Hanging in the suburbs of Dar Es Salaam

Today we went out to the suburbs of Niamey, which I am told looks a lot like village life. Lisa works out here with the Fulani people and has a fairly impressive grasp of Fufulde language! Paul is helping her fix her vehicle and her and I and Bennett went out visiting some ladies. I sure wish that we had a fast enough connection to upload some pictures. i will keep trying. So we went into the grass/thatch huts and visited with one lady and her children. Some other people came and went as we were there. They spoke Fulfulde, and i picked up the odd thing based on context and nuance. A french lady came to visit and we chatted a while too. This hut was all straw, had three beds in it and a bunch of pots of food and water and mash and clothes and everything they need to live. Bennett was a bit shy and hung out around the door a lot and played in the sand and watched it all with fascination. The ladies were happy to have us there and it gave me great insight into some of their living conditions and development challenges.
There were three huts surrounded by a rough brick wall. There was also a bunch of Ocra plants growing, a chicken pen (with chickens running around it whereever they wanted, and assorted other things.
Tomorrow we are going with the Marineau family out to the village of Ayerou (spelling?) which is about 4 hours away and we will stop at a bunch of Tamajchek villages along the way.

Niamey - Days 1 and 2

So we arrived in Niamey! It is hot and humid, just like I remember it. Smells the same (not to say its a bad smell, just distict and I remembered it) I love seeing the people filling the streets, the vendors, the red dirt, the grass hut houses squatting in lots, the dark skin, the red skin, the people with tea, the baby goat who was born this afternoon, etc.

We have met the team here and they already feel like family. Enjoying our time with them immensely. I already spent the afternoon going to a Water and Sanitation meeting with NGOs to get a feel for the aid work in the country and have made great contacts. Paul and Bennett spent a few hours in front of the guest house talking with the day guard. Paul speaks little french, he spoke little english, so I have a feeling there was a whole lot of gesturing going on! Bennett played with them all and loved the sand. Paul got Tuareg tea made for him too and had blast. He is loving it here.

In a few days we are headed out to a village 4 hours away and will stop in a bunch of little villages on the way. I have taken a few pictures and will expect to take lots more soon. Im going to try to upload one for you all of Paul and his two friends outside the house. Check out the lovely red sand!

The heat is .....well hot. But we are feeling good so far. Im looking forward to getting out and exploring in the next few days. MOre stories to come.

Chantelle

Heading out!!

So we now are in the final stages of packing and getting organized to leave for Niger. We leave Saturday early evening. Its funny how stressful something so exciting can be :)

While we are there I will be able to update this site. Probably not with any pictures yet, but at least tell you what it going on. We are bringing our GPS unit with us to do some geocaching, so we will report back our position! So for those of you with Google Earth (free! fantastic! download it now!) We will letyou know where we are at when we are out and about and you can zoom in and see and track us a bit! Of course i will also be taking pictures, and will upload some when I can.

Thank you in advance for all your prayers and encouragement. Its almost surreal that my lifelong passion for aid and development, and giving people hope, has taken this turn in life and heading us in this direction. I can't wait.

Stay tuned

Chantelle

Can you see the truck hiding in this picture? (A real picture from Niger)