Chapeaux

Interprète

On a encore ajouté un nouvel élément à mon gabarit d'homme à tout faire. Je quitte encore une fois pour Garalo demain mais cette fois-ci, non comme photographe et journaliste mais plutôt avec mon chapeau d'interprète. Les génératrices de la centrale électrique à Garalo ont été importé des Pays-Bas et l'ingénieur-en-chef de cette phase du projet est de retour pour 2 semaines. Puisqu'il ne comprend pas très bien le français, je l'accompagne pour les quelques jours pour jouer au jeu de téléphone. Il est fort probable qu'à certains moments, il y aura un employé à la centrale qui agira comme interprète du Bambara au Français donc il faut espérer que le message traverse les haies de la langue.

Stratégiste

Les deux dernières semaines ont été acharnu puisque mes tâches de design de matériaux de communication ont cédés leurs places pour la rédaction d'une stratégie de communication. Il s'agit de la première fois que le MFC entreprend une telle tâche donc le défi se présente aussi comme une opportunité. Je suis imprégné dans le pratique. En fait, c'est une lacune sur laquelle je cherche toujours à m'améliorer. Ce nouveau chapeau de stratégiste semble un peu trop grand pour le moment mais je cherche à le faire rétrécir.

Colocataire

La délégation néerlandaise comprend aussi une consultante qui va passer 3 semaines à Bamako. Le Mali Folkcenter Nyetaa (c'est le nom officiel donc je vais l'utiliser à partir de maintenant) appartient deux apartements: celui où j'habite et un autre dans le même cartier. Puisque cette consultante va aménager avec moi pour les 3 prochaines semaines, on a décidé que ce serait mieux de s'installer dans l'autre apartement puisqu'il est beaucoup plus grand. J'ai vraiment hésité puisque mes racines commençaient à bien creuser cette terre; c'est aussi à cause que ma formation avec One Sky était surtout axée sur l'épanouissement en dehors de sa zone de confort et je crains être trop confortable. Il s'agit peut-être d'une opportunité pour découvrir différents moyens d'éviter le sentiment d'être isoler. Vous allez tous comprendre dès que j'ai la chance de prendre quelques photos.

Bon, c'est quel chapeau que je vais porter aujourd'hui...

Va-dont jouer dehors!!

It's Sunday afternoon and, like every weekend, I feel like I should spend it "playing outside". This feeling surely derives from my upbringing where sunny days needed to be enjoyed to their full potential; if it's nice out then you have no reason to stay indoors!

Bamako, as one can imagine, presents a dilemma because every day is the equivalent of a "nice day": clear skies and mid-30's.

I write about the weather because it leads me to a deeper introspection. Am I "playing outside" enough? Am I experiencing Bamako and Mali to its full potential? To this point, it feels like I am living comfortably in terms of how much I play outside but there is this nagging voice telling me it's not enough.

No longer being in the honeymoon phase of cameras incessantly clicking and eyes never blinking, routine takes over. There is a task before me and I will experience the country and culture through it. The fear of never doing enough comes from the inflated expectations at the onset of departure.

I am here in Bamako for 5 months and that in itself is a sufficient experience for most. I am learning Bambara. I am playing football regularly (a post on this is coming soon). I will learn to play the djembe drum. I have and will be visiting rural communities. I am writing regularly both to friends and family but also for myself. I am playing PES6 (a football video game) with local neighbourhood kids. I am educating kids back in Canada. I am growing roots.

My intention is not to flaunt but rather to share experiences because I realize that I will have as much an impact, if not more, on friends, family and surrounding circles than I will in my work here. Perceptions desperately need to change and that won't be done waiting for CNN to take the initiative. It is done through telling stories and breaking myths that this is a place where only poverty and disease thrive. This is a place where people are taking charge and perspectives are shifting as we speak. I say this not to undermine the many gruesome challenges that people face every day (especially in rural Mali, amongst the poorest places in the world) but rather to shed light to an overlooked reality. Everybody is aware of the challenges but what about the innovative approaches to take that first step on the ladder of development (ok so I'm reading "The End of Poverty", can you tell?).

