendre ou sont obligé de le bazarder à des prix dérisoires comme 250frs le sac de 50Kg. A ce prix ils sont obligés parce-que sinon le sel reste invendu et peut être amené par la pluie ou le fleuve qui monte en période hivernale. Tous ces facteurs montrent que même si le sel constitue un facteur économique, son mode d’exploitation doit être amélioré dans la commune de Loul Sesséne.
Sur le plan sanitaire aussi, le sel qui est utilisé dans les foyers vient directement des puits et il n’est pas iodé. Ceci peut être source de certaines maladies.
Vu ces nombreux facteurs, nous avons pensé à organiser les exploitants en coopérative pour mieux réglementer la vente du sel. Ceci facilitera aussi le stockage du sel qui sera acheté par la coopérative qui sera le principal vendeur du marché extérieur. Ce projet constitue une de nos activités far dans la commune de Loul Sesséne. 

Written by Lusekelo Simwela, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

“Who would be in charge of the project if you were to leave it, or not be available,” asked Dr. Deborah Hall at the steering committee meeting I had before my shallow well project was approved. I hadn’t expected the question but I answered immediately. My answer was a Mr. Simon Denivala. The reason I had chosen him was because he was many months back one of the few people who told me about my community’s water problems, he was also one of the most dedicated members of the village’s village development committee(VDC). Fast forward four months later, I sit down with him after performing the very last task on the well. He has a plate of Kalongonda (velvet beans) a delicacy that is famous for killing people if it has not been properly cooked. I reluctantly pick a couple and throw two in my mouth and had this conversation with him.

Me: We finally finished the project, how do you feel?

Simon: I am happy, that finally we have enough clean water.

Me: We initially planned the project for 1 month, but it has taken almost 3 months, what can you say about this?

Simon: People did not always show up in expected numbers.

Me: Why do you think this was the case?

Simon: People in leadership positions did not do enough to mobilize the people.

Me: How can we fix the problem of low turn out?

Simon: People are now more receptive to development projects because many just talk but most don’t do anything, but this well is a sign that you are here to help the people.

Me: What other problems did you meet?

Simon: Some people haven’t paid the money they were supposed to pay, including the leader of this part of the village.

Me: Why is this the case?

Simon: Some people are always out to disturb what others are doing, always want to cause trouble.

Me: What is your advice on future projects concerning this money issue?

Simon: Do not start projects till the people pay the money, when it starts they think the project funding will cover the cost.

Me: One of the things that you did was to finish the wells cover when I was at mid service training.  How did you accomplish this even though the money was not enough?

Simon: I realized that if we wait for the few people who are not on the side of development the work will not finish even though we have worked so hard to finish it. So I took that little money and found a person who had the materials we needed for a cheaper price than we budgeted for.

Me: What more can you tell me about the project?

Simon: It was not easy to finish the project but it was worth it, now we don’t have to go far to get clean water. The village now knows that if we work together we can accomplish anything.  

Written by Sarah Kazira, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from SarahAyanda

From 18-22 July, I was out of my site attending Age Africa’s 6th annual girls retreat. The theme of this retreat was S.H.E Empowered (Safety, Health and Education) and it gathered 88 girls from 22 different schools plus 7 mentors, three faculty advisers and two CorpsAfrica Volunteers (myself and Vanessa Chimutu).  I went there with four girls from the Community Day Secondary School I volunteer at and in these five days,  I saw these girls get transformed for the better with the knowledge that they gained.  I also learnt a great deal of things.

