May 12, 2008
A cautionary tale for African fathers
The librarian in Djibo is called Tamboura Mamadou. He has formed a theatre group to travel around local villages and perform entertaining dramas with a social message. Today I accompanied Mamadou and his troupe to the village of Bani, 5 kilometres west of Djibo.
The sketch they performed was about fathers who take their daughters out of school at an early age to marry them off. The message of the piece was 'Let your girls finish their education before marriage, and don't force them to marry someone they don't want to.'
The picture below shows Seydou and Asseta, who played the father and the mother in the sketch. The chap between them was Seydou's sidekick, complete with comedy shaving-cream beard.
Here is Seydou promising his young daughter in marriage to an old friend. Old in both senses of the word. The old friend gives Seydou 100,000 CFA in brideprice. 'Go and buy yourself some cola nuts,' he says. (That's an awful lot of cola nuts.)
Here is Seydou bursting into the classroom to take his daughter out of school.
The daughter refuses to marry the old man. She flees the village with her mother and continues her education elsewhere . This leaves Seydou with a problem. He has already eaten the brideprice and is unable to pay it back. Time passes and the debt is still unpaid. The cops are summoned.
Sedyou is arrested and is dragged in front of the police commandant...
...who turns out to be his own daughter. In an improbably short time she has finished her education and risen through the ranks of the gendarmerie to become a Big Cheese. Which just goes to show that if you leave your daughter in school rather than marrying her off early, she can go on to do rather well for herself.
Seydou's daughter (La Commandante) pardons him in a forgiveness scene reminiscent of Joseph forgiving his brothers. 'You meant me harm but God has turned it all to good.' She gives him cash to pay off his debt and everyone lives happily ever after.
Fathers, be warned.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:49 PM
May 05, 2008
The Meaning of Stories
I spent part of this morning in a home-school classroom, helping an eleven year-old English lad called Joshua to plan a fantasy story. Story-writing is part of the SATS, whatever they are, and fantasy is one of the required genres. Joshua was a natural, and ideas were not in short supply: he came up with the Mountains of Grindoom where lives the evil Lord Vladux; Hezron the knight, set to work as a slave in Lord Vladux's gold mine, his heroic escape to an underground river, his meeting with Clovely the friendly turtle and the turtle's gift of a set of wooden panpipes which, when played, summon the Magic Molluscs of Minsk. Plus a good helping of zombie villains, courtesy of last week's Doctor Who DVD!
Out of the imagination of an eleven year-old boy, Story appeared, original in many details and yet obeying all the archetypes: the Hero, the Villain, the Helper, the Quest, the Magic Gift. Compelling.
I've been thinking a lot about Story over the last few months, since receiving The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker as a Christmas present. It's a delicious 700-page tome, surveying the history of Story all across the world, from Beowulf to Batman and from Frankenstein to Frazier. Booker reckons that all stories follow one or more of the Seven Basic Plots: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth. But beyond these seven plots, he sees that there is a more Universal Story being played out. Here is a passage plucked out of the middle.
"The essential message of storytelling all over the world is that there are two centres to human nature: and that to become reunited with the totality of life it is necessary to make the long and difficult transition from one to the other. From our earliest years, the first point the unconscious tries to make through stories is that the greatest danger to the human race is its own capacity to think and to act egocentrically. This is why those first properly-formed stories which make sense to us as a child tend to show a little hero or heroine, much like ourselves, venturing out into a mysterious outside world, such as a great forest, where they encounter some terrifying dark figure: a witch, a giant, a wolf or some other monster. The purpose of this is to introduce the child to a personification of that dark power of egotism which it must learn to recognise as its most deadly enemy.
Initially this enemy is shown as something wholly external, and the point of such stories, as we saw, is simply to awaken the child's subconscious awareness to the fact that, in this strange new world it is entering, such a deadly power exists. But progressively, as we grow older, the message is filled out, as it conveys to us with greater subtlety and depth those qualities the hero or heroine must develop for them to reach the complete happy ending; not least when we come to those types of story which show the hero or heroine having to wrestle with that same dark power in themselves.
So, whether we respond to it or not, the constant feeding of our imagination with stories provides us with a unique mirror to the inner dynamics of human nature. Above all, below the level of our consciousness, the consistency of their symbolism gradually builds up an image of what the pattern of a human life can be, and what happens if we fail."
The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker, page 563
Charlie has been reading a similar book, by Christian author John Eldredge, called Epic: The Story God is Telling and the Role that is Yours to Play. Eldredge, like Booker, recognizes the Universal Root of the stories we tell ourselves:
"Every story, great and small, shares the same essential structure because every story we tell borrows its power from a Larger Story, a Story woven into the fabric of our being - what pioneer psychologist Carl Jung tried to explain as archetype, or what his more recent popularizer Joseph Campbell called myth.
All of these stories borrow from the Story. From Reality. We hear echoes of it through our lives. Some secret written on our hearts. A great battle to fight, and someone to fight for us. An adventure, something that requires everything we have, something to be shared with those we love and need.
There is a Story that we just can't seem to escape. There is a Story written on the human heart. As Ecclesiastes has it, 'He has planted eternity in the human heart' (3:11 NLT)
Look, wouldn't it make sense that if we ever did find the secret to our lives, the secret to the universe, it would come to us first as a story? Story is the very nature of reality. Like the missing parts of a novel, it would explain these pages we are holding, the chapters of our lives.
Second, it would speak to our hearts' deepest desires. If nature makes nothing in vain, then why the human heart? Why those universal longings and desires? The secret simply couldn't be true unless it contained the best parts of the stories that you love.
Yet it would need to go deeper and higher than any of them alone.
What if?
What if all the great stories that have ever moved you, brought you joy or tears - what if they are telling you something about the true Story into which you were born, the Epic into which you have been cast?"
Eldredge is onto something here. The 90-page pocket book Epic is very lightweight alongside the Seven Basic Plots megalith, but the vision it conjures is not dissimilar. A Story written on the human heart, an appreciation of human capacity to think and act egocentrically (and the self-destructive force of this), an image of what the pattern of the human life can be and a vision of some strange and wonderful rebirth.
The stories that move and inspire you, me and eleven year-old boys are not meaningless. Like it or not, we've all been cast into an epic.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:23 PM
April 27, 2008
Gastroenteritis
Charlie and I have food poisining. Notes of sympathy below, please ;-)
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:16 PM
April 25, 2008
Ladies of Djibo
Charlie's April newsletter is now online.
Charlie has started an embroidery group with local ladies. You can see (or buy!) samples of their work on the Ladies of Djibo webpage.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:30 PM
March 26, 2008
Pony Tales
Just to let you know that Charlie's March newsletter is now online.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:58 AM
February 16, 2008
Mother Theresa quotation
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people may forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.
Posted by sahelsteve at 01:43 PM
December 26, 2007
Christmas
Well, all the ca-va-aller-sayers were right, as it turned out. Charlie didn't make it in time for the Christmas Eve feast in Djibo, but we were reunited in Ouaga on the afternoon of Christmas Day. She's fine, even after her unwanted three-day sejour in Lomé. Funny, exactly five years ago I had a similarly unexpected Christmas experience.
Anyway, I made it up to Djibo for the Christmas Eve feast and it went really well. There were lots of people. There was singing. There was drumming. There were prawn crackers. There was rice and chicken. And there was an announcement of some very good news.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:12 PM
December 23, 2007
Ca va aller
Charlie was not on the flight from England last night. Her flight was overbooked and she got bumped off.
Bumped off to Togo, to be precise, where she is living in a guest-house with sixteen other Afriqiyah refugees. She's okay, but says there is no flight to Burkina today.
I have to go up to Djibo tomorrow cos I'm preaching at the Christmas do in the evening. Looks like we'll be spending our first Christmas apart, until Christmas Day afternoon (at best).
When I tell people here, this is what they say: 'Si il y a la sante seulement, ca va aller!' While there's still health, everything will be all right.
'Ca va aller!' Reminds me of Lieutenant John's story about the snake in the tree:
A man climbed a tree to pinch the eggs from a bird's nest, and when he put his hand in, he found there was a snake there. The man grabbed the head of the snake to hold its mouth shut, but it wrapped itself tightly round his arm and started to squeeze. The man's friend was waiting at the bottom of the tree, and when he saw what was happening he scratched his chin and said, 'Ca va aller.'
