Tuareg house picture

Sorry for the "no picture" being loaded last time we published our blog. Hopefully this one will post for us. It is the example of the Tuareg home that they live in for the cold season, prior to moving north for the rainy season.

Tuareg homes

These are pictures of the nomadic Tuareg homes. These particular homes are made of millet stalks, formed in a circle. The type of home depends on which group of Tuaregs you encounter. Some homes are made of goat skins, and some are of woven mats which they form into a waterproof shell. All they own is inside the home. The cooking and living occurs outside every day. This means that water must be fetched daily, and the food storage is extremely minimal, if at all. Their diet consists mainly of millet and milk. They move to the south of Niger in the cold months from the Sahara desert to be by the grasslands for their camels and sheep, as well as for warmth as the desert can get very cool this time of year. In the rainy season, they move back to the desert, and the camels feed on the grass that grows in that area. There is an invisible line south of which if the livestock eat a farmer's crop in the growing season, the Tuareg's are responsible to pay the costs of this. North of the line is grazing land, and the livestock has full reign over the planted crops.

Of course, if you are not interested in riding camels, there is an alternative - donkeys are much lower to the ground and much better to fall off of. This fellow was watching our camel riding experience with much delight, and pulled his "vehicle" over to laugh at our humorous attempts at trying to get the camels to gallop.

Camel Riding!

"When I says whoa, I means whoa!" (quote from the great theologian, Yosemite Sam off of Bugs Bunny, while riding his camel)

On Saturday, we went camel riding near Madaoua. Some friends took us to this group of nomads called the Tuaregs that they know, who live just outside of town during the cold season, and will move on up north once the rainy season comes. They own camels, and are willing to
take out interested people on rides. It was such a good time! The trick to begin with is just the getting up on the animal once you're in the saddle- their legs fold so many ways that first you get bumped forward in the saddle, then backward, then forward again, so we were all very glad for the arms holding us on. Once you are up, it is a LONG way down! The saddles we rode in were very different from horseback riding - as you can see from the pictures, there are no stirrups but there is a support in the front and the back of you. The trick is to figure out where to place your feet - they need to be barefoot (just watch where you put your sandals, as camels are likely to step on them as you can see!). You place your toes on the neck of the camels and push yourself continuously onto your saddle . In order to get them trotting or galloping, there are a number of factors involved, none of which any one of us mastered. Your need to grab hold of the neck by squeezing your toes on it, and you "tap" it with toes and they go faster. When the Tuaregs saw some of our group trying, they took the camels out for a demonstration of how they got the animals moving very quickly - it was fun to watch! These camels were very well behaved, and were very responsive to neck-reigning. You can see from the pictures that the camels either have a nose ring or a ring around the mouth, through which they have a lead rope attached and this makes them very responsive! They have to be one of the oddest creatures in God's kingdom, with such funny proportions, yet they are also an animal we have not yet gotten tired of seeing all over Niger.

This was the gentleman who got the camels ready for us to ride on - you can see from this picture what a typical riding saddle looks like.

The Clinic

Just when you thought that no work was being done I thought that I had better show you that indeed a dental clinic did exist. The clinic is about 10 years old and was converted from a eye clinic and expanded into the better and bigger dental clinic. The clinic employers two technicians /nurses/lab technichians/dental therapists. The two young men Mousa and Ajouba(Moses and Job) have a little of all of thoses jobs with incomplete education in all of them.Both of them have been largely trained on the job with Ajouba having have two years of nurses training ,which is significantly less training than we would get out of a two year nursing programing Canada The job required of them is to extract teeth, do simple fillings, suture cuts and lacerations, wire broken mandibles ,do simple partial dentures and keep the clinic running. They also are responsible for cleaning and irrigating ears, doing auditory tests , injecting keloids(large poorly formed scars)and removing polyps. The lay out of the clinic is simple with basis dental equipment in a cement floored and masonary block building.

My job has largely been to encourage and assist with their dental training. A large part of their time has been learning how to make simple dentures, both the lab component and the patient component. It has taken longer than expected as teaching things in two languages that you are not functional in, is challenging and time consuming. The education process had to occur around the functioning dental clinic ,and so I often used the patients that came in for the lesson of the day. No prep work for me because I never knew what to prepare.

We have largely succeeded in this goal and now I am in the process of writing an operations manual for the clinic so that others will know what and how the clinic functions, and what supplies and equipment it has so other short term missionaries have an idea about the scope and the functioning of the clinic.

