The Mass of Children + Reunions

We woke up late, at 6:30am, and waited for Sema to appear with porridge. Fafali, the little one, is such a cry baby. All the time, crying. After breakfast and our bucket showers, I read for a little bit and then Samantha and I decided to take a walk. Fully armed with sunscreen, and Samantha with her giant beach hat, we set off away from the compound. On our way along the path that leads from the compound to the main road, I looked up in disgust to see a new sign: Kevin Street. Seriously??? UGH!!! The walk helped both of us calm down. We were getting restless in the compound. We walked my old route past the pile of sticks (which had moved to the opposite side of the road and were now resting in the brush) to the two big trees. We walked slow, and took in the sun and light breeze as much as we could. I took a nap before lunch (boiled cassava and macaroni with flake tuna in a red sauce) and awoke to a familiar raspy little laugh…

I walked outside to watch Jessica and Kofi play, jumping over the stick from the day before. Jessica was head taller, and her alfalfa sprout had been cut from atop her head, but had the same sassy little smile. She was very bossy, telling Kofi when to jump, and hassled him when he was tired. Sema said something in Ewe to Jessica, who responded with “Christine,” and looked at me. J She remembered me. She didn’t come close, but she watched me to make sure I was in view of her showing off her jumping skills. They disappeared after a short while, and Samantha and I decided to take a more in-depth tour of the library, knowing it would be unlocked during school hours.

The library was exactly as it appeared through the window. There were labels on the shelves indicating subject, though the books did not match the labels. After facing the binding outward on all the books, I rolled my eyes at some of the donations. Books on college algebra, mechanical engineering, organic chemistry, C++, PhotoShop, feminism, and child development lined many of the shelves, all of which were appropriate for a college-reading level, or a specified program. Obviously the ancient desktops were not equipped with fancy programs for which those books would be helpful… It occurred to me, after contemplating my frustration on the lack of organization in the library, that the people in the village may have never been to a library before. Unable to picture how a library should look, how it should be organized, how it should run, or how to use a library, the people in Saviefe were at a disadvantage. It’s like the saying: give a man fish, he will eat for a day; teach him to fish, he will eat forever… If you only give him a rod and reel, and neglect to mention bait, or time of day to fish, or show him the motions of casting, he does not have his best chance to catch fish. Am I making any sense?

We returned to the compound, sweaty, and pensive about the library. Jessica and Kofi soon appeared and we invited them to color with us. After breaking out the crayons, it started to rain so we moved ourselves inside the front room to continue the impromptu art session. Jessica impressed me with her English. She knew her alphabet, her numbers up to 24, and her colors. Though when I asked her age, she recited the same familiar response from two Octobers ago, “I am three years gold.” Only later did she put up 4 fingers indicating her correct age. She’ll be five on July 4^th. I watched them color and noticed that Jessica’s legs were scarred from random scrapes and burns, and her feet were calloused with skin that looked like an older woman’s. Soon there were nine children crammed into our front room, all crouched on the floor coloring away: Sarah (13), Auntie (10), Juliet (10), Selom (9), Minia (8), Worlanyo (7), Michael (6), Kofi (4), and Jessica (4). After each child drew something new, they would shove the paper in front of you for approval and praise. If I started to draw an animal on my paper, slowly all 9 children would surround me, watching carefully. Throughout the afternoon, Jessica would look up at me and smile. After a couple hours, we sent the kids home and got ready for a meeting with ANYO.

The meeting lasted a while. I explained, for the fourth time, my proposed research and our plan to tutor children in the library after school. We also mentioned that the library needed to be organized better, and the books rearranged. We will speak with the headmaster about it Friday morning, and we plan to spend most of Friday fixing the interior. Perhaps I can scrounge up some benches to place inside. After the meeting, Mama brought us dinner- a small omelet to share. We ate, and had a piece of bread and tea. Mama returned to ask how Michael (her son) did with coloring that afternoon. She explained that he’s not learning what he should because he plays too much, but she encouraged us to work with him and to encourage his learning of numbers and letters. Kofi hung around our door for a while. Mama asked him if he was sleepy, but he said he wasn’t, as he tried to keep his heavy eyes open, locked on us, afraid he might miss something the yavoos do. Mama said she wanted to help us organize the library on Friday, and also invited us to spend the afternoon at her house tomorrow after we get back from Ho for Market Day. She was excited to have us in her home, and claimed the breeze could be felt perfectly in her room. Kofi finally sat on the ledge, with his back against the wall, and his head hanging straight down in slumber. Bright, who must be about 15 or 16 now, came to visit. It was good to see him. Quickly thereafter, we had another visitor. Cassandra and Kosi appeared at the door! Cassandra flew in and hugged me, and told me she missed me. It was so good to see her. She looked happy. She also had a new little bundle on her back, 7 month old Christopher, sound asleep and beautiful. Cassandra will be going to Ho in the morning as well, so we exchanged goodbyes for night and planned to see each other in the morning.

It was very hot and muggy, I was sticky with sweat and dirt from the day… just like all other days. Not going to lie, I smell. Bugs were flying into our faces constantly. I wished I could take a cold bucket shower in the cool night air, but that probably wasn’t going to happen. So I just drank some water, ran the washcloth over my body, and sprawled out under my mosquito net to try to fall asleep, breathing the thick humid air as deeply as I could, and dreaming of Market Day.