Recently in FAVL Category

My lack of posting has been do to the fact that I was at a latrine training in a village in eastern Burkina, but I'm back now and with lots of exciting FAVL Burkina reports, photos and videos!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Christine Allot-Bouty, from the French organization Res Publica, joined me on a tour of the libraries in the southwest. They currently have two libraries in small villages of Burkina. She was here on a site visit, and after having come across FAVL's website, was interested in seeing our work firsthand. In the course of two days, she visited the libraries in Boni, Béréba and Karaba. It was interesting having someone who also has experience with village libraries in Burkina visit and comment on those affiliated with FAVL. Christine really liked the libraries she saw and commented several times on how our strong suit was definitely activities and getting the community to participate and come to the library. She made several suggestions based on her experience, a lot of them organizational, (like chronologically ordering the cards from books that are checked out so that it's easier to see which books are late), ofwhich the librarians and Dounko took note. She commiserated over the almost-prohibitive price of African novels in French in Burkina. She would like some of the RWA photo books to put in her own libraries. During her visit to the FAVL office in Ouaga, she asked a lot about the reading camps, and Monique gave her a lot of information about them.

I received an email from Christine, which included several photos. Here's what she had to say:

J'ai aussi eu beaucoup de plaisir à rencontrer la jeunesse américaine et échanger avec vous.  Pour Favl, tu ne peux que transmettre aux responsables mon vif intérêt pour votre travail. J'ai apprécié l'installation et le projet de chaque bibliothèque. Nous avons de notre côté deux installations et je ne peux que regretter le manque de temps sur le terrain.  On voit que FAVL a un projet pensé et structuré.

[It was a pleasure for me also to meet and exchange with young Americans. As for FAVL, you can pass along to your superiors my interest in your work. I appreciated the installation and work of each library...You can tell that FAVL is a well-conceived and structured organization.]

I just returned from a very enjoyable inspection tour of the seven libraries around the Houndé area. A week spent traveling from village to village, seeing the libraries, eating tô and sleeping under the stars (although the luxury of cold bissap was sorely lacking!). We were accompanied by a Christine Allot-Bouty from the organization Res Publica in France. The organization has two villages libraries in Burkina, and it was interesting seeing FAVL libraries from the perspective of someone who does similar work. She has a lot of encouraging remarks and suggestions for us. (More will come on the village visits and the results of the inspections at a very soon future date!) Dounko accompanied us back to Ouaga (bringing with him lots of good videos, like the one I posted yesterday with the mayor of Béréba!) and left with Monique this morning on a tour of the libraries in the north. They return on Sunday morning, and then Dounko and I are off to a village near Koupéla for Peace Corps' Latrine and Hygiene Training. We're excited to take lots of pictures and definitely put a photo book together for the village libraries.

In the meantime, here are some photos that I took along the "FAVL library road." The area is a very big cotton-growing area. This time of year, it's all been picked from the fields, it's time to gathered and stored. All you can see in this region right now is cotton EVERYWHERE - on the ground, in big containers. I've never been in the southwest at this time of year before, so it was pretty cool to see.




 

Le dimanche 19 février 2012 le maire de la commune de Béréba Monsieur ZOUBIESSE est venu voir comment vont les choses à la bibliothèque. Le lundi 14 février il a fait don 10 200f pour abonner  102 élèves de la classe du CM2 de l'école «  A ». Au par avant il avait donné 5 600f pour inscrit 56 élèves  de l'école de Dimikuy à la bibliothèque. Il était ému de voir que 70 élèves étaient inscrit et prenaient déjà des livres pour la lecture à la maison. Son objectif est d'inscrire tous les élèves de la commune de Béréba mais par manque de moyens il se limite là en cherchant des moyens ou des partenaires pour l'accompagner dans cette belle initiative qui va hausser le niveau de ces élèves pour escompter de bons résultats à l'examen du CEP de l'année 2012. Il a par ailleurs encouragé les bibliothécaires pour les taches accomplies et divers autres activités tenues dans l'objectif de promouvoir la lecture en permettant  aux élèves d'écouter les contes, dessiner, et faire des activités manuelles telles que l'origami.

