Hard to Stay Healthy

Health is a major issue here whether it is due to lack of food causing malnutrition or lack of knowledge on germ and parasite transmission. I have not witnessed malnutrition yet in my time here as I have been relatively sheltered. My family does not often wash their hands properly and some people do not wash their hands at all. They wash their hands out of a bucket before eating dinner with their hands. They put food on the ground and still eat it. My little brother is always sick with congestion and a cough and throws up every other day at least. He coughs and sneezes on food which we all are meant to eat and is allowed to touch whatever he wants. He has been fed from a spoon which was then put into my food or drink. My family sees nothing wrong with any of this but wonders why I get sick. This is a lack of knowledge on disease transmission and not their fault. I do not have the words yet to teach them what is going on.

            I have had both bacterial and parasitic intestinal infections. The bacteria was no doubt due to bad food preparation practices on my family’s part. Parasites are transmitted through contaminated water and feces. I may have gotten them from under bleaching my water or from eating fruit which was washed with contaminated water. If I want to remain healthy here I must be more diligent about refusing things which have not been washed in filtered water and must avoid contact with my little brother at all costs.

            People here cannot afford to be on prophylaxis for malaria and only some can afford bed nets. There are also vaccines for many of the infectious diseases here which cannot be afforded. This contributes to the number of people whom are ill and unable to work on the farm or earn money in other ways. Providing people with sustainable agriculture techniques can improve yields and long term productivity of farms. With a healthy diet and increased income there is more money for vaccines and more time for education on disease transmission.

Religion Rules

Islam is a time demanding religion which affects how day to day life operates. It dictates what they wear, what they eat, when they eat, when they pray, and how they interact. They are required to pray five times a day. Their god is incorporated into daily greetings and everything they do. Currently, Ramadan just ended on so some members of my family didn’t eat all day until 7 pm and then had bread and tea and a normal dinner late around 9:30. It is rude to eat or drink in front of fasting people. Sometimes pregnant women fast thought hey know they risk losing their baby because they don’t want to make up fasting later when other people aren’t fasting. Fasting probably originated because this is the hungry season and people don’t have much food anyway.

            In this society men are clearly held as more important than women. Only men can lead prayer. Men are allowed under the rules of this religion to have multiple wives. My father apparently has another wife in Dakar. It is a big thing to talk and joke about marriage last night my father asked me if I wanted to be his third wife. I laughed and didn’t really give an answer it’s just entertainment to them. In my friends family her sister in law is always asking her if she wants to be her “wujj”, her husbands other wife.

            There are buildings here called mosques. They are like churches with loud speakers on top that men get on and sing horribly and remind people to pray. If you live near one of these you probably don’t get much sleep. People must occasionally go here for some prayers which they cannot lead themselves. In mosques you will find important men in the community. These are maribouts and Imans or something that sounds like that. These men can hold a lot of power in the community and direct peoples lives and decisions. Imans can also make herbal remedies for sick people. Little boys are sent to live with these men to learn the Koran and are often forced to beg on the street to earn some of their keep. These boys are called Talibes.

            I’m not interested in religion so this isn’t that great of an account of what it means to them. I think the important thing to note is that here everyone follows a religion involving the Christian god and they don’t understand that some people don’t believe in god. Religion is universal and broadcast on TV, there are people in the US who would have a fit about being overexposed to it. Islam truly dictates the way people live life here. I will have to plan technical demonstrations which could feed starving families around prayer and religious holidays.

Daily Duties

In my family there are a few people who do most of the work and I think it’s that way in most of Senegal. My grandmother puts mburaaky, mashed peanuts and sugar and bread, in little bags and sells it to kids in the neighborhood throughout the day from our house. My mom does my laundry and folds everyone else’s’ laundry when it’s dry. She also takes care of the youngest because she is still breast feeding him even though he is almost a year old and he is not potty trained. He doesn’t wear diapers and just pees anywhere. I have only seen him poop when he has pants on thank god. When she doesn’t want to deal with his constant and loud whining she passes him off to one of the kids. It is usually one of the older ones but it doesn’t seem to fall on anyone kids’ shoulders more than another’s.

            The kids have some distinct jobs. My oldest sister Awa does the majority of work here. She does some of the laundry and all of the cooking for the whole family. In the morning she helps sweep and remove trash from the yard. Awa also goes into town to buy bread for the “ndougo” breaking of the fast. My sisters Fatou and Awa bon doo don’t seem to really have much responsibility. Penda has to do the dishes every day and goes shopping. She also makes a run for ice in the evenings.

            The boys sleep in and play all day, though Mohammed is occasionally put in charge of the baby for a short period during the day. He acts as the man of the house. Sometimes he eats separately from us and he always leads the girls in prayer. Gender roles need some work here for sure!

            My father works in the biggest city in Senegal, Dakar. It is a 2-3 hour drive from here. He comes home only once in a while. His job is to drive a car. I’m assuming he is a taxi driver. This is what makes the main income for the family. My family lived in Dakar until about a year ago when they came here. It is probably cheaper to live here but make big city money. They have a lot of family in the city including his other wife and older children who I met during Korite.

