Update on Kadiaradougou

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and are currently enjoying a relaxing day of eating leftovers. Since many of you followed me throughout my time in Peace Corps Mali, I wanted to give you an update on what has gone on in Kadiaradougou since I left in 2011. We'll call this the "Jeliba" edition because in Mali the griots (or "jeli") deliver good news, often using songs. I won't sing for you, though, because let's be honest - no one wants that.

The civil war in Mali luckily barely touched my village, which is in the southern Sikasso region. In related news, the man who initiated the coup is now being tried in court. The two water pumps you all helped us install are still working really well, and my colleague Hadi reports that the incidence of diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses has dropped significantly. There was a small mechanical problem with one of the pumps earlier this year, but the village pump mechanic we trained was able to fix the issue the same day. I was really proud to hear that, because it made me confident that the project will be sustainable in the long term without additional outside help or funding. It was like a test run for the larger mechanical problems that are sure to happen 5-10 years down the line, and they did everything they needed to ensure clean water continued to be supplied to the village. 

My older host brother, Madou, got married to a nice young lady after recovering his reputation from a scandal where he "kidnapped" (consensually) his then-girlfriend from her village because her parents didn't want them to get married (they were not pleased). And my friends, Solo and Jeniba, have had another baby. My work counterpart, Hadi, is doing well, and his little sister C. is in her 3rd and final year of medical school. She is the first person from our village to go on to higher education, and she's a real inspiration for all of the other girls in the village. If you happen to want to make a donation for her 3rd and final year of medical school we only have $256 left to raise. 

My mentor, Mama, volunteered as a voter registration worker for the presidential election in July, and in August the new president, IBK was put in place. So far everyone seems pretty happy with him!

So all is well in Mali, and I hope all is well with each of you! Enjoy the holiday season, and I hope I will see each of you sometime soon.