Bandiagara Day 12 (27/07/09)

This morning Liz was feeling a bit better and managed to eat a little bread at breakfast (then she went right back to sleep). On the way to the clinic I saw a little girl (maybe 4 years old) with a doll tied to her back, I guess she was playing mommy (though it probably won’t be too much longer before she’s carrying one of her younger siblings that way). At the clinic this morning I decided to hang out in the clinical lab. I got to observe more Widal et Felix tests (for typhoid), many of which were positive. There were also tests for toxoplasmosis, syphilis, sickle cell, urine tests. There was also one HIV test for a young woman (only 24 years old) and sadly it turned out to be positive. I asked Tolo what would happen to the woman; apparently here the medicine for HIV is free, but you have to go to Mopti to get it. I asked if a person usually tells there family or sexual partners when they find out they’re positive. He said sometimes they do, but many of them are scared and that if they tell sometimes their family or community make them leave. It’s also very sad because one of the ways HIV spreads here is actually due to the good social support system they have; if a woman is widowed typically her husband’s brother or other male relative take her in as their wife so that she doesn’t become destitute, but if the man died of HIV, than she may unknowingly spread that HIV into the rest of the family. Fortunately in Mali the HIV rate is very low compared to the rest of Africa, but it’s always possible that it could get worse (I do see a lot of public health ads about HIV though). This morning I also found out the significance of the little beaded necklaces that most of the small children where (they’re very plain, looks like hemp with a few evenly spaced white beads). First when I asked Tolo what it was for, he said it was nothing, just something pretty. But then I mentioned at all the children wear the same one, so he asked the mother; apparently the necklaces are traditional medicine for when a child is teething (and it seems that it just doesn’t get taken off after they’ve gotten their teeth).
On the way home for lunch we stopped so I could buy more bottled water for Liz and I, but I forgot to get some easy things for Liz to eat (I got them later though). After lunch I rested in the room for a while, mostly playing solitaire. At 3:30pm we went back to the clinic, but nothing was happen so I stayed in the office to read. A while later Tolo came back and we headed to the market so I could buy clothe to have a complet made, which is a pagne (traditional wrap skirt) and a top, plus a head wrap (we’ll see how that goes). After buying the fabric (Tolo haggled over the price for me for a while, though really the original price wasn’t that high) we walked back to the clinic (I think Tolo is getting a little annoyed that I refuse to ride a moto) and stopped on the way to buy some things for Liz to eat. The stores here certainly don’t have the same selection as the Fermi in Bamako, but I did manage to get a package of chocolate cookies (they don’t have crackers) and a can of mixed vegetables (they didn’t have any canned fruit).
After we got back to the clinic I got to enjoy my second goat feast. This time I couldn’t get away with eating just one small piece, they were all watching (just me in the guys). This time I actually enjoyed it, though I did have to politely (but firmly) refuse to eat the kidney. After enjoying my goat and washing my hands I decided it was time to post some new blogs (so here we are). A storm has just kicked up, temporarily knocking out the power, but fortunately the generators kicked in (as I’m still not bright enough to occasional save my typing). I think tonight after dinner I’ll just unwind and go to sleep early. Au revoir.