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January 15, 2005

I have found a house

It is in Hong Kong, a dense Fulani quarter of Djibo. The yard is small and is surrounded by a low mud-brick wall. A tree overhangs the wall on the north side, providing shade from about one o'clock onwards. The house itself has a living room, two bedrooms and a washroom.

When I told Hawa where the house is, she laughed. She said that if I leave my house, even just to use the outside toilet, everything I own will be stolen. Ali Siise's wife agreed. 'If you're not careful, the kids there will steal even your own head,' she warned.
'We will see,' I replied. 'If they take my head, I will come to you and we will look for it together.'
'Don't bother,' she said. 'If they take your head, that's nothing to do with me.'

Despite the prophecies of desolation and headlessness, I feel quite good about the house in Hong Kong. It needs a ceiling putting in, and a wall around the long-drop toilet, but work on that can start now. I hope to move in on February 1. Please pray that the yard would become a place of hope in that fairly hope-less area of town.

Posted by sahelsteve at January 15, 2005 01:34 PM