NEWS FROM ALLEN IN AFRICA

 

JOURNAL – Volume 1

September 2001 – December 2002

 

Allen’s current mailing address is:

 

PCV: L. Allen Mowbray (Moriba Kante)

Corps de la Paix

B. P. 19

Manatali, Mali

West Africa

 

E-mail addresses: al_mowbray@hotmail.com or mowbray@rconnect.com

(PLEASE NOTE: Allen can receive e-mail via his hotmail account only if he has the sender’s address in his contacts list. Mail sent to him via the rconnect address will be forwarded to his hotmail account.)

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS TRIP TO ITALY. 21 Dec. 2002 – 01 Jan. 2003.

 

[On 21 Dec. we began our journey to Italy to rendezvous with Allen in Rome for the holidays. Allen departed Mali 17 Dec. and arrived in Rome 19 Dec. He stayed with friends from Iowa State University who were there for the Rome studies program until we arrived the morning of 23 Dec. We had a wonderful visit in “The Eternal City” with balmy Spring-like weather, and the food was marvelous. Allen presented us with a beautiful gift made for us by his Malian “dad,” Musa – a pair of carved wooden doors for a cabinet, covered with images of Malian creatures. We were back in Iowa on New Years Day, and Allen returns to Mali on 06 Jan. –tlm]

 

 

 

 

E-mail. 20 Dec. 2002.

TO: Mom and Dad.

FROM: Allen in Rome, Italy.

 

hey
im here!!!!!!!
its great to be back and remember where everything is.
i found brenda and matt and the studio is still in the same place, the only
thing that changed in this city in three years is the dunkin donuts by the
trevi fountain is gone, but there is a burger king not far from it.  and the
italian pizza is ridiculously great.
see ya soon
al

 

 

 

 

10 Nov. 2002. Chat on MSN Messenger.

 

[The following are excerpts from a long and often delayed chat with Allen in the morning. He was at the Peace Corps Bureau in Bamako, and planned to stay at the Stage House that night and head back to Manatali by bus in the morning, because he could not find a ride. -tlm]

 

Allen says:

i dont really like taking the train

Tom Mowbray says:

I should think the train would be fun.

Allen says:

its slow and cramped

Tom Mowbray says:

but isn't the bus dusty?

Allen says:

i like taking the cargo train, thats cheap and fun, the people are great and theres lots of space, even if theres not a seat

Allen says:

but the passenger train is cramped and stops randomly

Allen says:

with the  bus you can at least yell at the driver to get going

Tom Mowbray says:

I see. Interesting.

Allen says:

but it is dusty, yeah, actually they both are

Allen says:

there is dust everywhere now

Tom Mowbray says:

Well, I'm glad you can travel with Brian or someone.

Allen says:

and they are probably burning the fields in the kayes region now, which  means tons of ash in the air

Allen says:

i dont mind going alone to manatali, really

Allen says:

i always meet fun people

….

Tom Mowbray says:

Are you drawing?

Allen says:

not much really

Tom Mowbray says:

Why not?

Allen says:

ive been doing a lot of woodworking

Allen says:

functional stuff

Allen says:

i learned how to make drums, mortars for pounding millet, hand plows, axes

Tom Mowbray says:

Awesome.

Allen says:

everything here is functional

Tom Mowbray says:

Of course, but you are an artist.

Allen says:

but im realizing a new art form

Allen says:

the art is in the making of the tool, not the final product

Allen says:

the care that goes into it, the process of bringing the form out of the wood

Tom Mowbray says:

Oh. The art is in the craft, as it were.

Allen says:

yeah

Tom Mowbray says:

Function follows form, etc.

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

even down to language

Allen says:

in art we use metaphors to get points across, but in bambara, everything is a metaphor

 

[Allen then reflected on future plans, which might include more work with the Peace Corps and other work in Third World countries.]

 

Allen says:

the longer im here>>

Allen says:

the more i distinguish and separate peace corps and other twobob organizations

….

Allen says:

i learned a new proverb

Tom Mowbray says:

o.k.

Allen says:

theres the one about the wood canoe cant become a crocodile [see below: log = wood canoe]

Allen says:

but:

Allen says:

if you travel with donkeys for many years, you wont be able to speak like a donkey, but you will know all their paths.

Allen says:

again, this sounds better in bambara

Allen says:

ni i sigi fali fe san cyaman, i te se ka fali kan fo, nga i be na fali tamisira don

Tom Mowbray says:

how is that used?

Allen says:

i wont become malian, but i can learn their way of life

Tom Mowbray says:

that's nice

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

i like it

Tom Mowbray says:

"donkey" seems to be used in a kind way - not as in “jackass”

Allen says:

some people have even said to me, after i say that, that the canoe has become a crocodile

Allen says:

yeah

Tom Mowbray says:

if the canoe has become a crocodile, then I assume that is a very nice compliment to you

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

i love these people

….

Allen says:

i think the biggest compliment i ever got here was when my little brother, 14 year old, came into the house with a piece of wood

Allen says:

he was going to make a new handle for his plow

Allen says:

dad said he (the brother) didnt know what he was doing, and he should give it to moriba to do.

Tom Mowbray says:

Wow

….

Allen says:

but there are still people that just refuse to understand that i speak bambara

Tom Mowbray says:

how's that?

Allen says:

ill be having a really interesting conversation with somebody, and someone else will arrive, and see the twobob speaking bambara

Allen says:

then he asks me something totally random that i dont understand because he has no teeth or talks really fast, and he immediately decides that i dont speak bambara at all

Tom Mowbray says:

oh - a put down or what?

Allen says:

mostly just refusing to believe that a twobob can speak his language

Tom Mowbray says:

That happens everywhere.

Allen says:

many people have told me how many years they studied english in school and cant speak at all

Allen says:

but then they dont live in america

Allen says:

if they heard English every day they would learn it faster

Tom Mowbray says:

It depends a great deal on who teaches them to speak English.

Allen says:

totally

Allen says:

many of the english teachers here dont speak english themselves

Tom Mowbray says:

When I studied French, one teacher did not speak it well. Another one had lived and studied in France. What a difference.

Allen says:

i remember how you said once that in icelandic, all the big words were just a lot of little words put together

Allen says:

like airport being the place where the big metal bird lands

Allen says:

thats so in bambara

Tom Mowbray says:

Yes - oh my yes. A word could take a page.

Allen says:

the real bambara word for airplane, before the french avion, is the big metal boat in the sky

Tom Mowbray says:

When you write Bambara, do you "spell" words as such, or are you just writing the words phonetically?

Allen says:

well, its becoming a written language

Allen says:

but there are sounds that we dont have in english or french

Allen says:

and malinke is even more so

Allen says:

like most of the 'e's in bambara are like the french e with the accent on top

Tom Mowbray says:

Acute accent.

Allen says:

which for the phonetic alphabet is written like a backwards 3

Allen says:

and then theres the funky n

Allen says:

like for nyegan

Tom Mowbray says:

You wrote about these.

Allen says:

if you use the funky n and the backwards 3 its just negan

Allen says:

like the ny of onion

Tom Mowbray says:

nye = the funny "n"?

Allen says:

yeah

Tom Mowbray says:

got it

Allen says:

and theres another funny n, that i cant really pronounce differently than a regular n, but they swear that its different

Allen says:

they also say that there are different accents on the word 'ba' to distinguish between goat, mom, river, and big, but i just go by context

Allen says:

i cant hear it

Tom Mowbray says:

are there differences in pitch?

Tom Mowbray says:

inflection?

Tom Mowbray says:

up vs down?

Allen says:

then the malinke use, instead of k, a sound more like that of one clearing his throat, which is a contributing factor to why i speak more bambara than malinke

Allen says:

up vs down i think

Allen says:

like the length you hold the a, too

Tom Mowbray says:

duration, pitch, inflection - all musical

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

i love the sound of bambara

Allen says:

i speak it as much as i can with other volunteers

 

[We wrote a little about computer keyboards in Mali.]