Each day had its own set of speakers with a different topic every time. The first  speaker was a man, Mr. Bunyonga, who talked to us about how there is a need for behavior change in order to overcome the poverty crisis in Africa, Malawi specifically. He talked about the different types of poverty and how behavior change can help eliminate them. He then proceeded to talk about how certain behaviors (especially sexual behaviors) contribute in causing some diseases like STI’s and cancer and how these contribute to the poverty crisis. This topic captured the girls' attention the most as they fired the man with question after question and had many myths they had been taught in the villages debunked.
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The sessions would usually progress into the evening and on this particular evening, we had a film director, Mr Shamu Joya, come and showcase to us his film “The Seasons of Life” which has won a number of awards across Africa. After the film had ended he told us of how as a child he had always wanted to work in the film industry and how he finally got to do it. He encouraged the girls to always work towards their dreams and soon enough they will get there. It is safe to say we all slept inspired this night.

On the next day, we had a speaker, Mpatso Jumbe, talk to the girls about their bodies and how it works. Throughout the session she kept on reminding us “if you don't know how parts of your body work, or how to use them, somebody else will come in and know how to use them.” She urged the girls to abstain from behaviors that could hinder their future and to say no to things they do not want.

Let me say here that these sessions where not of the sitting down and listening kind of sessions,  they were very interactive ones. There were so many activities and games included in the learning. A lot of singing, dancing and role playing were incorporated into the sessions that you barely noticed time passing by. We even had two famous TV and radio comedians come and deliver a session in a very comedic yet informative way that left everybody laughing.

As I sat listening to all these speakers come in and share with the girls on different topics, I couldn’t help but envy how lucky they are. I wished I had the chance to attend such a retreat when I was in secondary school. I wish somebody had taught me all the different things the girls were being taught . But I also felt proud of being a part of it all. The change that happened with the girls in the few days was evident before the week was even over; they became more confident about their passions and it showed in how they spoke .

My favourite day of all was Wednesday,  and this was a day specifically reserved for motivational and career talks. I learnt so much on this day but I won't write about it here. You can read about it and the rest of the retreat on my partner Vanessa’s blog

Written by Hameth Ndoye, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal
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The April 15, 2015, being Global Service Youth Day, we organized a day activity of collecting plastic waste surrounding Cabrousse, my site. 

For this, the youth of the Red Cross as well as those of the Scout Movement, Agora club, and the local municipality joined in their participation

At 4:00 PM,  the activities started.  

For two hours, we picked up all of the plastic waste in joy. 

This choice of collecting plastic waste was in the goal of fighting pollution caused by plastic, and this conveniently joined the the movement of the Senegalese government in banning the use of plastic as it is harmful to the climate. 

At the end we gave to certificates to all the participants as a way to bring awareness. 

Cabrousse AGAINST PLASTIC WASTE !!!!!!!!!!!

A second day will be organized, this time with the children of the kindergarten Facoly1 of Cabrousse on April 24 at the health district of the village, because we want the children to be aware and educated about this.

Written by Amadou Alpha Ba, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal 
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​Nelson Mandela Day is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on July 18, Mandela's birthday. The day was officially declared by UNESCO in November 2009. It commemorates the contribution of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid cause and first black president of South Africa, to promote a culture of peace.

On this day, every citizen of the world is called to symbolically dedicate 67 minutes of his time to work in community service, in memory the 67 years Mandela devoted to the struggle for equality, reconciliation and cultural diversity.
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For the first time, we celebrate this day in the UNESCO World Heritage, the Saloum Delta.  It was held in Toubakouta, a town with 52 villages, among them Missirah.  This day was such a success. In this locality, this day is organized within the project "Protected Areas, Eco-entrepreneurship and Employability of Young people and Women." I participated in the workshops during this celebration: Social Innovation, Local Economic Development Entrepreneurship and in the Biosphere Reserve of the Saloum Delta, Citizenship and Sustainable Development." Very rich in exchanges with many perspectives.

​What is so impressive to me is the promoter of this event, a Senegalese living in Norway, who has brought kids from Colobane, a '' disadvantaged '' neighborhood in the big city, Dakar to spend 4 days in the locality. They were put in contact with kids of the community and participated in several activities such as sketches, songs, etc. all regarding Mandela and the environment. This exchange was very interesting and rewarding because Colobane is faced with huge environmental issues, thus these kids, once back home, will have another perspective of  the environment and will have behavior changes and can even influence and sensitize their relatives.

