The good stuff first…I spent Easter on probably one of the world’s best kept secrets….Sao Tome!!
It is Africa’s smallest island, located in the Gulf of Guinea, which is basically on the west coast of Africa, in between Angola and Cameroun. The people, the food, the drinks, the water, the beaches, the resort….everything was AMAZING!!!! I have been to many beaches, in many countries, on many continents, and this was really one of my best trips…. EVER! Not quite sure exactly why, but really after being in Africa, traveling in very overpopulated countries, it was just nice to be in a small country, with a very small population (120,000) and all the people were just so nice. It is also a country that gets not quite 120 visitors…a year! Pretty incredible, but they are trying to become a tourist resort of sorts, so while I hope it achieves this, I also hope it remains a little piece of undiscovered paradise, with very few visitors. A few crazy things about the island…well not so much the island, but about what it made me think…Now that my plans for moving to New York are seemingly falling apart, I am thinking, why not just stay in Nigeria for another year, buy a house in Sao Tome, and then when I do go, rent it out to the tourists or oil companies that will eventually end up there! It only takes 5 hours to get to flying (literally I left my house in Abuja at 6am, and was sitting on the beach with a pina colada by 11am in Sao Tome!)…not bad…although, it is not the easiest place to get to. The only international flights, besides the monthly flight from Nigeria, is via Lisbon, Portugal or Libreville, Gabon, but the place is just so amazing that I would learn to deal with it! And, I am sure many people would want to come visit…although it’s in Africa, it really feels like you are on an island so far removed from society…no cell phones, televisions or noise. Just the fresh smell of flowers, fruit and ocean in the air!
Enough of all that, as I am sure you are all a little upset with me now! It is now rainy season in west Africa…finally, after 7 months of no rain, the heavens have opened up and we are getting rain like you would not believe. So, while this is good for disease like measles and other airborne diseases, it is horrible for polio…so it just means we will see a huge increase in the number of polio cases. We are doing well in the north, with 40% fewer cases this year up there compared to this time last year, however, in the south, where polio has been a non issue for years, we now have a 60% increase in cases, with some states reporting actual cases, when they have not had any in 20 years…so one step forwards, and many, many back! This is our make or break year, so if it continues its trend, we will be out of funding by mid next year! So, lots of pressure to produce results!
A funny story to end this entry….i came home late Sunday night (From my amazing Sao Tome weekend), and I hear these noises in my kitchen! I turn on the light, and what do I find…………..FROG!!!! And not just small ones, but pretty big ones (bigger than my fist)! 4 of them just sitting there looking back at me, like “What do you want…”, I do a quick search around the house and find at least 6 more! I have no problems with frogs, so I just picked them up and put them outside, thinking that is the end to that….but sure enough, they came back….My (very pregnant) house girl Mary came over the next day and I told her about it, and I think she thought I was crazy, but she started to do some stuff around the house (I am not cruel, I told her to go on maternity leave, but she refuses until the baby actually comes out)…so she is sweeping and sure enough she finds more frogs! We think they are coming up the drain, as I am on the ground floor they are probably just looking for a dry place from the rain, and with all the mosquitos and cockroaches in my place, they can eat for years! I think I have fixed the problem, by taping all the drains, and so far, 24 hours and no frogs!!
That’s it for now….I will give more of an update on the upcoming job prospects in the next entry….but I will be home for a few days in early June, and then again in July, so hopefully I will see many of you then. If not, I will expect to see you at my new home that I hope to buy in Sao Tome!!
vendredi 17 avril 2009
mardi 7 avril 2009
Salam Allah'eku
I am back from my most recent mission…all the way to the far north of Nigeria and southern part of Niger (country). West Africa has this month planned an integrated polio campaign in most west African countries (particularly Niger, Nigeria, Cameroun, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Benin), as polio is spreading beyond belief at this point. So, I was sent up north, to the very muslim, sharia law part of the country, as well as into Niger, to help supervise the process! As a female I am sent to the north, because only women are allowed into the homes of local villagers, so even though I speak maybe 7 or 8 words (including the above meaning, “hello, kind greetings and regards” of Hausa (local language), I still had to go and try!
