Fatebenefratelli vini Ansongo

The arrival of a team of Italian doctors (optometrists) has made my life more difficult (litterally everyone and their aging, blind mother has been at the hospital since Saturday) but oh so more delicious.

Yesterday I managed to make rounds to all of my ongoing projects: teaching HED class for two hours in the morning, dealing with garbage-collecting project coordinator who is somewhat untrustworthy and very difficult...sewing with the women, observing basketball practice, and greeting. Always greeting.

In between all these actvities I helped the Italians deal with the very same project coordinator who is difficult. He had them calling him "the president." Because he is a president of a 12 member association. Right. The Italians wanted a photo-op giving spaghetti to children in town and requested "the president" to have 30 kids ready. Of course 100 showed up and it was insane. O tried to help on crowd control, needless to say the Italians were frustrated. But still gave "the president" cash. For his rent and his association and for school children who can't afford the fees. Why do I get embarrassed when I witness stupid development? You think "the president" will use these Euros for what the Italians want him to use it for? No. He's barely managing our project funds and I have him on a very tight leash. This is a local who has lost a job for skimming off the top, bouffing we say.

I still got good Italian coffee and Christmas cookies. And an invite to dinner later. I had to do my radio show first (Songhoy/French now to reach a bigger audience) and though exhausted made it over to the guest housing at the Ag offices for an amazing Italian dinner. They brought over a chef from Rome with them!! We had risotto, bruschetta, prosciuto with cheeses, wine and bread. The publicist who spoke English was hilarious. We the volunteers and the consultant asked if we could keep the chef. They all laughed, but he was flattered Americans liked his food. Did we ever! The table was cleared for coffee and homemade Italian biscuits. Made by one of the doctor's grandmas. Really. My teammate even got a cigar. There are ways to do development and there are ways to do development.

This whole team is funded by an NGO (Fatebenefratelli or the "Do Gooders Brotherhood") and the Italian Airforce. In a word, efficient intervention (other than the lack of judgement or research on local contacts..."the president" would have been my LAST recommendation to help them with organization. But they didn't ask me...) Everything they needed was brought with them. In two teams, Gao and Ansongo, they completed 750 cataracts surgeries and 2000 eye exams in 2 weeks. Aliou's father and mother came, and though the old man's eyes were uncorrectable, his mother could once again see clearly out of both eyes after the surgery. Pretty amazing. Zubbu received antibiotics for floaties she had been seeing on the surface of her eyes. The Italians loved all the children and cried bambino! bambina! while playing with them. Maman got some nice clothes as did Bebe. People were crazy about getting the cadeaux, it just shows you how desparate people are. Precious few ever have opportunities for treatment like this.

The publicist's impression of Mali, a snapshot, was interesting. He thought there couldn't possbily be any malnutrition in Ansongo. "There is such a variety of produce in the market," he said, "and sheep and goats and cows for meat and milk. People must eat well." I had to be frank. I have seen too many children die of malnutrition in areas of perceivable abundance to know his observations were shallow. I told him maybe this seems like a typical African country where sometimes the pain, suffering and poverty are hidden. I've said before how I think malnutrition is a quiet killer. He agreed Mali was typical, but just couldn't understand how with the river and such a market there are problems with hunger. Another had him translate his ideas on how he thought the paved road to Ansongo and onto Niamey from Gao was a waste. Little do they know this road is an artery of development. An oppotunity for Ansongo, the bread basket of the Gao Region, to more cheeply send their produce to larger markets. Yes, only one or two trucks and a few cars pass a day. It's mostly the donkeys who use the road currently. But there's potential. Not a waste but an investment.

These doctors came to give physical sight. I hope they learned to see a little more clearly as well.