Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!!!!

Imagine my surprise when I opened the coop today, late I might add, to find 8 new baby chicks and they were running a muck!
I already have 15 this year and I was feeling the stress of the oldest 3 families as they are now getting older and needed to be moved out of the nursery pen. However, they were not cooperating well so it took me a couple of days to get the job done. My normal procedure is to move the mother and baby(ies) as soon as they start hatching by cage to the nursery pen, keep them locked up for a day or so to make sure everyone is bonded and then let them begin the business of growing up in safety and security.
However, silky mom #2 was nesting on the floor of the main coop and they all must have hatched at once because they were all out and running around by the time I got to them today. There were 2 more up in one of the nesting boxes screaming loudly so it was quite a spectacle. Finally 1 and 1/2 hours later I had all mothers and babies where they needed to be. Things were a bit complicated because the nesting box moms were right next to one another and they had each had one baby hatch. Mother hens are very attached to their babies and some will not accept another hen's babies. Other hen's are good sarrogates and will parent all you give them. They are just like people. Anyway, the two mothers in the boxes were not happy about the babies in their nests. So, I switched things around and at last check everything was calm and happy.
As if I am not in over my head enough, one of the mothers abandoned her unhatched eggs. One of the veteran moms jumped on and saved the day so I could get 5-7 more from that batch. The other hen has about the same amount of unhatched eggs and I have yet another hen ready pretty soon on about 8 eggs. I could easily end up with 60 chickens. This is the most I have ever had hatch in one year. Well, there may be a chickens for sale sign at the end of the road this fall.

Needs List:

Donations needed:

Stuff for sewing school: Can be gently used

Pin cushions
Pins
Tape measure
Seam rippers
Zippers
Buttons
Velcro
Thread
Lace
Embroidery floss
Embroidery hoops
Needles
Sewing machine needles
Scissors
yarn


School supplies: can be gently used

Pencils
Pens
Crayons
Markers
Manual pencil sharpeners
Paper
Wire bound notebooks
3 ring binders
Highlighters
Post it notes
Glue sticks
Envelopes
Erasers
Rulers
***back packs*** need badly
Atlases and globes
tape
Color books
Educational games

Other items: can be gently used

Shampoo, conditioner
Tooth paste, tooth brushes
Any and all personal hygiene or medical supplies
Bedding
Children’s games, toys and books
Manual can openers
Plastic dishes
Silverware and cutlery
Cell phones
Laptops
Dvds
Dvd players

Last but not least-money to help with mailing supplies

We also need pen pals for anyone who wishes to actually sponsor an individual child. Please call me for more info


Phone number: 810-627-1833
Kalinowski@bigtube.net
http://browncityrdadventures.blogspot.com

A Big Thanks or Merci Beaucoup

Thank you’s

Dr. Oghboh and staff of Brown City for donated time and free medical care
Brown City Income Tax for free use of high speed internet
Imlay City Church of the Nazarene for donations and time
Pastor Douglas and staff at the 1st Congregational Church in Imlay City for time
Father Duane Beauchamp and Holy Trinity Anglican Parish in Hillsdale for everything but the kitchen sink
Hillsdale Community Hospital and Health Center for donated medical care
Shriner’s Hospital of Cincinnati for donated medical care
Greater Flint Prosthetic Center for donated medical care
Linda Moreno and Super 8 Motel of Imlay City for donated shampoo, soap and bedding -It has been a Godsend
Alert Medical care of Imlay City for donated medical supplies and ongoing discounts
Ultimate Styling of Yale for donations
The Hebert family of Camden for time and donations
Pastor Allen of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Imlay City for time
Grace Episcopal Church of Lapeer for time
The Fist family of Imlay City for time and donations
Dorita Urrata and Children’s Chance of Waterbury, Conn for everything but the kitchen sink
Walmart of Lapeer for donated medical supplies
The Kon’e Family of Lansing for translating
Kenny and Jeanette Lewis of Chicago for donated medical supplies
Ladies at the Imlay City Post Office for all their kindness over the mailing stress
Volume 1 Books of Hillsdale for time
Dr. Lamb’s Dentist Office of Imlay City for donations

And last but not least:

The Just Dance families for all their donations, well wishes, and everything including the kitchen sink

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Shopping in Burkina Faso

Art Van Burkina style
Yes, these are terra cotta pots!
Typical market scene. You buy everything you need in places like these.

