Let there be light

I know God created light on the first day but things move a little slower here in Benin. I received electricity today!!!! Now, there is a slight problem with this miraculous achievement. The light fixture in my living room doesn't work. Every other one is OK, but I use the living room more often than any other room. I can cook, or shower or "use the facilities" at night easily now, but not read or write or study French without moving chairs or desks. A little at a time I guess. We'll see how long it takes to fix this problem.
Speaking of miracles, the Christmas party at the orphanage was quite an event. There were about 160 children there. (There were two other parties at other places for a total of about 700 orphans.) There was not much work for the volunteers to do. We were apparently there just to make an appearance. Everybody, administrators and children alike, seemed to appreciate it though. We danced and played with the children. Tom (Emmons) and I played soccer for a while with some. Erin (Bowman), Erin (Sillin) and Kat (Echavarria) received a tour of the facilities from others.
Later, we helped distribute dinner. It was just tuna sandwiches and fruit juice but it was probably the best meal the children had eaten in a while. Meals are usually just staples (rice, cornflour products etc.) and water, occasionally there is some milk powder available.
We brought the toys to be distributed but decided to leave them to the next day. The party was actually Christmas Eve so the gifts were distributed on Christmas Day as well as giving the children another day with a special event.
The orphanage is able to raise enough funds to provide food and limited education and health care. You have read about the food already. There are three part-time teachers that come by most weekdays. There is also a doctor that is available if needed in an emergency and comes by once in a while to do check-ups. With the help of some PC volunteers they are putting together a sponsorship program to raise more funds. I will put the link to their website on this blog soon to make the program as widely known as possible. Keep reading and tell all your friends. Tell them I will try to be a little more interesting.
With the passing of the holidays life here should become a little less interesting (that will make my last statement a lot harder to adhere to obviously). I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something once in a while though. Who knows maybe I'll actually start to do some real work.
Please feel free to make suggestions or ask me to write about particular subjects. I do read the comments.