Written by Tusayiwe Sikwese, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
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I can't believe we're already mid-way through our service!!! How time flies when you're having *a great time*.... Or when *you're busy*!

The past 6 months have been amazing, from getting to know my fellow Volunteers, settling into a community where I am a complete stranger to making friends that will forever be and learning from each other. It's been quite a journey.

During MST, we all shared stories about our communities, what was working well and what wasn't, and also shared ideas on how we could change the things that weren't working.  We had this activity called speed consulting,  where we had a chance to offer solutions to the challenges we said we were facing in our communities. The idea was similar to that of speed dating. We had consultees and consultants. Those who were consultants were given ten minutes to offer solutions to the challenges expressed by the consultees.  Everyone had the chance to be both a consultant and a consultee. It was a fun way of helping each other out with the challenges we're experiencing. 
 
There were other activities that were also very useful but they all came down to how to tackle the challenges we're experiencing. 

All in all, MST provided me with knowledge and skills that will ease the final half of my service a little bit, and hopefully make my service a success.
​

Written by Lahcen H
​The story begins when I first arrived to Azzaden valley in High Atlas Mountains. People are kindhearted and so delightful there. The fact that, we share the same language (Berber) breaks many barriers between us. As Nelson Mandela said once, when you speak to someone in a language he understands it goes to his mind, but when you speak his language it goes to his heart. O Tata is my new nickname in Azzaden valley. I am not a good storyteller, but before we move on lets take a look on the etymology of the word. O is a possessive prefix in Berber used to indicate the origins of a place. The second part is my birthplace Tata. It is one the marginalized cites in the southern Morocco. It is well known for palm trees. Therefore, O Tata means someone who is from Tata.

         Having said that, lets go back to our story, as I said whenever I speak Berber with one of the local people I used to hear “mani ygan tamazirt?” where are you from?. I replied: I am from Tata. Then they said” merhba aw Tata" welcome O Tata. I felt as if I am at my hometown. Few days later, I was talking with a group of youth and  suddenly one of them uttered "Amen O Tata” the phrase that became a word of mouth in the region. I was wondering what is the relation between Amen and Tata. To my knowledge, Amen is what we say at the end of religious prayers. To what extent am I blessed? I thought💭. Then, I figured out that there is also a story behind that. 

         It was about a very popular video on WhatsApp among Azzaden youths. "A man from Tata went to Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia and the holiest place in Islam, to make hajj (the pilgrimage). He was praying behind the Imam in the mosque. All of sudden, while the Imam was reciting the Quran, he remembered that, he forgot to make wudu (ablution) before the prayer. Hence, he has to replace someone to finish the Salat. Luckily, the man from Tata was the chosen one. For the sacred of the place, the man started over and repeated reciting al Fatiha; the short first sura of the Quran."In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.[All]Praise is[due]to Allah, Lord of the the worlds. The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Sovereign of the Day of the Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path. The path of those upon whom you have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked[your]anger or of those who are astray".As soon as he finished the sura, all the people from Morocco replied: Amen aw Tata”.

         Wait a minute; this is off one’s box. How come😧? Believe it or not this is the story. Anyhow, whenever they watch that video they just burst out laughing😂😂. It may be a mind-numbing story; but just smile because when you smile, the whole world smiles with you. I hope it will leave a smile on your face at least for the rest of this day.

Written by Dinisse Sylva, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal 

CorpsAfrica/Senegal,Mbaldo,mbaldo , mbédé diam !
mbédé diam !                
diam soom ?
diam soom kay !
mbalém djiré
diam soom ma diégo

​Friends, I greeted you in Serere, that is how we say hello in my village at Soudiane Thiéleme
I already imagine that you are all eager to read my blog and well here I am, I'm back to entertain you.
During the month of June, I spent most of my time facilitating meetings with the different groups of women in my village.
I started the month of June by holding an end-of-year party for the preschool children. It was such a happy and extraordinary event, rich in learning. The children have entertained us all with surprise skits and dances that make you amazed.
After that, I organized meetings with groups of women of Soudiane Thiéleme and Soudiane Vélingara.
A Soudiane Thiéléme, we finished completing the first phase of the rice project and started the second phase. It is a rice project targeted to satisfy self-sufficiency in rice of 40 families for one year. A Soudiane Vilingara, we are trying to implement a project of training the women in dyeing and soap making. The number of those trained is not yet determined.
 
