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.

And Now We Begin...Again

Back in May I believe I told all of you that I had a VERY long summer vacation. Well 4 months ago I was exactly correct and 3 trips to Ghana, visits from my best friend Chris and my parents, and a 272km bike ride later, I find myself back in Tenkodogo gearing up for Year 2.

And boy what a schedule has my school laid out for me. This year I have 2 6eme (equivalent to 7th grade) math classes for a grand total of 10 hours a week. No sweat right? WRONG! It just so happens that with serious school shortages in all outlier villages of Tenkodogo we now have to take in far more students than we can possibly hold. I have 260 students, in 2 classes of math. Imagine back in your 7th grade algebra or pre-algebra classes and now imagine sitting in that same class room with 129 other students. And most class rooms at Alice Deal Junior High, my middle school, were larger than my lovely classrooms here at Lycée Rialé de Tenkodogo. Kids here will literally be 4 heads to a desk.

But honestly, last year I had 105 students; is there really any difference between 105 and 130? It just means more grading, and less time for computers.

It has become clear to me that while computer education is a neccessity here in Burkina Faso, it has not yet taken hold. And when you combine that with a shortage of math teachers and overage of students, my computer work takes a backseat. I will still be in charge of the room, but this year will be a lot different. I hope to have students acting in my place as lab assistants giving me time to perhaps orgainze two or three serious computer classes. Last year, by offering free classes to all, ended up completely failing for two reasons: one) students were far to numerous and two) students did not care at all for the classes since they were not graded nor did they pay for them. I hate to say it, but students who pay for classes will come since there is an actual investment on their part.

So there you have it. 10 hours of math class a week and a still evolving computer camp-MORE TO COME!
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In other fun news, Kirstin and I just finished a weeklong computer camp with students in her village of Komtoega. Her village is far different than mine-for starters it is less than 5000 people and has no running water or electricity. Very few people have been educated past elementary school and French is almost nonexistent. Except for a few government health workers and teachers, she must survive speaking Bissa, the langauge of Komtoega.

Students, however, have a basic understanding of French and it was for them that we decided to do a computer camp. The lab is equipped with solar panels and fully networked-it's AMAZING! An American company called Inveneo installed 22 top notch computers and they run beautifully-unlike the awful computers from the Stone Age that run in my computer lab.

We split it up in two groups, one for boys and one for girls. Girls were mostly younger and participants in Kirstin's girls club, and the boys were older most being in high school. It was blast. We taught them a crash introductory course in Microsoft Word and Excel as well as basic functions of the computers. Some members of the community even participated for a day or two including the local stonemason, Koran teacher, and pharmacy worker.

But the highlight of all was lasanga. Yes, you heard it, Kirstin made lasanga. And it was awesome. But the story of the lasanga is even better. Kirstin's gas ran out on us at the beginning of the camp, so we had to use a charcoal grill and dutch oven. Who says you need modern appliances to make great cuisine?

So I leave you all and hope that your return to school and work has been going well; you will be sure to be informed about my crazy year #2 coming up!

Last but not least, the soccer team of secondary education has it's next soccer game on Sunday against the police and gendarmerie team-and it will also be my debut! That's right, my first official soccer game in one year and a half will played this Sunday, and I am thrilled.

Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!

Burkina Faso Bike Tour

272km by bike and 252km by car and I have found myself back in Ouaga. That's right, the bike tour is now over for me. While I wished to continue, it is time to return back to Tenkodogo to begin working again...or at least return for another week before I have to leave again.

Day 1 (Day 3 of the official tour)

The bike tour arrived at my site the day before after an extremely difficult day of 90km through a mix of dirt and cement road. The Volunteers-9 total-arrived extremely exhausted and hungry, eating a chicken apiece within 5 minutes of entering Tenkodogo. I thought to myself, man, I am going to be hungry tomorrow. I better get ready for some chicken.

The Tenkodogo-Koupela route is nothing difficult, I have done it multiple times before this event. 45km on a cement road-no challenge whatsoever. I biked it in exactly two hours taking only a 15 minute water break en route.