Long live the King

As you all know we had the coronation ceremonies for a new king this past weekend. I informed and invited the other volunteers for the festivities in Ketou. Five answered the call and a good time was had by all. Incidentally, their presence, along with that of other PC, French and Canadian volunteers as well as invited guests and a group of Russian gold miners, made for an unprecedented numer of light skinned individuals in the city. This alone added to the atmosphere of the event. Seeing one or two white people on the street is cause for rubbernecking and some curiosity by some here (even some who see one everyday), but seeing them in groups of 5 to 10 or more can stop traffic and conversations and be the cause of shouting to friends (by the dozen), parades following us and crowds gathering around us whenever we stop. Having 2 or 3 people stop and stare as you walk by is strange but becomes commonlace quickly. Being the subject of a large group of people watching, often not even talking to each other, will apparently take a little more getting used to. There probably won’t be many instances like this though. There was never any danger, we were merely a source of curiosity.
Since I have been told that several parents of members of my group are reading this blog on a regular basis (Although I can’t imagine what they find so interesting) my guests for the festivities were Margaret Graham, Emily Howe, Charles Reeves, Maria De Souza Santos and Michelle Edwards. To all their parents they are all well, doing great work and remarkable individuals in their own right. You have all done marvelous work as parents and guardians of the future. The same can be said (at least in my opinion) of all of the parents of my fellow volunteers. Being here with these gifted, caring young people has given me a much greater hope for the future of the US and the world, something I was wondering about before I left for Benin.
Although running late by several hours and somewhat disorganized (both conditions typically Beninoise and expected) the coronation was a spectacular event. It seemed as if the entire population of Keou was there along with many visitors and invited guests. The six of us got there about noon. It seemed as if we might be too late to be able to see anything but once some of the organizers discovered we were Americans chairs were produced and space made available (It helps to be pushy Americans sometimes). The space created for us was less than 20 feet from the seat of the king. We were in the front row to witness all of the groups coming to pay homage to the new king. The dances and clothing were spetacular. It was obvious that this was not thought of as an ordinary event by anyone. Dancers must have practiced for weeks and I can only guess at how much time and money was spent colletively on the clothes for some people. I’m sure that some of the clothes were made especially for the coronation.
At one time it was time for individuals who wished to do so to present themselves to the king. Sitting almost next to the king put us almost first in line. We all walked up and genuflected or fell prostrate (the proper method) and received a blessing and a touch to the head from the king with his ceremonial brush (brushes are often used here instead of staffs or the like). There were some more speeches and visits by dignitaries before the actual coronation but because our seats were in the sun (the penalty for being late apparently) we had to leave since we had exhausted our water supply. While we were at the buvette rehydrating we heard that the ceremony was delayed awaiting the arrival of the governor of the neighboring Nigerian state. Moments later said motercade drove by us. It was impressive in itself. There were about 20 vehicles. Several army vehicles, buses with invited guests, press corps, police escort and the governors car. The procession was moving at about 10 miles per hour but there were a dozen men dressed in black suits and sunglasses (Nigerian secret service?) running alongside the governors car. Presumably this was only for the ride through Ketou and not for the entire drive from Nigeria. Still impressive though. This was about 3pm and I know I've told you how hot it gets here. How these men are still alive I don’t know. We were only sitting in the sun and had to move before we got heat exhaustion.
Ater rehydrating we relaxed at my house for a while before attending the next round of coronation festivities. We were told that there was to be traditional dancing demonstrations around the palace later at night. After dinner we went back to the palace with my neighbor acting as guide and interpreter. As usual the festivities started late.
Standing in front of the palace practically alone made this fact obvious. With nothing else happening we were ushered through a side door of the palace. There were about a dozen people seated quietly in a room. We removed our shoes and were led to one of the men. We shook hands and exchanged greetings. We were not told it was the king until after we started (he was wearing a head-dress with a beaded mask during the day so we did not recognize him). Once informed of his identity we genuflected and wished him long life and a peaceful reign. It was not until after we had left that we were told we were not supposed to shake hands with the king. This was not our first cultural faux pas, neither did we jeopardize US-Benin relations of course but I doubt we will invited back to dinneer with the king.
After this encounter we met the French volunteers and talked with them for a while until the festivities resumed. When they did they were not what we were led to believe them to be. It turned out not to be dancing but the appearance of a protective spirit. We arrived at the ceremony again a little late. My neighbor disappeared for a moment and came back with officials and chairs. We were set up in the front row again. Since it was now past midnight (and only about 80°) we were able to remain for the entire ceremony; Unfortunately none of us brought cameras. The ceremony consisted of some dancing and music followed by the appearance of the spirit.
The spirit was wearing the traditional headpiece of Ketou and a very bulky outfit. With all of his activity and the heat and humidity he must have lose 10 pounds through sweating during the ceremony. Accompanied by the dancers, musicians and singers the spirit performed ceremonial dances and songs from the spirit world. Obviously different from anything most of us have ever experienced it is very difficult to describe. It was very well received by the crowd with several people (including some of us) throwing money and a few (none of us) becoming excited enough to roll on the ground in apparently spiritual trances.
Being in the front row accorded us a great view, of course, but also allowed us to be blessed and accepted by the spirit. It also presented an opportunity for an unusual display of Beninoise hospitality. My neighbor looks out for me. She is part of my security around the house. As a married woman she is expected to stay at home and tend to domestic matters (she had to ask permission of her husband to go with us). As such she can keep an eye on my apartment and has informed me when I have missed a visitor and passed on messages for me. I have never asked her to do any of this she does it only because I am her neighbor and it is what neighbors do here. At one point during the ceremony there was a rush of people forward that enveloped Charles. My neighbor rushed in, grabbed the arms of Charles' chair and shoved several grown men backwards with her hips providing Charles with more space. (If Charles' parents are reading he was never unsafe merely uncomfortable.) As my friend Charles was deemed worthy of my neighbors hospitality, and protection, whenever needed. The rest of the night passed peacefully with my neighbor remaining standing next to Charles in case her services were needed again.
Today spirits have been emanating from all of the fetishes in town (and there are lot of them) to pay homage to the king. They have been emerging from their fetish and travelling to the palace and back. It has made for a very colourful day here. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera with me for the day so I don’t have any photos of the spirits. I have been led to believe that I may not have been able to take pictures of most of them anyway. Also, this has not been witnessed by any other volunteers since I didn’t know it was happening I couldn’t invite them to stay for it.
Enough of coronations for now. Next is Christmas with the orphans. If anything exciting happens I’ll let you know as usual. Bye for now and Happy Holidays.