Also still in the month of June I visited the town hall of Djilass, the sub-prefecture and gendarmerie Fimela. The aim of the visits was to report my presence in the area to the administrative authorities. I took the opportunity to get acquainted with structures that may help me in achieving and finding partners for my projects. It is in this light that I met Mr. Ibrahima KA, head of the support center for local development (CADL), and a lady named Penda SY, teacher of technical and vocational education, whom I put in touch with my CorpsAfrica colleague and my sister Gnagna Dabo (who I salute by the way) in the hope of working together in our projects.
 
Since we are currently in the early stages of rainy season, I'll tell you a Serere proverb: " Ho fagne na ngor rôgue débeu na kholoum, ho fagning faging taw wathia thia " which has a strong meaning and message of “if you hate your neighbor, you can never prevent rain to water his fields when it falls from the sky.”
I hope you liked it and I will meet you again next month with many other activities to share.
 
Thank you and see you soon!

Version originale en français 

CorpsAfrica/Senegal,Mbaldo,mbaldo , mbédé diam !
mbédé diam !                
diam soom ?
diam soom kay !
mbalém djiré
diam soom ma diégo
​
Les amis, je vous ai salué en sérère voici comment on donne le bonjour chez moi à Soudiane Thiéleme
j’imagine déjà que vous êtes tous impatients  de me lire et bien je suis là, je suis de retour avec pas grand choses mais juste de quoi vous régaler.
Au courant du mois de juin j’ai passé la plupart de mon temps à tenir des réunions avec mes différents groupements de femmes.
J’ai démarré le mois de juin avec une fête de fin d’année des enfants de la case des touts- petits. Ce fut un événement heureux et extraordinaire très riche en enseignement. Les enfants nous ont régalés de surprises avec des sketches et des danses qui vous rendent stupéfiés.
 
Après cela j’ai enchainé les réunions avec les groupements des femmes de Soudiane Thiéleme et Soudiane Vélingara.
 
A Soudiane Thiéléme nous avons fini de boucler la première phase du projet rizicole et entamé la deuxième phase. C’est un projet rizicole qui vise à satisfaire l’autosuffisance de 40 familles en riz durant un an. A Soudiane Vilingara nous tentons de monter un projet de formation des femmes en teinture et en fabrication de savon. Le nombre de celles qui seront formées n’est pas encore déterminé.
 
Aussi toujours dans le mois de juin j’ai visité la marie de Djilass, la sous-préfecture et la gendarmerie de Fimela. L’objectif de ses visites était de signaler ma présence dans la zone aux autorités administratives. J’en ai profité pour faire connaissance avec des structures qui sont susceptibles de m’aider dans la réalisation et la recherche de partenaires pour mes projets. C’est dans cette optique que j’ai fait la connaissance de M. Ibrahima KA,  responsable du centre d’appui au développement local (CADL), une dame du nom de Penda SY maitresse d’enseignement technique et professionnel que j’ai mis en rapport avec ma collégue et ma sœur Gnagna DABO que je salue au passage, dans l’intérêt de collaborer ensemble pour ses projets.
 
Etant donné que nous sommes en début d’hivernage je vais vous dire un proverbe sérère : « Ho fagne na ngor rôgue débeu na kholoum, ho fagning faging taw wathia thia » ce qui signifie aussi fort que tu détestes ton prochain, tu ne pourras jamais empêcher la pluie d’arroser  son champs quand elle tombe du ciel.
J’espère que vous avez bien aimé et je vous donne rendez-vous au prochain mois avec beaucoup d’autres activités à vous raconter.
 