On arriving in Koupela we of course ate a ton of food with PCV hosts Sara Gensmer and Phil Rodenbaugh before crashing early-a 81km day awaited us.

Day 2 (Day 4 of the official tour)

This was the longest day of biking that I have ever done in my life. 81km on a good cement road with suprisingly little traffic from Koupela to Fada N'Gourma. We completed the route in about 4 hours biking in teams. Mimicking the Tour de France, we drafted each others bike making the time fly by. In those four hours we took multiple breaks and one long 30 minute breakfast stop.

A what-could-have-been major accident was the highlight of this day. Riding pull line style 5km outside of Fada when suddenly our back rider was unable to dodge a pothole going 27km/hr. She, and her bike, flew 10 meters from the hole smashing her elbow, knee, and hip into the pavement. After the initial shock, PCV Rachel Whestone got up, bloody elbows and knees, and said, "Let's finish this." Like the rest of us, she was determined to finish the ride. It will take a lot more than a few bloody scrapes to deter this bike tour from finishing each day.

After arrival, we decided to make a reenactment of the fall and post it online. After a crowd of onlookers, some fake blood tomato paste, and the police come believing that we actually had a real accident only to laugh and see that we were doing a simulation, we posted an excellent reenactment online using PCV Rob Hartiwig as Rachel's stunt double. The video of the events can be seen on the Bike Tour Blog, which will again be posted at the end of this entry.

We went to bed early staying at newly sworn in PCV Joey's (don't know his last name) house. This was also the final day that me and Kirstin were able to ride together. She started in Po, the official start of the tour, and finished up in Fada.

Day 3 - Ramadan (Day 5 of the tour...you get the picture)

This, before I started the tour, was the day I feared most. 78km on dirt the whole way. It ended up being the easiest and most fun day of my small leg of the tour. The route was Fada N'Gourma-Bilanga.

We made crazy time, gettig into Bilanga around 10AM, but that was only the beginning. Bilanga is surrounded by two large lakes, and in rainy season they surround the town leaving Bilanga somewhat cutoff as an island. PCV Kim Hover informed the town of our arrival, and the mayor of Bilanga took it upon himself to throw us an official welcome party. But the party sat upon the shores of the other bank, and we had this to cross this...

Photo taken by PCV Neal Lepsetz

In Burkina Faso, bridges are built under the water, instead of over, due to the cost. So water flows over at a trickling rate normally through the controlled what I call "down bridges," except during the few months of rainy season where lakes overflow and water rushes at a torrential rate. So how do we cross to meet the welcome crew (wearing white) on the other side? We walk and drive.

Photo taken by PCV Neal Lepsetz

In perhaps the greatest entry that I have ever made, I carried my bike over my shoulder walking the 200 meter distance. While the village wanted to help me carry my bike, I refused. No way was I going to not carry my bike after finishing the 78km to Bilanga. Do these people know who I am? And thanks to Neal, I now have this epic photo to remind me of that amazing entry for the rest of my life.

Photo taken by PCV Robert Hartwig

Thus we arrived, and the welcome party, along with officials and the police, escorted us to Kim's house. The mayor then threw us a lunch with more chicken and Riz-Gras than I could ever eat. Not only was he super excited to play host to our crew, our arrival coincided with Ramadan, so the entire village was invited to eat, dance, and celebrate this grand occasion.

Day 4 (Day 6)

This was a car day. Because this event was an official Peace Corps event not only promoting the program and gender and development, we were also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. Because of this, we had a timeline, and Peace Corps sent a car to follow behind throughout the route carrying our baggage, extra water, and medical supplies. Day 4 was planned as a car day because of the intensive milaege, 152 km from Bilanga to Tougari.

The car was delayed and arrived at 4 PM, meaning that this voyage was going to go into night. Before the car arrived, we had time to play around in Bilanga a bit. We were able to meet the village chief that morning, and due to a crazy coincidence, we were all wearing shirts matching the colors of the rainbow. So we took a couple of photos, and I think we look great.

