"Money (That's What I Want)"

I haven’t mentioned it much (if at all) on these pages, but I’m working on a project in village. I may be a Small Business Development Volunteer, but, as many of the PCVs in my sector have discovered with me, there often seem to be more pressing needs in the community than teaching every Traore, Keita, or Coulibaly basic accounting. For example, in my town (and virtually every other in Mali) the already dirty (you know, because they’re made of dirt) streets are further sullied by the presence of runoff water from family latrines. My project will address this sanitation problem in the homes of 300 families in my town. If you’ve heard enough and are ready to lend your support, you can go to this website and make a generous monetary gift by debit or credit card. If you are not yet convinced, read on for a more detailed explanation of the dire need for a solution to the dirty water problem. But be warned: it’s not exactly something I’d discuss with Grandmama.



This runoff in the streets is mostly “gray water” leftover from washing dishes and clothes, or people’s bucket baths. However, it is also made up of water used to “clean oneself up” after going to the bathroom or in the event of a missed target (those nyegen holes can be pretty small). You see, Malians do not use toilet paper. At least, the ones without running water don’t. And even some Malians fortunate enough to have a Western toilet still use the rural method anyway. Instead of paper, which is expensive and available only in cities, Malians take what looks like a large plastic tea kettle to the bathroom with them. It’s called a selidaga (pictured above). And it is omnipresent. You would think that a vessel for water used to clear away human waste would stay in the nyegen for that purpose and that purpose alone. But you would be wrong. The selidaga is used for washing hands, as well as feet and face, before each of the day’s five prayers. As it is also used to clean the mouth before prayer, you will often see a person come right out of the bathroom and take a swig directly from the selidaga. If you don’t believe me, ask Julia Dyer. She saw it with her own eyes. But I digress.



Gray and selidaga water from the bathroom has to go somewhere. The current system of nyegen drainage is just a hole at the bottom of the wall, leading into the street. Because if you can’t SEE the dirty water, it must just disappear, right? Out of sight, out of mind. But as you can see from the photos above and below, latrine runoff does not just disappear. I shouldn't have to say that the current situation is disgusting - both visually and olfactorily. That much is evident. What you at home may not think of, though, is that since this dirty water runs every day, absorption becomes difficult. Unable to soak back into the ground, the water becomes stagnant. And open stagnant water is the breeding ground of choice for mosquitoes carrying malaria. According the World Health Organization malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds.



My project aims to build "soak pits" outside the latrines of 300 families in my town to keep dirty runoff water out of the streets. I need your help to raise the funds necessary for the construction materials. Tell your mother. Tell your friends. Especially tell the mother of your rich friends. Spread the word to anyone you think would like to help bring improved sanitation to a West African village. Not only will it make our Malian neighborhood a cleaner and more pleasant place to live, it will make it safer by cutting the mosquito population. Since children seldom sleep under mosquito nets (which they ALL should!), reducing the number of mosquitoes is the next best method for preventing transmission and preventing the deaths of children whose families are too poor to buy medicine. Unfortunately, the San region PCVs can attest to the urgency of this need after a Volunteer's 3 year old host sister died before her father agreed to take her to the doctor. Soak pits can help. Fewer mosquitoes mean less malaria. And less malaria means fewer lives lost. Click here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=688-293 or go to www.peacecorps.gov, click Donate Now, and click Donate to Volunteer Projects to see my project (I'm the only Dyer!) and hundreds of others from around the world. Aw ni ce. Aw ni baaraji.