I probably won't be able to post anything between now and Christmas, so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a VERY HAPPY one. Alla hokku jam.
Posted by sahelsteve at 02:17 PM
October 30, 2007
A Bit of News
Charlie and I have arrived in Africa. We got here in the middle of the night and had to sleep on a sofa because of a mix-up at our 'maison de passage'. All is well now, though. We are having a couple days in Ouagadougou, doing the visa formalities and drinking improbable amounts of water. Going up to Djibo on Thursday, inshallah. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
It is very hot, but also nice to be back.
My Fulani friend Adama's first comment to me was 'Eeeeeeeeeee, a haari de', which means 'Eeeeeeeeee, you are full.' Must start running again.
Charlie says she is liking it here. Hooray. I'm so glad she's here with me.
Our latest application for the Djibo FM radio license (September this year) has been rejected by the Conseil Superieur de Communications. We have another opportunity to apply in January. I don't know whether to try again or not.
More soon...
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:00 PM
September 28, 2007
French tongue twisters
It can seem sometimes that most French phrases are tongue twisters. But here are a couple real ones:
Les chaussettes de l'archi-duchesses sont-elles sèches, arch-sèches?
Are the archduchess' socks dry, very dry?
Un chasseur sachant chasser sait chasser sans son chien.
A hunter who knows how to hunt knows how to hunt without his dog.
Know any others?
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:11 AM
September 23, 2007
Arrival in Carcassonne
Well, Charlie and I have made it to Carcassonne. We're trying to improve our spoken French, and I am trying to make progress on 'H4CK1NG T1MBUKTU' - a parkour 'n hacking book for boys.
The medieval part of Carcassonne (La Cité) is particularly nice.
In church today there was a dog who rolled on the floor at the front during worship. No photo of that, unfortunately.
Talking of domestic animals, does anyone know the French word 'taupin'? At least, that's what it sounds like, but I can't find it in the dictionary. The reason I ask is this: the owner of our gite has a cat called Taupin. 'Why's he called Taupin?' I asked. 'Well,' said Léon (in French), 'that's because when we first got him he had large black testicles, and we had to have them removed.' 'Oh,' I said, and scurried off to find a dictionary.
So, any takers? Why is the cat called Taupin?
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:55 PM
August 08, 2007
Post Wedding Update
Brief roundup of events since I last posted properly:
1. Got married as planned (see photos). This (on balance) has turned out to be (in 1066 parlance) a Good Thing. Hooray.
2. Went on honeymoon to Scotland - a nice town in the highlands called Pitlochry. We walked and went horse riding and ate salmon and saw Pitlochry's famous fish ladder.
3. Went to Lowestoft for a church week away. Swam in the sea (brrr) and learned this wonderful worship song and this one, and enjoyed a talk by Major General Tim Cross on the subject of courage. He said that courage is not bravado - it is like a reservoir that you can only fill up by prayer.
4. Family visits: Chichester, Abingdon, York. Walked around this scenic village whose name makes me laugh: Hutton le Hole.
5. Now we're back in London - living in Battersea High Street, looking out over tangled rooftops, listening to the traffic, painting (walls), writing (Timbuktu Enigma) and settling into married life. I like London very much, and just know that our month here will fly by.
6. Went to Andersen Press tonight for a drinks party and came away wholly unexpectedly with a contract for Sophie and the Pancake Campaign. So Sophie is now a trilogy! But it won't be called the Pancake Campaign - apparently children don't buy books with pancakes on the cover.
7. We've set a date for going back to Burkina Faso: Saturday 27 October. Apparently, rainy season in Djibo is going well so far. We continue to pray for our co-workers there and for the Precious Girl team in Cambodia.
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:25 PM
June 08, 2007
Care Packages
Jim Cottrill over at Missionary Blogs has asked me to write something in response to the question What Do Missionaries Like To Receive In The Post?
Three opening comments:
1. What follows is a personal view and not relevant to all missionaries in Africa. Also, it is not a plea to send me things. I am very content already. God is always good, whether or not there are DVDs in the drive or Marmite on the baguette (Habakkuk 3:17-18) Besides, I'm not there at the moment.
2. The postal system to Djibo is reliable but slow. From England a letter takes between one and three weeks but a package can take anything up to six months. From America the times are similar. Only once have I experienced a package not turning up at all, and that was way back in 2004 (Mum sent me a Tilley hat with Polo mints in it - if you see a customs official in Ouagadougou wearing a Tilley hat and sucking Polo mints, please give him my regards).
3. I get all my ministry resources here in Burkina Faso. Bibles, tracts, blank cassettes, etc, it's much easier for me to get them here. Which is why the following suggestions seem so epicurean!
Three things I can't get in Burkina:
1. Marmite: not Vegemite, not Promite, but Marmite, the original and best! My Brazilian housemates got hooked on this wonderful spread. Even my Fulani friends have given it a name: nebbam baleejam lamminaadam (the black salty butter). As Oswald Chambers used to say, start the day with a Marmite baguette and you'll be fine. Or was it Oscar Wilde?
2. Digestive biscuits: mmmmm. But they will need some bubble-wrap.
3. Contemporary fiction in English: I can get Dickens and Hemingway in the SIM and SIL mission libraries, but no contemporary fiction. If you read something new and good, I'd love to read it after you! I like the genre Quirky Literary Fiction, including The Life of Pi, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. In general, you can't go wrong with Booker Prize Winners (unless they happen to be Vernon God Little).
Three magazines that make me go 'Oooooooo, you ARE clever, how DID you know I liked that?'
1. Poetry London
2. Third Way
3. Vogue (actually, that one's for Charlie!)
Three things that make children in my neigbourhood jump for joy:
1. Edible necklaces
2. Little cars
3. Stickers with shiny bits (or, come to think of it, without shiny bits)
Three things I used to really like getting but no longer need:
1. Listening material: Internet access is now excellent in Ouagadougou, so it is easy for me to download listening material from the Radio 4 website. Book at Bedtime, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and Just a Minute can all be enjoyed via the Listen Again function (that said, if you have a cassette of a sermon or testimony or song that has really inspired you, do please send it).
2. Pringles: As of this year, one can buy Red Pepper with a Touch of Olive Extract flavour Pringles in Djibo. Mind-boggling but true.
3. Notebooks: I have enough now, thank you.
One thing I used to be able to get in Burkina Faso but can't any more:
1. DVDs: I used to buy new films from the street-sellers in Ouagadougou (who get their wares from Singapore). Great value-for-money and hilarious blurbs. But Charlie has persuaded me that Piracy is Theft and I'm not going to buy any more, however hilarious the blurbs. So DVDs will be very welcome - anything ordered on Amazon is quick to arrive in Africa (not sure why) and will bless lots of missionaries (and Peace Corps volunteers) because it will get handed round. Heist-thrillers-set-in-Las-Vegas are best, of course, followed closely by romantic-comedies-set-in-London.
One address to send your package to, come November:
Steve and Charlie Davies
BP112
Djibo
Soum
Burkina Faso
One anecdote to finish:
Ken Elliott, the Australian mission doctor in Djibo, once received a care package from a lady who had read about him in the Sydney Herald. It was addressed: Dr Ken Elliott, Just South of Timbuktu, Africa. The package arrived!
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:20 PM
May 19, 2007
FA Cup Final in Ouagadougou
African men care very deeply about their football teams, including the teams they 'adopt' from abroad. In Ouagadougou there are passionate Manchester United supporters and equally passionate Chelsea supporters, and today they got together for the Cup Final.
Sparks flew...
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Posted by sahelsteve at 11:53 PM
May 16, 2007
Amadou Hampâté Bâ
I am currently reading 'The Fulani Empire of Macina' by Amadou Hampâté Bâ, who is the greatest Fulani writer ever to have lived.
Here are some quotes from him:
En Afrique, quand un vieillard meurt, c’est une bibliothèque qui brûle.
"In Africa, when an old man dies, a library burns."
