Double Double, Toil and Trouble

Today is August 8, 2009, and in just two days time, I will have been in Niger for 13 months. This marks the half way point in my service and officially starts the countdown to my return to the U.S. This milestone, like everything else I have experienced or encountered during my time in Niger, has sparked a great deal of reflection and thought.

I look at the time I have left in my service and instantly feel relieved that I am on the home stretch, but also stressed as it seems there isn’t nearly enough time to accomplish all the things I hope to in the remaining year of my service. Needless to say, this next year is certain to fly by and I hope to use this time in such a way as to finish my service in Niger with no regrets.

It has been about three months since I last updated my blog and a lot has happened during that time: I took my first vacation in nearly a year and visited my family and friends in the U.S. for a month, Niger entered into a time of civil and political unrest, the much anticipated rainy season got off to an excruciatingly slow start, I struggled to readjust back to life in Niger following an amazing vacation, a new group of volunteers arrived in Niger to begin their training, and hunger season has created an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty.

Times are hard, not just in Niger with the lack of rains and a countrywide food crisis, but in the world as a whole. As a Peace Corps volunteer, the challenges facing Niger have become my challenges and have created brand new obstacles for me to face in the attempt to accomplish my goals for my service in Niger.

Troubled Times Lie Ahead:

Hunger Season – Hunger season has been upon Niger for about five months. It is a time when Nigeriens face famine due to grain stores having been used throughout the previous year and the obligation to wait for rainy season to bring the water necessary to grow the crops that the majority of Nigeriens live on throughout the year. It is a time of desperation and daily hardship. It is a time in which many Peace Corps volunteers lose their beloved pets due to villagers struggling to feed their hungry children and seeing a source of nourishment in the volunteers’ cats and dogs. It is a time of illness as the rains bring disease-harboring insects and the lack of proper nutrition doesn’t allow for the production of much needed antibodies to fight infection.

Rainy Season – Unfortunately, the effects of hunger season are exacerbated by the fact that this year’s rainy season has been poor to say the least. Typically, the rains begin in mid-June, but are very sporadic. By July, the rains are starting to come more regularly, but still only fall about once or twice a week. In August, the rainy season has usually hit its full swing and the rains are falling at least every third day if not more. This lasts through the beginning of September and then the rains begin to taper off as October opens.

So far this year, the rains have fallen only a handful of times throughout the month of July and when the rains have come, they have been brief – barely enough to soak the ground. We are now over a week into August, a time when rains should be falling every-other-day and we have only seen the rains fall twice in my area. The rains have been so poor that farmers have had to plant and re-plant their seeds upwards of three to four times already this season.

World Food Crisis – A poor rainy season has dire consequences for a country like Niger, a country with little money and the majority of its population surviving on subsistence farming. Without a good crop yield, many Nigeriens will face famine throughout the coming year, especially those living in the bush. Incidence of malnutrition and illness will skyrocket and before long fear and desperation will drive people to extraordinary measures to feed their families.

Niger is not the only country facing such challenging circumstances. The world as a whole is facing a global food crisis and many third-world countries are facing famine. Droughts, desertification, global warming, and a slue of other environmental elements are effecting the world’s food production.

As populations grow exponentially in third-world countries and their national debts continue to spiral further and further out of control, these countries are forced to look toward their agricultural goods as a resource for raising foreign exchange capital. The global economy is such that the wealthiest nations are the ones able to afford the purchase of agricultural goods from third-world countries. With wealth comes power, thus the buyers from the wealthy nations have the power to set the prices of the goods they wish to import. The price of most exports from third-world countries fluctuate frequently and often leave the sellers with little to no profit. The money that is received for their exports is often regulated by corrupt governments and does not get distributed to the people. Consequently, the people of third-world countries are left with no grains to feed themselves and they never reap the benefits of the price their crops earn on the global market.

Despite the global market for export crops instability, many third-world governments continue to put a great deal of money toward export crop systems. More and more land is given to large-scale crop production, therefore taking away valuable croplands from the average citizen. Without access to land to grow their crops, people are unable to grow enough food to last throughout the year. This vicious cycle leads to drastic decreases in domestic food production and an increase in local market prices for grains.

Malnutrition – Niger is a sub-Saharan country with harsh climates and many environmental issues facing its landscape. There are few crops that thrive in such conditions and Nigeriens are at the mercy of the seasons in order to grow their major crops and their off-season vegetables. It is these factors that contribute to a diet that makes it difficult to reach the proper level of nutrition and caloric intake in a given day.

The human immune system is reliant on a constant and steady source of nutrients in order to serve its purpose and to reach 100% of its functioning. In a country that already struggles to find proper nutrition in its food sources, Niger faces an even greater lack of nutrients with the food crisis. As malnutrition increases, the immune systems of many Nigeriens will begin to break down and will no longer perform the vital task of fighting illness and infection. Many Nigeriens will succumb to illness and because their immune systems are not getting the proper nutrients to produce disease-fighting cells, they may not be able to fight off even the most common and basic of ailments.

Illnesses and Maladies – The rainy season, whether the rains are falling frequently or not, is a bug’s favorite time of year. While I would normally take this opportunity to report on my many encounters with six and eight-legged, winged creatures, the appearance of an abundance of insects brings with it a far more troublesome effect than simply annoying me. The rains and the humid atmosphere create a perfect breeding ground for disease-harboring insects.