 

Allen says:

this is an ameriki keyboard

Tom Mowbray says:

?

Allen says:

but the ones at the internet cafes are frenchy ones

Allen says:

they have different keys

 

[Allen wrote a bit about other volunteers. We wrapped things up with a few more details for our Christmas trip and where we will travel after Christmas Day.]

 

Tom Mowbray says:

This was great. Have a good trip back to your village. We all greet your family, etc.

Allen says:

they will hear it

….

 

 

 

E-mail. 10 Nov. 2002.

TO: Mom and Dad

FROM: Allen in Bamako

 

hey
on my back to village tomorrow.  lucked out with getting a peace corps ride from mopti to bomako with the car doing the installations of the new volunteers.  worked out great.  wanted to talk to people at the bureau on monday but can wait till i get back in for vacation.  wanna get back to sight, told my family id be back before rhamadon started, 4 days ago.  but it was definitely worth the extra few days in tomboctou.
i think im coming in on the 15th [Dec.] , something like that, to make sure i have time to get ready before i fly out [to Rome].  im getting really excited, but leaving mali is making me anxious. 

there was a big group of stupid american tourists in tomboctou, topped off by this idiot wearing really short shorts and his 20 inch zoom lens, carrying a bottle of beer around the streets of the oldest islamic learning center of the world on the first day of rhamadon.  jesus. and he probably thinks hes a great world traveller because hes been to tomboctou and back.  this group was rediculous, and made me wonder just how much peace corps has changed me, or if they really were all just ignorant.  they even had an arabic guide, and he didnt discourage the guy with the beer.
anyway, it gave me apprehension about dealing with twobobs again. but im ready to go [to Rome at Christmas], trying to find an italy guide, because im sure i dont remember my way around rome as well as i think i do.
anyway,
love ya and take care
al

 

 

 

E-mail. 07 Nov. 2002.

Subject: The End of the World.

FROM: Allen in Timbuktu (Timbuctou)

TO: Family and Friends

 

hello from timbuctou, the supposed end of the world, where after a three day
boat ride through swamps and sand dunes you drive in to the city to find a
shell station, post office and internet cafe next to the guy selling camel
rides.
my friend marcy and i did a three day camel trek through the desert, where i
learned how to tie a turban to my head and experienced the coldest nights
yet in the year ive spent in mali.
this is the first place ive gone in mali that the people dont speak bambara.
  ive gotten used to being able to walk down the street and greet everybody
in the traditional malian fashion, which takes about 5 minutes, but no one
speaks bambara here, their entire culture is different, the bambaras are
farmers, but the tuareg-the people of timbuctou-are nomads-you cant grow
anything in sand- and make their living trading salt, rice and camels across
the desert.  most of the bambaras ive met have never left their region of
mali, but most tuaregs here have gone to morocco and niger etc.
so tomorrow im leaving the end of the world to go back to my village where
there isnt even electricity, let alone internet, strange how that works. 
but it will probably be about a 5 day trip.
but im looking forward to christmas, when ill meet my parents in rome for
the holidays.
yes, i actually do work here once in a while too.  i think i could put in
for a transfer to work here in timbuctou, they need a water sanitation
volunteer.  this town is actually named after the well built by the first
family to live here.  "tim" is the tuareg word for well, and "buctou" is the
name of the old lady whose family owned it.  when caravans came across the
desert, they came looking for buctou’s well.  a little piece of trivia to
tell your friends.
best of luck, and take care...
al

 

 

E-mail and chats. Sept.-Oct. 2002.

 

[From Sept. 28 through Oct. we had several short e-mail messages from Allen, and I found him online a couple of times to have chats with him on MSN Messenger. Most of the traffic was about housekeeping matters concerning our rendezvous in Italy for Christmas.

 

Allen was in Bamako between several training sessions at Tubani So. He was also purchasing some things for the Stage House in Manatali. His big news was about a trip to Tombuktou before returning to his village for Ramadan.

 

The following excerpts are taken from a chat on 28 Oct. while Allen’s grandparents were visiting us in Nashua. -tlm]

 

Allen says:

and im going to tombuktou next week

Tom Mowbray says:

Tombuktou! Awesome. Will you go with a group?

Allen says:

a small one

Tom Mowbray says:

Great.

Allen says:

my friend from kita that i went to dogon country with

Tom Mowbray says:

How will you get there?

Allen says:

it was supposed to be three of us, but now its just two

Allen says:

were going on bus to mopti then boat to tomboktou

Tom Mowbray says:

Great. That should be really interesting.

Allen says:

marcy wanted to take the big boat, i thought we were taking the little cheap one

Allen says:

she has a friend that runs the hotel there

Tom Mowbray says:

I should think a big boat with tourists, etc. would be a better/safer way to travel.

Allen says:

the boat is safe

Allen says:

its how the locals go

Allen says:

all the horror stories from tourists are because they dont want to do local transportation

Tom Mowbray says:

The boat sounds great.

Tom Mowbray says:

I hear there are a lot of thieves along the land route.

Allen says:

yeah

….

Allen says:

so im going out to tubani so tonight

Tom Mowbray says:

Are you at the Stage House computer now?

….

Allen says:

im at an internet cafe

Tom Mowbray says:

in Bamako?

Allen says:

bureau computer is packed as always, its just easier to email here

Allen says:

yeah bomako

Allen says:

there are a bunch of internet cafes popping up all over the big cities

Allen says:

but the people in the villages still cant read or write

….

Tom Mowbray says:

We still love to get your letters. I need more material for your Journal.

Allen says:

i just checked it out a few days ago

Allen says:

its great

Allen says:

i dont dare try to look at the pictures though

Tom Mowbray says:

why?

Tom Mowbray says:

don't they load?

Allen says:

malian computers have enough trouble with text

Tom Mowbray says:

I understand. Does your Africa page open?

Allen says:

uhhh

Tom Mowbray says:

Peace Corps page

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

i still have to send you the photos from dogon

….

Allen says:

this might be the last time i talk to you before i see you [in Rome]

Allen says:

i will try to send a quick note on my way back to manatali

Allen says:

but i wont be in [Bamako] again until like the 15th

Allen says:

of dec

….

Tom Mowbray says:

Will you be in Manatali/Dialakoto all that time [until Dec. 15th]?

Allen says:

my return ticket is the 6th

Allen says:

yeah

Allen says:

fasting for rhamadon

Allen says:

[except on] thanksgiving

Tom Mowbray says:

Rhamadon: Please eat enough to have energy for your trip.

Allen says:

last year i gained weight during rhamadon

Tom Mowbray says:

what?

Allen says:

i sat all day and didnt do anything, then ate like a hog morning and night

Tom Mowbray says:

o.k. So, that’s fasting?

Tom Mowbray says:

BUT please drink enough water.

Allen says:

nobody does anything during rhamadon

Allen says:

ill be fine

Allen says:

if i get sick ill stop, im not that dedicated

Tom Mowbray says:

o.k

Allen says:

so grandma and grandpa got there ok?

Allen says:

having a good visit?

Tom Mowbray says:

yes.

….

Allen says:

ok so ive got about ten minutes until i go

….

Allen says:

ill meet you at the airport in rome on the 23rd i wrote down what time and the flight #

Tom Mowbray says:

great. That will be really helpful.

Allen says:

ill send a note when i come back through and before i leave for italy on like the 17th

Tom Mowbray says:

great

Allen says:

and ill be in rome early enough to send you a note when i get there

Allen says:

ni allah son na

Allen says:

god willing

Allen says:

ok thats about all the time i got

Allen says:

the bus leaves in half an hour and i have to walk to the bus

Tom Mowbray says:

We all send our love.

Tom Mowbray says:

God bless you.

Allen says:

i love all of you

Allen says:

best health

Tom Mowbray says:

This was great.