Les peuples de race noire n'étant pas des peuples d'écriture ont développé l'art de la parole d'une manière toute spéciale. Pour n'être pas écrite, leur littérature n'en est pas moins belle. Combien de poèmes, d'épopées, de récits historiques et chevaleresques, de contes didactiques, de mythes et de légendes au verbe admirable se sont ainsi transmis à travers les siècles, fidèlement portés par la mémoire prodigieuse des hommes de l'oralité, passionnément épris de beau langage!
"Black africans have no tradition of written literature but have developed a sophisticated art of speech which is no less beautiful for being unwritten. Many poems, epics, ballads, parables, myths and legends of sublime merit have been so transmitted through the centuries, retained by the prodigious memories of men with a passionate love of beautiful language."
Je suis un diplômé de la grande université de la Parole enseignée à l’ombre des baobabs.
"I am a graduate of the great university of the Spoken Word taught in the shade of a baobab tree."
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:30 AM
April 04, 2007
Break in Ouagadougou
I am down in Ouagadougou for Easter week. Working on the third in the Sophie series: Sophie and the Pancake Campaign. General idea as follows:
Gidaado the griot is working as praise-singer for General Alai Crêpe-Sombo, and having a wonderful time. Gidaado rides his camel around behind Crêpe-Sombo, singing hilarious songs in support of the campaign and distributing banana crêpes (Sophie’s idea) to adoring crowds. As a result of Gidaado's work, Crêpe-Sombo is enjoying great success in the polls. But when Sophie overhears a secret meeting of Crêpe-Sombo’s campaign team, she begins to suspect that the General might not be the good guy that he makes himself out to be...
On a completely different note...
Lunchtime in Djibo: 
Lunchtime in Ouagadougou: 
I love Ouaga.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:47 PM
March 27, 2007
43 things
It is well known that writing down one's goals in life can be an important step towards achieving them. So it is no wonder that the website 43 things has taken off in a big way.
I couldn't resist signing up and submitting my own 43 things. I invite you to do the same, and to link to them in the 'comments' section.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:31 AM
March 23, 2007
The weather in Burkina Faso
Oh good. It's turning out sunny again.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:28 AM
March 04, 2007
Lunar eclipse in Africa
The lunar eclipse last night was beautifully clear here in Burkina Faso, West Africa. It reached totality at about eleven o’clock. The moon was very full, very red and very difficult to stop gazing at.
Usually Djibo is completely silent by midnight, but on account of the eclipse there was a great din until the early hours of the morning. Lots of people were out on the streets banging pots and pans. I talked to one of them.
- What are you doing?
- I’m clanging.
- Why?
- Can’t you see? Allah has caught hold of the moon.
- But why clang?
- So that he will let go of it.
- What would happen if you didn’t clang at all?
- He would still let go of it. But it would take a very long time.
- Well, in that case, clang harder.
- Hahaha. (jumps up and down, banging on a pot). I will clang until he lets go.
This morning I asked Mamadou about people’s response to the eclipse. ‘There are three kinds of people,’ said Mamadou. ‘There are the people who are afraid and clang. There are the people who are afraid and pray. And there are the people who are not afraid.’
‘And what do they do?’
‘They sleep,’ said Mamadou.
Posted by sahelsteve at 05:09 PM
February 14, 2007
Just to say...
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Posted by sahelsteve at 07:38 PM
Gorom-Gorom revisited
Last year I visited Gorom-Gorom after the devastating floods, and posted this report on the aftermath of the Gorom-Gorom flooding.
I have just had a few days in Gorom-Gorom and saw at first-hand what Keith is doing to help the flood victims. Well done him.
Meanwhile our application for Djibo FM is nearing finalization. I will post the complete dossier here on February 26.
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:06 AM
November 15, 2006
Grovelling apologies
I have 77 apologies to make.
Those of you who have emailed me over the last two years via the email address on this site may have wondered why I haven’t replied. The answer is: I thought my voiceinthedesert email account was set up to auto-forward to my ntlworld account, the one I use on a day-to-day basis. I thought wrong.
I was shocked/horrified/amused last night to find my voiceinthedesert inbox, stuffed with the dozens of messages I have totally ignored. Please accept my abject apologies, and thank you, Quakers, for the digestive biscuits, which I DID receive and enjoyed very much.
I will try to reply individually to as many as possible.
I now officially CAN be contacted via the contact page on the right there. It works. I get the messages. I reply.
Sorry.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:25 AM
November 13, 2006
Bin Laden found in salad
Here are some highlights from the menu at our hotel in Battambang, Cambodia:
Then we saw it: the chef’s piece de résistance:
Me: Excuse me, what is in the ‘Salad Binladen’?
Waiter: I do not know.
Me: Could you find out for me, please?
Waiter goes off and whispers with his colleagues in a corner. Then he comes back.
Waiter (hesitantly): Eggs
Silence.
Me: So why do you call it a Salad Binladen?
Silence.
Waiter: I do not know.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:23 AM
Cambodia pics
Here is Charlie at Angkor Wat, training to join the notorious Spider Girl Gang in Chile:
And here is a waterbuffalo washing his ears. I have a soft spot for waterbuffalos, cf Kosuke Koyama's wonderful book Waterbuffalo Theology and my 2001 dissertation Wonders and Waterbuffalos.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:27 AM
October 29, 2006
Amazed at Angkor Wat
On Thursday Charlie and I went to look round the temples at Angkor. After an enchanting walk round the Bayon, we stopped at a road-side stall for a coconut. A small girl came up to us to sell us souvenirs and initiated the following conversation:
Girl (proferring tiny bronze elephant): Would you like to buy my elephant?
Me: No, thank you.
Girl: Where are you from?
Charlie: England.
Girl: If I tell you the capital of England, will you buy my elephant.
Me: No, thank you.
Girl (disappointed): London.
Charlie: If you can tell us the capital of Burkina Faso, we will buy your elephant.
Girl (deadpan and immediate): Ouagadougou.
After a few minutes gasping for air, we bought her elephant, her cow-bell and her Khmer pipes.
Angkor was utterly amazing in so many ways, but nothing quite topped that.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:02 AM
September 04, 2006
A dud waiting to be pushed over the edge
I love browsing pirated DVDs on the streets of Ouagadougou, not so much for the films themselves as for the blurbs on the back. Some people said how much they enjoyed this 'Ocean's 11' blurb, and the same people will doubtless chuckle at the following, which is the blurb on the back of 'Born to Fight' (peddled by my friend Naaba outside Pharmacie de la Paix at the Grand Marche):
"While Born to Fight is not the true follow-up to Ong-Bak, it provides a level of appeasement for those of us eager to get another dose of inane stunts and action. Co-writer and action director for Ong-Bak, Panna Pittikrai, gets his shot at helming this film with an unmatched crazy stunt team you can't help but appreciate. While the plot is wafer-thin, and subtitles are not even needed for general comprehension, Born to Fight still manages to drag because it doesn't take a pacing cue from Ong-Bak. When the action starts, Born to Fight simply explodes for a good thirty to forty minutes of glorious choreography and stunts. But for the time leading up to it, without anything truly impressive, the film sits like a dud waiting to be pushed over the edge."
If you still want to, you can order 'Born to Fight' on Amazon :-)
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:25 PM
August 02, 2006
Wedding details
The wedding will be at HTB in Knightsbridge (which is aesthetically pleasing because it's the only area of London which contains six consecutive consonants).
The church is booked for 7 July next year (which is aesthetically pleasing because it will be 07/07/07).
The bride is Charlie Harrison (which is extremely pleasing in lots of ways).
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:36 PM
Mud-spattered laughing-boy
There is a feel-good photo over at Under the Acacias today. And if you missed Under the Acacias in July, you shouldn't have.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:26 PM
July 13, 2006
I'm engaged!
Sorry not to have posted for a while.
Precious Girl is a glossy magazine published in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) for the thousands of girls who work in garment factories there. Its editor Charlotte Harrison does the mag as an outreach with World Horizons. I met Charlie at World Horizons HQ a couple years ago and we have been in touch a lot since. She's very special indeed.
A couple weeks ago Charlie came to visit me in Burkina Faso. A couple days ago I asked her to be my wife and she consented. HOORAY!!! Will post photos etc when my feet next touch the ground.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:18 PM
May 23, 2006
Arrival
Just to say that I've arrived safely back in Burkina Faso, and am travelling up to Djibo tomorrow.