Rainy season can be just as aptly called Malaria season. Plentiful bodies of standing water allow for the rapid procreation of Malaria-carrying mosquitoes and because most Nigeriens lack the proper protection against mosquitoes – Malaria prophylaxis, mosquito repellent, and mosquito nets – they are that much more susceptible to contracting Malaria. Along with Malaria, this is a season of Typhoid fever, Pink-Eye, and many other ailments.

To date, I have already made two trips to the hospital with my Nigerien family as both my “little brother” and my “father” were afflicted with Typhoid fever and Malaria, respectively. Both illnesses required a three-day stint in the hospital, constant IV fluids, and serum injections twice a day. On top of this being very frightening for the family as existing medical treatments in Niger, while better than nothing, remain very primitive and one never knows if the illness will claim the life of their loved one, hospital stays and the purchase of medications are very expensive. Luckily for my Nigerien family, they are financially stable enough to afford the medical care they require, but if the family continues to get sick, as they undoubtedly will during the next two to three months, the funds will run dry and they will be forced to seek other less effective means of treatment. For most Nigeriens, especially those living in the bush, hospital stays and the purchase of medications are not financially feasible and people are forced to rely solely on traditional medicines to cure their ailment.

For my part, I have tried my best to make sure that my Nigerien family has adequate mosquito nets to sleep in and when they do become ill, I try to contribute to the purchase of important medications and make sure that they receive the care that they need. I only wish I could do the same for all of the families in my village, but unfortunately such a thing is completely unrealistic.

Staying Positive – Despite the myriad struggles facing Niger, Nigeriens remain a very resilient and positive people. They continue to find reasons to smile each and every day and they will never cease to answer greetings with a positive reply. No matter what their current circumstances may be, no matter what hardships they may be facing, the Nigerien people continue to live their lives to the fullest and never seem to wallow in their own self-pity. They are grateful for each day they are given and for everything that they do have.

I have found this to be one of the most inspiring elements of life in Niger. It reminds me that although times may be tough and I may be experiencing daily stresses, poor health, or any of a number of struggles, I am lucky to be where I am and to be having such a unique experience. It’s a great reminder to be thankful for what you have and to live each day as if it may be your last. So, I encourage everyone to live a little more like the Nigeriens – stay positive, be thankful, and remember that tomorrow is a new day.

Calling All Storks – Mabel’s Expecting!: Ok, so maybe I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but with each passing week, it becomes more and more apparent that Mabel’s belly is growing. Let’s put aside the fact that she’s one seriously well-fed donkey for the time being.

A couple of weeks ago, my Baba mentioned to me that he was able to see Mabel’s teats. I believe the conversation went a little something this: “Hey Samira, ay go ga di ni farkay fuffey! Ay man di a fuffey kala sohon.” Translation: “Hey Andrea, I can see your donkey’s boobs! I didn’t see her boobs until just now.” So, it appears as though Mabel’s teats are starting to swell a bit, which leads us to believe she’s brewing a not-so-tiny bundle of donkey joy in that ever-growing belly of hers.

The same day, my Baba and I were taking care of Mabel when my neighbor walked over to the wall to chat with us. She remarked that she thought Mabel was growing and that she had gotten bigger around the middle. So, in Niger, a country in which all it takes to prove your identity is two people who will vouch for you, it would seem that Mabel is indeed pregnant as two people have commented on her current girth.

If Mabel is pregnant, her gestation should be approximately one year and if she’s pregnant enough to have slightly swollen teats, this means she was probably pregnant at the time I purchased her. And, if that’s the case, there may be an addition to the funny little farm I’ve created here in Niger around the end of 2009. So, everyone send Mabel and me your best baby donkey ju-ju so that I can spend the last few months of my service playing with a fluffy little donkey baby!

Interconnectivity: As most of you know, I have never been a religious person, nor have I ever been all that spiritual. However, I recently had one of those moments that revealed just how interconnected humans and nature are and how some greater power, whether it be a god, multiple gods, or some force of nature, maintains a certain balance in this world.

It started when my best friend in my village's husband got ill. He answered the first evening call to prayer in seemingly good health, but returned home afterward and within minutes was violently ill. We quickly arranged to take him to the village hospital and once he was settled in and given his first rounds of fluids and medications, I returned home for the night.

The next morning, upon arriving at the hospital to see my "father," I was told that early that same morning one of the family's prized ram was dead of unknown causes. My best friend then recounted the story of the previous year when she had gotten seriously ill and had to be hospitalized in the capitol. At the time she owned a cow, which are worth a great deal in Niger, and during her illness the cow inexplicably died.

After hearing this story and looking at the current state of my "father's" health, I began to reflect on the significance of the deaths of the family's animals. To some it may seem far fetched, but I truly believe that the animals were taken in order to leave room on this planet for my friend and her husband. Whatever the case may be, I am grateful that my friends are now in good health and that I have another day with them.

Shout Outs: I just realized that I haven’t been giving any shout-outs lately and that is simply unacceptable. So, I'm going to have to give this shout-out to one of my favorite ladies, Shalon. Not only has Shalon been one of the people who regularly calls me and gives me the support I need to continue living and working in Niger, but she has also coordinated with all of our friends at the gym to put together care packages for me. She has been an amazing friend and support system for me and for that I am truly grateful.

Shalon, you ROCK! <3