Today I am posting pictures of shopping in Burkina Faso. This was something I was very interested learning about. I will write more later. I am just too exausted this evening.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Pepe Le Pu 2


After a very long but productive day of farm and yard work, I wandered around the yard at dusk. Isabelle was barking, snapping and growling ferociously at something on her turf. I walked over to see what had her so indignant. There in the shadows was the black and white culprit. It had sprayed but off in the other direction luckily. However it seemed pretty docile for a skunk with a 100 lb dog breathing down it's neck. So I watched while I figured out how to get Isabelle out from harm's way. Calling her was not working at all.
So I finally got her away from the thing, put her in, came back out-now I needed a flashlight-looked again-all I could see was heavy breathing and the stripe seemed to be slithering around. So much so that for a minute I thought maybe I was dealing with a snake. But no such luck. It was Pepe all right. So in the house I went to read up on the habits of our smelly intruder.
It seems they are pretty prevalent rabies carriers. That had my attention since this thing did not seem to be acting normal. Matt called in the midst of my studying so out I went to give my report and the darn thing was still there. So........we either have a sick or wounded skunk. Yippee, skippee.
So Isabelle is grounded to the house and Matt has skunk duty when he gets home. I 'll report on how well that goes tomorrow. The last skunk disposal was quite entertaining.
Hopefully this is my nasty predator.
Last week another skunk was run over near the house. We hoped that would end our problems, but something killed one of my ducks earlier this week. It was a very big duck so whatever it was either was very vicious or sick.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Delilah and Stephanie's School

The front of the school. Note it is also gated. The men out front are guards.
Stephanie's classroom.

These are pictures of Delilah and Stephanie's school. They were difficult to get. Not so long ago it was illegal to take pictures of any public place or in a public place. However, under the latest regime, the laws are relaxed a lot. Today you must ask and if you are told no, you must respect. That is it. I had to receive permission from the principal to even go into the school room.
I had no problems. I was told no just a few times, but do keep in mind that anyone, especially a white person with a digital camera is a magnet for photos. so be prepared to become the neighborhood photographer. I didn't mind. They thought a lot of my pictures were just hilarious. They couldn't understand how or why I would want such silly pictures of things like an outdoor kitchen or privy. They were very good natured with me though and were willing to take me on lots of neighborhood tours. I also took lots of family photos and such. It's a good thing I am a pretty decent photographer AND computer geek. They are going to love the albums and stuff when they get them.

As you can see, this school is not overly luxurious. This is a private school of around $150.00 per year. The educational level is good. As I stated in an older post the need for supplies is very great. I am currently asking for donations of supplies, globes, atlases etc to help them supply the classrooms. One other unusual thing in at least this school. Most of the staff I saw was male. I don't know if that is common every where, but it seemed the norm here.

The price for public schools is $3.00-$6.00 per year. I will report more on this later

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Hello Harouna!

This is Rakieta, Harouna and me. I have a neat story about Harouna. I was looking for someone to tutor Rakieta. The phone number someone passed to me happened to be Harouna's family's phone number. He did not know English to tutor, but he gave me the best phone number he could find for an English speaking tutor. (It was accurate by the way. Not bad for 2 people who couldn't communicate.)
Anyway, Rakieta called him to say thank you for me and it turns out he knew Rakieta's mother. That has led to a good friendship between them. So Harouna was my friend first, but now he is Rakieta's friend too. It is funny how God leads people to one another. It seems like everything about our situation with Africa is a series of coincidences. I say the guardian angels are working over time. When I bumped into my friend from the US accidentally and then she turned out to be living across the street from Delilah and Stephanie that was definitely pretty twilight zone.

I wanted to post this picture today because Harouna wrote to me to tell me hello this week and I was slow in replying. I found out he has been sick with malaria. So I wanted to cheer him with our picture.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

What's Up in Imlay City?

Matt on his new bike.
Matt putting up insulation on the front of the new studio.
Merry packing down the old coon hole by jumping in the new studio AKA the old barn.
Me raking and leveling things out
Cherry picking. The trees were so loaded. I forgot how much cherries love cool and wet. We picked about 40 quarts. It was a great year.
Cherries. They are still a little green here, but the trees are just loaded.

Ellie Mae on one of her lessons. She is doing very well.

