Sheep, Cats, Donkeys, and a need to rebuild

I know, the title is interesting. Didn't know how else to summarize our month, but as you read, it will make more sense.

It has been another eventful month. We continue to see temperatures going down and that makes us all much happier! There are still days that go up to 40C but we are so thankful that it is dry heat and that the nights get down to 23C sometimes! It has yet to get even cooler, so we are excited!
I will start with a couple of silly pictures of the kids. Jaelyn received a princess dress-up set for her birthday and of course, Nathan had to try it on too!

The kids love playing with our cat. Her name is Maggie, because in Fulfulde, cat is "mageru". She is not really ours. She is a stray that hangs out in our courtyard (read: OUTDOOR cat). We do not feed her, but she hunts the lizards in our yard. Rog is convinced she hangs out with us because we give her so much affection.  I am glad that our kids are getting more exposed to animals, as I would likely not expose them otherwise since I had never been when I was growing up.  I use that as my excuse for not loving them and thinking that they are dirty, useless and a waste of money.  This cat, however, is not costing us a penny, the kids love her, and supposedly cats are very clean...so she is growing on me.    

 Here is Ali with a mere 5 kids on his motorcycle (well, the 5th is attempting). Ali is Mariama's husband. He has a steady job and money to ride this moto (not to mention owning many goats and 50 parcels of land), but sadly, does not always have money to feed his 7 children (that I know of!)  or care for his sick ones. He is also looking into marrying again (he has 2 wives already) as this will give him status.  One of the many frustrating things living here is the differences in our values. We tend to put a lot of emphasis on the health of our children, but that is not always the case for our friends. Though they would like to have healthy kids, they don't always do what is needed to attain this goal (and probably more often than not, they do not really know how to attain it). It can be such a discouragement at times when they do not sell a goat to treat their sick children, when they spend money they can't afford on celebrations and when they constantly look for hand-outs. Then those (foreigners) who want to help, instead of investing the time and energy needed to attempt to chip away at this huge problem, put the band-aid on the problem, as it appeases our own guilt and provides a temporary solution to the problem. God have mercy on all of us! We are praying for wisdom to help in practical, long-term ways...

 Below is one of the cutest little girls I have seen here in Niger. Her name is Aissa and her mother is another language partner of mine. Aissa had a twin but her brother died very young. A lot of the times, the parents do not even know the cause of death, as it is just such a common thing for a child to die here. One in four children under the age of 5 dies. That is such a crazy statistic!!

 And in stark contrast, here are our healthy children. I am so thankful for them. They are adjusting very well. They are enjoying their time at their new building, but their school has started the immense task of rebuilding and renovating their original campus. This requires funds that they do not have. If you could help in this area, please go to this link and click on "Sahel Academy" to donate.

I am not sure exactly what pose they are posing here...maybe gangster styles?! :) I was having a creative moment and decided to make some matching clothes for them.

 Earlier this month, there was a holiday here called Tabaski. I think Tabaski is to our friends, as Christmas is to us. It is quite the holiday.  They sacrifice a sheep, goat or cow and feast with their neighbors and families. It takes place 70 days after the end of Ramadan and is to celebrate when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, Ishmael (not Isaac!) on the altar. It was quite the site to see all of the animals on stakes. Thousands of dollars worth of animals were on the streets roasting. So sad as many go into debt in order to participate in this celebration.

 Our family was invited to the home of our guard, Hamidou. Below with our family, is Abdoulaye, Hamidou's older brother.

 We got to sit and hang out with the whole clan. Hamidou's father is the chief of a village called "Kongou" and though we were celebrating with this family in their "suburb" home, Rog and I will be starting this week in the village to help with some health teaching. (The chief is the one on the bottom right, sporting the lime green robe. He was very happy to get a pair of sunglasses from me as his old ones were broken)

 Here is Rog with our guard, Hamidou. He was married last year and is going to be a father in a few months. He is such a hard worker and we really appreciate him. He comes to work on time everyday at 7am, after having ridden his bicycle for at least an hour.

 The family got a laugh out of Rog getting up on this donkey. They had asked if our kids wanted a ride on said donkey, but they would not even get close, so Rog volunteered.

 Another event that Rog and I got to go to for the first time was a Fulani baby naming ceremony. This happens 8 days after the birth of the baby. The child is prayed for (though the child is not physically present) and then given a name. This baby is the child of our night guard, Karim. His wife is the one in the background, with another son, Sainu. Sainu also had his twin pass away. Karim and his wife now have 5 children. Karim, like many others, have a hard time managing the money that he receives and is always asking for loans and advances.

 Here is a picture of Jaelyn with a tiny kitten. I took the kids with me as I went to have some conversation time with my language partner.

I guess that is all for now! Happy Remembrance Day for our Canadian family and friends! Until next time...