We haven't posted much about our work activities, mostly because they are not that exciting or varied so far! However, here are a few photos of a short workshop my host sister, Mamie, and I did during a camp for youth leaders that was held at the senior secondary scool in Bwiam. The kids were camping out in some school rooms without mosquito nets and they asked us to help them make homemade mosquito repellent to use during the evenings.
Neem cream is a product the Peace Corps loves to endorse...it's cheap to make, people say it's effective and it can be a good product for people to make and sell for a profit. It uses the leaves of the neem tree (which can usually be found somewhere around any village), soap and oil. The soap must be grated or shredded with a knife (Mamie made homemade graters by poking holes in old sardine tins - pretty neat!) and then mixed with water that you've boiled neem leaves in, then oil. After a lot of vigorous mixing, it's ready to go!
This group was particularly fun to work with because they were so enthusiastic. I asked them to review some facts on malaria and malaria prevention while they were working and lots of shouting and arguing ensued...but I think everyone had fun.
-Colette (Maamaa)
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| Girls gathering neem leaves.
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| Shaving soap with our homemade graters. |
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| Everyone is excited that it's almost ready! |
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| We ran out of containers to put it in, so this young man is holding a plastic shopping bag full of neem cream. Good thinking! |
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