I woke up naturally at
around 6 AM. Throwing back the cover, I felt around the floor for my sandals; I
had no interest in going barefoot until I had swept. Besides, the spider was
most likely in here from the night before. Some people enjoy killing bugs. I am
not some people.
I unlocked the screen, and then the metal door, taking my first off-balance steps into the daylight. Clearly, once again, I was the last one up. My father was nowhere to be seen, my mom making noises from inside the house. But, like clockwork, there was my sister washing plates by the kitchen. And if she was over there, that meant hot water.
The courtyard was wet and a bit muddy from the rain last night. Here it always seemed to rain at night. I’m not quite sure why that might be- maybe it takes a full day and only a full day of intense sunlight to evaporate enough water for a heavy rain. Whatever the case may be, I stepped across carefully with my bucket and towel, dipping the squash shell into the big metal pot over the fire. Taking a bit of hot, clean water, I took a few more scoops of water from the big clay pot in the shadow of the wall. Feeling the water, I decided to add a few more shell-fulls. Because I’m spoiled.
I cannot possibly describe what it’s like to shower outside on a cool morning. Some of my most awe-inspiring moments have been here. Looking back at my time here, I can’t imagine how it would feel with cold water. The warm bucket baths may have single handedly ensured my continuous high spirits during the first three months. Now, when I run into an actual shower from time to time, if it doesn’t boast hot water, I’m not having it. Again, like I said, I’m slightly spoiled!
Everything this morning was going well until I saw my four-year old host sister throwing up in the middle of the courtyard. She started crying uncontrollably, squatting in her pool of vomit. My mom came out of the house and started speaking hurriedly to my sisters who also came out to calm their younger sister’s cries. As I left for my day’s trainings, I still did not know what was going on. But I had a feeling…
It was confirmed that night. My dad came back from work and explained that they had taken my sister to the hospital to be tested for malaria. Sure enough, she had gotten bitten by an Anopheles mosquito, carrying the malaria parasite from a previously infected host. Since my family was not sleeping with their treated mosquito nets, it really was only a matter of time.
The Burkinabé love the rainy season since it’s good for the crops! However, the April showers bring malaria. The heat dies down a bit, and the mosquitos are able to breed easily in the pools of water that form from any heavy rains during the rainy season. My sister could have been infected by the parasite for weeks before her symptoms started. One can never know. However, for children under 5 years of age, their immune systems are not as developed as in adults. Malaria can be especially dangerous in these cases. Fortunately, my host family had some money and went right away to the health center. She was able to receive treatment and recover.
However, my family continued to not use mosquito nets and my father fell ill as well. Maybe it was due to the same mosquito which bit my sister. Maybe it came from a neighboring village. Whatever the case, my family was becoming like the millions of others worldwide which are affected by malaria.
Around 700,000 people
die from Malaria each year, the vast majority coming from Africa. Fortunately,
we can work to end this epidemic. When the international community is educated,
resources are donated, and the people become motivated we have the power to
take the steps to eradicate malaria forever. Thus, many initiatives have been
undertaken towards this goal. Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is one such Peace Corps initiative that
uses strategic partnerships, targeted training Volunteers and intelligent use
of information technology to support the local malaria prevention efforts of
over 3,000 Volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa. Please, take fifteen minutes to check
out the website at stompoutmalaria.org/bamm2013 or follow Stomp activities at http://www.facebook.com/
My family was lucky to avoid the deaths which are all too common. Others are not so lucky. Through this initiative and others like it, we hope to bring a change here to Africa. A brighter tomorrow. And just maybe, we can replace the malaria with some May flowers.
-Matt
