A Race to the Finish-Handwashing Workshops for 700 Kids

When you think of October 15th, what comes to your mind? Is your first thought Global Handwashing Day? Really? Mine too! Incredible how we all think alike.

This year Kirstin and I (who happened to be in town writing her practicum for her master's degree) ran workshops educating students at Lycée Rialé about proper handwashing techniques. I mentioned to my principal that morning that instead of having math class I would host a lesson on handwashing, and instead of saying no, the response he gave was Dylan, you have 3 hours, hit as many classes as you can.


The race was on. Armed with 2 buckets, a handwashing plastic kettle, and two different types of soap, Kirstin and I managed to hit 7 different classes, each with class sizes of 100 plus students. And oh what a time it was. Students cheered their classmates washing their hands, cringed when water was accidently poured on them, and laughed every single time the word "diaorrhea" was mentioned.


Every single workshop went like this-I would present myself first, Monsieur Dylan, and then Madame Kirstin (Who students now call Madame Dylan). We joked a little bit about her ability to speak Bissa (about 1/4 of my students are of the Bissa ethnic group) and then dived straight in to the art of handwashing and its importance. We discussed the how and the why of handwashing, like why diarrhea is the number one killer of children under 5 in Burkina Faso and how simple it is to prevent it: use soap, water (cleanliness of water is not so important as long as soap is used), scrub for 2 minutes, and then rinse.


Homework for the weekend was for each student to return home and inform their families on the day's material. After asking my 2 math classes this week I found out that apparently a few students actually did-success!

While we were not able to hit every single class due to time constraints, I feel that 700 kids in one day is a pretty decent number. Here's hoping that the knowledge passes! I for one, will not eat unless the people I am eating with wash their hands. It gives me the chance to inform folks on a personal level about the importance of handwashing, especially given that most people eat with their hands in Burkina Faso.

First Week of School and One Last Goodbye to Bob

Sliding down the Garango Mountain

The skies are blue, the birds are chirping, the goats and sheep are grazing in the school grounds, and the children are all back-school has begun. Well sort of. My first day was a fabulous example...because it never actually happened. School started on a Friday this year, which seems odd but not suprising anymore. I walked into my first class to see...no students !!! Suprise ! First day of school was actually just a kids see their schedule day, because apparently during class organization day nobody told them their class schedule. So students came, and left, which gave me another day of summer.

But the first day of school did come, and alas it went off without a hitch. Unlike last year when I was absolutely terrified to start class, this time around I felt normal. Did my introductions, told my students how to prepare for my class, and that was it. Same went for class number two-zero problems. So here I am in week 2 of school and things are going smoothly. Let's hope it will stay that way.

After all, kids are thrilled to take my class, because well of the 6 subjects required in 6eme, my math class, along with French and Gym, are the only subjects that these kids have. My friend, the vice-principal M. Kere is trying fast to fill the empty slots, but we just don't have enough teachers here. I was already asked to teach a 3^rd class, and we have had to contract out 2 math teachers to help fill the void, along with a whole handfull of physics-chemistry (it's a duel subject here) and biology teachers. English, French, and German (yes German) are covered at least, Burkinabés have an exceptional ability at langauge so there are more than enough langauge teachers here. No problems in gym class either!

But then again, not a whole lot suprises me here anymore. I have not been home in awhile.

With exciting news about school comes sad news, I lost Bob Monday night. My poor dog fell terribly sick and did not survive the night. Nobody knows what happened hto him, people have far more to worry about than their poor dogs falling sick (children contracting malaria for example) so vets do not have the same knowledge base as Amerucan vets. I am very sad, but in many ways relieved. He went very quietly and now I no longer have to worry about the eventual seperation that overlooked my future. His passing means that there is no pressure upon the next volunteer to adopt Bob and I at least get to know the fate of Bob instead of wondering from 3,000 miles away how my poor dog would survive after I left.

I'll miss you pup, thanks for the good times.