I can basically do most dental procedures at the clinic except for anything that requires lab other than what we have on site. Any crowns needed to be done would have to be sent to France or some other African country, probably Nigeria to be processed .At this time that would be a big problem as no one here knows any one in that capacity in those countries.

Great things about working in the clinic is that every morning the day is started with a brief prayer time and a short time of planning the day. Every day has a break around which is religiously held to as most of the hospital personnel don't eat in the morning as preparing food over an open fire in their homes is a bit tedious in the darkness of the morning. So usually they will buy some food which looks and tastes like a bland potate with a thin sauce and a bit of chicken or beef. I have not gotten in to it and would rather have a banana and some Nescafe. Their meal usually costs about 150CFA's which is about 30 cents and would fill and average cereal bowl. The work day continues until 1pm .Takes two hours off for a rest and them continues from 3-6pm. In the hot season which I think is almost all year round the rest is needed as no air conditioning is present , but water coolers are available which help to cool things a bit. The temperature already is about 40C but during this time of the year it still cools off to low 20's in the night. In the hot season it usually stays above 30 all the time. Temperature is a real problem in the clinic as alot of the materials are temperature sensitive and should not be stored above 24C. So the fridge is only so big so always some material are failing and not lasting like they should.

The other big problem is the maintenance of the equipment as no parts are available. Should something break, parts have to be ordered form the US or Europe. Getting those parts in is usually only luck, as alot seems to get lost along the way. Also all the power supplied is 220 and not 110 like in North America ,so all the equipment has to be convered or run on a plugged in transformer.Now none of these things are a big deal but remember the guys in the shop are repairing things that are from all over the world on a daily basis and with no manual or help, so they do a pretty good job just to keep the country running.(Duct Tape is also almost unavailable so that repair solution isn't there sorry you Red Green followers)

Dust is the other problem and at times it seems that we are practicing outside as the Harmattan winds seem to blow right through the walls and coat every thing with thick layers of grit and dust. So if you ever send anything to be used as a donation on the mission field always think of sending new, simple to repair equipment, that can often be repaired with parts self made. Fancy is never good and remember if it is useless at home it will likely be useless out here.

So enjoy what you have as and keep your scarves on.

ps the lady in the green is not an assistant but just pops in for break on a fairly regular basis.

Dr. Jerry

To Market

Welcome to the camel market! (and anything else you could possibly want in Niger). We went to this market just out of Madaoua on Saturday, which is the market day, and this one is the largest animal market in the area. There were so many people, and so much noise, and so many smells - anyone desiring personal space better not go here! It is such a maze to get through, and being directionally-challenged, there is no way I would have ever found my way out without help. When we got to the cows and camel section, a lady noticed me looking at this group of camels tied up and grabbed my hand in an attempt (I think) to pet the nose of the camel. For anyone who is aware of a camel's personality, this did not make me feel that comfortable, what with the gigantic teeth very present to my very apprehensive hand. I quickly disengaged myself, as politely as possible, and all the Nigerians around were having a good laugh.

Working Women

This picture was taken while we were driving in the Nigerian countryside. These women were grinding millet in the distance, and this was just a few of them. They do this task as a group, and what struck us was the huge smiles on their faces. They perform this task every day, and it is extremely hard work, yet here they are with beautiful smiles. When I reach for my flour to make bread I think of these ladies - I just take my tin down from the shelf. They, on the other hand, have to complete the entire process themselves, from planting the millet, to weeding and watering, to harvesting, winnowing, and then grinding BEFORE any bread gets made. Kind of makes one appreciate the "simple" things in our lives, doesn't it?

Sand Dunes!

This past Saturday we visited some sand dunes outside of Madaoua. It was amazing! The day was very clear and calm, and we got there early enough in the morning that the temperatures were still very comfortable. These sand dunes are shifting every year, and as a result a project group had been there trying to stop this a number of years before. They built a fence on the top of the dunes, as well as planted bushes/plants at the top to catch the drifting sand. It worked for the first few years, but when the project people left, the fences were torn down for firewood, and the trees were not watered sufficiently, so the dunes continue to creep a significant amount each year. In fact, there is a little "village" - a small group of buildings that may have one more year before the Sahara takes it over. The owner of the house talked to us, and indicated that he knew he would have to relocate soon, and that there was not much else he could do. The hills of sand were huge, with a cliff at the top which the kids would take flying leaps off of, and then run down the rest of the way. The climb back up to the top took some work, though! They played football on the side of the dune, and let me tell you there was some incentive to catch the ball before it rolled down to the bottom! We were there for not more than 5 minutes before a few children came to see what was happening in their area, and soon we had around 50 people watching us enjoy the dunes. It did not take long before they all got into the fun of the morning, and joined in the antics of dune climbing. I'm sure they wondered what the big thrill was - for them it was just out their front door. After wearing our legs out climbing the dune, we stayed at the top and played a football game, but the field kept shrinking with all the onlookers. Fortunately, the people who took us to this place spoke the local language and could ask them to give us a few more feet for a field. But the side who was calling the play always had a "few" extras looking over their shoulders! Jerry even had dental consultation up at the top for a woman who was experiencing much pain. And when these ladies complain of pain, you know it is bad. All in all, it was a great experience, and the view was magnificent.