Thanks as ever for your prayers and emails.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:44 AM
May 17, 2006
Return to Burkina Faso
Well, it's been nice, this trip back to England.
Last night I was with friends playing Puerto Rico and eating Ben and Jerry's Fossil Fuel ice-cream (a sweet cream ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces, chocolatey dinosaurs & a fudge swirl).
Tomorrow morning I will be starting the long journey back to my home in Burkina Faso and to the semi-nomadic Fulani people.
Funny old world.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:55 AM
May 16, 2006
Voice in the Desert Comments
 | I thought it was about time I restored a 'comments' facility to this blog, so here it is. Looking forward to hearing from you! |
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:52 AM
May 12, 2006
classifieds
Sorry about this - it's the only way I know to get in touch with Brian and his parents who I met in York on April 30. If you're reading this Brian, could you re-send me your email address, which I have mis-laid. Thanks.
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:53 AM
May 11, 2006
The Life of a Pen
I have been following with interest the life of a pen series on Dave Shelton's weblog. Back in January Dave had the idea "to take one new pen and use it exclusively in a new sketchbook until the last drop of ink had departed its valiant, ragged fibre tip. The pen may not be used outside of its dedicated book and the book may not be marked with any other pen."
As the Fulani say, So mbaggu weli na yidi bileede - even if the drum is sweet it needs to be hung up. Or in English idiom, All good things must come to an end. Yesterday, the end came for Dave's black Pentel, on page twenty-seven of his A5 Fabriano sketchbook.
The end did not come easily. In his comment on page twenty-seven, Dave writes: "Because there was pretty much no fibre tip left sticking out of the metal barrel of the pen at the end, those last drawings are almost engraved into the paper as the barrel dug into the page." Ouch.
And for what it's worth, here's my favourite page
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:13 PM
April 25, 2006
Waste time with Google Earth
I downloaded Google Earth for the first time yesterday. This wonderful piece of software enables you to view satellite images of any place on earth.
The first thing I did was to look at our home in Poppleton, York, UK, which looks suitably green and pleasant.
Then I 'flew' to my home in Djibo, Burkina Faso. I saw the lake, the roads, the market, the mountain, but before I saw all that I couldn't help noticing an odd skull-like face south-east of the market. Click on the map below for a bigger image.
With Google Earth you really can simulate 'flying' from one place on earth to another. Or you can zoom in from space. Or you can just hover and watch the earth turn. What's more, it's completely free. If you have broadband and don't have Google Earth, get it.
Posted by sahelsteve at 01:43 PM
April 05, 2006
Chicken flu confirmed in Burkina Faso, Africa
Back in February I wrote about bird flu reaching Africa and on a more personal note about the death of our own rooster Ludwig. After that there was a very suspicious spate of chicken deaths in Gorom-Gorom. Now, over at Under the Acacias, I learn that bird flu H51N has been confirmed in Burkina Faso, the fifth African country to fall prey to it.
It is wholly expected but still extremely sad. We must now hope that the virus does not mutate into a form that could be transmitted from human to human.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:23 PM
April 02, 2006
Out of Africa
Home at last. Journey went fine. Am now back in UK for 6 weeks.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:42 AM
March 30, 2006
The journey home
At midnight tonight I leave Ouagadougou, arriving in Tripoli (Libya) first thing tomorrow morning. I hope my bad attitude towards Colonel Gaddafi does not cause problems for me there.
Mid-morning tomorrow I get an onward flight, arriving in Paris at midday. Paris in the Spring - noice. I intend to spend a thoroughly clichéd afternoon there, feeding the sparrows in the park and strolling by the Seine and sitting at pavement cafés with notebook open and shirt-collar turned up.
After a night in Paris, I go back to the airport to catch my Easyjet flight to Newcastle (you know - the kind of flight where you can brag to your friends 'The flight was only seven pence' and feel all smug until they ask about the airport tax and fuel tax which were a hundred quid).
Then a delightful train ride to York with (if all goes according to plan) a BLT (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato) sandwich and a miniature bottle of red wine (saved from the flight) and the Times Crossword.
Arrive at York station round about 5.30pm to be met by Mum and/or Dad (really looking forward to seeing them again - it's been 15 months), whence we will beetle home to their bungalow in Nether Poppleton.
I have six weeks in England and return to Burkina Faso on 18 May.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:03 AM
March 21, 2006
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting...
I visited the director of cadastral planning in Ouahigouya this morning, to settle once and for all the question of our application to buy a plot of land on which to build Djibo FM.
On the door of Monsieur Nankema's office was a translation into French of Kipling's poem 'If'. It was the 1918 translation by André Maurois. Maurois was very liberal in his re-ordering of the original poem's lines and his translation starts with this stanza:
Si tu peux voir détruit l'ouvrage de ta vie
Et sans dire un seul mot te mettre à rebâtir,
Ou perdre en un seul coup le gain de cent parties
Sans un geste et sans un soupir
Literally:
If you can see the work of your life destroyed
And without saying a word put yourself to rebuilding
Or lose in one go the winning of a hundred parts
Without a gesture and without a sigh
When I was eventually summoned in to see Mr Nanema, the interview was short and sweet:
Nanema: Bonjour.
Me: Bonjour. Comment allez vous?
Nanema: Bien, et vous?
Me: Bien, merci.
Nanema: What were you writing out there?
Me: If
Nanema: Hehehe.
Me: One of my favourites.
Nanema: Me too.
Me: You have the dossier?
Nanema: Yes. Your application has been rejected due to lack of architectural plans.
Me: I have the plans here.
Nanema: You need to take them back to Mr Sassan in Djibo.
Me: Mr Sassan rang you yesterday, didn't he? You told me to come here.
Long silence - I notice on the wall at a certificate commemorating Mr Nanema's participation in the Table Tennis World Cup at Bercy (France) in the 90's.
Me: Table tennis?
Nanema: Yes.
Me: Do you still play?
Nanema: A little.
Me: At home?
Nanema: At the club. Take the dossier back to Djibo and start the process again.
On my way to the door, Mr Nanema stopped me:
Nanema: You came from Djibo today?
Me: Yes.
Nanema: How?
Me: On the bus.
Nanema: (Pause) C'est pas facile.
Me: Oui. C'est pas facile.
Nanema: Au revoir.
Me: Au revoir.
Posted by sahelsteve at 05:03 PM
March 11, 2006
If it is only ₤2.50, is it still a bribe?
Back in November I wrote about the problem of officials who extort bribes.
Interesting post from Keith today about what happened yesterday when he was accused of driving through a red traffic light in Ouagadougou.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:27 PM
March 04, 2006
Could this be the first case of bird flu in Burkina Faso
Pierre the tailor lives in Gorom-Gorom next-door to the poultry queen of Gorom-Gorom - a large jovial lady who does a roaring trade in chicken soup, selling it by the bowlful to hungry passers-by.
A couple days ago Pierre noticed that some of his chickens were behaving strangely: reeling and drooling and falling over. The next morning all twenty of his chickens were dead. Being an intelligent, well-informed sort of tailor, he burnt them all immediately and scattered their ashes at sea.
Actually, he didn't scatter the ashes at sea. But the rest is true.
Arg, basically.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:16 AM
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 08:32 PM
February 17, 2006
Ludwig the rooster catches chicken flu, but probably not H5N1
We had to kill Ludwig yesterday. Ludwig was Sylvia's live-in partner, a rooster who escaped from our yard two weeks ago in a daring 'Chicken-Run'-esque action sequence. After his escape we did not see him for a week, and assumed that he was already living the high life in Vanuatu. But then on Tuesday morning, Hama (a twelve year lad next door) came to visit us, dangling Ludwig upside-down at his side.
Ludwig was not his usual perky, quirky self. He was shivering, dribbling, standing in one spot for long periods of time with his eyes closed, and refusing to crow or eat. Short of holding up a placard with the words, 'Hey there, I'm feeling a little under the weather,' he did everything possible to alert us to the fact that all was not well.
Kunjel told us that Ludwig had bird flu. What was not clear was whether it was H5N1 - in fact it is very unlikely indeed (there have so far been no reported cases of H5N1 in Burkina Faso).
