Random Shots of Niamey (Take Two)

We wanted to take a picture of the little sheep that wander the streets of Niamey looking for ANYTHING to eat.

We also wanted to get a picture of this guy who was selling winter coats (50F-80F winters here) who carries them around on his head.

We got lucky and got them both in one shot.



This is typically how auto parts are sold in Niger.





Obama fever is everywhere!





This is not a pile of lumber. This is a structure.





More new pics soon!

How Does Our Garden Grow?

Slowly and Surprisingly. We are never sure of the season for planting here, so we just plant and see what happens. Quality seeds are not easy to come by, so what we plant depends on what we can find in stores or what our friends have left over from their attempts.

As you may remember, we have been fueling a compost pile for a couple of months now. Vinnie likes to talk about some Sam Kinison comedy bit about growing food in the sand (he uses profanity, so don't click the link at work!), but the compost is working miracles (relatively speaking, of course) in the Nigerien soil. We planted radishes recently, and a few of them actually made it.


Most recently we planted parsley seeds and were totally shocked to find that tomato plants have started growing instead. Now that is miraculous!


Our basil is doing great as you can see here. We have kept it off of the ground where it gets more sun and less visits from the leaf-eating lizards.


Because the lizards prefer the fresh baby leaves, Vinnie covered our onions and arugula plants a few weeks ago with an old mosquito net and sticks.


We also have cilantro planted in anticipation of Mexican nights, and a backup supply of basil which we hope will be as good as the first.

Random Shots of Niamey (Take One)

I took an informal survey to find out if random pictures might be appealing, and I received positive results. It is interesting to see some of the vast differences between Africa and the States, so even a shot while driving down the road might have value. Not every picture needs to qualify for the National Geographic Picture of the Year!

So welcome to the first in what hopes to be many more installments of 'Random Pictures of Niamey.' Sometimes the photos will have captions, and sometimes they won't. But they are all original photos taken in Niger's capital, Niamey.


Le Fleuve Niger, or as Anglophones like to call it, the Nigerien River.


There is only one bridge in Niamey, and this is it. During rush hour, it is not a pretty sight.


I don't know which is saddest - that I am unsure which corner I took this picture on, or that this looks like so many corners in Niger.


At a glance, some pictures could be mistaken for rural areas in the States. This is arguably the best road in Niamey.


This photo shows above average safety consciousness for a Nigerien family on a motorcycle. First of all, there are only three passengers, and the baby is held on the mother's back by a cloth. She put her shawl over the child to protect it from dust and mosquitoes. And in a rare display of concern, one of them is actually wearing a helmet.


Cow crossings are unmarked, and they always have the right of way. If you hit it, you bought it.

Vinnie's Nigerien Debut

As I have been networking with ex-pats, I have heard of a woman named Ginger who is all about the music scene in Niamey. Eventually I met her at a party and finally got to talk to her. She told me of a concert that was coming up on the last day of the Pangea Festival. This week of activities was focused on empowering girls and women, on education and making a difference. I told her I was in, so she teamed me up with:
Two french accordion players
One African drummer on an African drum
One African drummer on a drum kit
One American Peace Corps volunteer on an Alto Sax
and two Nigerien rappers



The music was fusion style, as you can probably guess. There were other musical acts thrown together in what seemed like random fashion, along with poems and dancing. It was really interesting, but it was also really hot. Even at 8 pm it was necessary to drink copious amounts of water, which was then passed through the pores soon thereafter.

The song we sang was about Sarrounnia, a legendary Nigerien Queen who lived over a hundred years ago. She fought off the French colonizers, and is described as an incredibly beautiful woman who could fight with a sword and strike fear into men's hearts. I think some of it was glorified through the ages, but she must have been amazing because everyone knows of her.



I really liked performing with the band. It was little tough in the studio, but I really got close to Aziz, one of the rappers. I don't think we will be touring West Africa any time soon, but it was fun.

The response from the crowd was positive. "It was the best act of the night," said one concert-goer, "except for the scantily clothed rhythmic dancers."

Yeah, I kinda liked them too.

Exciting News from Niamey

The last few years have been full of many exciting changes. Marriage and moving to Madagascar. Political coup then patiently waiting in Baltimore. Moving to the desert, new jobs, and settling into our house in Niger.

Well, not long after we celebrated our first anniversary on August 2, 2009, we learned of another big change that we would be embarking upon for the next 9-10 months. I realized I was pregnant! August 13 was an evening we will always remember. With a test strip in hand, we eagerly called my parents in the States for a favor. We needed them to run to Target and verify what the strip was showing (we had lost the directions somewhere along way). Lots of excitement ensued and toasting of Beer Niger and water quickly followed for Vinnie and me in that respective order.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant and starting to develop a little bump. Baby Payne is moving and shaking trying to get my attention I am sure. But I have not felt anything just yet. Vinnie enjoys singing and reciting mathematical equations to my belly. He wants to be sure BP hears both our voices.