Allen says:

everyone from my village greets you

Allen says:

g and g have a good visit and good trip home

Tom Mowbray says:

please tell them we all greet them from Iowa

Allen says:

they will hear it

….

 

 

 

 

E-mail. 20 Oct. 2002.

FROM: Allen in Bamako

TO: Mom and Dad

[We tried to reach Allen at the Stage House by telephone, but never got a call through. - tlm]


>hey
>good to hear from you.  i think ill be around the stage house
>this afternoon, but might go to tubani so tonight for some rest, the bus
>leaves usually around 6 in the evening.  im going to make my way there
>slowly after emailing.
>ill pay for my ticket this week with my visa card, if god wills it.  if not
>ill have to make another trip in to bomako between now and then with my
>travelers checks.
>this is coming up so fast.  im going to fast or rhamadon again; so i dont
>want to do any traveling during that.  it starts at the new moon in two
>weeks and goes for 30 days, 1 moon, so into dec.
>fasting isnt that hard when you can just sit most of the day, but
>traveling  and getting dehydrated makes it not a good idea.  i wanted to
>just stay at site for that whole time, minus thanksgiving, but if i have
>to come in i will.
>i hope to get my reservations at the hostel for the first few nights im in
>rome, its 14 euros/night, not bad at all….
>anyway, enough for now,
>
>love ya
>
>al


 

 

 

04 Sept. 2002

Chat on MSN Messenger

 

[Allen is going back and forth between the Bamako Stage House and Tubani So. Not only are the new PCVs there for training, but, also, the PC is having a camp program this week for Malian youth. Allen has been assisting with the transportation of the youth to and from the camp. They will soon be having village visits for the new volunteers, and Allen will be hosting new volunteers in Manatali. He also reflected a bit more on Malian proverbs, and here is a clip from our chat: --tlm]

 

Tom Mowbray says:

Will you give me the donkey proverb again, and also in Bambara. I lost it the last time, because the board blipped out before I could save it.

Allen says:

ok

Allen says:

when the donkey dies, the farting will stop [In the previous chat, Allen noted that donkeys emit a lot of gas.]

Allen says:

kofe fali sa ra, bo ci be ke ban

Tom Mowbray says:

And how about the other one.

Allen says:

one finger can’t pick up anything [In the previous chat, Allen noted that this proverb is usually used in the context of, “Two heads are better than one.”]

Allen says:

bolondio kelen te se ka foi taa

Tom Mowbray says:

Great. Now I can put them in your journal.

Allen says:

cool

Tom Mowbray says:

I guess you should explain them again…. Do you have any more proverbs for today?

Allen says:

well, ok

Allen says:

the farting donkey proverb is about people who talk too much

Allen says:

Here’s a good proverb

Allen says:

a piece of wood can sit in the water many years, but it won’t become a crocodile

Allen says:

yiri be se ka sigi ji kono san chaman, nka a te se ka be ke bama ye

Tom Mowbray says:

How is that used?

Allen says:

for instance, us volunteers

Allen says:

we can stay here a long time, but we will still be white

Tom Mowbray says:

o.k. Would it also be used in general about wishful thinking?

Allen says:

i see what you mean, but I’ve never heard it used that way

 

 

 

E-Mail. 01 September 2002

FROM: Allen in Bamako. TO: Mom and Dad.

 

hey- whats up
ok, im in bomako tonight, then going out to tubani so for the week-learning
some pump stuff to teach to the pump repairmen out in manatali….

….

im heading back to the house tonight, if you get
this give me a call.  ill be there after 5 evening here time,
love ya
al

 

[Most of Al’s note was about his wisdom teeth and the decision not to take them out at this time. Later in the day, and again in the evening, Allen was online and we had extended chats both times, the second chat with Allen’s grandparents joining in. We were very happy to have the chats, because we were unable to get a telephone call through to Mali.]

 

[In the first chat we discussed wisdom teeth only briefly and then spent time on our plans to meet Allen in Rome during the Christmas holidays. As we discussed accommodations in Rome, Allen replied: “i live in a mud hut. i can stay anywhere.” We were then cut off, and Allen remained offline. After our dinner hour, Allen was back online without interruptions for about 90 minutes and we had a wonderful dialogue. The new Stage Group is about 50 people, with about 10 training for the Kayes region that Allen is in. He will help train the Water/Sanitation group. The training will take place at Tubani So (see below). One of Allen’s most interesting offerings was his commentary on Malian proverbs. Unfortunately, I was unable to save our dialogue, because Messenger crashed just after Allen signed off. Therefore, this journal will have to wait for the proverbs and their translations in Bambara. Another interesting bit of information was about the people who raise herds of beef cattle in Mauritania: the cowboys of Mauritania. They migrate with their herds between the seasons to the coast and then back inland, seeking pasture. Allen purchased some African beef for the 4th of July picnic he hosted in Manatali (see below). Of course, he had to grind it himself, and he said it was difficult to find a meat grinder that could grind the stuff, because it is so tough. “Nothing in Mali has any fat on it,” he commented.]

 

[This, most assuredly, was a great day for Mom and Dad. We look forward to hearing from Allen again before he returns to Manatali and to his village. He is in good spirits and enjoying everything he is doing, even though he is very busy. Allen’s birthday is 13 September, and we signed off with birthday wishes. –tlm]



E-Mail and Voice Chat. July 28-31, 2002.

Allen in Bamako to Mom and Dad.

 

[We were online with Allen July 28, 30 and 31, and were able to call him at the Bamako Stage House on the 29th. This gave us a great opportunity to catch up on the news from both continents. Allen had an enjoyable trip to Mopti and the surrounding area with a group of PCVs. Then he returned to Bamako for a few days before making his way back to Manatali. Parts of his itinerary in Bamako were medical and dental checkups. His PC dentist reported that his top wisdom teeth are impacted and starting to come in. The bottom ones are already coming in. This has been of concern to Allen. The dentist will send a report to Washington and a final decision will then be made on whether to have them removed soon or wait until they all come in. Mary and I both enjoyed our extended online chats with Al, and our telephone conversation. On the 31st Allen’s grandmother and grandfather in New Jersey joined us in a 3-way chat. Allen was also in the process of chatting with a couple of his friends. The whole thing finally stopped working, but we all enjoyed it while it lasted. Allen has been receiving the packages we have sent to him. We spent some time discussing travel plans at Christmas, and we are, thus far, planning to meet him in Rome during Mary’s Christmas vacation.  – tlm]

 

 

 

E-mail Message. 19 July 2002.

FROM: Allen in Bamako. TO: Mom and Dad.

 

[Allen was online during the late afternoon, but we were unable to use MSN Messenger. After supper we received a reply from him to an e-mail message I had sent earlier.]

 

“im only in bomako for a day
going on vacation in dogon country
near mopti
cliff villages, lots of hiking and camping
ill be back in bomako in about a week
ill email then….
we had a awesome party [the 4th of July] with about 30 pcvs they came from all over mali to
manatali
had a baseball game with bats i carved myself out of tree limbs….”

[We are looking forward to contacting Allen when he returns to Bamako from Mopti next week. This is the short vacation trip he has been looking forward to for some time. –tlm]

 

 

 

Letter. Mailed 30 May 2002. Received 20 June 2002.

FROM: Allen in Karya (near Kita). TO: Mom and Dad.

 

I’m in Josh’s village – Karya – next to Kita. We’re doing a formation called P.A.C.A. (Participatory Analysis for Community Action). We’ve got 6 PCVs, 4 language professors, and 2 Peace Corps officials here running the show w/ Karya [i.e. the people of Karya]. P.A.C.A. is a well thought out, theoretically great idea that in reality goes to [pot] when you show flip charts to 500 people who can’t read.

