Blogs from Mali, Africa

02/12/15 we cover 400K and camp close to the Côte d'Ivoire Border north of Nielle, 03/12/15 some slow processing from the Ivorians after forgetting to stamp a third of the passports at immigration. Within 20 mins of clearing the border we are escorted to the local guandarmary (likely a border tip off) to check through the passenger docs, a slow 1.5 hour wait before we proceed on route via Ferkessedougou to Kohogo. 04/12/15 After staying the night at The Mount Korhogo Hotel 8 of us head out in a couple of taxis for a tour of several artisan villages in the district, including a sacrificial site which is regularly used by the local (animalistic) religious people; seemed mostly feathers but some skulls etc. After a short walk around town and its large mosque we enjoy a ... read more

Blog About Malaria Month 2012 Over half of a million people died from malaria last year. This is more people than in the average American city. Imagine the entire city of Atlanta being wiped off the map. The year before, we lost Denver. The year before that, all of Boston, all gone, in one fell swoop. The majority of these deaths took place in Africa. In fact there are six countries that account for over 60% of worldwide malaria deaths: Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, the DRC, Nigeria, Mozambique, and … Mali. Malaria has been around for centuries. King Tut likely died of malaria in 1332 B.C. This makes it seem like fighting malaria is a lost cause. It’s been around since forever and it’ll be around forever. But this isn’t true. Malaria is on the decline. ... read more

Every morning I walk a little over a mile (~2 km) to work. Between dodging traffic, stopping to greet people, and picking up some breakfast along the way this can take me almost 30 minutes. This combined with the walk home in the afternoon is by far the most stressful part of my day. It can at times be the most fulfilling, but this morning was not one of those experiences. Today as I was walking it was impossible to ignore the rancid smell that filled the portion of my walk that takes me along a paved road. There is normally a mix of smells in the air, and admittedly most of them are unpleasant: burning trash, exhaust from all the vehicles, and occasionally urine and feces. I’ve become more or less accustomed to all of ... read more

After two years, I've come back to West Africa. The first two weeks in Senegal were surreal. I just dived back into life African Peace Corps lifestyle as if I had never left. My French luckily reappeared. But within 24 hours there were people testing my Pular as well. This proved to be a bit more challenging to recall. But I was never fabulous at Pular, so it was really as if nothing had changed. It was as if the last two years of my life hadn't happened at all. No year in Boston, no MBA from Portugal. This was very bittersweet. There was a a degree of relief: I knew how to do things already and I could easily slide in the flow of life here. But there was also a sense of regression: if ... read more

Wyjezdzamy z Bamako rozklekotanym ledwo zyjacym autobusem w strone Segou.Wbrew pozorom to nie pojscie na latwizne ale wielkie wyzwanie. W porze odjazdu autobusu jego naprawa trwala w najlepsze, kiedy wreszcie ustalono tankowanie i odjazd myslelismy ze szturm ludzi jednak zniweczy mozliwosc odjazdu i zniszczy "pojazd". Na kazdym improwizowanym postoju ludzie proponujacy towary wszelakie ( od manioku przez wode w workach,kukurydze itp) w liczbie kilkukrotnie przekraczajacej liczbe podrozujacych usilowali znalesc sie wewnatrz autokaru w tej samej chwili,podczas gdy pasazerowie za wszelka cene usilowali sie z niego wydostac ,by sie przewietrzyc. Gdy kierowca ruszal czesc ludzi odpadajac od wejscia torowala droge tym ktorzy dobiegali by jeszcze dosiasc do jadacego autobusu. WIdoki tez fajne na mijane wioski. Z Segou zabiera nas pan dyrektor ds melioracji i gospodarki wodnej ktory studio... read more