Little by little the bird makes its nest.

It is funny how over the course of the same day in Burkina that I can feel incredibly frustrated and completely inspired. It is why our Country Director calls it "the roller coaster."

Over the last week I've done enough to make me feel satisfied. I haven't felt this productive while in village in a while (it is hard to compare village productivity to productivity in the city or the U.S.) At mid-service things felt like they were starting to click. Mobilizing small projects is definitely doable now.

What made me happiest this week was seeing the moringa field that I planted with Mr. Bassole (you may remember him from previous blogs as the stubborn farmer who wouldn't build a fence or water the trees). I had neglected visiting the field since I got back in country from Senegal (I know, shame on me), but I didn't know if my little heart could handle seeing a dry, barren field chewed to pieces by goats. I was sure that this jolly farmer in cut off shorts with a daba (an African hoe) over his shoulder would just shrug and say the Lyele equivalent for "C'est l'afrique." I would then fight back a mixture of frustration and tears and later contemplate my meaningless life in my hut (PCVs can be dramatic).

To my utter surprise and delight the field was more than intact--it was fenced! They also started planting onions around the moringa trees, so the ones that had received companion plants were being watered. Given the plants that had been eaten by goats were replaced it was actually a heart-warming sight for a well-intentioned PCV stranded in a little stretch of Sahel.

I've been starting to lay the ground work for powdered moringa demand at my clinic. We normally do nutrition sensibilisations in Fridays, so I incorporated moringa sales. My counterpart insisted we start selling the powdered moringa at the pharmacy, particularly to children who need to gain weight. I like to describe it as organic vegan protein powder (to Americans, obviously). The proceeds from sales will go toward the clinic management committee, particularly toward public health workshops if I have any say.

I had a bit of a talk with my counterpart about sustainable projects and responsible use of NGO partnerships. He was trying to tell me that the solar panel project that had been originally brought to the maternity didn't need to be mentioned when requesting funds. I said that I will not be involved in a project that does not specify previous funding. I also explained that the managing committee needs to have a maintenance plan set in place where they set aside a small portion of their funds every month to pay for replacement parts if they break. Even if it was 2500cfa per month (the equivalent of 5 U.S. dollars) they could have enough money set aside by the time they need to replace the car battery that they use to run lights in the maternity. Instead they have ran themselves into a tight spot where they already had support from an NGO and now need funds to help replace a battery and parts to a system that they had neglected.

So, I am trying to encourage ethical NGO partnerships and some health related income-generating activities. As my counterpart reminded me today I have "so much to do and so little time to do it." Amen.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Airtel Burkina Faso.