As you might have read in the previous Malaria post, I came down with it in mid-September. It was one of the hardest emotional weeks of my life. Not only did I feel physically unable to function properly, but the worry and anxiety that overcame me was so extreme and intense. It made my anxiety before grad school comps and marathons seem like nothing. I came out of the week of malaria feeling defeated and emotionally empty. Thoughts of blame circled my head, but Vinnie helped me realize that we had done everything in our power to prevent getting sick with anti-malarial meds, the bed net, spray, etc. I was supported by other women who told me of stories when they were pregnant and had gotten sick. I realized that millions of pregnant African women each year are infected and deliver healthy, normal babies. This was just one more way of feeling closer and in more solidarity with those around me. I am not impervious to getting sick nor am I too weak to overcome it. I truly believe I am stronger now, and the baby will potentially have a higher tolerance for malaria in its first years.

In September, I needed to use vacation days before the end of CRS’ fiscal year. Vin and I had planned to trek through Dogon Country in Mali and veg on the beaches of Benin. However, after getting sick, all I could think of was resting at home, my other home in the States. Without much discussion, everyone agreed - Vinnie, my supervisors and parents - that a trip home was a great idea. Two weeks of lying on the couch (HGTV and Foodnetwork), shopping, hanging with family, and just “being” were the perfect prescriptions for me and BP. I also saw an obstetrician who confirmed we were healthy, and all was going well. See some pictures of BP at week 11:


With the first trimester behind us, we are enjoying sharing our news with family and friends. I had always joked about having a spring baby, and it seems our planning worked. We are due April 18th (19th depending on which sonogram picture at which you look) the weekend of the Boston marathon incidentally. Next year instead of running, I will be doing another type of marathon in its place.

We plan to deliver in Baton Rouge where my parents live. I will probably travel home in March around 32-34 weeks according to the travel restrictions for pregnant passengers. Vinnie will probably come a few weeks later since he can not take as many vacation days from his teaching position. Daddy will be home to help arrange baby furniture and maybe even paint a nursery. I envision us doing last minute errands, and sitting out on the dock by the pond fishing our days away while we wait. Momma will be teaching but promises to save some days off to be home with us when the baby comes. And thankfully, she will be off all summer to spoil her newest grandchild.

Malaria in Niger

I have been contemplating this post for a while. I wrote and rewrote it over and over in my head, and no doubt it was probably better at some point in the past. But the truth is, it is hard imagine living in Niger without malaria and its consequences being a part of every day life. Here is a sample...

My first experiences with malaria were in Tanzania while I was a volunteer for two years. My roommate and fellow volunteer Kathleen got it three times while we were there, and during her first time, I came down with it too. We joked that the same mosquito that bit her must have bitten me too. I saw colleagues and neighbors get sick with malaria, and students missed school when the fevers and chills were too much to sit in class.


Since I have been in Niger, almost everyone I know has had malaria. Each year one million children in Africa die from malaria. I have seen many funerals in the last few months and heard stories from colleagues that validate this sad truth. Malaria is just a fact of life here. The rains come in August and last until September with a few lucky showers in October. The mosquitoes are noticeable throughout the year, but they multiply with a vengeance during the rainy season. When Vinnie and I first arrived here in May there was little chance of getting sick and minimal need to be on prophylaxis. We began to feel differently as we fought off mosquitoes in our bedroom at night and swatted at them annoyingly buzzing around our ears. Knowing the high risk of malaria in Niger, we bought an insecticide treated mosquito net for our bed, and lemon-eucalyptus repel spray became our eau de toilette. We both went on anti-malaria meds and said a special little prayer that our westernized bodies would be spared the trauma of the blood born disease.


Even with all these precautions, we still fell ill the end of September. I tested positive for malaria and was asked to stay home on bed rest for a week. The first day was difficult not to think of work and all the responsibilities that stacked up on my desk. However, with the increased aches and pains, I quickly forgot about my work demands and tried to alleviate the uncomfortableness of just laying in bed. Vinnie showed similar signs and symptoms, but fortunately never tested positive. He decided to rest, relax, and regain his strength hoping to fight off a full blown case.


