Going back to Bamako
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Feb 23, 2009 Posted by Christopher MoynihanWritten by Mariposa Garth-Pelly.
Having lived in Bamako before I packed to return with the notion that if I'm comfortable wearing it it is OK to wear. That was until I arrived in Sikorro. Sikorro is a world apart from other Bamako neighborhoods. It is more village-like than other areas—we have electricity, but no pretense of running water, poor roads, and a moral conservatism that yesterday resulted in me being chastised for wearing knee length basketball shorts (too short!) that would have been perfectly acceptable in Bamako's more developed quarters. Sikorro one of the oldest neighborhoods of the capital, but it is chronically neglected when it comes to government services. Many people moved here recently from more rural areas and don't intend on staying long (thought they often do).
I will be working on our Siguida Keneya, Health in Our Homes Program. This program is based on an action for health model whereby people are given free health care in exchange for certain actions to improve the community (voting, trash cleanup, etc.). We are looking to expand the program to include accompagnateurs, Community Health Workers with some training to recognize ill people in their homes and accompany them to the clinic. Eventually we hope to pursue in home testing and treatment. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Doctors Without Borders to see if we can work out a partnership where we have access to their protocol in exchange for contributing data to their study.