While perusing the January reports from the libraries, I found a very encouraging report from the librarian in Pobé-Mengao. He has been working very closely with the kids from Pobé's elementary school to improve their reading skills, and has seen a lot of progress in the kids over the past few months. Here is an excerpt from his report:

Le jeudi 5 janvier 2012 s'est tenue au sein de la bibliothèque de Pobé-Mengao la lecture part tutorat avec les élèves du CM1 de 10h à 11h. Ils étaient au nombre de 19 dont neuf filles et dix garçons. Les élèves étaient très contents parce qu'ils arrivent à bien lire grâce à la bibliothèque. Je les ai récompensés avec des bonbons à leur tour et leur maître était content parce que la bibliothèque les aide. A la maison il n'ont pas de suivi mais la bibliothèque les aide à améliorer leurs niveaux. Les élèves qui ne pouvaient pas lire arrivent à lire maintenant. Au premier trimestre, le maître gagne 80% des ses élèves qui ont la bonne moyenne. Il remercie largement à ceux qui ont contribué à la bibliothèque.

Thursday, January 5, 2012, there was a reading session by tutor at Pobé-Mengao's library with fourth grade students from 10:00 to 11:00. There were 19 students with 9 girls and 10 boys. The students were very happy because they are starting to read well thanks to the library. I gave them each a piece of candy after their turn, and their teacher was very happy because the library helps the students. At home, they don't have any help with reading, but the library helps them to improve their reading skills. The students who couldn't even read are now starting to be able to read. At the end of the first trimester, the teacher said that 80% of the students had passing grades. He is grateful to those who contributed to the library.

80% of students with passing grades is extremely rare in Burkina. Teachers are often lucky if a quarter of their kids are passing, especially in village. So to hear that the kids are taking advantage of the resource of the library in their village and that the librarian and the primary school teachers are working together is excellent news!

The summer reading camp season here at FAVL is right around the corner! Here in Ouaga we're putting together a plan of action to get funds together for these camps.

1. Though we don't have the exact figure yet, I've been told that our cut of the OEA Charity Ball fund is going to be between 475 000 and 500 000 FCFA. All of this money will go toward the reading camps. The money will be given to us at a small ceremony in the coming weeks.

2. Monique is working on a project to ask for donations for soap, handwashing stations, toothbrushes and t-shirts from Unilever and a few other local companies.

3. ISO will be holded a read-a-thon in April as a part of their Literacy Month. It will be a fundraiser for FAVL.

4. The second annual Race for Reading is coming up in late March/early April.

5. My mom's Language Club in America is doing a fundraiser for FAVL.

6. There is also GlobalGiving! You can donate to the reading camps here.

We really hope that the 2012 camps will be as successful as last year's and that they can be held at all 11 village libraries. So the next few months are going to be full of fundraising activities to make that happen!

Donkoui KOURA writes about the librarian in Boni, who trained the other librarians in how to make a cream made from local materials that fights off mosquitoes. It is a skill that he learned from Peace Corps volunteers in August during the reading camp in his village. Here is what Donkoui has to say:

La fabrication de la crème anti-moustique

Le jeudi 2 février 2012, le gérant de la bibliothèque de BONI a eu le plaisir d'apprendre à ses collègues bibliothécaires comment fabriquer cette crème anti -moustique. Il y a lieu de rappeler ici que c'est pendant les camps de lecture d'aout 2011 que les volontaires du Corps de la Paix qui sont venus prêter main forte aux activités ont appris cela aux enfants. Monsieur Jonas GNOUMOU, gérant de la bibliothèque de Boni, a été désigné pour partager cette expérience. Cette crème de fabrique à base de feuilles de neem, de savon broyé et de quelques boules de beurre de karité. Elle est en grande partie faite de matériaux locaux. Elle est moins chère et peut être conservé pendant longtemps. Ses effets durent juste deux heures. Cette séance a permis aux autres gérants de comprendre la fabrication de certains produits en exploitant le milieu environnant. Ils promettent de la vulgariser avec les enfants du village. Merci aux volontaires du Corps de la Paix pour leur apport!!!!!!