Top Row from left: New PCV Jen (don't know her last name), Josh Gwinn, Neal Lepsetz, the Mayor of Bilanga M. Djingri Charles Lakoande, Rachel Whetstone, Julie Lishansky, an official from Bilanga that I can't remember the name of, and Kim Hover

Bottom Row from left: Robert Hartwig, Emma Prasher, Dylan Butler, Marita Whalen, Kim Hover's host brother, and a 2nd host brother

Photo taken by PCV Robert Hartwig

We were also able to experiment with a very interesting plate of food. After some convincing, four of us together (Rob, Rachel, PCV Josh Gwinn, and I) decided to taste sheep testacles. And you know what? It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. If we didn't know ahead of time I would have thought I was eating spam.

Photo taken by PCV Neal Lepsetz

So our second car finally came and we left Bilanga at 4:30PM. And as these things go, naturally our car broke down. So naturally, we pulled out a laptop and watched Ironman 2 under the stars. What, your job doesn't let you watch Ironman 2 under the starts in Burkina Faso? Villagers came out of nowhere and sat down watching our movie too-listening to their commentary was rather hilarious. I can only imagine what went across their minds when they randomly stumbled across a crew of Americans watching a movie in the middle of nowhere.

Photo taken by PCV Emma Prasher

After about 6 hours of being broken down and travelling in the car, we arived in Tougari, the site of PCV Emily Prasher at about midnight.

Day 5- My Final Day (Day 7)

We awoke at 6 AM this day due purely to our exhaustion from the night before (normal bike time wake up is 4:45 AM). Because of this, we didn't leave til 7:30 AM, a big mistake for what happened to be the hottest day of the tour. The route was Tougari to Kaya, a total distance of 68km. And it got hot, really really hot.

Around noon, the absolute hottest part of the day with temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees, we passed the first major tree in this part of the country (northern Burkina is lacking in trees). Very convienently, under this tree housed a watermelon market with hundreds of fresh watermelons. As you can imagine, it was the most perfect stop you can possibly have. We ate two huge water melons (each costing 300 CFA, or 60 cents) and continued with newfound energy the last 10km of my section of the tour.

To highlight my arrival into Kaya, this lovely house was painted with this image.

Photo taken by PCV Robert Hartwig

Welcome to "Wachingtone" and the end of my journey. It was a bittersweet departure, and I almost chose to keep going. Make it known that I did not want to stop, I was feeling great and having tons of fun. I wish best of luck to the 7 permanent riders, PCVs Rob Hartwig, Emma Prasher, Rachel Whetstone, Joshua Gwinn, Neal Lepsetz, Marita Whalen, and Julie Lishansky and to all the other riders who have and will be participating in Burkina Faso Bike Tour. I also want to thank the three organizers, Julie, Rachel, and Marita for organizing such a great event and allowing me to participate.

I hopped in the car going the 100 km back to Ouaga, along with Kim Hover who rode this leg of the trip. So there you have it, 272 km by bike and 252 km by car. What a great trip!

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So why didn't I continue? Believe me it tore me apart, but stupid reasoning or not, I believe it was the right decision. I have not been at site a whole lot this summer due to massive amounts of travelling, so with the big meeting for the administration of my school on the 15th (which apparently nobody goes too) I feel as if I have to be back there. And since Kirstin and I will be doing a computer camp at her site Komthoega at the end of the month I need to at least make an appearance in Tenkodogo.

But the biggest reason for saying adieu to my comrades on the tour is that I must say adieu to another comrade, my buddy Phil Rodenbaugh. He has accepted to transfer back to Guinea to do his final year back in the country I trained in. While I have since gained 3 new people from my training group back in Guinea in Burkina (3 of my training mates repeated training and just swore-in in Burkina Faso), Phil is my final link to those days in Guinea. We have been through all of this together. From Philidelphia, to Guinea, to Burkina, the two of us have taken quite a ride together. But he is following his heart and has worked hard to go back to Guinea. My heart is here in Burkina Faso now so we must go our separate ways, but I wanted to come back to wish him good luck in what will be a very challenging, yet I am sure rewarding experience for him.