According to Kunjel, Ludwig would die within four days and we should eat him now while there was still some meat on him. But if I was to eat Ludwig in a fricassee I would first have to turn off the BBC World Service. And try not to think about the contents of that recent email from the British Consulate in Accra. 'Taking sensible precautions' doesn't involve scoffing diseased chickens on a trade route from Northern Nigeria.
So Iranaldo put on some gloves and killed Ludwig and put him in a bag and took him a very long way out of Djibo on his motorbike and buried him.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:11 AM
February 10, 2006
Bird flu reaches Africa
Well. What we all dreaded has happened. Bird flu has touched down in Africa. Over the coming weeks I will be keeping a very beady eye on Sylvia (our hen) and her three chicks, and all the other chickens in Djibo. Indeed, if any cases of avian flu are reported in Burkina Faso, I will be donning my mask and rubber gloves and arranging a very long holiday for Sylvia amongst the Oursi dunes.
Good luck to Nigeria in containing this outbreak. They'll need it.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:45 PM
February 02, 2006
Our Impassioned Calling
Dad's book Our Impassioned Calling has been reviewed by Stephen Redman over at The Ark today. The book is "a very good read", he says. "I am sure that no one with an open heart could fail to be encouraged by this book," he says.
I am looking forward very much to reading 'Our Impassioned Calling' when I go home for a break in April.
Posted by sahelsteve at 05:59 PM
Famine Relief in Burkina Faso
I bought some cereal today. Not Kellogg's cornflakes (although they can now be found at 'Self-Service' supermarket in Ouagadougou hoorah hoorah), but 46 tonnes of maize. I need it in order to reimburse the World Food Programme for the quantity which I 'borrowed' during the food security crisis in the north of the country last year.
The WFP sources grain like this - they put out an appel' to all suppliers saying they want to buy x tons and please to give them a quote. The suppliers all submit their quotes independently and the WFP chooses the cheapest. A contract is signed, the grain is delivered and then it is quality-tested. The contract I signed today with Al Haji Tera (grain merchant extraordinaire) specified that the grain he supplies me with should contain maximum 1% foreign bodies (sand, stones, husks etc) and 0% 'predateurs vivants' (literally 'living predators' - e.g. weevils). Which is fair enough, really; there's nothing worse than finding a living predator in your maize flakes when you are breakfasting.
Both the primary school feedings and the seed distributions were only possible through your donations, so thank you again for your support. See the famine relief category for more on those projects.
I am rather in two minds about whether I would get involved in exactly the same way another year. Shortly after the harvest, President Blase Campare (deliberate misspelling) spent the equivalent of 1.8 million US dollars on merchandise for his re-election campaign - money which was sitting there all through the food security crisis. Locals and ex-pats alike were furious when they found this out. How do you relate to a government that seems to have little concern for the rural poor? Do you let them depend on the generosity of NGOs to fund emergency aid? Or do you flounce off in a huff and leave them to it? Wisdom forbids the former, compassion forbids the latter. So what are the middle ways?
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:54 AM
January 19, 2006
Maxwell and Ag Ahmed Zabriou
Hello. Sorry not to have posted anything for a long time. Here is something by way of an update:
Maxwell: We now have an enormous desert tortoise called Maxwell, named after Maxwell House coffee. Publicity for Maxwell House is very important if West Africa is to be released from the near-monopoly of Evil Nestlé, who Used To Do Something Unethical To Do With Baby Milk, Or So I've Heard).
My own small contribution to the anti-Nestlé campaign comes in the sequel to Sophie and the Albino Camel, when a Fulani man sings a song mourning the loss of his only milk-cow. It goes something like this:
No milk since Tuesday,
I wish I could die,
My coffee is black
And my maize-flakes are dry.
Bring back,
Bring back,
Oh, bring back Big Udders to me.
No milk since Tuesday
And that's no mistake,
I'm all of a twitter,
I'm thin as a rake.
Bring back,
Bring back,
Oh, bring back Big Udders to me.
No milk since Tuesday,
I hate to complain,
But Beastlé milk powder
Just isn't the same.
Bring back,
Bring back,
Oh, bring back Big Udders
to meeeeeeeeeeee.
Anyway, before I got sidetracked I was writing about Maxwell the tortoise, who is so big that you can stand on him as he moves along. He eats cucumber peelings and egg shells and he likes to stand up on his hind legs and head-butt the wall.
Talking of standing on hind legs and head-butting the wall, that is what I did after learning that our latest application to buy land (on which to build the radio station Djibo FM) has been rejected. We will launch the application again soon, don't worry.
Work on the dossier for the actual broadcasting licence finished today in a flurry of formatting and spell-checking. This afternoon I handed it over to Ag Ahmed Zabriou, a Tuareg journalist here in Ouagadougou (that's right, not all Tuaregs maraud across the desert with their trusty dromedaries - some have to sit at their computer and churn out 1000 words of current affairs every day). Mr Ag Ahmed owns the FM station in Gorom-Gorom and has agreed to plead our cause before the Grand Jedi Licensing Committee.
Ag Ahmed's son-in-law is Francois Ouedraogo, the President's bodyguard, who might be able to put in a good word for us with the Big Man Himself. If he were to do so whilst diving in the way of a would-be assassin's bullet, that would be particularly effective.
During the process of writing the dossier I discovered a new word (to me) - vulgarisation. It's one of the French terms for 'getting the word out' - hence the objectives of Djibo FM include the following:
- Vulgarisation des techniques améliorées d'élevage pour obtenir des animaux sains et productifs
- Vulgarisation des techniques d'agriculture pour la lutte contre les insectes et pour des récoltes augmentées
- Vulgarisation de divers aspects de la santé, y compris la santé de l'enfant, le ver de guinée, la tuberculose et le paludisme
I couldn't bring myself to write the phrase 'vulgarisation de l'evangile' (vulgarisation of the gospel), but that is also one of the aims of the station, of course.
Away from work now, I have started work on 'The Yellowcake Mystery'. Last week I emailed various eminent British nuclear physicists asking for information about AVLIS, specifically about whether it is theoretically possible to operate an AVLIS unit in a clandestine laboratory underneath the Sahara Desert. AVLIS stands for Atomic Vapour Laser Isotope Separation, and is a good way to enrich large amounts of uranium in a small space (if you want to make, say, a nuclear bomb). AVLIS is very handy for the purposes of the book, because it will enable the following scene - 'baddy ties goody to the dangerous end of the Laser Isotope Separator machine (chortling throatily, of course) and then leaves, pausing at the door to say, 'Goodbye, Mr Ag Wizbit'. Would you believe it though, not one of these so-called eminent British nuclear physicists has dignified my questions with an answer. And I asked so politely, as well. I've a good mind to make one of them the baddy. Would that be libel?
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:35 PM
December 19, 2005
Jam tan Fulani website
I have just discovered the website Jamtan.com - a treasure-trove of information about the Fulani people of West Africa. If you need to find out anything about any aspect of Fulani life and culture, this should be your first port of call.
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:02 AM
November 13, 2005
Our Impassioned Calling: Finding God's Will for His Church
  | Our Impassioned Calling is a heartfelt book about the Christian Church. As we move further into the twenty-first Century, God longs for people who will pray from their hearts, "Lord, do what you want to do!" The book describes how Jesus calls us and how the Holy Spirit helps us; how we can combine a knowledge of history with readiness for God's working today; how we can express the Christian message to others with sensitivity but also with assurance. These themes contribute to a single central appeal: Engage with God himself!
Mark T. Davies is a Methodist Minister who has worked in churches in various parts of England. He's also my dad. |
Posted by sahelsteve at 04:44 PM
November 07, 2005
Blaise Campaore to visit Djibo tomorrow!
Lieutenant John came round again last night, rather nervous on account of the President's impending visit to Djibo. As commander of the northern brigades, John is responsible for the smooth running of the visit. 'After Tuesday I will be able to sleep again at night,' he muttered. 'If anything goes wrong - '. He drew his finger melodramatically across his throat.
Cristiano asked him whether President Blaise Campaore will win another term in office (elections take place next Sunday).
'Of course he will,' said John. 'Let's talk about something different.'
Cristiano talked about something else. Unfortunately, he chose to talk about his recent visit to Libya, and about Colonel Gaddafi. 'People in Libya love Gaddafi, don't they?' said Cristiano. 'His poster is on every wall, looking a bit like this - ' and he raised one eyebrow and peered down his nose at us. Iranaldo and I collapsed laughing.