Thursday, February 2, 2012, the librarian of the library of Boni has the pleasure of teaching his colleagues how to make an anti-mosquito cream. During the reading camps of August 2011, Peace Corps volunteers who helped in to run activities taught the kids how to make the cream. Mr. Jonas Gnoumou, the librarian in Boni, was designated to share this experience. The cream is made from the leaves of the Neem tree, hard soap and shea butter. It is made from local materials. It's not expensive and can be used over a long period of time. The effects last about two hours. The session allowed the other librarians to see the making of certain products by using their environment. It will be very popular with the children of village. Thanks to the Peace Corps volunteers for their gift!!!!!!

The January reports from the libraries were very interesting, and they indicated that the libraries had a very active month! The monthly report of Alidou, one of our animators, describes some of the activities that took place at the Houndé region. Here is what he had to say:

Les sorties d'animations pendant ce mois de Janvier 2012 dans les bibliothèques de FAVL se présentent. Le 04 janvier 2012, soutien à la gérante de Karaba pour ses rapports de fin d'année (statistiques de fréquentation, abonnements, prêts de livres). La sortie du 05 janvier 2012 à Béréba à été la confection des tableaux des heures d'ouverture des bibliothèques de FAVL sous la direction de l'animateur régional, Monsieur SANOU Dounko. Cette séance de travail qui a débuté à 08 heures s'est achevée à 17 heures.

La première rencontre mensuelle de l'année 2012 a été le 12 janvier avec la participation de l'ensemble des gérants, animateurs et coordinateurs. En voici l'ordre du jour:

1. Bilan de l'année écoulée 2011
2. Liste des priorités et besoins de chaque bibliothèque 2012
3. Lecture et amendement du manuel du bibliothécaire
4. Examen et signatures des contrats de travail
5. Divers

Les différent points de l'ordre du jour ont été discutés, mais des insuffisances ont été aussi signalés pour la bonne suite des rapports.

Une séance de conte le 15 janvier à la bibliothèque de Béréba avec quatre élèves du primaire sur "Le Coq qui Ne Voulait Plus Chanter" suivi de dessins aux choix. Une séance de culture générale avec 17 élèves des classes CM1, CE1 et CE2 ont été faite le 18 janvier 2012 à la bibliothèque de Dohoun. Les questionnaires sur le Burkina et sur le programme scolaire toujours le 18 janvier dans l'après-midi, séance de nettoyage à la bibliothèque.

Journée d'abonnement gratuite aux élèves de l'école primaire de Dimikuy (CM1 et CM2) offert par le Maire de Béréba. Cinquante six enfants ont été inscrits le 19 janvier. Des séances de jeux éducatifs ont été de la partie, un carte de l'animateur SANOU Dounko mettra fin à cette animation. Une séance de jeu de figures avec la gérante KOURA Ivette auw enfants le 19 janvier. Le 26 janvier 2012 à la bibliothèque villageoise de Béréba a vu un conte oral sur le pays des jouets et l'initiation au théâtre avec une trentaine d'enfants du primaire.

L'évaluation des gérants fait les 28, 29 et 30 janvier 2012 dans les bibliothèquees de Karaba, Dohoun, Béraba et Koumbia, des lacunes ont été identifiées et les gérants doivent se corriger pour les évaluations futurs.

BOUE Alidou

I've mentioned that as part of Peace Corps new project plan, every volunteer is required to plant trees at their site. The goal is to plant 1 000 000 trees (and ensure their survival) in Burkina by 2016. "La Campagne Burkina Vert," which translates to "Campaign for a Green Burkina," is a function of this objective. Organized by volunteers, the campaign raises funds for and provides technical assistance to volunteers who need help realizing this part of the project plan in their villages. The funds that are raised supplement the efforts of the volunteers' communities in providing materials (seeds, water, labor, protection from hungry animals). If a village feels it can provide all the labor to dig holes, plant seeds and keep trees healthy, but cannot pay the fee for pumping water to keep the trees hydrated, the funds can be used to pay for water.  The protection from animals is the big problem. Many hungry goats wander around looking for a tasty snack. And they are particularly able when it comes to snare out-of-reach branches.