            My family has a small garden. The garden includes bissap, a plant grown for tasty juices, peanuts, watermelon, beans, and a little corn. It is relatively free of weeds so someone must do some maintenance, and while everyone claims to be the one doing this work I never actually see anyone out there. Maybe when I have more language skills I’ll figure out what’s going on. 

            That is all my family does. We wake up, shower, eat, laundry, clean, eat, play/nap, eat, play, eat, and sleep. It’s a simple lifestyle here. I am here during the of school time of year so maybe roles are a little different during the dry season. 

Whats for dinner?

Today I would like to tell you about food and eating in Senegal. Here the family generally eats out of a single bowl set in the center of a circle of people who are seated on the ground. Most of the family members will eat with their hands. Children who are very messy eat with a spoon in my host family. My father and grandmother are given separate bowls or plates to show respect. I often as a guest share a plate with Grandma when she is here. She has been in Dakar visiting family for a week or so. In some families the men eat in separate rooms, but my family all eat outside together.

            Currently, it is Ramadan. My family does not eat breakfast or lunch with me because they are fasting. I am excited to see what it will be like when this long religious holiday is over. My grandma and I are the only ones in my family who eat breakfast now. Breakfast is usually an 8 inch piece of French bread with either butter or last night’s leftover breaking fast food. This could be vermicelli or macaroni. I was getting served coffee which was literally half sugar and milk. I began to refuse it and now am served hot powdered milk with an excess of sugar. It’s not as bad as the coffee though I don’t understand why anyone would want to drink something hot when the weather is so humid.

            Lunch is usually grandma, the kids, and me. We eat either fondae, a rice or millet porridge, it can be very good to very bad. Sometimes we have yassa, a rice dish with onion sauce, veggies, and meatballs. Not sure what kind of meat it is and it gives me stomach issues every time, but I am so deprived of protein that I always eat it. Occasionally we will have ceeb u jen, spiced rice with veggies and fish. This is the national dish of Senegal. We usually eat lunch indoors because it is so hot outside in the afternoon.

            During Ramadan we break fast around 7pm. This includes more hot milk and everyone sitting outside eating bread with butter, mayonnaise, macaroni, or vermicelli. I have brought them dates which most families eat to break the fast but I don’t know what they did with them.

            For dinner we frequently have ceeb u jen. The first night I was here we had macaroni and chicken. I have not seen chicken since. One night we had beans in with our rice. My family is relatively poor and these protein items other than fish are apparently too pricey. Maybe they don’t like them but I think its more that they can’t afford them.

            The Senegalese love oil. All of the rice is made with excessive amount of oil. I can feel it on my hands and face after every meal. So with the almost entirely carbohydrate diet and excess of sugar and oil, I have gained at least 5 pounds. I was also been deprived of exercise initially as we could not leave the training center and now my daily activities are controlled by my families norms. If I were to go jogging they would think it very strange. I have begun to do some gardening which includes a small amount of exercise and a lot of sweating also I do crunches in my room. My final site will be a better place to create an exercise routine because I will have more vocabulary to explain my nutritional and health needs, as well as the fact that I will not want to spend two years being in an unhealthy state. I will purchase a gas stove and cook one or two meals a day for myself to include more of the food pyramid. So that’s food and nutrition in Senegal.

Introduction to My New Life

I have joined the Peace Corps and moved to Senegal in West Africa. Am I crazy? I still ask myself that. And I still think I might be. Senegal is a beautiful country with amazing people, food, and problems. I have joined as a sustainable agriculture extension agent. My objectives as a Peace Corps Volunteer are to provide the people of Senegal with the technical skills and knowledge in agriculture that will allow the people here to provide income and nutritious diets for their families. I also serve as an educator in culture. I will share with the Senegalese what the USA is like and share with Americans what Senegal is like.

I am living with a family of 12 in a 5 room house. Not a 5 bedroom house a five room house. None of those rooms are a bathroom. That is outside behind a piece of sheet metal. My family is very kind and generous. They share everything they have. I’m sure if I asked they would share their clothes! I have a Grandmother, Penda, Father Mol, Mother Mariam, and 9 brothers and sisters, Awa mac, Mohammed, Fatou nan, Awa bon doo, Samba, Penda, Motaala, Manjara, and Singfalu (These are all spelled wrong). Awa mac is 14 and Singfalu is 1. There is noise at my house from 4:30 am till around 11pm. This is mostly due to their religion, Islam. It requires they wake up and pray before 6am and there is a man on a loudspeaker at 4:30 am across the city calling people to pray. I am not thrilled with this aspect of the culture and how it completely dominates their lives, but I remind myself to open my mind. They probably think it very strange that I do not pray on a mat every few hours.

The food is very good, very oily, and very carbohydrate rich. I have gained an easy 7 or 8 pounds in two weeks. I do eat a lot of sand but it’s hard to cook outside and not have sand in your food. I have also been very sick, probably from some aspect of food preparation. I eat mostly rice and bread and I drink water and powdered milk. I do get a little bit of fish and few vegetables. When I am at the training center in Thies I get fed like a queen. J They have some westernized dinners and chocolate spread at breakfast. They also have showers which are not present in my home stay.

All of the above mentioned topics need expansion and stories to go with them. I will make my next entries focused on some of those topics and what I have experienced personally so far. Wish this crazy lady luck!