John was stirred. 'Stop!' he cried. 'This is not Brazil! You are not in Copacabana now! This is Africa. Nous avons peur. Fermes ta bouche!.'
And with that he rushed outside, jumped into his Mercedes and sped off, grinding his undercarriage on the first pothole.
He's right, of course. This is not Copacabana. This is Burkina Faso, and at election time anything can happen.
Posted by sahelsteve at 04:23 PM
September 13, 2005
Chicken Psychology
My Brazilian friends Christiano and Irenaldo have arrived in Djibo now, and are settling in fine. It's nice to have some chortling Brazilian housemates after a few months on my own here.
I took them to visit the chief of Djibo who was holding court in his house in the depths of Hong Kong, surrounded by old men chewing cola nuts. As we sat with him a griot appeared at the door and started listing the chief's tarik (genealogy), starting about 500 years ago and rattling through at lightening pace down to the present day. The griot's clean-shaven sidekick was also there to shout 'Moyyi' (Good!) after each name. The whole experience was fascinating and strangely moving.
That afternoon the same griot gave Christiano and Irenaldo a chicken to welcome them to Djibo. His son showed us how to make sure a chicken does not escape from your yard: you take her to the spot where she will eventually be cooked, and swing her head-down in three circles over that spot. Even if it roams far and wide she will always come back to that spot and when you come along with your sharp knife she will be there waiting for you.
Posted by sahelsteve at 02:03 PM
July 09, 2005
We heard the news about your village
I visited all my neighbours in Djibo yesterday on my return from Ouagadougou. Yakuuba, a thirty-something Fulani man who lives across opposite me, greeted me with a worried expression.
Min nani kabaaru wuro ma,' he said. 'Alla hoynu.'
'We heard the news about your village - may God help you.'
After a blank second or two, I realised that Yakuuba was referring to the London bombings. Many people here have still not heard about what happened, but those who have are shocked and sympathetic.
I was down in Ouaga on Thursday, so from midday onwards I had access to news online on news sites (such as BBC), weblogs (like the excellent Londonist) and moblogs (like this one). Weblogs are notorious for spreading rumours and exaggeration, but they also tend to be quicker to break news than conventional sources. Some London bloggers were posting the real reason for the evacuation of Liverpool street station long before the BBC news site abandoned the 'power surge' explanation put about by the authorities.
The London bombings are not unexpected but they are no less terrible for that. The message of my Fulani neighbours to Londoners is simple: 'We heard the news about your village - may God help you.'
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:19 PM
June 16, 2005
Aribinda
On Tuesday we had a day off and went to Aribinda (80k away, near Boukouma) to see the rock etchings. Such is the scarcity of sightseeing trips in the north of Burkina that the tourist guides always give Aribinda a mention. Yet whenever people see the Aribinda rock etchings for the first time they are disappointed. I am thinking of collecting quotes about people's first visit to Aribinda and making a little booklet entitled 'Is that it?'
The etchings are of animals and occasionally stickmen in improbable postures, but none are more than 300 years old. The other highlights up on the rocks are the hollows said to be ancient pounding-mortars, two elongated dips said to be the knee-prints of Mohammad's camel, a long meandering line said to be the trail of a magic snake and a place where water flows miraculously out of a gap in the stone (but only during rainy season).
My most heartrending visit to Aribinda was earlier this year with two elderly Swiss ladies. In spite of my earnest warnings, they laboured up the steep rocks in bare feet, evidently expecting to encounter a vast tableau of proud warriors and camels, sprinting hunters and leaping gazelles - etched deep into the rock and dyed in bold red and black and yellow pigment. They probably had Lascaux in mind. When I pointed out to one of them the first etching, she bent down so that her nose was almost touching the rock, gazed at it for several seconds and then straightened up and said quietly and disdainfully, 'Ca, c'est quoi?'
Here are some pictures of Tuesday's visit to Aribinda. Click on the any of the images to see the full-sized picture. But first prepare yourself to be profoundly disappointed.
 |  | FAR LEFT: Andrea and Andy (Peace Corps Volunteers) LEFT: me and Carl |
 | Whatever these are, some of them seem to have riders. | |
 |  | FAR LEFT: antelope?
|
Posted by sahelsteve at 01:42 PM
June 12, 2005
Fragile Beginnings
We had a good rain last Saturday. I say good because it meant that people could go out to their fields the following day and plant their millet seed in the soft earth. It is sprouting now, and those tiny green growths are the fragile beginnings of another harvest.
My friend Hama (known in Djibo variously as Maani or as Trente) said today that he wants to start following Jesus. Please do pray for him, if you are so inclined.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:42 PM
Sad News
The recent rain has also caused much suffering. Houses leaked, roads collapsed, and a lot of sheep and goats were swept away in flash floods and drowned. I travelled up here on the day of the rain with a Fulani man who was very pleased that it was raining so hard - I saw him the following market day and he told me that 25 of his goats had been taken by the flood. Another man lost 100. Saddest of all, Boureima Petachuudi's nephew was struck by lightening and killed instantly, leaving behind a wife and six young children. Alla hoynu.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:40 PM
June 02, 2005
Gaddafi is back in town
There has always been a special relationship between the president of Burkikna Faso and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi comes to Ouaga quite a lot to do business with Campaore.
My visit to Ouaga this week has coinicided with Gaddafi's, though I have not been in the screaming crowds lining the roadside chanting GADDAFI! GADDAFI! GADAFFI! Shame really, since all the chanters got given a free Blaise Campaore T-shirt.
On Tuesday Gaddafi opened the new luxury 'Hotel Libya' in Ouagadougou. It has a Presendential Suite the size of Djibo and a banqueting hall the size of Gorom-Gorom.
Speaking of which, people in Djibo and Gorom and the rest of the forgotten north are still facing a very difficult food security situation. We are not allowed to call it a famine. I met with the Red Cross this morning, and our seed distribution is set to start next week in Djibo, Oursi and Markoy.
Anyway, here are some fun anagrams of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:23 PM
May 07, 2005
Turned out sunny again
Keith says he doesn't write poetry but the fact is, HE DOES!. Nice one, bro.
I would try one myself, but it's too hot to think.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:35 PM
April 15, 2005
Fainting Goats
Before I started working with the Fulani, I was not that interested in cows, sheep or goats. Now though, just sketch me a Bos Indicus and I will happily label it for you.
So imagine my joy to find this description of a little known (but very useful) breed of goat - the Fainting Goat.
"Fainting goats are a slightly smaller version of the standard goat, who, believe it or not, thanks to a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, actually seem to faint when they are startled.
As strange as this may sound, these little critters have actually served an historical purpose. Shepherds often kept the goats in with their flocks as insurance in case of predator attacks. The theory went something like this- as wolves would come down from the hills to attack a flock of sheep, the goats would become startled and, as per the name of their breed, they would faint. The sheep would make a clean getaway, as the wolves would focus on the stunned goats rather than pursue the fleeing sheep. Not that wonderful if you were one of the goats, sure, but downright dandy if you happened to be a sheep..."
The link above also has a link to the 'International Fainting Goat Assosiation' - now there's an AGM I wouldn' mind attending.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:50 PM
April 03, 2005
Dancing scorpions
There are a lot of scorpions around at the moment, especially in my house. I love watching scorpions right up close - they are exquisite creatures, and always oblige with a pleasant adrenalin-rush. Here are a pair that I found yesterday and was particularly taken with. They were holding hands on the wall and dancing round and round in circles:
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:03 PM
March 28, 2005
Tamboura Boubakar
Tamboura Boubakar is a retired gendarme. He is also something of a legend in Djibo.
'He was the nastiest gendarme in the whole province,' Hama Belko told me the other day. 'Everyone was terrified of him. He was recruited in the early days of French colonialism, when men were made gendarmes purely on the basis of their height and build. Tamboura Boubakar was a big man, and strong. He would beat thieves until their ears stood straight out from their heads like this (comic gesture), and then he would throw them into prison.