The campaign has organized a series of trainings in Bobo, Tougan (in the north of Burkina) and Ouaga. In each city, two trainings will take place. The first is a "Pepinière Preparation Training," where we learn how to properly plant and care for a seed planted in a "nursery." Basically, the seeds will be planted in old plastic bags and placed inside until they're old enough to live in the great outdoors. A few weeks later is a "Transplanting Training," which is pretty self-explanatory.

I always talk about how I'm going to plant trees at the FAVL libraries, and haven't done so yet. So I signed up five villages for the campaign. So trees are going to be planted in Boni, Koumbia, Dohoun, Dimikuy and Bougounam. When I go on my village visits in a couple of weeks, I'm going to talk to the librarians about what trees should be planted, what materials the villages can provide, and how they can organize a group of motivated villagers to take responsibility of caring for the trees. Then in April after the first training, we can start planting trees, and then in May/June, when they've grown enough, we can transplant them. I really hope we can plant some Neem trees because you can do a lot of cool stuff with it, like make a cream to keep away mosquitoes and a powder to clean your teeth. I've never had much of a green thumb, but hopefully the trainings will help it develop!

Find out more about La Campagne Burkina Vert here.

In rural areas of Burkina Faso, knowledge about basic sanitation and hygiene is not very widespread, which leads to a variety of easily avoidable unsanitary situations and illnesses. I've observed this many times in my own village during my first two years of service and in the villages with community libraries since coming to FAVL. So when Peace Corps sent out a call for applications to participate in a latrine and hygiene training, I jumped at the chance. I found out yesterday that our application was accepted! So Dounko, a mason from the village of Béréba and myself will spend a week in a small village in southeast of Ouaga learning how to effectively teach methods of sanitation and hygiene to people in rural communities.

The training will take place from February 27 to March 2. It will include sessions on: 1) Why to use a latrine; 2) How to promote hygiene by focusing on hand washing; 3) The best practices of latrine construction using locally available materials; 4) How to teach others to build latrines. The training will be composed of practical and classroom activities. PCVs and their counterparts will learn about hand washing, and actually construct latrines in Nakaba during the training. As a part of the training, counterparts will be given a kit to return to site and construct latrines. Participants will be required to teach the techniques they have learned on hand washing and build latrines in their home communities.

This is a really important issue, especially in rural communities in Burkina. I applied for the training because so many people already see their community libraries as centers of culture and knowledge, and as such, it seemed like a good opportunity to arm the libraries with even more information for their patrons. After the training, my counterparts and myself will be able to hold trainings in the villages at the libraries for the librarians and for community members. The hygiene aspect will be especially important to pass along to the librarians and animators for future activities and reading camps. I've been looking into funding opportunities for latrine and hygiene projects, and have found potential partners including Ryan's Well Foundation and Appropriate Projects from an NGO called Water Charity (both of them have already funded projects in Burkina Faso). Based on the information we learn at the training, I'm going to work with our FAVL team to write up a project proposal for one or two of the communities with libraries to build latrines and to put together information about hygiene to be distributed to all of the libraries. I'm really excited to go to the training and getting started implementing everything we learn in village. So Latrine and Hygiene Training here we come!

The internet has been down and acting weird and doing all kinds of crazy things for the past couple of weeks, so I apologize for the somewhat erratic nature of my Ouaga updates lately.

On Friday, we received a visit from Lucile Bationo, the program director for Education at Peace Corps (my direct boss). Although third year volunteers often get forgotten, she wanted to make an effort to visit the three of us who are in Ouagadougou. Over juice and cookies, Monique and I got to show off everything that we've been working on and talk about another possible collaboration with volunteers for the 2012 reading camps. Lucile "oohed and aahed" over the RWA photo books and offered some helpful suggestions to us, including getting a guestbook for visitors to sign (something that we have at all of our libraries, but have never thought of having here in the Ouaga office). We found a notebook for this purpose, and Lucile became the first to sign. Here's what she said: "I enjoyed hearing about the different activities that you have developed for village libraries, and I'd like to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations. I wish you courage and good luck in your endeavors. Lucile Bationo."