 

But we’re having a fun time, except for Josh, who is beyond stressed out, trying to be a good host to a meeting held in a language we don’t speak that well. But the villagers love, if nothing else, that a bunch of white people (and a bunch of city-living Malians) came to visit their humble little city. Most Americans come here thinking Peace Corps is about work. Maybe that is true in theory, but in reality, in the heads of Malians, and in what we actually do in villages, 99.9% of Peace Corps is cultural exchange. Any work that gets done, any ideas that get across, are from hanging out & talking to people.

 

The villagers love talking about me being a blacksmith. They’ve been asking me to make them cultivation [farming] tools, half joking as always. I told them I would, but my tools aren’t here. I can’t carve without my tools. It will be really funny if someone shows up w/ carving tools today. [This is a problem with Allen’s Malian name, because, I suppose, of the difficulty in naming an artist in Mali.  Allen, obviously, identified himself with the artisans in his region, who are, primarily, woodcarvers, and who are also the village blacksmiths. Musa, his Malian “father,” is a “blacksmith, ” thus, Allen’s family name of Kante. Although his village knows him well, other villages have difficulty understanding his Malian name.]

 

Oh, so…vacation plans –

I just realized that in other places in the world it gets cold in winter. I can’t cope w/ winter in London. I think I might die. I’m going to vote for Italy: a warm-up for you, and a cool-down for me.

 

[Allen then discusses travel plans at some length, and where and when we might meet him during the Christmas holidays.]

 

The next time I’ll be in Bamako is after 4th of July. I [and others] are going out to hike through Dogon country.... It seems far away, but the month of June is going to fly by. I have to get everything together for the 4th of July party. Still have some home improvements to do. I wonder if the gwa [the covered porch on Allen’s house in Dialakota] will still be standing when I get back to Manatali?

 

I finally did a soak pit for my family. They were very appreciative. I don’t know if they’ll make another one after I’m gone and that one fills up w/ dirt, but my attitude towards sustainability has changed since I got here. The biggest sustainable thing this country needs is [the understanding] that they CAN do things for themselves, if they want it bad enough. I think it’s the same problem we have in the U.S., only on a way bigger scale [in the USA]. In the U.S., we could end homelessness, poverty, crime, etc., if everybody would stop complaining and actually DO something. I think human nature is to be lazy & have discontent w/ most things, to find faults. But it’s also to find what’s good in something & stick with it – even if it causes more problems than it’s worth. Malians like to change their ways as much as Americans do; we [in the USA] just have more to start with. The problem w/ technology is it grows exponentially. How many years is Mali really behind? Bamako might be (in some parts) where Italy was 10 years ago. Motos [?], open sewers, cell phones, garbage in the streets, Internet cafes – they’re all there. The “aid” money goes there [i.e. to the cities], not to the small villages. If the people in the villages would make an excess [produce a surplus] of food, which they could sell to the cities, aid money wouldn’t need [to be used] to import food from other countries. The villagers would have more money to buy things – like cement for wells, pumps for irrigation, and the aid money could maybe go to pave some roads in this country.

 

Oh, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

 

So, I want to change my approach in my village. I’ve been trying to figure out what my village needs. I’ve realized that my thoughts and their thoughts on that subject are very different. So, I want to start a “health committee.” A very formal title for finding a few people I can sit and hang out w/ to do some troubleshooting. Maybe I could convince them to convince others of a few things – like I don’t have to give them a big wad of cash for them to do something for themselves – and maybe we could find some common projects we can both agree how to do.

 

I’ve volunteered to do the Field Based Training for the next water/san [sanitation] group of Stagairs [members of a new Stage Group] [“Stage” in French means “training course,” i.e. a Stage Group is a training group. “Stagairs” are PCVs in training for a particular task or project.] – well, at least 5 of them. I’m supposed to do soak pits and top well repair [repairing wells to keep contaminants out, and build well covers]. I thought it would be easy at first, but I don’t know how it will work now. I don’t want it to be a big gift to the village, since it’s coming from Peace Corps. I want to do a soak pit project in a village behind the dam, but it might be hard for Stagairs. Getting food & health stuff for them might be difficult.

 

I almost forgot – I started taking Judo lessons – yes, Judo! – It’s great! One of the big shots at the dam [in Manatali] put the cash into starting it up, but he left, and now Malians run it all. Most of the other students are the kids of rich dam workers, none of whom speak Malinke, but they do speak French & most speak Bambara. Mary and I are the only twobobs in the class. It’s taught in typical Malian style – the teacher is a macho Malian guy who yells at the kids & slaps them around a bit. He ends each class by having the more advanced students attack him, and then promptly slams them down to the mat. I figure, if I can learn Judo from these jokers, I can learn anything anywhere.

 

So, for the 4th of July party, we want to do some Bar-B-Q-ing…. I think we’re going to buy a sheep, maybe a cow if we get ambitious & can find a meat grinder. There should be a lot of people. I’m going to try to arrange transport for everybody from Bamako. Anyway, keep the Ramen noodles comin’ – they rule! [Allen continues with a wish list of things to put in a “care” package.]

 

So – Love you – See you soon….

 

 

 

Letter. Mailed: 25 April 2002. Received: 15 May 2002.

FROM: Allen in Manatali. TO: Mom and Dad.

 

Oh, I seem to go through cycles of mailing and not mailing. I just got back to Manatali. I went to visit a friend in Koutchiala who was teaching some of her villagers how to build pumps. It went pretty well, and then I passed through Bamako, just in time for the swear-in party for the new volunteers. I saw Mary, or Fatimata, the new volunteer in Koroukundy, the closest volunteer to me now. I went to Kita for the artisan fair a friend of mine organized there for local artisans to sell some stuff. They were hoping some twobobs from Manatali would show up w/ their dam money [i.e. people who are constructing the power plant at the dam], but they never came, so I found an alternative transport for getting back. I found a guy that was coming here to the city and he gave me a free lift. Public transport from here to Kita sucks, and it’s expensive for us poor PCVs.

 

Mary just got installed today. We all went out to her village w/ her to greet her family & give some support until that moment came when we all drove away in the PC car, and there she was, alone in village, officially the “newbie,” at the same place I was 6 months ago. Wow, it was cool seeing it from the other side. Being the one who can at least pretend to know what’s going on.

 

[Allen continues with some personal matters and tentative plans for us to meet him in Europe during the coming Christmas holiday season. He also asked about churches and other organizations here in the USA sponsoring--i.e. providing financial support for--small projects around Manatali, such as well covers made of cement and metal.]

 

Other regions have big companies that volunteers can turn to for some assistance, but the only thing in Manatali is the dam, and that’s in a state of chaos right now. Companies are coming & going, & no one is really in a position to help out right now.

 

So--what I was thinking was—

 

The village would provide all the stuff plus the labor plus a little of the cost, maybe ¼. I’d take photos & write us something for the church members to see where it [their money] is going. The church would put up the rest of the cash—I’m talking less than $100.00 US, which is nothing for a congregation, but a lot for a village where people make $300.00 US a year and a bag of cement costs $9.00 US. But I can’t do any religious or political stuff.

 

Anyway—I might be getting a soak-pit project going in my village, which is a way to get rid of pools of dirty wash water from bathing areas into a hole filled w/ rocks to let the water seep into the soil, but covered w/ wood & mud so mosquitoes don’t breed in there. I’m also helping out Sam w/ a soak-pit in his village, making the bricks (or rather training the well team there) so it’s all ready to go when he gets back from vacation. He just left today for South Africa, which was a vacation plan before the work-plan came up.

 

All right—that’s all for now—love you all, take care, and talk to you soon.

 

Love, Al

 

 

 

Telephone Call: 11 May 2002.

