What makes him tick….

Here is Paul hard at work in his shop. His happy place. You can see all the square frames stacked up behind him? Well he has an order from a school here to make 30 desks and 40 chairs.The best part is that he would need help. With all those pieces of metal to be cut, then sanded down to prep for paint and welder together, he put out the call for able bodied Tuaregs :) And he didn't have to look very far!

In the community we work with we know already of several young men (late teens early 20s) who want to apprentice. They want to learn skills and learn a trade. And it seems everyone wants to work for Mr. Paul! (could it be that his wife makes an awesome rice and sauce for their lunch?) Most likely it is that Paul is a great teacher and loves spending time with these guys.

So all day yesterday and today there was a group of guys at the shop, sanding away hundreds and hundreds of pieces. Sidimou (the more trained apprentice) was running the saw and getting all the pieces ready for them. It was hours of really good language learning, camaraderie, laughing and sharing of skills. According to Paul- today made his heart happy. (even though he took a break in the afternoon for 3 hours of formal class language time too!). This is what he came here for. This is what makes him tick. To train young men, to share their lives, to give them skills to feed their families and bring hope.And he said everyone was a really hard worker. They are all returning tomorrow to finish that current sanding/prepping task too!! Sometimes in the hard labour of language learning it gives us that extra needed boost to see the goal in action, the relationships grow and the end in sight!!

 

And then there was the littlest helper. He carried them the pieces once Sidimou had cut them, was perfectly happy and dirty :) And his cast sure didn’t slow him down. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

A summer night’s fun

On Monday night we were invited out to eat at the home of some of our National friends. They live just on the outside of town where they have a job providing “security” for the high power lines that run through there. Their house is just out of town enough to be away from noise and as plants and fields spring up around them-- it is beautiful out there! Sorry there are no pictures of Paul but he was late coming due to meetings in town. He was there though!

When we first got there Bennett took the paddle ball and bats out of the truck and him and Mohammed (aged 4) got going a great ball of ping pong style paddle ball using the donkey cart as their table!

Then the donkey cart was used for its real purpose- carting children around! Well usually it is water bidons, or millet or whatever else people need hauled, but kids work too! Our kids love heading out on the donkey to go run an “errand”.

While the kids were off riding the donkey (and Paul hadn’t arrived yet) I worked with the women to prepare the meal. Here we are cutting the veggies, and then their home, where in the back you can see where they have their outdoor fire for cooking all their meals.

Fatima doing the cooking and posing :)

Then the fun and games continued with the swing tied to a tree and other child interactions. SO much fun seeing all the kids play together and have a blast in spite of not sharing a strong common language!

And when supper was finally ready at 8pm, the kids were all ready to dig in!

Did I mention it is beautiful out there? Here are a few shots as the sun sunk below the horizon. It was a peaceful, beautiful night with family and good friends!

And is it just me, or does this broken part of the wall really look like the continent of Africa!

Surrounded with children!

We have been very busy these past few weeks trying to get all caught up here in Niamey. Paul is neck deep in a welding/teaching project making desks for a school while teaching some Tuaregs to cut, weld, clean etc as well as regular language studies and logistics for a few of our projects. Chantelle is un-burying herself from the paperwork that built up while in France, language study, year end report for the school feeding program and normal weekly activities of the food aid program, hut class and visiting. So amongst all this, I thought I would show you the children we see most every week. Our own of course and the fun they have been up to during the summer, but also many of the local children we come into regular contact with!

 

Moustapha, the litte boy of a family I visit

Arielle likes to come to hut class with me. For those hours while I teach or learn, she likes to hang out with all the kids. Sometimes they sit at their own desk, sometimes they wander off to play together.

Another family I visit every Tuesday morning has several children who come and play each week. This time we brought some dolls and the little stroller and all the kids really enjoyed playing all morning.

     

Fatima doesn’t have a doll of her own. She carried the one doll on her back all morning and was sad to see us leave. I would love to give her a doll of her own, but always need to think it through first. Can I give her a doll and not all the other little girls in the neighbourhood? What would I give her sister and the little boy who live there if I gave her something? Would it be culturally appropriate? So many questions to ask each time to make sure we live in the best way possible and don’t offend unknowingly. I know she would love a doll!

At the Food Aid program there is also a lot of children who come around, be it the children of the guard who lives there, the donkey delivery cart driver’s kids or just local children, we are never in short supply! Here are some taking advantage of a ride home on the donkey.

 

Bennett and Arielle are enjoying our trips to the park. Trips to the pool have been cancelled due to Bennett’s cast, but thankfully they both love the park too!

Check out Bennett’s new cast. They cut off his huge shoulder to fingers cast after his one month xray showed great healing and they put on a little cast the is under his elbow to his fingers. It is much lighter and now he can move his elbow and arm, so he is a very happy little boy! Only two more weeks until the cast comes off!

Arielle playing on the front porch with our “language class blackboard”. I think she was expecting rain?

And finally, what would a kids update be without pics of our tiniest little critter? We took Harriet to the Park at the Rec Centre to see her big BIG cousin George. This shows the comparison of how big she is now vs. how big she will be in 30 years!

And then of course she just enjoyed the park with the kids!