Last but not least, please click on the link again for the Burkina Fasa Bike Tour and check out the reenactment of the bike accident video we created, I think it is hilarious. For reference, it's day 4 of the tour and the title of the blog entry is Day 4: Hit the Ground...Riding. Don't forget to donate! Even 10 bucks (the equivalent of 5000 CFA) helps us out tremendously here in Burkina Faso. That much money can buy 5 custom made tshirts for volunteers forming girls soccer teams, or enough material for a women's group to make several gallons of soap to sell at the market or to promote handwashing. The possibilities are endless!

No News is Good News Sometimes

It's nice to not have a whole lot to report. Mom and dad are in the USA and I have begun gearing up for Year 2-Burkina style. Fresh off the plate of recent activities including another tree planting extravaganza and a lovely trip to Ghana and Togo (again).

Dori, for those not so well versed in Burkina geography, is just about as far as you can go in the north before you hit nomansland. The town is all that stands between the Sahara and civilization. There is no plantable soil, only sand, and even in the most intense parts of rainy season few trees manage to grow.

The north is the land of the Peulhs-migrant people who choose the harshest conditions in Africa to live. And live they do, they are true masters of their environment. From the mountains of Guinea, to the deserts of Burkina, and beyond, you can find a Peulh and their herds of animals in almost every country in West Africa.

Planting Trees!

Apparently every year Burkina hosts a grand ceremony for all volunteer organizations in the country, which of course includes Peace Corps. 1000 Volunteers from all over the world descended upon Dori to help plant a type of tree, well adapted to harsh desert conditions, to slow down the effect of desertification. The objective was 65000 trees in 15 minutes. I can't say we did it in 15, but we filled up the entire planting ground for sure!

Last week, I was in Togo and Ghana with Kirstin. It was a wonderful trip taking us to three different places along the coast. The first stop was Accra, the capital of Ghana. Accra is an ok city, it has all the amenities of any other city including fast food restaraunts and sushi. It can be a very expensive city to live in, and probably ranks as one of the wealthiest cities in Africa. It still has immense poverty issues like everywhere, but it is far more developed than any other other city that I have seen.

Kirstin in front of a lighthouse in Keta

After that we went to Keta, a natural landbridge formed between a massive lagoon, the end of the White Volta, and the ocean. A spectacular beach for sure untouched by Western tourism. Many wealthy Ghanains have established beach homes there (extravagant to say the least), but very little in the way of hotels and other amenities. Every day all the fisherman load up their boats (literally hundreds) and the women and children walk the beach to receive the catches. Kirstin has the photos on her camera so I'll be sure to post them when I receive them.

We ended up finally in Lomé at the same place where I took my last vacation. We met some Togo PCVs this time around and spent two night just kicking it with a different group. Peace Corps is a very large family and in French West Africa it's a good bet that if you run into a group of Americans, they are Peace Corps Volunteers.

Food in Ghana is amazing--fresh fish with a plate of fried rice for 5 bucks!

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Next on the menu we have the lovely Burkina Faso Peace Corps Bike Tour! My route starts in Tenkodogo and ending in Kaya, a total ride of about 300km in 5 days. We are riding to raise money for Gender and Development Programs put on here by fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. Please, if you were interested in donating before let us know. The PayPal system was malfunctioning before, but everything is working now. Check out the link again for more info. Who knows, your money could go towards helping my proposed girl's basketball team get uniforms. No it's not a sure thing yet, but I do have girls asking me to coach a team-here's hoping!

Follow the link below:
Peace Corps Burkina Faso Bike Tour 2010

And last but not least, October 1st is the first day of school here in Burkina. So my extremely long summer is coming to an end and School Year #2 begins.

The Amazing Power of People

I have been thinking about what to title this blog for hours. So many titles seemed to fit what has happened to me and my family in the last week, but most were sad and depressing, not hopeful and inspiring. But after seeing my mother tear up in front of her doctor 5 minutes before being medically evacuated to Paris, I saw the power of people firsthand, and why we should never stop believing in the human soul. No photos of beautiful scenery or elephants this week. No stories about travels in exotic places this week. Just an experience, and one that I do not wish upon anyone.