 

[We were so happy to receive a call from another PCV parent this a.m., saying that we could reach Allen in Bamako if we called right away. The connection worked, and we had a wonderful conversation. Al was in good spirits. He has been at Tubani So most of the week for more advanced language training. He sent a brief e-mail message yesterday a.m., saying to call him at the Stage House, because he was there for the day, but no one was home here in Nashua to read his e-mail on 10 May until it was too late to call him in Bamako. Therefore, we were really happy to reach him this morning. He is taking a trip to Kita with several PCVs by train, and staying there several days before he returns to Manatali and Dialakoto. One of the PCVs in his Stage Group has an assignment near Kita. They were to leave together early this morning, but after they purchased their tickets and sat on the train for about an hour, the conductor announced that the train would not be leaving for Kita until evening. As Allen explained with West African understanding, they tried to get to Kita this morning, “but God did not will it.” So, Al and the others returned to the Stage House in Bamako for the day and began a calling tree, which was great for Mary and me, because Allen explained that he might not get back to Bamako until the beginning of July, when he plans a trip to Mopti and to other areas of Mali. We briefly discussed the possibility of meeting him in Europe next winter for the holidays, and all three of us are excited about that.  –tlm]

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-mail: 24 March 2002. FROM: Allen in Bamako. TO: Mom and Dad.

 

well, im still alive.

i didnt want to come in for this training thing because ive got so much going on in manatali.

my pump project is on hold for the moment (it fell into the well) but its going pretty well (great pun!) except for that.  my eventual goal is to teach the blacksmiths in the market how to make a hand pump using a few new parts (like pipe and re-bar) but making the rest out of scrap metal and spare parts:  it will be very low cost so that villagers around the area can afford them.  its fun working on the design and trying to make it work. 

its starting to get really hot.  its still not as hot as in the city of kayes, but here in bomako its really humid.  it even rained last night, surprising most of us and soaking everything i brought in to bomako with me, because i was planning on sleeping on the roof and left all my stuff there before we went out for a friend of ours birthday.

it was a long crazy night dancing in the rain outside the bar.

people are already starting to take vacations!  i feel like i just got here, but i have been doing some thinking about vacation routes.  im thinking im going to stay in africa for the whole two years, though.  it seems like a lot of people that go back to the states for vacation get used to all the comforts of home again, then quit when they get back to mali and the life here.  and, what better chance to see the rest of the continent, which i might not ever go back to?

so, im thinking about a trip to morocco, maybe the canary islands, and senegal and possibly the gambia.  but that will be later.  there are a bunch of people going to ghana in may, and i might go with them, if god wills it.

im also thinking about south africa, because i know a lot of people there who work at the dam and might even be able to get a flight with them (they have a plane at the little air strip near manatali).

anyway, ill write more tomorrow, love ya both,

al

 

 

 

E-mail. 24 March 2002. FROM: Allen in Bamako. TO: mailing list.

 

hey, well im back in bomako for a few days.  going to try to be here to email for the next few days in a row.  been at the training center planning the things everyone will teach to the next group of recruits that comes in.  i cant believe that soon it will be time to teach the things i was taught only a short while ago.  seems like i just got here! 

so, let me know whats up with y'all!

talk to ya tomorrow,

al

 

 

 

Letter: Mailed 14 Feb. 2002. Received 05 March 2002.

 

[This is primarily a personal letter, so I will be summarizing much of it.  Allen opens with a description of Musa’s “thank yous” to Allen for a few small gift items we had sent to Allen for Musa. Musa is Allen’s “Jatigi,” or host father, more exactly translated as “lodger.”]

 

He and his wives greet you, and his children. This is a formal thing I’ll explain later. He says that you raised a good kid, namely me, and he thanks you for sending me here to help his village. He also says both of you are very generous, good people. He understands white people more now, after knowing the volunteers [Peace Corps Volunteers] here.

 

[Allen then explains the form of formal greetings.] As I told you before, greetings here are long. The more formal it is, the longer, and the longer, the more important and sincere.

 

So, he wanted to thank you …, and he recited a bunch of greetings and benedictions. I think he might be the nicest, kindest person who ever lived. For example: Here I am, a shining white guy whom they know has money, but he won’t let me pay for the fence around my house, because he’s so happy that I came to help his village and live w/ his family that he has to pay, even though he doesn’t have the cash to pay for a sack of rice to feed his family right now.

 

But, I helped him find some dam workers [i.e. South Africans who are constructing the hydroelectric plant at the dam in Manatali] to buy some [of the] stuff he makes, to help him get some cash. He sold a Jimbe [?] for 25,000 CFA, about $30.00 US—not bad, considering the average income here is $300.00/year.

 

It works out pretty well, because he helps me a ton, so I want to help him out—hook him up w/ some cash, but if I start giving money away, everyone will want some [Allen has some money available to him for certain projects, but he is very careful about how the money is used.]. This way he gets paid well for his work--work that no one else in the village does, and I can pay him back w/out looking like a charity giver.

 

[Allen then describes the first batch of photographs we had developed for him. He mailed the film to us, and we sent a set of pictures back to him. He reports that he managed to repair the pump on the deep well in Dialakoto. This was quite an accomplishment. RE: the story about the killer goat water, below.]

 

I’ll use the pump to get the bad water out of the big well, then bleach the water that comes back [into the well], then take that water out, then hopefully the water will be drinkable.

 

Anyway, I’m excited about the pump. It’s been here for years, and no one’s fixed it, not that they tried.

 

[He continues to describe his photos, and tells about the villagers burning their farm fields at the beginning of the dry season, to clear the fields. Then Allen explains his Malian name: Moriba Kante.]

 

…Moriba means “big Muslim.” “ba” added to the end of a word means “big” or “a lot” or “very,” depending on the word it modifies. “Kolonba” means “big well,” while “che koroba” means “really old man.” And Kante is spelled w/ the funky e [the French acute accent mark over the e], because they [the Malian people] didn’t write until the French came, and that’s how the French spelled it. It can also be written KantE [The “E” is written like a backwards 3.] [Allen continues writing about the culture and language of the Manatali area, and the differences between Bambara and Malinke, or MalinkE, the language of the Malinke cultural group in the area.] I do a lot better at pronouncing Bambara properly.

 

Kante is the traditional blacksmith family name. Now, the caste system is ending, and not all kids follow [in] their fathers’ footsteps, but everyone still says I’m a blacksmith (numu) when I tell them my name. I think the name fits me well, because I fixed the well today!

 

[Allen adds a few closing remarks, and ends by saying that he might go to Bamako soon, where he has access to an online computer. Mary and I were so happy to receive this warm letter from The Big Muslim Blacksmith. --tlm]

 

Greet the people (kan bu fo).

 Love/Al

 

 

 

Letter: Posted 27 Dec. 2001. Received 14 Jan. 2002.

 

[Allen sent a wonderful hand-drawn map of the Manatali area, which clarified a great deal of what he has described in his letters. Lake Manatali is on the Bafing River (also spelled Baffing). I put a second map of Mali on Al’s Web page (see Map 2), which shows the lake. –tlm]

This is a map of the Baffing area. I keep telling about people & places here (and will be for 2 years), and you probably won’t be finding a map of the area on the Internet. So, this is so more of the letters make a little more sense, without a lot of further explanation.

The film is all (yes, all 3 rolls) from the Ramadan festival, the Monday before Christmas Eve. It was crazy. Everybody in the village wanted a picture, so I said I’d take a family photo of each family. Bringing out the camera in the village will become a rare occurrence after that deal.

So tonight is Christmas Eve--My first Christmas away from home. With temperatures in the 90’s, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas, although a couple of days have been cloudy/hazy, like an Iowa winter.

I think the kids in the village got the best Christmas present ever today: Polio vaccinations. A doctor from the city came & gave free vaccinations to all the children--A good Christmas for a Muslim country.

Tonight, Sam’s [Sam is a PVC in the nearby village of Dioheli.] parents will be here visiting. We’re having Christmas dinner here, and tomorrow there is a party in Dioheli, so we’re all heading out there. Sam arranged the party for his parents.