Merci et à bientot

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
​
The week starting on the 25th of July marked another exciting week in my CorpsAfrica journey. This was the week where our Mid-service training was scheduled for and I was thrilled to take a one week break from site, plus I was looking forward to meeting the entire CorpsAfrica Malawi team.

I got to the training center called Naming’azi in Zomba together with Asyatu my site-mate and we found some of the other Volunteers already at the center. The first day of training was a gender workshop which was meant for the female volunteers only and it was an exciting day to hear from all the girls about their experiences in their respective sites. The following day, the guys joined us and we continued with the gender theme and several other enlightening sessions on different topics throughout the remaining days of the training. The stories I heard from all of my fellow CorpsAfrica Volunteers during the training hours and even afterwards have taught me how much of everyday heroes that all these young people are. The bravery in undertaking tasks and actions in the different communities in which they are placed has inspired me to aspire for more during my year of service. It has made me realize how much of a difference the seemingly little efforts that each and every one of them is making. I have learnt from these guys that to be a Volunteer it takes generosity, a willingness to give your time to others, understanding, because people’s lives might be very different from your own, empathy, an ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and feel what they must feel, compassion, to truly care about making someone else's life better, patience, because the process doesn't always go as smoothly as it might, dedication, to stick with the project and see it through. You've shown these qualities and so much more and I have emulated them so thank you. Here's to the everyday heroes, the Volunteers who do what they can, to ease the suffering of others, and be of service to their fellow man. May they know the true satisfaction that comes from helping others who are less fortunate than themselves but no less their brothers and sisters, may they feel the gratitude in my heart for all of the good that they've done. The appreciation that I feel for them is truly second to none.

​

Written by Limbani Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

Reposted from Tobiyasi in Chiradzulu

"What do people do when they appear not to be doing something?"
- Paul Theroux

Now that I claim to be fully inured in my community, a few friends have been bugging me to describe common shenanigans on a typical day here in Chiradzulu. As a gentleman with a penchant of offering succinct answers, responding to this question comes out as an onerous task given that the intensity of my daily schedule varies for various reasons (maybe a topic for a different day). There are weeks when I feel like I have a lot on my plate and there are weeks when I feel absolutely under-worked. For a guy who prefers to be occupied most of the time, slow days have stood out as one of the biggest challenges here. During the first few months, I spent my slow days sitting on my veranda with a sullen face, watching the day wear off. But when it hit me that hectic days are not a daily occurrence here, I decided to devise and keep an eye on activities that I could rely on to spice up my slow days.

 So here we go. Since, all my previous posts have focused on describing my official engagements, I have decided to bring in a tad bit of change this time around. Change is inevitable, huh? In this post, I highlight some of the memorable shows that I have encountered or partaken in my effort to overturn slow days. Consider this a public service.

BANKERS FC: For people that know me, it is no secret that I am a soccer maniac. I love soccer. Playing it, watching it, discussing it, thinking about it, betting on it - you name it. I mean, I am no Yannick Bolasie nor Gabadinho Mhango, but believe me when I say that a soccer field is my heaven on earth. Funny enough, the ecstasy I get when I step on the pitch has nothing to do with the quality of the pitch nor the standard of play. As long as I can run on it and be able to kick that ball, all is good with me. At least then, I take a much craved respite from thinking about my most dreaded daily activity - setting a charcoal burner.