'Inevitably there were some thieves who had visited a marabout prior to committing their crime, and procured magic for releasing handcuffs and unlocking locked doors. If a thief escaped from prison like this, Tamboura Boubakar would be the one to track them down. He would not take a weapon with him - just his fists. He went as far as Bouaké to the west and Aribinda to the east. Distance was no object - a thief who had used magic to escape from prison must just hope that Tamboura Boubakar would not find him. Sticks and knives did not hurt Tamboura Boubakar - even bullets from a rifle would just glance off him. He had his own magic, and the thieves were powerless against it. If he found a thief who had escaped from prison, that thief would never be seen again.'
'Now Tamboura Boubakar is more than seventy years old, but he is still greatly feared around here. He only has to clear his throat and people run for cover. But like most old men, he has turned his back on magic - he knows that his magic was not of God.'
Hama is not the only person who tells these stories about Tamboura Boubakar. Other visitors to my house have said similar things. When they do so, they usually lower their voices, glancing over occasionally at the west wall of my yard.
Tamboura Boubakar is a pleasant old man with a white beard and shaky fingers, and he is my next-door neighbour. Sometimes we chat over the wall about the heat and his health and the price of cows. On market day this week I sent round a bowl of chobbal for him and his wives. He visited the following day and we looked at photos of my family, him ooo-ing and aaa-ing politely. I asked him when he had retired and he said 1980. Gendarmes retire at 45, he said, because of the nature of the work. I did not probe any further.
Posted by sahelsteve at 05:10 PM
March 21, 2005
Good news and Bad news
That radio meeting on 16 March went okay. There is bad news and good news.
The bad news is that the process for applying for a broadcasting license has been recently reviewed - it is now swathed in approximately forty-six miles of red tape where previously there were only thirty.
The good news is that we at last have a contact in the Conseil General(the Jedi Council in Ouagadougou which makes decisions about who gets licenses and who doesn't). The application will be considered entirely on its own merits, of course, but Mr X is going to make sure we fill in all the right forms and stamp them with all the right stamps. Contacts are everything here: it really helps if you know a man who plays boules with a man whose son goes to school with the boy who feeds the president's ostriches.
I now have to write up the project properly and start to look for funding. I am convinced that radio will be good news for Djibo, and will be posting bits and pieces here in the coming weeks about why that is so.
By the way, the vomiting has stopped. Thanks for your prayers.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:36 PM
March 14, 2005
Why rats can't vomit
I have been unwell for a couple days now with some kind of stomach bug.
I was interested to learn today that although rats are similar to humans in many respects, you will never see a rat vomiting. Instead they simply avoid eating things which are going to make them sick. This fine, lucid article at www.ratbehaviour.org explains fully why rats can't vomit.
I really want to be better by Wednesday because there is an important meeting up in Kaya about the radio project.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:11 PM
'Commission for Africa' report
Tony Blair's 'Commission for Africa' made its report recently. Here is the report at a glance and in full.
Looks like good, sensible stuff. Now we just need to act on it.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:12 AM
March 13, 2005
Barbare gets its food aid
Just a quick note to confirm that the children at Barbare have now got their food aid. One square meal a day, like the other schools.
The funds raised by my locust appeal topped 10,800 pounds sterling, which is more than I would have imagined. It has made a big difference to the children of Soum and Oudalan, Burkina Faso's two poorest provinces. Thanks again to all who gave.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:36 AM
March 10, 2005
House Warming
Last night I had a house-warming party. 'House-warming' is not a phrase that translates sensibly into Fulfulde, especially now that we are well into hot season. But the idea of inviting everyone to your new house to pronounce blessings on the new yard is entirely normal. Being in a new place is thought to be an uneasy state of being, countered only by a sufficient quantity of people coming round and saying 'Alla dammini' (May God establish). And the houseowner's part of the bargain is to provide for them a sufficient quantity of roast goat and macaroni.
The party itself was based on the parties Keith used to throw in Gorom. His article 'partying with the poor' is worth a read; it is a concept which cuts right to the heart of the gospel. Muslims and Christians, men and women, adults and children, poor and less poor, all partaking of the one goat.
The goat got a raw deal, of course. She had sat with me on the veranda in the heat of the day and we had munched dates in a companionable kind of way, enjoying the breeze of an electric fan which swung back and forth between us. I told her that I was feeling a bit stressed about the upcoming party and she blinked sympathetically as if to say that she wasn't feeling too great about it either. And then the old man Amadou Mawdo arrived and we laid the goat on her side, held her legs and slit her throat. Life is like that.
Not much to report about the party itself, except the staggeringly bad behaviour of the neighbourhood kids, which I had sort of anticipated but not prepared for. Parties here are essentially sedentary affairs - not much in common with English parties except the peanut theme. We sat on mats and drank tea and ate peanuts and then ate the meal and had more tea and more peanuts and the dates left over from the goat's lunch. And then some more people arrived, and found that the food was finished and got cross, saying 'Toy ngedu am?' ('Where's my goat-leg, then?'). Then we built a fire and there was some singing and clapping and then people started to leave, saying 'Allah dammini, Allah dammini'.
Most of the guests left around ten o'clock, but some stayed till half past midnight, listening to Fulfulde cassettes. We listened to 'Linjila e Al Qur'an', a cassette of Keith talking about what the Gospels and the Qur'an teach about Jesus - he emphasizes the common ground and it's all really nicely contextualized. After that we listened to a straight recording of the Gospel of Mark and I felt again that pleasant dizzying sensation of being able to share Staggeringly Good News with people who have never heard it. One guy in particular was really interested and asked a lot of questions - he told me this morning that he had not got to sleep until two o'clock, thinking about everything he had heard, and that when he did get to sleep he dreamed about Jesus. Perhaps God is at work in his life.
Or perhaps it was just something he ate.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:19 PM
March 06, 2005
Tamasheq words you may not know
During my time in Markoy I asked Bill for some examples of really obscure Tamasheq words. Even if you have enrolled in Tamasheq night classes at your local college, it may be a year or two before you learn these:
akmas (verb) - to tie a small quantity of something (e.g. coins) in the corner of a shawl
tafeza (noun) - the dried urine on the tail of a female camel (intended to attract males)
aladad (verb) 1. to secretly milk someone else's cow
2. to suck milk directly from a cow's udder
(usually you would use a calabash for milking, or failing that a shoe or a hat. But if you happen to be in the desert wearing open sandals and a turban, aladad might be your only option)
Unfortunately, Bill has not been able to incorporate any of the above into his translation of the New Testament into Tamasheq.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:48 PM
March 04, 2005
I love blinking, I do
Do you remember Big Brother 2 in the UK, back in the golden age when Big Brother was inane and intriguing and only slightly sordid? Do you remember Helen, the hairdresser from Wales? She was making coffee in the kitchen one morning and suddenly announced to no one in particular 'I love blinking, I do.' And on her eviction night three weeks later she was greeted rapturously by fans waving 'WE LOVE BLINKING TOO, HELEN' placards. Ah me, 2001 was a good year.
Yesterday afternoon for about an hour I found myself caught up in the harmattan wind blowing in from the desert. I was walking south to north, with sand and dust blowing horizontal in my face all the way, and my blink-rate was about six a second. Are eyelids the result of evolutionary algorithm or intelligent design? I can't say for sure - perhaps both. But this much I do know: I love blinking too, Helen.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:18 PM
February 23, 2005
I would email you if I could
I am experiencing severe difficulties sending email of any sort at present (either SMTP or webmail). If you are friend or family and haven't heard from me recently, that's why...
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:48 PM
February 21, 2005
Back in Djibo
I am back from my travels in the north of Burkina. It took a couple days longer than I had planned due to the breakdown of a bus, but basically all went well.
Have moved into my new house and am gradually getting sorted out. Lots to write about but no time right now. Will post properly on Wednesday.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:13 PM
February 17, 2005
Tamasheq Bible
Went on a bush-trip Sunday/Monday around some Tamasheq villages. The Tamasheq (or Tuaregs) are the 'blue men of the desert', so called because their rich indigo turbans rub off on their skin. I have not spent much time at all with Tamasheq people so I speak none of the language beyond 'Martola/Alharras' (greetings) and 'amanis' (camel). But the chap I was with (let's call him Bill - he does not want his name online) has been working amongst the Tamacheq for years and has just finished his translation of the new testament. Bill and I travelled around several villages where there are literacy classes going on, and gave out some copies of the new testament. It was great. I want to write more about it but time is short. Thank God for Bill, and for a fruitful trip.