When I left the village this morning, my brother, Numonke, said he was leaving tonight. He said he’s going to find work in the city somewhere. I think he’s got a good chance; he worked for the Spanish when they had control of the dam, and he’s been to visit his brother in Kayes. He said his “head will go bad” if he stays in Dialakoto. He feels like he needs a change. I can’t blame him; I came here because I felt that way. I just hope his parents don’t blame me, or think I took him somewhere, since we’re both leaving on the same day (I’m heading up to Mopti after Christmas, hitching a ride w/ Sam & his parents in their rental car, going back to Dialakoto in a week or two.).

I think I have a good family photo on one of the rolls. It’s w/ me, dad (Musa), Mom & Mom (older = Kany, younger = Simbali). Numonke (he’s my age), Bourama (younger brother), Banko (sister), and I think Santahine missed that picture, but he’s about 4, the littlest (they had another little one, about 2 years old, that died a week or two before I was installed).

Anyway, more to come….

Love you…, hug Toby –

Al

 

 

Letter: Posted 13 Dec. 2001. Received 10 Jan. 2002. Dated 12 Dec. 2001.

 

How is it December already?

I’ve been in Dialakoto for more than a month now, and I’m just getting to the point where I can talk to my family in their language. I did my first actual WORK today. I went and measured the depth of the hand-dug … [?] wells in the village. The deepest is 7 ½ meters. In the dry season (which is beginning now and lasts until July) the wells dry up and the people go to the river for water (about 75 yards from the nearest houses on the North/East side of the village).

 

This is the third place Dialakoto has been located. First, it was on the other side of the dam. They moved about 10-15 km down stream, close to where they are now. But some dumb ass settled them on the floodplain (Mali looks more like Iowa every day.), and floods don’t go well w/ mud-brick houses. All the houses collapsed within 2 years, and they moved to a little higher ground, where they are now (again, about 75 yards).

 

But when they got moved to Dialakoto 2, USAID built them a pump and a deep well (13 m.), lined with cement. The pump is useless (Due to a freak of geology, it pulls up salt water.), and sits rusted and broken. The well water was good, but a goat fell in it. Nobody pulled the body out, and now the water is rancid. Plus, the lid is crap—thin cement w/ exposed re-bar that is rusted, leaving the cap weak & ready to collapse. Dad told me about another well in a different village that collapsed, killing 5 people (not a surprise if 5 people standing on it), and my moms (Dad has two wives, and asked me if I could find him a 3rd American wife) said that some people died from the goat-water.

 

Supposedly (says my brother), the people know well water is better than river water, and if the well (USAID well) water was good, they would go there instead. I said we could bleach the well and pull all the shit out of it, and the water can be good again, but convincing the people that killer-goat water can be made safe again is going to take a while.

 

Plus, they’ll only go to that well in the dry season. My best bet might be to get some people together and dig one of the village wells deeper. It won’t be as clean as the USAID well, but the people here are used to the well water—they don’t get sick very often from it. They get sick more often from untreated wounds—not washing their hands w/ soap, etc.

 

I could possibly get money (a grant called SPA Fund) from USAID to pay for brick for lining the well, and possibly to pay the people who do the work. But this area has some money, and when villages get moved, they get a lot of money and stuff. They have a big stereotype of white people being gift-givers. I think if I can convince the people to do this for their own health, without getting paid, it will go beyond simple clean water and teach them to do things because they need to, and not because they’re getting paid. Plus, if the whole community is involved, they will be more likely to take care of what they do. That’s why a lot of the pumps here are broken—nobody cares enough to fix them.

 

Anyway, the work on my house is going slow. Nobody wants to do much of anything during Ramadan, even people who aren’t fasting. Dad has to finish a few other projects before he makes my screen door. I watched him hollow out a log for a drum yesterday. Today he’s carving a piece for a rifle—the piece you put against your shoulder.

 

[Allen then writes about his new address in Manatali, and asks us to send a few things to him.]

 

Love ye,

Al

 

 

Letter No. 2 of 2.

Posted 03 Dec. 2001. Received 07 Jan. 2002. Dated 25 Nov. 2001

 

HAPPY THANKSGING & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I’m sorry I haven’t written lately. I don’t know where to begin this letter. It’s 3 days after Thanksgiving, and this is the first moment I’ve had to actually stop and think since I’ve been installed. I’m sitting at the Stage House [in Manatali] on the porch, looking out over the river. I can see the mountains and the smoke rising from the burning fields. It’s so quiet.

 

Everyone left this morning. There have been people coming and going for the past week, with about 20 people here for Thanksgiving: some from my Stage, some with a year left, others whom I probably won’t see again b/c they’re leaving soon. We’ve been swimming at the lake, playing volleyball w/ the South Africans, and cooling a ton. Last night was a deep-fried buffet, w/ French fries, onion rings, and fried chicken. Thanksgiving dinner was turkey imported from Bamako, beef stew, scalloped potatoes—so good!!

 

It was great to have a big bunch of people here, but I guess it was this morning as everybody was leaving that I really felt thankful for the past few days, the past few months, the people I’ve met, the chances I’ve had, not just here in Mali—Everywhere. Everyone.

 

I love my host family in Dialakoto. My brother and I have been digging the pit for my own private latrine. Right now I’m using the family’s. After my Nyegan is finished, we’re going to build a “gwa” (covered porch area) next to my house, and a screen for my door.

 

When I first got there, I had 4 walls and the roof, and holes for the door & window. Musa, my dad, built my door by cutting a log into boards & nailing them together, putting hinges on to connect it to the frame, and attaching the frame w/ mud. My window is screen attached to a frame, w/ re-bar running through it for reinforcement, then a squared-off piece of car hood for closing when it rains. Except for the roof, my entire house is made of dirt, wood, & spare parts.

 

A few days ago I watched Musa pound a worn out wood file into a knife after heating it up in the fire. That was his afternoon—beating the piss out of a piece of metal.

 

I’ve gone to work in the fields w/ my brothers. The hike out to the field is more effort than most people in the U.S. put out over the course of a day, but they walk a few miles out to the field, cut millet by hand all day, and then walk home.

 

I was supposed to go hunting w/ a friend of the family one day, but he didn’t come by in the morning to get me. He didn’t think I’d make it. But that was before I went to the fields and showed them that I actually could do things.

 

Haramadi (the hunter) said he’d take me sometime, but not until after Ramadan. The family asked me if I was going to participate in the fasting. I told them I’d give it a try. So I’ve been getting up at 5:00 a.m., eating, drinking tons of water, and going back to bed, then spending the day trying to do as little as possible, then cramming [i.e. stuffing himself] at night. I eat and drink enough at night that I haven’t felt dehydrated, and only a little hungry. Most nights, people go for 12 hours without eating or drinking. Fasting just turns that into 12 hours of daylight instead. But I don’t want to go hungry in the sun, walking all over all day while doing it.

 

I hope you both had a good Thanksgiving. [Al then writes about one of the volunteers going back to the U.S. for surgery. He is to return with his parents for Christmas, and his village is planning a party for them. Allen said all the Manatali volunteers will probably go to the party.]

 

For New Years I’m thinking about going out to Mopti. That’s where the big New Years party usually is, and I’d like to see some of my friends from Stage. That will mean going through Bamako, which I don’t really want to do for two reasons. One, I don’t like Bamako. It’s my least favorite place in Mali, and, two, we’re not supposed to leave our region for the first 3 months. But another reason I want to go to Mopti is that I haven’t gotten my bicycle yet, and I heard it got accidentally shipped to Mopti. I might go up to … [?] this week to find out if they know anything about it at the office there. For now, I have a bike from the Stage House to use.

 

I haven’t said anything about work-related things b/c my first “job” is learning the language. The only people who speak French in my village are the kids, b/c they learn it in school, and I can’t use them as a translator b/c the older men won’t listen to a kid. Not that my French is that great anyway.