What does a self-professed soccer fanatic do when he finds himself in Likoswe Village? The answer is simple. He joins Bankers FC, formally known as Likoswe FC (Don't ask me the idea behind the "Bankers" name because surely there is no formal bank in my community and there won't be one anytime soon. All I know is that the name switch has strong politics behind it between the current crop of players and former players, mostly those that emigrated to South Africa in search of employment). Upon joining the team, I was nicknamed Nakamura by the lad who used to coach the team then. Apparently, in an effort to draw parallelism with Genk Nakamura, a Japanese footballer who has signed for Be Forward Wanderers FC - one of the giants and mainstays in the national football league. Personally, I don't like that nickname but at my age I know that unwarranted nicknames tend to stick when you protest them. So I had to let it go. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Bankers FC is mostly known for shipping goals than banging them, I like the camaraderie here. The team has interesting characters with a great sense of humor. So whenever we get thrashed on the soccer field, we usually find a bright side of it and joke about it. Meanwhile, the team's administrative set up has shaken up a bit. Yours truly has been assigned the role of a coach-player (yes, what a meteoric rise) and surely our results should start improving hence forth.

THE FUNERAL: Sticking with soccer, have you ever wondered if it was possible for a grown up person to experience a culture shock in their own native country? Well, it happened to me. Last week, a neighboring team lost one of their players and, as per tradition here, surrounding teams had to go and render their support to the grieving team and - most importantly- family. Support is rendered in form of cash or attending and doing manual work pertaining to the funeral. Tasks such as carrying and burying the coffin, for guys, and faking emotions, for girls. All this looked normal to me except one aspect. Throughout all these activities we were meant to put on our respective team uniforms. Some guys went to the extent of dressing up as if they were really about to play soccer. Stuff like cleats, shorts, socks, and even chin pads! I was stunned. In Nkhata Bay, where I am from, we don't have that. Throughout the funeral proceedings, I kept encountering such interesting shocks that the entire ordeal turned out to be a remarkable experience for me. The good thing about participating in this tradition is that you get to leave the funeral quite earlier. Once the actual burial is done, those wearing uniforms are free to leave while the rest of the attendants remain at the graveyard for a final religious sermon. This experience got me thinking about the nuanced ways in which soccer has intermingled with culture in our respective localities.


MOUNTAIN HIKE: My house is located on the fringes of Malavi mountain, the biggest mountain you see on your right as you exit Blantyre heading toward Mulanje through Midima road. I had made it a case that I would hike the mountain before the end of my service. But I had always found reasons to postpone my hike the second the thought of this personal challenge came to my mind. Procrastination. Two days ago, however, a friend from them old days paid me a surprise but brief visit and we embarked on a postprandial hiking escapade. The entire trip, back and forth, took about 4 hours. On my fledgling list of mountains to have hiked, which currently includes conquering the massive Chongoni mountain in Dedza, hiking Malavi mountain involved the steepest hike. As I write this piece, my thighs still ache from the experience. Despite my mild acrophobia, I am hungry for more hiking expeditions.

​PIM: July 6 marked 52 years since the dawn of independence in Malawi. As usual during this period, an aura of nationalism reigned throughout the country, especially on local radio stations. In Malawi, you can't talk about nationalism without talking about John Chilembwe. And it is inevitable to talk about Chilembwe without talking about the Providence Industrial Mission(PIM), one of the earliest organized black churches in this part of Malawi. It is at PIM where earliest elements of nationalistic insurrections began in 1915, even though it required 49 more years of relentless bickering before the nation gained official independence. Enough of history. As a way of celebrating independence, I went on a lone peregrination to PIM that involved walking a total distance of 12KM on a hot day. But at least I got to munch on sugarcane throughout the way. It was a priceless experience.

THE UGLY: Not all slow days are free of vicissitudes. For those of you that went to public primary schools, you remember the ignominy and amount of disgust that came with cleaning school toilets? It was a horror show. Last week somebody, with one move, made me reminisce vividly all those horrible things that you encountered when mopping school latrines during those olden days. This inconsiderate individual left a few soft ones besides the hole in a latrine that I share with my neighbor and his family. Interestingly, my neighbors had gone to visit their village on this fateful day, meaning that among those that are supposed to use this latrine, I was the only one around. I was forced to clean up somebody's mess - literally.

