A Tree in the Desert: Painting in Mandama

Friday morning Jessie and I left Garoua for Guider and eventually Mandama to help Kauleen one of our stagemates, a health volunteer, with a project she is working on. Because there is a lack of resources in schools, no books, no maps, no pictures, she decided to do a series of educational murals on the walls of the elementary school. Eventually the idea transformed a bit into doing the paintings on portable boards, mainly because the school never got around to painting the walls, which was necessary before the murals. However, the portability of the boards means that many classes can use them, they can be hung or transported to other classrooms. Linking up with her sister in the States, who did a penny drive, they raised money for the materials, wood and paint. She then did a series of drawings, some health related (the transmission of Malaria, Wash your hands with Soap, The Major Food Groups) but others non-health related, such as an "elephant" or "slavery". She worked with the teachers on incorporating some of their ideas or requests (such as picture admonishing children not to throw their trash on the floor and to keep the school grounds neat and tidy). The drawings were done on graph paper and grids were drawn on the boards so that each square of graph paper corresponded to a larger square on the board. Besides the fact of Kauleen being a very talented artist, sketching all 25 of the ideas, I was completely impressed with the entire project, the vision of it, how it responded to a felt need in the community, organization of it, the connecting it to a school in the states. Jessie and I were met by three other girls there, and we all worked on the boards over the weekend, drawing and then painting, taking breaks for cooking and eating delicious meals, a visit to the cheif's house, and dinners at the neighbor Hawa's house. It was a really fun time, spending time with the other girls, working hard on a project with a tangible purpose and endgoal in mind! While we didn't finish the paintings by the third day we brought them farther along and hopefully Kauleen will be able to keep working on them in time to get them done for Fete de Jeunesse, 11 February, which is her goal.

It was really nice to get away for a bit, to see a new post and area, which was beautiful, a pretty little village, and to not think for a bit about my puppy. Also really nice to be with the other girls.
And it was cold there at night and in the mornings!!! Mmmm!