This past week has been dedicated to an exiting and fun malaria tournee throughout the region of Linguere. The 13 volunteers of our non-region got together and visited 11 villages in 4 days, spreading knowledge wherever we went. All in all, over 1300 people were educated about how malaria is spread, how to prevent it and treatment. A Peace Corps driver took us in a pickup truck with about 8 of us sitting in the back.
Picture this: You’re living in one of the villages we visited, Fujiti perhaps. You’re going about your businness: pounding some millet, fetching water from the well, or taking a nap on a mat because it’s Ramadan and you’re too hungry and thirsty to do anything else. Suddenly, you hear a car approaching, odd because usually only one car comes through each day. Then, you see the car, full of more white people than you’ve ever seen in your life. Not only that, they have a bullhorn and are yelling at the top of their lungs “COME WATCH OUR TALK! WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT MALARIA! THERE ARE A LOT OF TOUBABS HERE!” etc.
One of the main highlights in my opinion was the “Myth Busters Theater”, where we shot down the common misconceptions that green mangos, milk, dancing, and spirits can give people malaria. At the end of every segment we chanted “Maatu maatu yoo, indi na sibiru!” which lead to a lot of clapping and impromptu dance parties in various villages. The last night we were walking around Linguere and a couple of us were lucky enough to hear whole families singing our song in the street. Success!
(In other news: sorry I haven’t written in a while. I’ll try to be better. Love you all!)
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss
Fear and Loathing in Linguere 
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