Anyway, I could go on and on narrating amazing experiences that I have had on my slow days here. But we both don't have the whole day. The point is slow days are a real life phenomenon and it is incumbent on a every individual to find their special panacea for slow days. Go out there. Get involved in something. That way, you observe a lot of interesting stuff that make you appreciate the essence of life. FORGET IT. I am not good at this whole philosophical gibberish. But I am sure you now have a better understanding of what I do when I am not out there with my ladies or.. never mind. I am out of here. For now.

Written by Lucy Chihana, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

Reposted from lucykondwani

I think 2015 is probably the year I read the most, analysed a lot of research papers and I spent a lot of sleepless nights doing this as I was writing my research paper. It is during this time that I came across  a research that was done in Malawi by  UNICEF: it revealed that over 85% of girls in Malawi get pregnant and have a kid before the age of 18. I read the whole document because it was interesting, I learnt with great shock just how bad our situation is.  This  document highlighted a number of things and factors contributing to such tendencies. Of course poverty was alluded to as one major factor contributing to this condition. However even after reading this document I just didn’t take my time reflecting on the funding of this study as I quickly moved on to writing my research paper.  I might have had no time to seriously reflect on this maybe because it just didn’t seem to affect me in any way. Well, all this changed for me this year particularly 2 weeks ago after I had an interesting encounter while braiding my hair.

Two weeks ago I decided to braid my hair, but I didn’t know anyone who could do it around where I live since I haven’t done it this side before. Then I got a call from a young girl who identified herself as “Chiso."  She said she heard I want to braid and she can do it. I quickly said yes and she gave me the directions to her salon which “we” followed the next day and  got there by 9am.  To my surprise Chiso and a friend who accompanied me there are old time friends who went to primary school together. She quickly got started  braiding my hair, as they were busy catching up on various issues as I listened.  These two are 17, dropped out of school and not planning on going back, they each have a kid (2-3years) and the fathers are not in the picture because they denied responsibility. Their stories were so touching, emotional and sad and their experience makes them really bitter and mad because its hard for them to get by on a daily basis.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, another girl  “X”  a friend to Chiso joined us in the tiny salon.  She looked really down and Chiso mockingly said “whose dead?”  Immediately X answered, "my mother says she can’t take care of my daughter anymore because it slows her down in being productive and active in her daily endeavors." Chiso told her yes she’s your responsibility and I wonder why your mother was that kind to let that happen. X left the salon, soon after that I asked how old is she?? Because she looked really young, Chiso was like she should be 16 this month and has a 21 months old daughter and yes the dad isn’t anywhere to be seen. Fifteen minutes later X was back  accompanied by 3 others young girls. After Chiso saw them she laughed, loudly and said ooooh don’t bring bad luck into my salon. Yes all these girls (6) have kids, dropped out of school and not planning on going back there and the baby dads are not in the picture except for one although not together.

This day was an eye opener for me. Imagine I was surrounded by girls younger than me who have had kids at a really young age and I heard their stories: Brokenness, pain, sadness, and the everyday struggle to make ends meet  then I realized just how blessed I must be to be who I am, to have attained what I dreamed of although it wasn’t easy for me.

The next day, the first thing I did was ask another young married girl who usually comes over to my house how old she was…to my surprise she told me she was born in 2000 I almost broke into tears. I asked her “How could you be 16 and be married twice with 2 kids already??" All she did was laugh and told me “inutu mukuchedwa kubeleka” (You are the one who's old to be without children).

Written by Abdou Cisse, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal 

"A Diola Sembé," to translate the strength and courage of labor in the Diola. Working in the fields structures all the social and economic organization of the Diola. A Diembéreng, the daily activities of Way Sira (host mom) does not only revolve around field work activities. In fact, everything is organized by time and space. Nothing is done spontaneously. Each season is well prepared to avoid unpleasant surprises. The end of the dry season is marked by the appearance of the first drops of rain. A new cycle in the socio-cultural organization of AWATT people begins. It is punctuated by new activities, still agricultural, but not just any cultivation.  It has to do with one that is found in the heart of the Diola agricultural cultivation: rice.
 
