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February 27, 2006

Gorom Gorom

We are back in Gorom Gorom for a week. We arrived here on Saturday night by 'Air Gorom' - a new minicar which does the Dori-Gorom trip every day. The woman behind me warned me that the journey would 'itta tekketi maa' (spill my intestines) but as it turned out the road was not at all bad - a bit cramped perhaps, but otherwise fine.

It feels strange being back in Gorom again after so long. Even stranger for Keith, of course, who was in Gorom for eleven years and is now back for a quick visit after two years in England. The short walk past the market took two and a half hours this morning, because of the necessity of greeting every cluster of people individually.

Catching up on Gorom gossip has been entertaining - Monique has been regaling us with stories, of which the following two are the most entertaining.

1. Pascal, the pastor of the 'Vie Profonde' (Deeper Life) church in Gorom Gorom, now has a live satellite link-up between his yard and the church HQ in Lagos, so that his flock (of four) can participate fully in the Deeper Life Monday night Bible Study. At this rate of development they might even get running water in the yard before long.

2. Ali Lamane, Gorom Gorom's candidate in the presidential elections last year, received a total of one vote - his own. Monique was one of the vote-counters over at the town hall, and Ali sat there all day with the counters, waiting for the result to come in. It was hardly worth the wait - even Ali's own wife and his parents had not voted for him. He fled the town hall and was not seen in town for several days afterward. Still, it's the taking part that counts.

There were several stories which were less entertaining as well, including the very sad news of the death of Muusa, our friend from Yengerento (a village near Gorom-Gorom). He had become very ill during last year's famine and died earlier this year.

Posted by sahelsteve at February 27, 2006 08:32 PM