Umbrellas at the ready
Every Wednesday, hundreds of villagers, cattle and merchants descend upon Djibo for the weekly market. On one side of town the herders, cows, sheep and goats congregate in a huge iron-railed compound for the day's negotiations. Elsewhere, the streets are lined with piles of aluminium pots, plastic shoes and second-hand clothes for sale. These piles of jumble come courtesy of clothes banks in America and Europe and are the reason why Oumarou might be wearing an Oxford University t-shirt and his daughter a pink flowery outfit from Next. It's not very traditional but it's an affordable way to dress.
It's not just the fashion that has been affected by imports. Traditional crafts and skills such as weaving and leatherwork have all but died out with the onslaught of cheap Asian replacements.
There are a few local craftsmen here and there but even the ubiquitous African printed wax cloth is apparently of foreign origin. That's the sad state of things here but I had to laugh one market day when I found a group of children enjoying one of Asia's latest blessings; paper cocktail umbrellas. They hadn't the faintest idea what they were, but they kept them amused for a morning anyway.
The children here are a real source of delight but hard work when they are trampling through our gate from morning to evening, so Steve and I have started a weekly 'party' for them on Thursday afternoons. These have been a real success and probably the single most enjoyable hour of my week. We play games, sing songs and tell them bible stories. They seem to love it, as they laugh and squeal and come around every other day asking when the next one is. We have a home-made puppet, called Baasi Fuu Walaa who helps with the presentation and they are very fond of him too – especially now that they understand that he is in fact controlled by Steve's hand and not some form of witchcraft.
There has been sadness for me too this month as I have learnt that Precious Girl Magazine in Cambodia is to end in October. Finances have dried up, the Art Director is leaving and the publishing licence is due to expire then so it seems like the time has finally come for it to close. I am very sad that this should be so, as it is now established and quite well known in the garment worker community. However, I am confident that I have done all that I can with it, and that the 3- years worth of magazines will continue to bless and encourage the workers for a long time to come. Thank you to everyone who supported that work in prayer and finances.
I have realised that my heart is still predominantly to work with young women and so as Precious Girl ends I am considering starting up a work with the young women of Djibo. Not a magazine, as many of them can't read – but a club probably. Several teenage girls have asked me to teach them sewing and drawing so I am thinking of doing something weekly – not a business effort but more of a recreational thing, with bible teaching too. The church here is supportive of new outreach ideas and have also asked me to head up a weaving project as they have been given a loom. This is an interesting prospect for me, not least of all because it means working with local people, materials and skills – no cocktail umbrellas required.
It's not just the fashion that has been affected by imports. Traditional crafts and skills such as weaving and leatherwork have all but died out with the onslaught of cheap Asian replacements.
There are a few local craftsmen here and there but even the ubiquitous African printed wax cloth is apparently of foreign origin. That's the sad state of things here but I had to laugh one market day when I found a group of children enjoying one of Asia's latest blessings; paper cocktail umbrellas. They hadn't the faintest idea what they were, but they kept them amused for a morning anyway.
The children here are a real source of delight but hard work when they are trampling through our gate from morning to evening, so Steve and I have started a weekly 'party' for them on Thursday afternoons. These have been a real success and probably the single most enjoyable hour of my week. We play games, sing songs and tell them bible stories. They seem to love it, as they laugh and squeal and come around every other day asking when the next one is. We have a home-made puppet, called Baasi Fuu Walaa who helps with the presentation and they are very fond of him too – especially now that they understand that he is in fact controlled by Steve's hand and not some form of witchcraft.
There has been sadness for me too this month as I have learnt that Precious Girl Magazine in Cambodia is to end in October. Finances have dried up, the Art Director is leaving and the publishing licence is due to expire then so it seems like the time has finally come for it to close. I am very sad that this should be so, as it is now established and quite well known in the garment worker community. However, I am confident that I have done all that I can with it, and that the 3- years worth of magazines will continue to bless and encourage the workers for a long time to come. Thank you to everyone who supported that work in prayer and finances.
I have realised that my heart is still predominantly to work with young women and so as Precious Girl ends I am considering starting up a work with the young women of Djibo. Not a magazine, as many of them can't read – but a club probably. Several teenage girls have asked me to teach them sewing and drawing so I am thinking of doing something weekly – not a business effort but more of a recreational thing, with bible teaching too. The church here is supportive of new outreach ideas and have also asked me to head up a weaving project as they have been given a loom. This is an interesting prospect for me, not least of all because it means working with local people, materials and skills – no cocktail umbrellas required.