 

I’ve had many conversations w/ the Dam workers [in Manatali] about development in Mali and self-sustaining projects. The South Africans are especially pessimistic about Malians being able to keep anything going after the white people set it up and hand it over. In one way they’re right, I guess. There are countless buildings along the train route that were built by the French and now lay in ruins, not taken care of at all. But then, why should the Malians keep them up? Why bother? Most Malians in small villages are primarily concerned with cutting millet & harvesting peanuts, and building houses out of dirt & wood. In the U.S. it’s impossible to live without money. Here you just build your own house & grow your own food on some of the empty land. They don’t need big cement buildings, or trains, or cars, or money.

 

So, my job is water-sanitation. I’m supposed to help people get cleaner, safer drinking water. The people here are perfectly happy with their pit latrines next to their traditional wells. I can tell them that’s not good, and that the Nyegan should be 15 meters from the nearest well, but then they have to dig a new well. Then I have to explain to them that they should do it for their health, and I don’t have any money to pay them for their work. Then they tell me that germs don’t exist. Some people don’t believe that AIDS is a real disease. So then I try to convince them that they should wash their hands w/ soap. Then they have to pay for soap.

 

So finally people do wash w/ soap, and drink clean water, and live longer, healthier lives. Then b/c people live longer & less babies die, the population goes up. Then more land gets turned into farmland to feed all the people. Then the 2 lions left in Mali have nowhere else to go. The trees disappear for firewood, and Mali slowly begins to look like Iowa.

 

So how do I change people’s attitudes toward health without “Westernizing?” The problem is really complex, and I’ve thought about it a lot.

 

People here have a different understanding of life—of what is good. In most languages the direction “right” and being right (correct) are synonymous. In Italian, “left” is “sinestra,” which can be translated into “sinister.” But in Maliake [sp.?], left is “numunfe,” which means, “the good side.” I guess there are two sides to everything.

 

I haven’t written this all in one sitting. I’m back in Dialakoto now, hanging out w/ my Malian dad. Today he’s fixing a gun for a hunter in the village. This morning we moved all the bricks to my Nyegan, and tomorrow we’ll start building the wall. Dad saw me writing and asked what I was doing. I told him I was writing a letter to my American parents. He asked if, when I was done, I would help him write a letter to the first volunteer that was here, Fatimata. She left almost 2 years ago. I don’t even know her American name, but I guess I’ll write a little something, and send it off. They have her address in Vermont. Life just keeps getting more bizaar.

 

[In Al’s closing remarks, he noted that his name in Dialakoto is Moriba Kante.]

 

Love you,

Al

 

 

Letter No. 1 of 2

Posted 03 Dec. 2001. Received 07 Jan. 2002.

 

I’m writing this letter to you while sitting in a hammock I made w/ string and two pieces of wood w/ holes drilled w/ a hand drill. I’m pretty happy w/ it. It’s kind of difficult to write in, though….

 

We’ve been in country for well over 2 months now. The language is going slow, and the days at Tubani So are slowly coming to an end. Two weeks and we’ll be on our way to our sites!

 

I just got back from 2 weeks of Field Based Training [FBT] at Manatali. A group of 5 of us went out there to work on a soak pit/washing area next to a communal water cistern. We also trained a Malian well team how to make covers for wells out of concrete w/ a metal hatch, so stuff doesn’t fall in the well. We had some meetings with villagers to teach them the importance of using theses things, as well as some radio shows on a local radio station (in very broken Bambara) about basic sanitation.

 

I had a good reality check—I found out that the people here have only been using Nyegans [soak pit/washing area] for about 5 years! Near Bamako, where things are more developed, they’ve been using them for maybe 10-15 years. This is the first generation of people here using bathrooms!

 

Different people went different places for the FBT—I was a lucky one who got to go to my own site, which was doubly good b/c Manatali is the best place in Mali. The 5 of us Water/San volunteers met up w/ 5 SED (Small Enterprise Development) and 5 Health volunteers for the last few days in the Manatali Stage House. We got a tour of the dam facility, and the turbines and power plant, and went swimming in the reservoir—absolutely wonderful: my first time being submerged in water after being in 90-105 degree + temperatures for two months straight.

 

We spent a few days w/ a family in Tokely, near Manatali, where the volunteer San lives, who was hosting FBT. Our first night there, we had a meeting w/ the village chief, or dugutigi in Bambara, and he offered us a goat. He asked if we wanted to eat it while we were in the village, or take it back to Bamako w/ us. We told them it would be better to eat it in the village, so the kids held it down and a guy slit its throat right there in front of us. Then they skinned it, right there in front of us. Then they managed to make it last for 4 meals, split between us and the dugutigi’s family (about 30 people all together) over two days, without a refrigerator. Animals last a lot longer when you serve all the internal organs and the head along w/ the meat and bones.

 

Well, I was debating whether or not to include the next part of the story, but since I have a picture or two of it, I might as well explain it.

 

Victor and I were feeling very carnivorous after the whole lamb [goat] thing, and were talking about getting some meat for dinner our last night at the Stage House. The meat from the market is a little iffy—no telling when it was killed, or even if it died from natural causes, disease, or an ax, so we decided to buy two live chickens. One of the volunteers knew how to gut the chickens, and said she’d teach me how to do it as long as she didn’t have to kill it or pluck it. Well…Victor got the chickens. I did the killing, trying to do my best to do it in true Malian tradition by … [?], saying a prayer to Allah, and slitting its throat—and we both did the plucking. The gutting was pretty easy, and the big bar-b-q pit was perfect for grilling. It was quite the experience.

 

I’m thinking I’m going to try to make a chicken coup and raise them in my concession—for eggs and meat. Protein is kind of difficult to come by here, and a lot of volunteers lose weight b/c of a lack of protein. The Malian diet is 99 % starches: millet, rice, corn, and bread.

 

There are a few vegetarians in our group. It’s really hard for them to get enough nutrients, b/c there’s not an abundance of vegetarian-specific food like in the US. I think it’s just difficult in general to eat a well-balanced meal.

 

The vegetarians were a little disgusted by the whole chicken-killing thing, except for Joe—the only vegetarian who not only watched the killing, but cheered it on and made us give the chickens names before we lopped off their heads. (We named them Martyr and Dinner.)

 

The ride back was interesting. With our language professors there were 20 of us. We rented a van, but it broke down, and the driver was trying to fix the axle w/ a big rubber band, but that didn’t work, so we hitch-hiked on a dump truck from the dam company—all 20 of us, w/ luggage, 5 mattresses, and 5 bikes--the other half of the way to … [?], then took a bus—really another dump truck fitted w/ seats and a roof, to Bamako.

 

It was a great trip, and I can’t wait to move out there.

 

Love,

Al

 

 

Telephone Conversation: 01/03/2002

 

Al sounded great. His host family has worked with him to finish his house, building a new door, and window screens and shutters. The name of his village is Dialakoto. It is across the river from Manatali, which is located just below a large dam that will be used to generate electricity. The nearest city to Dialakoto and Manatali on the map (above), is Kita, west of Bamako. His work there is going well. He said that he had mailed a few letters since Thanksgiving. I told him we had received nothing since the letter he mailed on Sept. 9.

 

One of his most interesting descriptions was about fasting for Ramadan with his family and villagers. He described Mopti as a very attractive and progressive city. Traveling to Mopti to meet other PCVs for New Years was not easy; it took him 13 hours to get there from Dialakoto. He then journeyed all the way back to Bamako where he will spend several days before he returns to Dialakoto. Allen noted that when he returns to Dialakoto, he will probably not have access to a computer or telephone for another 2 or 3 months, but he should be able to receive mail that is sent to his new address. His new address is:

 

PCV: L. Allen Mowbray (Moriba Kante)

Corps de la Paix

B. P. 19

Manatali, Mali

West Africa

 

--tlm

 

 

E-Mail: 01/03/2002

 

The following is an excerpt from a short e-mail message. Al included a telephone number where we could reach him that evening.