It is beyond hot up here…daily temperatures are as high as 49 degrees…did I mention I am walking around the Sahara desert from 6am-3pm daily trying to convince families to immunize their children? Also, meeting with heads of households, religious leaders and village leaders to explain the importance of vaccinations. I have prayed more in these last few weeks than I have ever in my entire life. As I am not a muslim, it was interesting, as I have never picked up the Koran, nor do I really know what it says, but I mentioned Allah and Mohammed as often as I could in order to get them to approve! Iit is shocking just how many families still refuse vaccinations, of the 34,000 or so children we were supposed to immunize, we probably did about 14,000 or so, for various reasons like the husband wasn’t home, so women not allowed to do anything without husband’s permission, to Allah saying vaccinations are not allowed, to the vaccination being unsafe (sterilization, HIV/AIDS), and many, many other reasons. I myself took the vaccine at least 9 or 10 times to prove that it is in fact safe, so I think I am safe for a while now! Great experience, with lots of really sad, but also encouraging incidences. In one settlement (a settlement is where a group of women live together in one compound all married to the same man – in the muslim religion, men can have up to 4 wives, but up here, they have many more), all the 11 children under 5 had died the previous month due to the meningitis outbreak, heartbreaking as it is one of the vaccines we give children on our rounds, so really had they accepted in previous rounds, the children would still be alive. But, this is normal here – they have many children, knowing that they will lose at least 50% of their kids before the age of 5! I also went to a wedding, and besides the bride, I was the only female. The traditional ceremony is only for the men of the village to attend. In this case, it was the Local government area chairman’s daughter who was being married off (I think she was about 15 or 16, and the husband at least 40, and his third wife)!! And she was crying, not tears of happiness as far as I could see, so can’t say it was an enjoyable wedding. I also along the way of my 7 days in the field started an animal farm! The village heads were gifting me with live animals, to thank me for coming all this way – so I collected 3 chickens and a newborn lamb! As I was living in a hotel, and my compound in Abuja isn’t quite animal friendly, I just gifted it to the local villagers! I was also offered a newborn baby boy – he had been born 3 or so days earlier and the woman gave him to me to hold or so I thought, and then she just walked away! So, I vaccinated him and then tried to give him back, and the translator said she wanted me to “take him back to my country and give him a better life”…crazy, but really, she would have rather have done this then keep him knowing that he would probably die within a few years! Crazy shit! But, we did convince some families that refused, and for me that is a big win, even if we didn’t reach our target.
It was actually nice to come back to Abuja. I was exhausted from being woken up daily at 4.40am by the call to the mosque right outside my hotel window, and then having to drag my very tired body out of bed to wrap myself from head to toe in my burka and head and body scarves! Did I mention I was outside walking around the Sahara desert for 8-10 hours a day dressed like this?! And, then I would come back to my hotel late at night, for the nightly dinner of rice, semovita and cow tongue or cow tail! Delicious!!!
The good news this week is that after almost 7 months of no rain in Nigeria, we had our first rain storm…and I do I mean rain – it was a downpour for about 5 hours. Rainy season will soon be starting, as we will no longer be faced with the daily high 30’s, low 40s weather! It will still be warm, but at least the rain helps cool it down a bit! It also means fruits and vegetables will again be available…no more potatoes, carrots, and yams only!!
I am off to Sao Tome (the second smallest country in Africa), which is a former Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean for the Easter holiday! A friend and I from the office have a need to get out of Abuja for the long weekend and just sit on the beach for a few days, so we are off on Thursday for 4 days of mojitos and fresh seafood, swimming and sitting on the white, sandy beaches!! I can’t wait! Once I get back, I will have exactly 2 months left in Abuja! Crazy how fast time flies! As is typical of the UN, plans are always changing here, so while I had a new role planned for July, it looks like it might be changing slightly, but won’t say too much until everything is all settled, but looking like New York may not be happening : (, but who knows really?!?!
So, enough for now. I have quite a bit of work to catch up on before I leave for the weekend, but once back I will start on organizing where I will be off to next! I will be home the first weekend of June, although heading to Winnipeg for my very good friend Heather’s wedding!! Can’t wait for the Roma reunion! But, I will spend at least a night or two in TO…I must meet Ella, and all the other babies my friends will have or have had while I have been away! For those I don’t see in June, I will be back in early July for my brother and Maggie’s wedding, and will stick around for a couple of weeks then!