Is my load to big officer?

This is a typical taxi that makes a few extra bucks transporting people around. These vans (or bush taxis as we call them) usually pick up anyone that needs a ride(and has some money). The only pain with this type of transport is that they stop whereever anyone needs to stop and they don't have that much leg room. This makes a 5 km trip quite long. The vans/taxis usually blow their tires and axles out because of the loads(or people).
The taxis aren't the only things that have loads that exceed the load limit. Trucks and Semi's usually are loaded down quite heavily too. Most of the transports are loaded down the heaviest on market day(Wednesday*).
*This is only Galmi's market day

Life in Niger

Just a short note to give you some perspective as you think about complaining about your road and infrastructure. At home right now I bet most of you are complaining that your roads have not been graded and the snow not removed for a while. Well the situation around here is not much different , so continue to pay your taxes and vote for the right party

As you have heard we went to Parc W , which is an international parc with shared borders with Benin & Burkina Faso(Upper Volta for the old timers)The Nigerian side is Parc W because the Niger river forms a "W" on the northern border of the parc.The trip was only 150kms south of Niamey but took the better part of 3 hours and we didn't need 4x4 but we were glad for the suspension that it had , nice and stiff. The first 50 kms was on blacktop and was excellent and fast,but that soon ended and the gravel/rocks /pot holes begun. the words of direction that we got was that the donkey path beside often was smoother and faster than the actual road. So ,this gives you an indication of the condition. We only got lost once and ended up turning around ,and would have asked directions (being males) but there was no one around . So we found our way back to the road and proceeded. The further along we went the narrower the road got and at times it felt like you were driving at the Little Red River in PA. At the tail end of three hours we thought we were lost again and ask some guys on a moterbike if the parc was close, But before we got their answer we saw they had parc shirts on and were glad we were on the right track. We had invisioned this grand entrance to a parc but it was very understated, and was basically just a part of a small village. Parc entrance fees were about like our national parks , but you had to hire a guide as well for $20 a day. He rode with you and explained about the parc and help spot game with you. Our giude was from Benin and was very well informed and willing to share despite our halting french. But , like he said we were easier than the chinese group that knew no french, english or Hausa. So it was a hot dust and tiring trip but well worth the effort. It is really difficult to see these parcs from a north american position as the cost of maintenace is high for these countries, but the returns could also be high,but to attract most tourist they would not be happy with the ruggedness of the roads, and camping. But if you are willing to put up with some discomfort, especially in the hot season in May (45C) then you could really see animals. The old man at the camp said at that time of year the lions come to the river to live, eat and bred, and they don't care if people are near. (no midnight pottie breaks). We only heard the hippo's grunt and splash. But, the star show was amazing as it was a perfectly clear night with no moon ,and no bugs. It was very difficult to go to bed that night as the setting was right out of an old Tarzan movie, every boys dream no matter what his age. To top it off there was only two other ladies in the camp site so it was very private. With the lod man telling stories of the lions and such we were happy that they always ring the camp all year long with old fashion kerosene lamps to keep the animals out . I guess it works because all the kid were still present at the breakfast table in the morning

So have a good sleep and remember January is almost over and tomorrow they said it will be around 38C. As it is still winter here as well.

Who's hole?

In our many adventures at park W, this one was very interesting. While we were exploring around our campsite looking for a monkey colony, we came across this big hole. This hole was actually a den and was very large, Mark could have easily climbed into it with room to spare. This was a little frightening at first because it was abandoned (or so we thought) and so we thought that something was living in it and coming back! But after awhile we realized that nothing was living there ( we still didn't climb down into it though) so we weren't afraid.
This was a really cool sight!!

Toms Corner- Monkeys!