My friend Daouda, as he was driving me home on his motorcycle, unexpectedly brought up this topic of development; I say unexpectedly because he's a football player and we never had a discussion on this before. He made the point that they are playing catch-up with the rest of the world after only gaining independence in 1961. That said, they are severely handicapped in this game mainly because they have practically nothing but their fields of sourghum and gold mines to put on the table.

I think I hear my mom calling me all the way back in Canada during my childhood. It's time I go outside and play my part in this game of catch-up.

Trolls, Pogs and Marbles

From my friend Bruno, trying to keep me up to speed on latest trends:

"Here is an instructional video on how to perform the latest hip hop tribal dance being emulated constantly by my students and most likely all people in that age group all over North America. It's in actual fact probably the worse song ever put together by an IBM over a weekend, and thus is capturing feeble minds everywhere. Voilà,



Rant completed by this:

I think there are more people who know how to do this dance world wide, than there are people who can perform CPR ; just a passing thought."

My personal favourite has got to be the Superman part just because I can imagine a whole gym full of kids simultaneously emulating flight. It could also easily be turned into the "Mario Bros Swim" if ever Soulja Boy became Frog Boy.

Just when I feel like saying something like "what has this world come to?", I am reminded of this:



... and I realize we were no better.

It's Always Sunny in Bamako

Since my internship began back in Smithers with One Sky, I feel like I am contributing to something good and that my work has an intrinsic value that could not be found within cubicle walls. What may seem as being easy for me, whether it's translating a document or formatting a picture, is considered to be of great value to others.

If life here is a couch, I just went from sitting hesitantly on the edge to lounging back like I know it's going to be a really long movie and a while before I get back up. The routine is slowly taking shape, the initial feeling of wanting to document every single moment and thought is dissipating. It's sunny in Bamako, and I brought my sunglasses.

Le boulot

Days go by quickly, especially when I'm asked to do something by two days ago. I'm in a constant struggle to focus on work rather than turn to the world wide web's panoply of toys, which I have always been so accustomed to having practically around the clock. I must admit that it's nice to come home to a TV (with 3 channels!), many books and, of course, my guitar.

The Prophet

A friend passed me a book called "The Biography of the Prophet" by Karen Armstrong before I left. This is a fascinating story of arguably one of the most influential persons to have ever lived. I will comment on this further once I am finished the book but for now, if you are interested in understanding Islam beyond CNN and Wikipedia, pick it up at a bookstore near you.

Blogged with Flock

R.I.P. iPod (2003-2007)

My iPod died at 2132 hours yesterday, November 5, 2007; the cause of death is unknown. Although it may seem unlikely, I suspect One Sky is making an inter-continental attempt to once again bring me out of my comfort zone. When doing a workshop on personal ecology, I expressed the fact that music is, and has always been, my coping mechanism for stress. One could say that One Sky has made me a sceptic for life when it comes to ironic and/or unfortunate events and it will always make me laugh inside.

That said, on with more important things…

Projet Yèrè Yiriwa

Mali was among the first countries in West Africa to undertake a vast decentralization process for political power. Local governments now have a much greater responsibility to assure a sustainable economic, political and social development. In fact, rural commune governments now receive 80% of tax revenues are distributed directly to them. Evidently, their budgets have also grown tremendously even if only 20% of elected leaders are entirely literate.

Herein lies the context where Projet Yèrè Yiriwa looks to act as a catalyst for sustainable development from the ground up. Each village must identify 10 revenue-generating activities and then prioritize them. Sectors, consisting of 4 to 5 villages, will then go through the same process.

In order for each village to be fairly represented, 5 delegates are assigned for the Projet Yèrè Yiriwa group consultations: the elected leader, the men’s “animateur”, the women’s “animatrice”, a youth representative as well as a women’s representative. The “animateur” and “animatrice” have both received training by the Yèrè Yiriwa coordinators on techniques to mobilize their community and are very much local champions of the project. After the group consultation, they will return to their communities and relay the messages and lessons learned from the Yèrè Yiriwa team.

It was at these consultations that the Yèrè Yiriwa team explained, for example, the benefits that their paying income taxes can bring. Since becoming a democracy in 1992, I am told that Malians – mainly in rural areas – expect the economic and social benefits to automatically come to them. They have been unable to see the link between income tax revenue and new roads or hospitals, to the point where they complain about a lack of essential services from the State. Projet Yèrè Yiriwa therefore looks to establish a clear link in order to show each and every person how their voice can be heard as well as how they can contribute to this development.