Haves and have-nots

Thanksgiving (if you can remember that long ago) in Parakou went very well. Green beans, mashed potatoes, turkey, lots of other things and plenty of everything for everyone, just like home. Everyone was about 30 volunteers including all but one of SED. (SED, and its red-headed stepchild ICT is the group I am in, it is Small Enterprise Development. ICT is Information Communication Technology. There are a lot of acronyms in the Peace Corps, like any good governmental organization. I’ll try to explain them as I use them.) It really was great to have all (most) of us together again for the first time since stage (training). It was almost like we had never left each others company. After being at post for about 2 months we all had a lot more to talk about with each other though.
The second night we all went tchouking. Tchouk is a beer (sort of) that is home brewed by some of the ethnic groups in the North of Benin. It is sold by women (and only women) in stalls in the marche alongside the vendors of all other products. Each vendor has an area surrounded by a low stone wall that serves as seats for the clients. The client is initially given a sample and can then leave or buy more. The night is spent going from stall to stall tasting the different batches, sort of like a Beninese pub crawl.
The whole weekend coupled with the situation surrounding me got me to thinking (there’s plenty of time for that around here). Some of us have more than others. Is that fair? Is it right? What problems does that cause? These and other questions can be asked globally or locally. Take me for instance. Running water I don’t have. I do have enough money to pay a child to bring me water every week. This costs me from 100 to 150 francs cfa, about 20 to 30 cents. I am lucky to afford this and the child, and his family, is lucky to get it. Electricity I don’t have (yet, I hope). I have a lantern , flashlights and candles. The lantern was free (PC issued), the flashlights I brought fom home and the candles I can afford. Some here have none of these luxuries. The night (7pm year round) is spent by the fire of the days trash or with a neighbor fortunate enough to afford a small home made kerosene lantern made from an empty can of tomato paste. Although officially a volunteer, a job (although no salary) I have. I have many neighbors without anything to guarantee the funds for their next meal. There is an official unemployment figure listed for Benin but it doesn’t really mean anything. Because of the lack of funds available to the government (and other problems with the money that is available) it is not possible to accurately gather a lot of data that is easily available elsewhere. Another example is the AIDS rate here. It is officially listed at just over 6 percent but it is assumed by most researchers to be about twice that.
With everything I have, and have-not, here I am about an average Beninoise. Most don’t have running water but there is water available nearby either from a well or a public (but not free) or private tap. Most actually have electricity (as I hope to soon) and can afford at least a few lamps. Almost everybody has a radio and some even have a TV (Although with only 2 stations in the country I don’t know why). Most on’t have jobs but do have income from selling farm products, hand-made household goods or illegally imported products (plastics, radios and the like) or make themselves available for whatever farm, temporary government or other work becomes available.
One good thing here is that because of the sense of community and family, the availability of building materials, both man-made (cinder blocks, cement) and natural (wood, palm fronds), and the amount of open space there are no homeless people. Some people are living in thatch huts or even just lean-tos by the side of the road but at least everybody has a roof and some walls for protection from sun and rain.
Two big events coming up. Christmas, of course, but also here in Ketou we have the coronation ceremony for a new king. The ceremony is this weekend, Saturday the 17th, and promises to be a gala event with a 23 million franc budget (about 50,000 dollars). For Christmas, speaking of haves and have-nots, I am going to Bohicon with several other volunteers to give Christmas parties to about 700 orphans in the area. Local companies have donated enough money for food and gifts we have to just organize and distribute everything. Thanksgiving was just like home but I doubt that Christmas will be. I suppose that’s why I came here.