On the last night of my parent's voyage, my mother came down with a violent stomach ache. 12 hours later, mom was in a private medical clinic in Ouagadougou, unable to catch her flight to Paris. She was diagnosed with two tropical deadly diseases at the same time, malaria and typhoid. But those actually, as we found out later, were not the cause of this stomach ache, nor did they actually ever happen. Two days after we took her to the clinic, the doctors brought in a surgeon (one of the best in the world I might add), who told us some of the most intense news I have ever received: a piece of her intestine had died and became infected with gangrene.

We were told that she had no choice but to have an operation done to remove that piece of her intestine. I have never been so scared. And I could understand what was being said. I can't imagine what was going on in the head of my dad as I translated this information to my him, or my mom, the true hero in all of this. It's not everyday one is told that they must have an operation to save one's life--especially in Burkina Faso.

It was the most intense moment of my entire life, and I had to do all the translating. 15 minutes before surgery I had to translate a conversation between an American surgeon in the USA and the surgeon here in Burkina. That kind of pressure is not something that I signed up for when joining the Peace Corps.

And then, as if doing emergency surgery in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso wasn't hard enough on us, the power cut out in the middle of surgery. I swear at that very moment I thought I would lose not only my mom that night, but my dad to a heart attack. At least that was one thing I could handle. If there is one thing a surgeon here understands, it's to have a backup plan for the inevitable rainy season power outage in Ouagadougou.

As it turned out, the surgery was a complete success and mom is safely back recuperating in the USA. My parents were both Medivaced (thank medical insurance) 5 days after the operation to the American Hospital of Paris before getting back Saturday night. Turns out that this particular surgeon is one of the best on the planet operating in some of the most extreme conditions in the world. The best doctors on Earth are on this continent, and never has that rang more true than after all of this. If he had not done what he did that night, my mom may not have made it through the night. I still shudder as to that thought. This doctor deserves praise, he saved my mom's life. Nothing I can do can repay someone for that.

I can tell you know though, two weeks after the fact, that it was almost surreal. You hear of horror stories in medicine, but none have ever affected me personally. Yet my family has grown closer than ever through all of this. I was worried that my parents would leave hating Burkina Faso, but the result is the opposite. What happened to my mom could have happened anywhere at any moment. The quick response from friends, family, and doctors--Burkinabé and American--showed me the power of people in its truest form. When somebody's life is on the line, people will drop everything to see to it that that one person is ok. I saw a different side of Burkina, one that makes me love this place even more. From all walks of like, people will do whatever is in their power to help.

-I want to thank my sister Hannah for her courage. She held strong despite being half a world removed.
-The two doctors, Dr. Baro for originally taking mom in, and of course Dr. Sanou for doing the obvious, saving mom's life.
-Dan, Jeff, Aicha, Dr. Pierre, Dr. Jean-Luc, and the rest of the Peace Corps staff for helping. You guys are amazing and there is nobody else I would rather have in an emergency situation helping me than you.
-Aunt Judy and Uncle Mark for doing countless hours of research stateside and informing everyone of the situation, you guys were tremendous.
-*Phil! I forgot you like we were forgotten at MSC. Thanks my Guinea brother for helping with us that first night, you were awewome.
-Kirstin, I can't thank you enough. No words I can type on this page will do justice for how much you helped my family during that week.
-Dad, I don't know how you put up with all of that. No French, yet trying everything to understand the situation. Without your relentess 24/7 watch of the situation and partnering me, who knows what may have passed.
-Mom, you I thank most of all. I cannot imagine how you coped with it all internally, but you stayed strong and defiant. You never shed one tear through all of it until the goodbye to Dr. Sanou. I hope you passed me down some of that strength.

I love you mom.

Burkina Faso Peace Corps Bike Tour

Hey guys check this out. Us Volunteers in Burkina are riding in a giant bike tour around Burkina Faso--I'm riding about 300km, just a piece of the whole thing. The cause: We are riding to raise money for gender equality projects here in Burkina Faso.

Check out the link! Peace Corps Burkina Faso Bike Tour