During this time of year (late June), women who work exclusively on the fields gardening during the dry season, abandon the fields at 90% and begin to prepare for the winter. Men who were busy harvesting Bounouck (palm wine) begin to visit the rice fields and go into the forest to prepare the spaces that will accommodate the rice beds. They chose large spaces in the palm grove, cut the shrubs and clean well, waiting to put the rice seeds.
    
Meanwhile, the brave women, take the necessary precautions to ensure the functioning of the household throughout the rainy season. That means having enough dry firewood that could ensure the cooking during all winter season, especially since this fuel is used by over 95% of the population; but also a sufficient quantity of rice pounded for the restaurant, which tends to be in high demand during this period. For this, a large amount of rice is taken out of the attic and fed to the single shelling machine on site. The rice is then dried, crushed and stored in barrels. All the while, the women leave to look for firewood in the forest. Much of is stored in the rice fields and the rest is brought home. This is justified by the fact that except Sunday, rest day, and days of heavy rain, the whole family goes to the rice fields from morning to night, so everything is done on site.
        
This is also the time of preparation kadiandous, the Diola’s main working tool. Want to know how it is used? Patience, I will share a taste in my next blog.

Version originale en français 

A chacun sa tâche, hivernage arrive

« A Diola Sembé », pour traduire la force et le courage du travail chez le Diola. Le travail de la terre structure toute l’organisation sociale et économique du Diola. A Diembéring, le quotidien de Way Sira[1] ne s’articule pas seulement autours des activités maraichères.  En effet tout est organisé dans le temps et dans l’espace. Rien n’est fait au hasard. Chaque saison est bien préparer pour éviter les mauvaises surprises. La fin de la saison sèche est marquée par l’apparition des premières gouttes de pluie. Un nouveau cycle dans l’organisation socio-culturelle du peuple AWATT débute. Il est rythmé par de nouvelles activités, toujours agricoles, mais pas n’importe quelle culture. Il s’agit de celle qui se trouve au centre de la culture Diola : la riziculture.
Arrivée à cette période de l’année (fin juin), les femmes qui pratiquaient exclusivement le maraichage pendant la contre saison sèche, abandonnent les jardins à 90% et commencent à préparer le période hivernale. Les hommes qui étaient occupaient à la récolte du Bounouck (vin de palme) commence à visiter les rizières et vont dans la forêt pour préparer les espaces qui doivent accueillir les pépinières du riz. Ils choisissent de grands espaces dans la palmeraie, coupent les arbustes et nettoient bien en attendant d’y mettre les graines de riz.
  
Pendant ce temps, les braves femmes, prennent les précautions nécessaires pour assurer le fonctionnement des ménages durant toute la période des pluies. Il s’agit d’avoir assez de bois morts qui puisse assurer la cuisson durant toute cette saison hivernale, d’autant plus que ce combustible est utilisé à plus de 95% par la population ; mais également une quantité suffisante de riz décortiqué pilé pour la restaurant qui a une tendance à la hausse pendant cette période. Pour cela une grande quantité de riz est sortie du grenier et amenée à l’unique machine de décorticage sur place. Le riz est ensuite séché puis pilé et stocké dans des barils. Parallèlement, elles partent chercher du bois mort dans la forêt. Une grande partie est bien stockée dans les rizières et une autre partie est amenée à la maison. Cela se justifie par le fait, qu’à part le dimanche, jour de repos, et les jours de forte pluies, toute la famille se rend aux rizières du matin au soir, et donc tout se fait sur place.
     
C’est aussi la période de la préparation des kadiandous, le principal outil de travail du Diola. Vous voulez savoir comment ça s’utilise ? Patience, je vous donnerai un avant-goût dans mon prochain blog.  
 


[1] Cf. de mon dernier Blog qui retrace le quotidien des femmes de Diembéring pendant la contre saison.