Youth are also encouraged to stay in their respective villages instead of moving to urban centres like Bamako. The prioritization of revenue-generating activities aims to show them the bright horizon for the development of their village and how they can play an important part in it.

After having attended 3 group consultations in the villages of Kodiougou, Sôrôna and Garalo, it is apparent that many challenges lie ahead, the biggest one being proximity. Many of these villages are isolated by 10 or 20 km from each other and the roads are in terrible condition. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for the delegates to find transportation or fuel for the trip. In fact, the first consultation I attended was delayed for more than 3 hours because we had to wait for every village to be represented. It was fascinating for a time-is-money-Westerner to observe the infinite patience of the people, even if they were sacrificing an entire day of harvesting their fields or tending to their daily chores. Patience is definitely an abundant commodity in Mali.

It is thanks to the people’s firm belief in Projet Yèrè Yiriwa that the horizon shines a bit brighter than before. You can even see it in their faces when members of the Yèrè Yiriwa team, like Monsieur Ibrahim Togola, speak of concrete power and personal value that each person detains as players on this field of democracy. One can almost feel the earth tremble from people getting up to make their voices heard as they take momentous steps forward.

"Le rêve est devenu réel"

« Le rêve est devenu réel » dit un chef de famille lorsque je lui demande comment l’accès à l’électricité a changé la vie des villageois de Garalo, une communauté rurale du Mali. À l’aide d’un interprète en Bambara, il m’explique que les bénéfices sont nombreux : (i) on peut maintenant garder des médicaments essentiels réfrigérés; (ii) les enfants peuvent étudier en soirée lorsqu’ils ont plus de temps libre; (iii) l’hôpital a maintenant un bloc opérationnel et l’on espère un jour qu’il soit fonctionnel pendant 24 heures; (iv) et l’on peut aussi faire du pain beaucoup plus nutritionnel.

Le 3e point est important à cause de l’emplacement géographique puisque Garalo est situé à plus de 2 heures de route de Bougouni où l’on y retrouve un hôpital. La route est tellement trouée que le trajet pourrait aggraver la condition d’un patient.

La réponse du chef dura pour plus que 5 minutes et je ne devais même pas attendre pour la traduction afin de comprendre que l’impacte est comparable à un miracle; surtout que les gens le croyait fou lorsque Mamadou Moulin Kané a dit aux gens du village qu’il allait électrifier le village.

La centrale, énergisée par le pourghère cultivé dans le village, produit un courant pendant 3 heures chaque soir après le coucher de soleil. Ce qui paraît minime pour l’Occident est, en réalité, une source de vie pour les habitants de Garalo au point même où les enfants crient de joie lorsque les lumières s’allument chaque soir. On me dit qu’on prit le soir avant de se coucher afin de remercier le courage des employés du MFC ainsi que ACCESS, l’entreprise privée qui entreprend l’opération et le maintien de la centrale ainsi que son réseau.

Malgré leur manque d’éducation formelle, les gens comprennent très bien le lien entre le pourghère qu’ils cultivent et les lumières et téléviseurs qui s’allument le soir. Ils disent faire tout leur possible pour aider au développement de la centrale ainsi que le stock de pourghère.

Une de mes premières questions fût : pourquoi on a choisi à Garalo?

En 1999, le directeur du Mali Folkecenter, Ibrahim Togola, avait une rencontre avec le directeur du Ministre d’Hydrologie lorsqu’un homme interrompu pour demander au directeur ce dont il pouvait faire pour électrifier son village. C’était donc par pur hasard que la référence s’est fait avec M. Togola, qui a été intéressé dès le début à élargir les horizons du MFC, spécialisé auparavant qu’en énergie solaire et éolienne. Cet homme était Mamadou Moulin Kané, un résident de Garalo qui était le premier à rêver de voir les domiciles de Garalo illuminé la nuit. Il a persisté chaque jour pendant des années à rappeler le directeur Togola du projet et parfois même en personne puisqu’il était dans les environs ce jour-là (même si Garalo est à plus que 200 km et 4 heures de route). On peut vraiment dire que c’est grâce à lui que les habitants de Garalo profitent d’électricité durable qui sert aussi de catalyseur de développement de la région.