Typical Homes in Ouagadougou

A typical gate. The upstairs you see is not to this house. It is a new house being built behind this compound.
A typical Burkina privy. You just squat and then there is always a little plastic teapot nearby.
A traditional, classic cooking area. The vast majority of Burkina families cook this way.
A pretty typical living area. These people are not super poor as they have a stuffed couch. As you can see comfort and furniture are a real luxury. Note the buffet and tv.
Today I am posting pictures of the average home in and around Ouaga. I was not out trudging the villages as I was not there on a mission trip but to see our girls. So I spent my time trudging around seeing and doing things as they do. Both Delilah and Stephanie and Rakieta are living in neighborhoods with electricity. However Rakieta's family lives far enough out that there is no electricity there.
Homes are all shapes and sizes and very wealthy people live next door to very poor. Zoning and organizing of communities into business sections and such is not real well developed yet. I would say neighborhoods were developed by tribes or clans as they were originally being settled. Of course over the years things change, but in the beginning groups of people who know or are related to each other tend to develop a neighborhood.
For example, Mam'e lives in an old neighborhood and it is made up of a lot of older people from the Fada region. The houses were all expensive and modern when they were built many years ago, but compared to new homes they are quite simple.
The couple Rakieta lives with are both employed by the government and are solid middle class. Their house, while probably quite fancy when built is now also considered quite simple. In fact, because they live near the airport and that is an area developing into what will be the most western and modern looking area in the city, they have been told the house must be brought up to the new standards or they must move. Mam'e is also very scared that since new houses are being built all around her that are quite large and modern that she will be forced out.
That all being said, let's get to the nuts and bolts of the average Burkinabe compound.
Every house and most businesses have a large concrete or brick wall and tall heavy duty gate. So you see very little from the outside. In fact, the condition of the outside has little bearing on what the inside will look like. I walked through very fancy gates and found myself in very simple, primitive structures and then went through very simple, not well kept gates and found myself in very nice, modern homes.
Once inside the gate, you will usually find lots of green. That is where the trees are, little garden plots, etc. Some families have gardens and others have mostly mango trees and flowers. It is all beautiful.
The homes in and around Ouagadougou are all square or rectangle. Most have metal roofs, but some have the leaves under the metal. Once way out, you will see some of the round houses with roofs of leaves.
Modern homes all have glass windows that can be opened out. They all open up their homes at least part of the day. The simpler homes just have metal shutters that can be opened or closed.
Some homes are laid out in what Americans would call a ranch style. Others are set up to best benefit a particular family. For example, Rakieta's family which is Muslim, has several little 1 and 2 room houses in the compound. They had the least amount of indoor living space I saw, but they had a little more land. They farm more. Not huge amounts as is done out in the countryside, but a decent amount.
Many families keep some livestock. I saw rabbits, donkeys, chickens, turkeys and a horse. No one seems to mind. In fact the chickens all run around in the streets and stuff and just return home at night.
Furniture is hard to come by. I was in 2 homes with what Americans would consider adequate furniture. The first was an American/French family working there. Another was a family who the husband worked for Catholic Relief Services and they also had many western things they brought back from the US. A few families had soft, newer couch sectional things that wrap around rooms. I saw those being sold in one of the market areas, but that would be a major, major purchase and perhaps the only furniture set ever bought.
Beds are woefully inadequate for most. Mam'e said once that they just stack them up like sheeps and that is a pretty accurate description.
Comfort the way we understand it just doesn't exist there. Chairs are hard to come by, let alone wonderful, cushiony comfort. They just deal with it.
We are changing over some furniture here at home and I want so badly to send it over, but there is just no sane way to do it.
I do need to mention how important buffets are to every Burkinabe family. In America we call it a hutch, but let me tell you I wasn't in one house without some kind of buffet. It may have absolutely been in a shambles, but it was there. It is a very important item to them. Cabinets, cupboards and closets are almost nonexistent so that makes the buffet even more important.
At this point the vast majority of Burkinabe have a tv or have access to a tv. Along with cell phones and transportation, they really cherish their tvs. The home I showed you has electricity, but Rakieta's family who has none, also has one. They just use a car battery for power.
lastly, I need to mention lace. They love it. Rich or poor, they all have it. They also like the gaudy stuff my grandma loved as trim on things. Think ugly, dangly things from the darkest corner of the fabric store.
For me the whole experience was amazing and awesome. I was surprised at how much similarity there was to America and equally surprised by the vast differences.