At our campsite in Park W, we had quite a few visitors, most of them were not human. They were monkeys! These monkeys came so close to the campsite because they had a good source of food and many places to live. During our overnight stay, we saw many monkeys not far from our supper table. They were fun to watch because they were in the wild and they were doing everything on their own, not relying on a zoo keeper. The monkeys also widened my variety of animals that I have now seen. These monkeys could been seen eating fruit off the top of trees or climbing rocks with their family or sitting around.

African Scenery

These pictures are taken at Park W. The first one is of the area where we camped overnight, on the top of the rocks that were beside the campsite. It was very beautiful, and quite different topography from what we had been driving in to get to it. The setting was absolutely gorgeous, with canvas tents arranged on the perimeter, perfect sand all around, a cookout shelter with tables and lanterns for our supper that they prepared and served us, and a spot for a bonfire at night while stargazing, complete with tea and coffee. The evening we were there was so clear and the stars so bright, it was magnificent. We stayed up as late as we could keep our eyes open, but had to get up early the next morning to catch the first sunlight hours to get back in our vehicle to search for animals. The second picture is of the sunrise as we saw it riding in our truck. It was so beautiful. The kids were all bundled up top of the truck in warm clothes and sleeping bags, and they had the perfect viewing spot. We then went back to the campsite for breakfast, and packed up our bags to continue on for the day. What a great way to spend an evening and morning!

Park W

After the conference was over, we went on to a game reserve outside of Niamey called Park W. It is a very large park, which touches Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin. The animals in the park are varied, ranging from the very small to the very large elephants and lions. Once we got there, the coveted place to be was on the top of the roof, attempting to spot animals first. We had a great time, eating lunch by the river, watching baboons and crocodiles in the same area on the opposite bank.

George!

Meet George, the new animal that Matthew would love to bring home with him. Unfortunately, I don't believe he would fit on carry-on. This is a tortoise that lives at the American Embassy in Niamey, where we had lunch one day while at the conference. Speedy he is not, but he does love to pose for photos. The Embassy is a lovely setting, and served wonderful Mexican food, which we ate by the pool. The pool was closed for the "cold" season, which I am sad to say is becoming our reality. Long-sleeved shirts are what we wear these days, as the winds have picked up and the temperatures have dropped. However, we continue to see sunshine for which we are thankful. We have been amazed at God's creativity in creation, both the animal kingdom and the diversity of plants and topography here in Niger. One would think that with the country composed of over 80% desert it would look the same from one location to the next, but there are some interesting differences. You can always tell when you are coming to the river or a reservoir, with palm trees (!) around. Scrub brush exists in abundance in some areas the further away from the river you get, but there is still quite a lot of vegetation throughout the area where we've travelled. Since this is the dry season, there are few green crops growing, but where there are, the contrast to the rest of the landscape is startling. The onions around Galmi are now beginning to be harvested, and the vegetables planted a few short weeks ago are growing so quickly. We continue to be on the lookout for new and interesting bugs - both inside and outside! The other morning while pouring a glass of water, I glanced down to see a lizard watching me from his post next to the fridge! An early morning workout ensued!

We're Back!!

We have arrived back into Galmi after a week spent in Niamey, and then some time at the nearest game reserve called Park W. We'll be blogging on more of that later on. For now, we wanted to show you some of the sights by the Niger River from the bridge in Niamey. The boat loads full of pumpkins was a familiar sight by the end of the week, but it never failed to amaze us that the boats never sank under the weight of it all. Alongside the pumpkins, at the shore men would be washing their lettuce and other produce that is currently available prior to taking it to market. The funniest thing I spotted, but we were driving and I had no time to take a picture of it, was a van close by the boats absolutely packed to the roof inside and from front to back (I mean FULL) with pumpkins, leaving barely enough room for the driver! It was quite the sight. The river shore is very colorful and active, with much to see and smell. This is a very enjoyable time of year as the produce is more plentiful and varied than before. We are able to get lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, melons, peppers and of course, onions quite easily. And in Niamey these things are much more readily available than in the outlying villages. One other thing of note - we quickly realized that anyone that has any vehicle trouble must first get to the bridge before they break down! One shares the bridge with donkey carts, buses, motorbikes, pedestrians, women with huge loads on their heads, men in suits and briefcases, and huge trucks with loads so heavy that we are never quite sure how the engines don't blow more often. Traffic jams take a long time to get past, and the bridge is the only option with one lane in both directions.