Posted by sahelsteve at 05:58 PM
February 08, 2005
Co-workers in Djibo?
Had a meeting with Iara yesterday - she is the West Africa director for World Horizons. It seems I could soon have Brazilian co-workers in Djibo - two of the lads who have been training at Monteverde. Their estimated time of arrival is June this year. Please pray for them.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:45 AM
Red Buddhist Nun
I was approached yesterday on the street in Ouagadougou by a young lad hawking DVDs which had come all the way from Singapore. When he rifled through his stash of discs I noticed that he had one of my favourite films, and after a bit of good-natured haggling I bought it (my computer can play dvds). The blurb on the back cover is in Chinese and English.
Making fun of the English of non-English-speakers is cheap humour, I know, but the plot summary on the cover of this film is so delicious that I just have to share it. Guess the film:
Release on parole out still that not until 24 hours, red Buddhist nun is planning him and next one has planned from the prison. There are three rules: Anyone is not injured Any person who should not suffer this destiny is not stolen To do as if you it doesn't matter can lose. The criminal of this sly and has glamour begins the most complicated meticulous gambling house robs in the history. He has called together 11 experts between one night and includes the playing cards past master, and top level thief and one blows up expert. Their this dimension of plan from pulls adds this three gambling houses and robs away 1 5 thousand0 thousand dollars. This Buddhist nun's enlighten gram that the boss of these three gambling houses is elegant and merciless, the former wife of his by chance red Buddhist nun of appointment liver mosses silks. Robbing understanding is in progress at the same time with fiery boxing match. Pulls this dimension adds this does not sleep that the night is obviously more brilliant..
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:42 AM
February 07, 2005
G7 provides hope for Burkina Faso debt relief
The result of the G7 finance ministers meeting in London is that 37 of the poorest countries in the world, including Burkina Faso, could have their debts cancelled. With the (now familiar?) exception of the US, the world's seven richest countries are committed to debt relief, and this has to be good news for Africa. The question of how to fund debt relief is still under discussion, but for the time being we should be ululating in the streets of Ouagadougou and designing 'Gordon Brown pour premier-ministre' banners.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:48 AM
February 05, 2005
'Under the Acacias' award nomination
If you haven't yet visited my colleague Keith's weblog I recommend you do so - it is often an inspiring read.
Keith's site has been nominated for 'best missionary blog' in the Evangelical Blog Awards - you can cast your vote by sending an email to eblogawards@gmail.com, saying something to the effect of 'I vote for Under the Acacias in the category Best Missionary blog'. Easy.
Update: Keith won.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:18 AM
February 04, 2005
Nelson Mandela in Trafalgar Square
Nelson Mandela speaking today:
"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right; the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.
"Make poverty history in 2005. Make history in 2005. Then we can all stand with our heads held high."
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:24 AM
February 03, 2005
Putain
Jean, my new landlord/friend came round last night and we drank hot chocolate. He was very depressed and didn't have a single good word to say about Africa/Africans. He kept giving examples of the inefficiency and corruption and lack of resources in his department and after each example he would put down his hot chocolate, throw up his hands in despair and shout 'Putain', which I assume is not something you would say in front of your French grandmother.
I really sympathise. Here is an extremely intelligent and ambitious young man who trained as a gendarme, rose straight to the top and was sent to Paris to study policing methods - only to come back to Africa and find that he can't implement any of it because everyone is on the make and there is no petrol in Djibo for the gendarmes motorcycles. The territory he is responsible for is absolutely vast. 'What I am supposed to do', he cried, 'send out the gendarmes on camels, brandishing swords? Putain! '
Go on, I said, it is not all bad (I was probably still misty-eyed from writing 'Why I love Africa') but he laughed so bitterly that I wished I hadn't.
One thing we did agree on: the two African-French phrases most likely to make our blood boil:
Ca va aller. (It'll be all right)
On va voir. (We'll see)
On reflection, I would add a third to that list: Revenez demain matin.
Jean told a story about a man who climbed a tree to pinch the eggs from a bird's nest, and when he put his hand in, he found there was a snake there. The man grabbed the head of the snake to hold its mouth shut, but it wrapped itself tightly round his arm and started to squeeze. The man's friend was waiting at the bottom of the tree, and when he saw what was happening he said: (you've guessed it) 'Ca va aller.'
Posted by sahelsteve at 03:02 PM
February 01, 2005
Overcoming missionary stress
Some days are tough, some are not so tough, but there are two things in particular which are helping me at the moment - a 500g pot of Marmite (thanks, Dan) and 'The Complete Short Stories of PG Wodehouse' (thanks, Andy).
A Marmite baguette first thing in the morning and a PG Wodehouse story last thing at night. Both inexplicably absent from the (otherwise excellent) tome 'Overcoming Missionary Stress' by Marjory Foyle.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:00 PM
January 31, 2005
Christianity and Renewal
The February issue of Christianity and Renewal is now out, and includes my article 'Ministry on the Move' about the Djibo cattle-drive.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:09 PM
January 30, 2005
Email Gordon
If you are from the UK and care about Africa you should pay a visit to Make Poverty History. This week we shall mostly be sending emails to Gordon Brown. There is a very important meeting of G7 finance ministers on February 4, where trade could be freed up and debt could be wiped out and aid could be increased, so what is needed are lots of polite letters to our Chancellor encouraging him to stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, make his aspect like that of a tiger, and cancel debt.
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:14 AM
January 29, 2005
Mariama update
Mariama had her operation, and the good news is: o gurbitinaay. She did not run away. She did not even jump off the operating table. The operation was a success and the doctor says 'so far so good', although it will take about three weeks for him to be sure that everything has healed completely.
Excellent.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:32 AM
January 26, 2005
Tomorrow never comes
Once again, Mariama's operation has been postponed until tomorrow. This is Africa.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:52 PM
Market Day
Have been at the market all morning manning the 'Linjila' (Gospel) stall. I generally use Look Listen and Live resources in Fulfulde, which seem to go down well. At any one time in the morning there are between thirty and fifty people listening. Tiring but fun.
Posted by sahelsteve at 02:37 PM
January 25, 2005
Bla
Really busy day - deluged by visitors at home and by 'meeters and greeters' in the streets. I know so many people in Djibo that a ten minute walk takes half an hour; sometimes I get fed up of all the jam-waali-ing and babbati-nyaami-fuu-ing and just want to be anonymous.
I went to see Mariama at the hospital this morning, and the doctor asked me to help translate for him (French-Fulfulde) so that he could explain to her exactly what the operation would involve. Mariama was completely calm and composed as she listened - I on the other hand nearly fainted. I had to go and sit down for a few minutes before resuming! I have never been squeamish like that before in my life. Pooli naati hoore am. What an idiot I felt.
Mariama's operation has been postponed until tomorrow morning. Please continue to pray for her.
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:55 PM
January 24, 2005
Mariama Gurbitoowo
Mariama is a Fulani lady who needs an operation at the local hospital - it is a simple procedure that will improve her quality of life by a factor of about eight zillion. But she is anxious about having surgery - so anxious, in fact, that she has a tendency to leap off operating tables and run for the hills. You've seen 'Runaway Bride' with Julia Roberts - well this is 'Runaway Patient'. Three times she has got as far as the operating table, three times she has seen the anaesthetist approaching, three times she has legged it. Her explanation? 'Pooli naati hoore am' (Birds entered my head).
There is a Fulfulde word 'gurbitinde' which means 'to spring up from a sitting or lying position and run away.' In the Fulfulde Bible it appears only once - in Acts 3:8 when the lame man gets healed. 'Gurbitinde' can also be made into a noun 'gurbitinoowo' which means 'one who is accustomed to spring up from a sitting or lying postion and run away'. That's what I love about Fulfulde - it's so precise.
Seriously though, Mariama's habit of gurbitinning is making life very difficult for her and her mother. Tomorrow she has a fourth (and final) chance of surgery. If she gurbitins this time, she's blown it. Hawa and Bintu and I prayed with her today that God's peace would surround her in the hospital and that she would be able to let the anaesthetist put the needle in. If you read this before 11am (GMT) on Tuesday 25 January, please join with us in praying for Mariama and for the success of her operation. Thanks.