I ni su,
This weekend has been an interesting one filled with events and volunteering to celebrate international volunteer’s day 2011 and the 10th anniversary of this event. On Friday, I was invited to an event at the market in Djocoroni to give out plastic bags. There are so many small black plastic bags littering Mali so this was a brilliant initiative. Unfortunately it was really badly organised and as I was given some bags I was mobbed by women and their children. The women wanted the bags, the kids wanted my money, presents, to touch my hair and steal my shoes. It was really quite stressful and I ended up somewhat bruised ha-ha. I enjoyed it nonetheless however, and the event brought together volunteers from Mali, UK and Japan to name a few. It was positive to see an event with such a good turnout, and one appreciated by the local community. As a plastic bag hater I thought it was a really great initiative and it’s a shame it cannot be rolled out further.
Friday evening I went to Exodus, a local music place to watch a band called Bamakool jazz. They were an amazing jazz band mixing African and European beats and songs. Unfortunately they came on stage at midnight and I had to get up at 4.45 on Saturday for work. Needless to say I was somewhat bleary eyed in the morning.
Saturday, I was a bit double booked as I was required to work at the Foire Santa craft fair (a Christmas market organised by Bamako’s German community) and the jour de fete organised by the Amaldem group. (the other group working for IS). I started at the Foire Santa hence the silly early start. We had to meet our boss at the gallery at 6, so we walked the half an hour in the dark (unfortunately without Sophie who had been struck by the dreaded malaria- better now though) and got to work. We waited and waited and waited and began to realize that Mali time is especially irritating when you get up early for something. Our acting boss turned up at 7 with no apology and then proceeded to sleep in a chair, the driver arrived at 8 so the early morning was wasted and our place at the Christmas market slightly compromised. Packing the car was like playing jenga as we had too much stuff and no space, in the end we had to tie it all down. When we got to the Palais de la culture I was excited to find the fair being held in the garden, it definitely didn’t feel festive but it was fun nonetheless. Unfortunately our stressful morning continued as it transpired our boss didn’t actually have a place at the fair. In the end we shared the stall with someone she knew and sneaked our way in (T.I.A). We set up our stand as you can see, but we were disappointed with the lack of effort the gallery had made and due to other commitments hadn’t helped with preparation. We had no change and not enough table cloths etc. We made the best of a bad job however. The fair featured jazz music from an American jazz band, a bbq, German Christmas cakes and lots of bright products. It couldn’t have been any further than being Christmassy especially as the weather was hotter than it had been in ages. It was nice to buy Christmas presents and chat to the customers. I hope the gallery did well as we sold quite a lot of things.
After a quick lunch we went to our second function of the day. The other IS group who have been working at a school for children with physical and mental disability had organised a disability awareness day. This saw a brilliant turnout and we arrived just in time to watch a brilliant collection of dance performances. There was also a dance with marionette puppets which was brilliant. Later in the afternoon, I helped out with the tombola. This involved allowing children to pick a pencil to see if they had won. It was so popular that we were mobbed with children who wanted to play. They were pushing and shoving however there excitement to receive small trinkets was priceless. Big congratulations to the Amaldem team for a brilliant and successful event.
Sunday saw a well needed rest day in the park. I love the national park, whilst I feel slightly guilty being there as it’s so tranquil and slightly exclusive I like the calm and the green that comes with it. It reminds me a lot of Parc d’orangerie in Strasbourg. I find it weird that there is a charge and even weirder the disparity between the local charge of 300 and the visitor charge of 1500. It’s a really nice park however with lots of shady spots. It definitely provides a sometimes welcome sanctuary from the hustle of bustle of the streets. Nonetheless, as time on this trip draws to a close I think I will miss the business, the chaos, the beeping of car horns and the colours. It’s weird to be thinking of going home so soon. I’m also worried about the weather, as the temperature has dropped to as low as 15 in the mornings and I have woken up shivering and dreading the prospect of a cold shower. In the day time it warms up to 30, so I am really worried about the weather when I get home. Knitwear at the ready!
Monday saw yet another early start and after having my phone nicked during the weekend waking up at 6.30 involved waking up every hour. As it was international volunteers day we were invited to an event at the International Conference centre. Sophie and I went early on behalf of AJA to set up the stand. We were representing our work with Fere Kene and AJA and used lots of pictures as well as a printed version of the artisan catalogue. On a work side note, although we have stalled a little bit recently as we are waiting for clearance from the director work has gone better than imagined and I am starting to feel I have achieved something which is nice. The volunteer event involved lots of organisations from France, Uk, USA and Japan to name a few as well as the launch of a Malian volunteer program. It was nice to see so many people come together for the cause. The day began with speeches. The event was attended by lots of Malian politicians including the president, the prime minister, ministers and other diplomats. It was exciting that they were investing their time and money into youth volunteering. The ceremony was long and involved lots of speeches but there was also a performance from an (apparently) famous Malian rapper. He was lip-syncing to his song, but not even subtly. The song was played whilst he danced around; the atmosphere was brilliant as all the young Malians sang along. Another observation I made during this ceremony was that the Malian national anthem is in French. I guess this is almost to be expected in Mali, however having noticed so many people speaking only Bambara this was surprising to me.
During the ceremony, I was asked to go downstairs to the stand. Little did I know I was about to be joined by the president. I shook his hand and said good morning (extent of the conversation ha!) but it was nice that the work of volunteers was being noticed by the president. My five minutes of fame. All in all it was nice to represent AJA and IS through leafleting and I got to try out some more French. I think my French is finally improving which is morale boosting. If its not the French, then it is definitely my confidence as I have been using French more and more to get in and out of situations.
My weekend involved lots of Malian firsts and today was no exception as I paid a visit to the local police station. Whilst I would like to say this was for being lairy, joy riding mopeds and getting in fights this is NOT true. I had my phone stolen and had to declare it. I found it so interesting that the police station which was in a small shack was so loosely organised. In true Mali time I have to go back tomorrow………
Although my week has been Bamako based it has been nonetheless exciting, I have enjoyed attending work functions pas part of IS as well s exploring the city. I hope to blog a few more times before I leave. I still can’t believe there months has whizzed by so fast!
Congratulations troopers, if you made it t the end of this ramble.
A plus xx
ps Christmas has descended upon the Bamako house thanks to our resident Christmas angel (AKA Soph) who has been spreading Christmas cheer by singing carols and decorating the office. Its really quite liberating to be away from all the materialism that accompanies Christmas by being here. At the same time, its weird thinking at all about Christmas when it is 35 degrees outside. I am none the less looking forward to having myself a "merry little christmas". (Thanks Soph that's been in my head all day!!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment