July, 2010

There has been a lot going on in the village and in Suriname at large over the last couple of months. On the development work front, a local company has sponsored the installation of several rain catchment tanks and provided the village with a cassava mill. This latter item grates cassava into “flour” (not really flour, it’s wet and sticky but it’s what they squeeze, dry and make bread and kwaka from). This otherwise difficult and painful work is done by hand on a piece of metal nailed to a wooden board. The metal is perforated to create a grating surface. Although the mill will make things easier, the nutritional value of the resulting cassava will be reduced slightly due to the lack of blood and fingertips that otherwise provide a small amount of protein when using the manual method. The rainwater tank project has been interesting. The number of tanks we’ll receive from this company is far less than the total needed for the village (we’ve applied to other international support organizations for the whole project) so the process of deciding who would get these first tanks had the potential to be a bit dicey. Fortunately, our water board was up to the task. First, they decided that each of our 8 neighborhoods would get 1 tank. Then each neighborhood rep on the board was asked to pick someone to receive the tank. Initially one or two thought that board members should get them but this was quickly nixed as setting a bad precedent. The criteria loosely established were that the recipients should be those who first – didn’t already have a tank, second – be older folks with less potential for earning money to buy a tank themselves, third – have a large number of kids in the house. Candidates were quickly selected and the board then held a town meeting to announce the results, their reasoning and to see if there were objections. The water board rocks.
Our village is also in the throes of selecting a new Kapiten. Kapitens are village leaders (who are paid a small stipend by the government) that have traditionally resolved disputes, made community decisions, and generally provided leadership to bush communities. The Kapiten tradition goes all the way back to the founding of maroon communities when they first escaped slavery some 300 years ago. As such, the “confirmation” process is steeped in traditional ritual, which is proving to be a bit of a problem this time around. The position of Kapiten is hereditary in a fairly unusual way – the eldest son of the eldest sister of the current Kapiten is the person in line to become the new Kapiten. In our village, this woman married the local Christian preacher and both she and obviously her husband have renounced most traditional ritual as heathen craziness certain to lead all participants directly to hell. “No son of ours, etc…” This has led to a four year hiatus in the Kapitency which is not particularly good for the community as a whole. In the case of our village, it is actually the fourth son who has been “nominated” to become Kapiten. The oldest brother had a traumatic brain injury as a child and cannot serve; the next two brothers live in the city and are as opposed as their parents to “unchristian” ritual. So brother four has stepped up and will become Kapiten, and this has created quite a rift between he and his parents (his brothers seem to be OK with it), and between the “churchies” and the “heathens” in the community at large. Church last Sunday was pyrotechnic with all the protestations and boisterously voiced concerns for brother four’s immortal soul. But he himself is a great guy and we think will make a fine Kapiten. We’re very impressed that he has the fortitude to go through this tribulation basically for the good of the community.
Suriname just had an election. The process was pretty impressive even if the result was a little unsettling. A group from the government election agency came to our village, showed people how to vote, hung out all day and then publicly counted every ballot. They physically showed every ballot while they were counting. Apparently they do this in every village and in neighborhoods in the city. A very remarkable display of democracy. Unfortunately, just because you have a good process doesn't mean you'll get a good result. The "winner" - they have a parliamentary system so they must form a coalition government, so no guarantee he'll become president but his party got the most seats - is a former dictator here who is a convicted drug smuggler and is currently on trial for murder. One early coalition had him paired with his former military rival during this country’s civil war in the 80’s who also has an international warrant for his arrest on similar drug charges. Neither can leave the country without fear of immediate incarceration. A third leading political figure is a convicted sex offender. American politicians don’t have anything on these guys – other than we rarely actually convict our politicians of crimes. In the month and a half since the actual vote, coalitions have formed, dissolved and reformed and as yet there is still no president. Since it’s unlikely that any coalition will get 2/3 of the seats necessary to install the president, a lower governing body of “state” and “county” representatives will likely vote to select the president. The process is pretty confusing to us uninitiated Americans but it’s been fascinating to watch.

A Trip to Market

After several months of working at grounds with the folks of our village, David finally got an opportunity to see how produce is sold in the big city of Paramaribo. This happened as a result of meticulous planning, detailed discussion and precise logistics (a meeting got moved and David was desperate for a ride on short notice). Late Sunday night, we loaded a van with dozens of 50 kilo sacks of ginger and pom tayer. There were many people loading items and weighing sacks (50 kilos with a hand held scale – don’t try this at home) and it was very unclear how they knew whose stuff was whose. This of course did not leave any room for passengers and barely enough room for the driver so another van with about ten of us hit the road at about midnight. This road is “under construction” so it doesn’t make for the smoothest of rides. Several times it looked like someone would be launched through the roof from taking the pot holes a little too fast. After about 2 and a half hours and with our internal organs adjusted to a slightly new orientation, we got to the big “wowoyo” or market. Apparently (and obviously if you think about it) we were not the only ones making this late night sojourn. The place was swarming with people. We unloaded our cargo, talked to a few people from surrounding villages and proceeded to wait for the buyers to show up at about 5:30 or 6 in the morning. The mystery of ownership of each sack of produce unraveled when David saw that each grower used a different color twine to sew their bags shut. Several folks slept in the van for a couple of hours and David tried this also but with little of the intended effect. Apparently the driver was very well known and popular and every time David almost nodded off, someone from outside the van would bang on the side of the door and shout his (the driver’s) name. He would talk with them for a few minutes and would be asleep again within 30 seconds of the end of the conversation. Clearly an acquired skill. After selling everything, which happened pretty quickly, everybody loads up and heads back to the village. Apparently this happens a couple of times a week and even happened before the road was built. Then everything got loaded onto boats first and then transferred to vans in Moengo.

We are now providing more English lessons in Moengo through a local non-profit organization there. It’s a great program that teaches skills for working in an office. English is just one module and the program includes improving their Dutch, learning internet skills and spreadsheet and word processing software. The program also tries to find work for the graduates in local offices at the end of the class. It’s been a lot of fun for both of us.

Settling in

So, it’s been awhile since our last update and that reflects that our lives have become a little more routine. The “newness” of life for us here is wearing away and things are settling. We typically wake up, eat, clean up around the house and yard and then visit, work at grounds (although this is happening less because this time of year there isn’t a lot to do) and read. We go to Moengo once or twice a week on our bicycles – about a 30 – 45 minute ride – to buy food, go to lunch, hang out, etc. It’s a pretty laid back lifestyle. Some domestic activities still provide the chance to thrill and excite. After months of practice, Christine can now carry a full, large bucket on her head (see photo) all the way to the river without using her hands! The learning process has given the local women no end of amusement but this hasn’t daunted her enthusiasm.

As for the development work, it has also slowed down. Early on, there was a big pulse of activity in helping to organize the village, discussing wants and needs, collecting baseline information, finding potential sponsors, writing up proposals, etc. The proposals are mostly in and we are in “wait for money” mode.

Some new stuff is still going on. We’ve started giving English lessons which has been a lot of fun. We each give 2 – 4 lessons a week. We’ve split into two classes. Christine teaches those with virtually no exposure to English while David has people who have learned some English in school or at work. It’s very interesting to see how the more advanced group has been taught English. Many actually know a lot of words and phrases but because it has all be book learning and they’ve had very little chance to talk in English, they can’t actually speak a lick! It’s taken several classes to figure this out so David has just recently shifted his focus away from memorization and towards more conversation in class. Christine focuses most on inspiring confidence, increasing self esteem and having fun. Many of her class members are women who, for a variety of reasons, did not attend school at all. It’s a real thrill to see their excitement when someone responds correctly in class. Christine is also working privately with two young women who approached her for assistance in learning to read. Using materials from one of the local missionaries, she is teaching them in the local language. It’s going really well as they are both fast learners.