 

“ok, i hope this works, try # 3 today, the computers are crashing and the
power is getting cut off.
im in bomako for a few days, checking on a few work things, after heading
out to Mopti for new years eve
im keeping this short
love to you all, im staying at the bomako stage house”

 

 

Telephone Call: 09/30/01

 

We were so happy to have our first telephone conversation with Allen, in Africa, this morning. About 9:30 AM, another PVC parent called us to report that the PCVs were in Tubani So this weekend, and, if we wanted to talk to Allen, we should call a certain telephone number within the next 15-20 minutes. When we called, Allen answered, and we had a very cheerful conversation.

 

Allen has been assigned to a small village across the river from Manatali.  He will be moving there as soon as his house is ready.

 

--tlm

 

 

Letter and Drawings: Mailed 09/09/01

Received: 09/27/01

[We are certainly glad to know that airmail between the USA and Mali has been re-established.]

 

Right now I’m chillin’ in the yard w/ my host family. Victor [Allen’s PVC partner] and I were supposed to work in the fields today w/ our brothers, but I’m also supposed to learn how to weave grass mats today, so we’re working in the fields next weekend.

 

Yesterday we found out where our sites will be for the two years. I got the site I wanted near the dam in Manatali. I hear there are wild troops of baboons that roam the hills there, and a wildlife refuge w/ lions and tigers and stuff.

 

In our technical classes we’re learning hydrogeology in its most simplified form, and we’ve been making trips to a nearby village to repair some of their wells. We poured some concrete foundations for anchoring the bricks to fix the rest of the shaft. Really interesting how we’re learning the super-simplified techniques so we can easily teach them to natives at-site.

 

Next week we all go on our first site visit to check out our village, house, [and] see what projects the previous volunteer has going. I’m replacing an Ag Volunteer. There was a Water San Volunteer a few towns down that is being replaced by an Ag PCV from our stage. The wells in the other village are partly good; the previous PCV fixed them up so there isn’t a lot for a Water San to do there. I’m going [where] there was a pump to bring water from the nearby river (very clean for a Malian river, b/c of the dam, my village is below the dam), but the pump broke, so the women walk to the river each day for water. The town dug a well, too, but for some reason it pulls up saltwater. I’m going to check it out and try to decide whether to fix the pump or dig another well. I’m definitely going to get a quick test in what I’m learning.

 

A lot of people are having crazy dreams and feeling side effects from the anti-malaria medication, but I’m doing pretty well. Most of the crazy dreams are really neat! I think a lot of it is just psychological effects from being in another country and hearing horror stories about Mafloquin [anti-malaria drug]. I’ve been pretty lucky…. [Allen then tells more about PCV health problems, but that he has managed to stay healthy. He closed with a request for us to send back some of the photos from the film he sent home.]

[See photograph album for scans of 2 drawings.]

 

 

Telephone Call.

09/13/01

 

I had a longer conversation with the PCV’s sister this morning. Evidently her sister in Mali has access to a computer in Mali, and has been able to send e-mail messages to her sister in Rochester, NY. The PCV group is still together. I still do not know where they went, but everyone is fine. They may be returning to their assignments very soon. The people of Mali have expressed their concern and sympathy to the Americans in Mali. Both Christian churches and Islamic mosques have been offering prayer services on a regular basis for the American victims of terrorism, and their loved ones, and for the American people, and for peace.

--tlm

 

 

Telephone Call.

09/12/01

 

We received a telephone call today from the sister of a PCV in Allen’s group, who is part of a calling tree. Today she received an e-mail from her sister in Mali. The Peace Corps Bureau called all Peace Corps Volunteers in Mali back from their assignments, to be informed about the terrorist attack and to be able to watch the news coverage on TV. From the information available, I do not know whether they were called back to Tubani So, or to the Peace Corps Bureau in Bamako, or to the U.S. Embassy in Bamako. The basic news is that all PCVs are safe and the U.S. Embassy in Mali is secure.

--tlm

 

 

Digest of Letter.

Sent: 08/30

Received: 09/06

 

I had a wonderful adventure this weekend. Classes are going well: long and repetitive, but I’m learning. Sunday was a much-needed break.

 

We walked from our host family village [?], which I haven’t told you about yet, so I guess I’ll do that later. We walked the 1 ½ miles to Tubani So, and a little further through the high grass near the Niger to a farmer’s hut, where someone found that he would give us a ride across [the Niger River]. There was a rumor that on the other side was a bar that many-a-Peace-Corps Trainee has stumbled across.

 

Well, we managed to find it. Amazing! It’s a hotel/restaurant run by a Canadian couple. It is straight out of Architectural Digest. Again! Amazing!!     […]

 

The couple that ran the place were really glad to see the new PCT group had found them, and gave us a discount on the already insanely low prices, as long as we [would agree to] bring more people the next time.

 

On the way back, our boat sprang a leak, and I had to do some bailing, but [it was] well worth the effort, for a boat ride across the Niger.

 

Samanko is a great little village. The first time we all went to the village to meet or families, our busses were met with all the children of the town piling around us, and the local drummers playing up a storm for the villagers to dance to. I didn’t get pictures b/c it started to rain—my cause for not having pictures of a lot of things, since it rains a lot and I don’t carry my camera in the rain.

 

Victor and I are rooming in the Lakitae families concession. I’ve been going by Ali b/c Malians can’t really pronounce the “l” in Al. (It sounds more like “ow.”) And the tailor in Segou named me Ali, but we are all getting new Malian names. I’m Moudika Tabitae [ …]

 

The family is really nice. [ …]

 

A Malian greeting takes a while. Seriously, without exaggerating, a typical “hello” consists of, “Hello. How’s it going? How’s your family? Your Mom? Your Dad? Your health? How was your night? Your day? How are the people of Samanko? (Or America…) And all the answers are, “Fine, fine, fine, not bad, fine, not bad, fine….” [ …]

 

Everyone is really nice to us twobobs, and [they] try to teach us, even if we just don’t get it. It’s a beautiful language. Simple, but difficult in its complexities at the same time.

 

“N ba” means “my mother,” “I agree,” “Yes,  I acknowledge [that] you are speaking to me.” (But only for a man.) And “OK.” It all depends on the context.  If all else fails, just say, “N ba.” [ …]

 

Wednesday we’re going on a drive-thru of Bamako; they’re going to show us where stuff is so we can go there on our own from Samanko. Saturday we’re going to the Bamako museum to get a little culture and a history lesson, and Sunday a few of us are going to attempt a journey to the nearby river bluffs. […]

 

I hope my stuff is making it there. I’m exhausted and going to crash for tonight.

Love ya,

Al

 

 

 

Digest of Letter.

Sent 08/24

Received: 09/05/01

 

Wow! The past 3 days have been so amazing. Everybody split up and went to visit a village where another volunteer was working already. We finally got to experience what life will be like (sort of) for us after training: a look at the local culture, customs, etc.

 

[Al then describes his trip to Africa and his arrival in Bamako. Peace Corps reps and other volunteers met them at the airport and took them by bus to Tubani So, the Peace Corps training center outside Bamako. Their first lesson was in what I will call personal hygiene, “and how to take a bucket-bath, which I found to be surprisingly effective and refreshing.”]

 

We had a few days of demonstrations like eating with hands and the huge event of making tea, interspersed with a few shots, which we still aren’t done with…. I’m feeling fine.

 

[They all signed to go to different places with at least one roommate. Allen and his roommate went to Tiessarabougou, about 26 k outside Segou. They stayed with a volunteer who has been there a year and a half. ]

 

We took a bus to Segou with a bunch of others from our staging and met with the Segou PCVs at the Segou Stage House, which is basically a clubhouse for the PCVs when they come into the city. It has toilets and showers with running water, electricity, and is right next to a German restaurant.

 

[They were going to ride bikes the 26