Amadu On TV!

Hard to believe it but I have now achieved veteran volunteer status. I’m hanging out in Kayes for a few days. We’re about to welcome several new volunteers to the region.

Without a doubt, it will be incredibly strange being on the other end of this experience. Do I really know any more than I did a year ago? The answer is of course yes, the question is then whether I can put any of the challenges the newbies will face into words. I will try and impart any wisdom I can, but mostly I think they will just have to experience it for themselves, the way all us vets have.

In Mali they will often use a French saying, “C’est en forgeant qu’on devient forgeron.” Literally meaning that its through forging that you become a black-smith. Or more loosely translated would be practice makes perfect. That is of course true of anything in life.

So I’m back in Kayes for a few days after spending the last couple of weeks at site. My homologue and I have been working hard to get this project off the ground.

A few weeks ago myself, Tiokon Diarra (my homologue), and Lamine Tienou (his project idea) were invited to the US embassy for a ceremony. As well as of course all of the other projects. Emily Vitale, another volunteer, also had a project approved. The US ambassador offered words of encouragement to all of us as we hopefully will complete our projects. It was a very nice occasion.

The next morning, a friend of mine went off in search of food. We were about to leave the restaurant when I turned and said, “Hold on, I think I’m on TV.” In fact the one and only Malian television station was reporting on the ceremony. I couldn’t wait to tell Tiokon. I was excited. He was not.

I thought he would be thrilled. He said that he knew and that we were also on the night before. Apparently a lot of people back in our village had also seen us. As a result he had gotten about a dozen phone calls. That’s nice, I thought naively. What that in fact meant was that everyone knew that we had just been given a good deal of money.

And so, the fun begins. My homolgue wanted to go from Bamako all the way back to Dialafara in one shot. We ended up with an absolutely ridiculous 18-hour bus ride back to site. I will never do that again. We were then welcomed back by everyone asking us for money. The mayor is especially persistent. His number two and three guys as well. They come over to our house and talk about how we should each be getting a cut of the money. The mayor, who I have been warned about many times, has suddenly taken an interest in me, and shows off the tiny bit of English he knows.

They  have all tried getting to my homologue. They all want him to go behind my back. I’m definitely keeping an eye on him. Even the best of men sometimes have their price, and can crack. So far though, Tiokon has been great. He’s getting really into the project, and he understands our situation. He has proven to be a great ally. We are really clicking as a team.

Essentially, in applying for the funds, everything has been calculated down to the cent. There simply is no money for the mayor or us, or anyone us. Even if we wanted to appease the mayor, we actually can’t.

Most importantly I keep asking myself the same question; shouldn’t the mayor of a village want to see his town move forward? When this is complete Dialafara will have a conference room and a library. No town within 100 miles has those things. But he really doesn’t care. None of them do. It is truly discouraging to see. All these men in power, and at all levels, all they care about is money. Sometimes when these men come to see us, I go and hide in my house. I’m afraid that one day I’m going to lose my temper. I just don’t want to hear how many ways we can split the money, or what percent we should be taking.

We are here as volunteers to help these people. They seem completely uninterested in making progress. They only want money for themselves. Being constantly harassed by little kids in the streets for money is one thing. It’s a little different to see grown men who already have more money than at least 90% of their fellow Malians practically begging us for money that is supposed to go to bettering their own town.

As frustrated as I am feeling, it is in turn, having the effect of making me feel more and more personally invested in this center. I will do anything to make sure this center is completed. If I need to eventually tell the mayor what’s what, I will. I am determined. This will get done. He will not stop it. No one will. And in the end my village will be just a little bit better off.

That’s the end of my rant. However, since a library is being built, we need more books! Especially if any of you happen to have des livres en français, that would be really great. Here’s my address again, school supplies and goodies for me are also always fun.

Jeremy Jordan

Corps de la Paix

BP440

Kayes, Mali, West Africa

Well, after a few days of hazing..I mean welcoming in the new volunteers, I’m back to my village for a while. Public transport will be enough hazing for them anyway. Hopefully in the next month or so I can really can this project moving. Inchallah. After that I’ll be off to Ghana in late September for my marathon. We have a good group going so it should be a lot of fun. Until next time, be good.