I must brag for a second about the work that the NGO - Catholic Relief Services - I work for is doing to combat the serious effects of malaria in countries like Niger. CRS is currently implementing a five year malaria project funded by the Global Fund. In April of this year, CRS staff and partners conducted a massive treated mosquito net distribution throughout Niger. Nearly 3 million mosquito nets were distributed to Nigeriens with a special target on pregnant women and children under five years. This included a huge educational campaign, including a nationally televised music video featuring all the top musicians spanning all genres, in partnership with other international agencies and NGOs. The project will continue for the next few years with behavior change communication activities to ensure that beneficiaries are still properly using their nets and making changes to decrease their risk of getting malaria.

Click here for more information on this project.

Our Humble Abode

We thought it was time to finally heed some of the requests of friends and family and share pictures and stories of what our daily life looks like. Our house provided by CRS is twice as big as anything we could afford in the States. It is a one floor with a big living room, fairly spacious kitchen, and three bedrooms, and a lawn and pool. Like most of the houses here in Niamey, it has been lived in by many other ex-pats. Describing the house to others, we can basically mention the name of someone previously in the CRS office, and people will say, “oh yeah, Jasmine’s old house? or I remember when Jenn lived there.” With the long line of tenants comes the long line of needed repairs and work. Most of this was done before we moved in, but we have taken some of it on ourselves. We love scraping paint, and one of Vinnie’s first manly tasks was changing all the locks to ensure our safety. Umm gotta love him! Here are a few pictures of our lovely, mostly unfurnished house:





Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the house comes unfurnished, so the first things we bought were a refrigerator, stove, and a bed. This was followed by a second bed, a dresser, and armoire for the bedroom, and a table and shelves for the kitchen. We also created a compost pile to help us grow herbs and vegetables. The environment is hostile so anything we can do to help plants survive is a plus. We researched how to make compost here, and since it is so arid in Niger, we opted to dig a hole and keep our compost covered. This way,the earth can help keep it moist,and creatures cannot get into it easily.


The prices are pretty high in Niger because resources are scarce. Imagine if everything you bought was basically shipped from another country!?!? Ok not so hard to imagine with countries like China and Indonesia producing many of our products, but you know what we mean. Landlocked countries with desert climate and food insecurity usually results in high prices for food and natural resources such as wood. We have found that many people buy things locally and then sell them when they leave. Much to our chagrin, we arrived after many ex-pats left and had sold their things. (One interesting facet of this side of Nigerien commerce is that you can resell items for the same price you bought them. Not only do things not depreciate, but often the seller will add any money spent or invested on the item to the final price. Totally goes against any economic logic, but we might make out financially in the long run.)

Rather than pay too much for cheap items and resell them when we leave, we decided to invest in some nice things and take them home with us. Not only are there some interesting styles in West Africa, but it is a way for us to invest in local artisans and help create jobs. We ordered custom furniture for our dining and living room. The dining room table and chairs are designed with an iron frame and a glass top, with Touareg leather work under the glass and on the seat covers. It was finished on time, but we ended up having to chase the artisans around for a couple of weeks to fix some minor flaws in the table. Here is our table:


The salon furniture was more elusive. We decided on Rattan furniture with a recessed table and glass cover. We bought some material for the cushions and delivered it to the artisan, and expected delivery on the first weekend of July. We are learning that some Nigeriens don't have an appreciation for time frames, appointments and deadlines. This artisan (actually a man from Ghana named Cliff) is one of them. For a while he delayed us by stating he was getting "special" material from Ghana for us. We visited him regularly to receive a plethora of excuses, and we took note of other items being built with the same "special" material while seeing trivial progress on our pieces. That suitcase of patience we brought has slowly unpacked and hard to find these days. We were giving Cliff the benefit of the doubt, but after two months of waiting we changed tactics and began to visit him daily to remind him of his outstanding written contract. After two months of patience and two weeks of steady pressure, behold the fruits of our (and his) labor:.



Speaking of honoring an agreement and for all of those that have heard the stories about our crazy landlandy in the Bronx, we FINALLY received our security deposit back from our apartment we vacated 11 months ago!! We were good tenants and tolerated a lot of incompetence from the leasing office, and when we moved out we expected a full refund. We strongly disagreed with the landlady - Kathleen Gormally of Ogor Properties - when she decided that she wanted to keep some of our security deposit. (PSA: The Bronx is a great place to live, especially Pelham Parkway, but never sign an agreement with Ogor Properties!) Before addressing it in court, we contacted the New York Attorney General. Fortunately for us, she displayed incompetence to them as well, and in the end we received the full refund. It came at a cost - it would have been nice to have that money when we moved out, and she collected interest on that money for most of a year. But ultimately she was unable to rip us off. Chalk one up to the good guys!

And another issue, slightly unrelated. Our parents were the first one to notice the bulge in one of our pictures, so since the secret is out, we should hide it no longer. We would like to formally welcome the newest member of our family - Vinnie's belly!