Dust

Happy New Year . I hope this works as we are just on our way out to the capital of Niamey for a spiritual life conference ,which is the mission in Niger 's yearly conference and social time with misionaries from across the country. It is a 450 kms away in a bush taxi , or a crowded 1995 Toyota minivan with no shocks, air , but lots of natural freshness and about a 50/50chance of a breakdown. We will be blown in by the winds as the weather has been particularily windy and cold for here. The temp was 4C just a bit north of here this week with no humidity in the air and strong winds. The locals just dress a bit warmer,extra shirt,or wrap and complain how cold it is.How canadian is that. The babies often wear next to nothning and sleep in their same mud houses. So windy cool days feel the same to them as the cold ,short ,dark days of January that you get at home. I think home is warmer as you can get out of the wind and weather. If you are interested the Harmattan winds that blow here start about 400kms east by Lake Chad and than build and end up in South America. An interesting picture can be found on the web at www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov ,then click on Natural Hazards , and go to dust and drought section and on the map click on the middle of Africa icon for a great picture and a world perspective. It truly is amazing how God has made this all so interconnected, and we are just now figuring it out. So have a great weekend and congrat to the Canadian Juniors, I am sad that we missed the big game. Jerry

Agricultural pictures

It's time to blog once again. This may become a bit less frequent as we are having some "issues" with our computer. We have been enjoying the changes we've observed in the crops that are currently being grown in the area around Galmi. The onion fields started out so small, and within 5 weeks, have grown so fast. As you can see from the picture, they have developed an irrigation system here, with a cement drainage system that carries the water to the fields. It reminded Jerry of the system in Alberta from years ago. These onions are very well known here in Niger, as well as in Europe, as they export them all over. The workers dig by hand with some basic tools, and the effort to produce food is tremendous. It makes one very appreciative of the technology available at home, and the abundance of such variety of foods. For example, I was down to some very basic items for fresh fruit and vegetables at Christmas, until a trader came to my door selling some carrots. This was a major treat! There is food available, but one never knows just what that will be until the trader comes to the door and you can see the items being sold. Currently in season, we have carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, bananas, and melons. So that is what we use for our cooking, and supplement those things with items out of a tin. Creativity is definitely developed in these moments! My family is certainly learning to appreciate the simple things in life, like those fresh pineapples, and homemade yogurt. It's a beautiful thing!

Christmas in Galmi

Merry Christmas, everyone! It has been an incredible experience celebrating Christmas here in Africa. We feel we can identify much more closely to the way it must have been when Jesus was born by being so close to markets, traders, camels, and donkeys ourselves. The camel caravan you see in the picture was taken on Dec. 24 near our compound. This is something that is quite common to see, although not always so close to our place. The picture of the boys with the trader illustrates just how my family enjoys shopping - the mall comes to them, with no parking problems! They have had lots of fun attempting to barter with the various traders, and have loved looking at all the wares for sale. They are learning that when a trader says they need to buy it right now because he won't be back for a long time, that might mean he's back tomorrow or the next day!

Christmas is a very special time here in Niger for the Christian Church. Each church picks out their "uniform material" - which means that all the women and the men have something made out of the same material specially for Christmas Day. 2 of the churches got together to celebrate, and what a celebration! Lots of singing, lots of rhythm, lots of laughter and joy, with lots of neighborhood children peering in the windows to see what was going on. No room left for them to sit down - it was standing room only. We participated in the event, and had outfits made by a tailor here as well, as you can see from the picture. In order to get the outfit made, one must draw the design (no pattern), take your own measurements, and hand it to the tailor. He then sews the outfit and returns it to you most often as specified. Quite an amazing accomplishment. And this time of year he is especially busy. The evening of Dec. 25 was spent with all the people on the hospital compound, with a potluck supper (what a feast), a program and a gift exchange that brought much laughter, and great exercise trying to get the coveted chocolate bars and hang onto them without someone else snatching them from your hands. It was a wonderful time.

Toms Corner(3)-Well digging

Today I went to a well that was being dug by hand. This well was already 11 meters and going on 12. The well is being funded by SIM so we went out with a lady from the compound named Jeannie. She took us on the main road and then we turned off on into village. We went through the village, and up and over a big hill, down the other side and off onto a road which lead to the well. The well had been dug by the meter which meant that they would dig a meter and then they would pour a cement ring to seal the walls off from collapsing down and ruining the project forever. The 4 workers had been called in to build the well. They all are not from the village in which the well is being dug. The piles of dirt represent every meter that has been dug. The lightest dirt is actually a hard clay which took the workers a long time to dig and get through. To get down to the bottom of the well, you are lowered down in a bucket that two men pull up and down. This well is very hrd work and the cement is all mixed on the ground behind the well. Then, stones are added to harden and make the cement stronger and more firm. They have to dig the well untill they find water.

Thomas