See you all soon,
Andrea
It is beyond hot up here…daily temperatures are as high as 49 degrees…did I mention I am walking around the Sahara desert from 6am-3pm daily trying to convince families to immunize their children? Also, meeting with heads of households, religious leaders and village leaders to explain the importance of vaccinations. I have prayed more in these last few weeks than I have ever in my entire life. As I am not a muslim, it was interesting, as I have never picked up the Koran, nor do I really know what it says, but I mentioned Allah and Mohammed as often as I could in order to get them to approve! Iit is shocking just how many families still refuse vaccinations, of the 34,000 or so children we were supposed to immunize, we probably did about 14,000 or so, for various reasons like the husband wasn’t home, so women not allowed to do anything without husband’s permission, to Allah saying vaccinations are not allowed, to the vaccination being unsafe (sterilization, HIV/AIDS), and many, many other reasons. I myself took the vaccine at least 9 or 10 times to prove that it is in fact safe, so I think I am safe for a while now! Great experience, with lots of really sad, but also encouraging incidences. In one settlement (a settlement is where a group of women live together in one compound all married to the same man – in the muslim religion, men can have up to 4 wives, but up here, they have many more), all the 11 children under 5 had died the previous month due to the meningitis outbreak, heartbreaking as it is one of the vaccines we give children on our rounds, so really had they accepted in previous rounds, the children would still be alive. But, this is normal here – they have many children, knowing that they will lose at least 50% of their kids before the age of 5! I also went to a wedding, and besides the bride, I was the only female. The traditional ceremony is only for the men of the village to attend. In this case, it was the Local government area chairman’s daughter who was being married off (I think she was about 15 or 16, and the husband at least 40, and his third wife)!! And she was crying, not tears of happiness as far as I could see, so can’t say it was an enjoyable wedding. I also along the way of my 7 days in the field started an animal farm! The village heads were gifting me with live animals, to thank me for coming all this way – so I collected 3 chickens and a newborn lamb! As I was living in a hotel, and my compound in Abuja isn’t quite animal friendly, I just gifted it to the local villagers! I was also offered a newborn baby boy – he had been born 3 or so days earlier and the woman gave him to me to hold or so I thought, and then she just walked away! So, I vaccinated him and then tried to give him back, and the translator said she wanted me to “take him back to my country and give him a better life”…crazy, but really, she would have rather have done this then keep him knowing that he would probably die within a few years! Crazy shit! But, we did convince some families that refused, and for me that is a big win, even if we didn’t reach our target.
It was actually nice to come back to Abuja. I was exhausted from being woken up daily at 4.40am by the call to the mosque right outside my hotel window, and then having to drag my very tired body out of bed to wrap myself from head to toe in my burka and head and body scarves! Did I mention I was outside walking around the Sahara desert for 8-10 hours a day dressed like this?! And, then I would come back to my hotel late at night, for the nightly dinner of rice, semovita and cow tongue or cow tail! Delicious!!!
The good news this week is that after almost 7 months of no rain in Nigeria, we had our first rain storm…and I do I mean rain – it was a downpour for about 5 hours. Rainy season will soon be starting, as we will no longer be faced with the daily high 30’s, low 40s weather! It will still be warm, but at least the rain helps cool it down a bit! It also means fruits and vegetables will again be available…no more potatoes, carrots, and yams only!!
I am off to Sao Tome (the second smallest country in Africa), which is a former Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean for the Easter holiday! A friend and I from the office have a need to get out of Abuja for the long weekend and just sit on the beach for a few days, so we are off on Thursday for 4 days of mojitos and fresh seafood, swimming and sitting on the white, sandy beaches!! I can’t wait! Once I get back, I will have exactly 2 months left in Abuja! Crazy how fast time flies! As is typical of the UN, plans are always changing here, so while I had a new role planned for July, it looks like it might be changing slightly, but won’t say too much until everything is all settled, but looking like New York may not be happening : (, but who knows really?!?!
So, enough for now. I have quite a bit of work to catch up on before I leave for the weekend, but once back I will start on organizing where I will be off to next! I will be home the first weekend of June, although heading to Winnipeg for my very good friend Heather’s wedding!! Can’t wait for the Roma reunion! But, I will spend at least a night or two in TO…I must meet Ella, and all the other babies my friends will have or have had while I have been away! For those I don’t see in June, I will be back in early July for my brother and Maggie’s wedding, and will stick around for a couple of weeks then!
See you all soon,
Andrea
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