slowest pool filling ever...

this is 1.5 days worth of pool filling...
(ps i know it looks greeny/brown but it has to reach a certain level before they'll add the chemicals and turn the pump on)

pool...

there is a pool at our office, because our office is in fact the sister of the former (cherished) president's house. it has been defunct since before I arrived, home to a bunch of frogs and dirty water:

I've been asking, asking, asking logistics about fixing it, explaining how I want to have a going away bbq and pool party, and they've always come up with reasons why it was delayed. then after the break-in I was sure it was not going to happen... but now, miraculously, it is being fixed!!

and cleaned...

apparently, it will take 3 days to fill up...

perhaps they wanted to grant my wish, or perhaps it has something to do the VP of itn'l programs visiting next week... whatever, I'll take it!

robbed!

Our office was robbed! (This actually happened over a week ago, but I've been so busy, I didn't have time to write about it...) Apparently a group of 10 thieves hopped the walls of our office compound, tied up our guards, and robbed us in the middle of the night.. They cut through the bars on 3 windows and stole a laptops, printers, some money, and then one of our cars to escape!

Fortunately, can't get far w/ a truck w/ NGO stickers on it, so that dropped that off nearby (even left the keys in the visor - thoughtful). Also fortunately, the health office, which we leave unlocked, was barely touched..

This is what they used to tie up our guards

So much for feeling safe w/ bars on the window...

Suspiciously, they broke in through the windows of 3 offices: 1 happened to have a bunch of new equipment, still in boxes, about to be sent to field the next day... the admin office with the keys to all the other offices... and the logistics office with the keys to all the cars. The guys definitely knew where to look, suggesting they were either tipped off by a staff member or someone who has done work in our office (like a plumber or something). Boo corruption...

sunsets

by the Basilica...

from the porch at the office (usually a bad sign if you are still there for the sunset...)

not so much a sunset, but still pretty... a dam-made lake

fat African babies do exist

Here is the African child I'll be adopting...

(He obviously wants to come to the US... or Disneyland)

There are generally 2 reactions young kids have to me here. A good portion start crying and running away when they see a white person coming their way. The rest are like this kid, cautiously curious. He is the grandson of the owner of an restaurant I often go too; the family was close to my former roommate and adopted me as well. We started out with a hand wave but every time I visit he comes closer and closer. Now he'll sit on my lap and I think by the time leave he might actually smile or talk.

so cute

what do you call these things...

rebels with minnie mouse hats

This past week I visited our office in Man, in the western part of the country. It is a beautiful area: hilly and lush. I had all intentions of hiking and seeing the mountains a little closer (there are supposedly tons of wild orchids), but I was derailed by too many late nights of drinking whiskey with the staff ... I did see a family of monkeys on my runs though. Here's the view from the office steps:
This area is known for its production of cocoa and coffee. Côte d'Ivoire is one of the world's largest producers of cocoa but since all of it is exported and processed elsewhere, most of the chocolate here is imported. This is where chocolate comes from:

Coffee...

Anyway... western Côte d'Ivoire has seen a lot of strife. It is close to the border with Liberia, which experienced years of civil war. Liberians fleeing that conflict often came to CI (where they were generally not welcomed by suspicious locals) and the Ivorian government even sponsored and trained rebel fighters here to fight against Charles Taylor. So when CI had its crisis in 2002 rebel fighters, doing what they do best, poured into the area. One of the managers explained it best to me, rebels here are generally not tied to a cause or an idealogy. They are often young, uneducated, they just fight. Apparently, there are still a lot of rebels in Man. One night we visited a local rebel hang out, a really popular maquis where the DJ gave us shout outs every 5 minutes. This is where I saw a guy with the minnie mouse skull cap.

So the influx of rebel fighters brought the government forces and there was a lot of fighting. In the city of Man, the destruction is evident: bullet holes in the walls, skeletons of looted buildings waiting to be rehabbed. Staff here tell me there were villages completely emptied. One thing my organization has done is to create comités de paix, peace committees representing different factions of the villages. At a community meeting I attended, villagers took turns speaking their minds, give their préoccupations et doléances. Almost everyone mentioned how much they lost during the fighting here.
It baffles my mind a little too, because I know in terms of African civil conflicts, Côte d'Ivoire is one of the lucky countries. The fighting here was relatively short lived here, compared to places like DRC or Sierra Leone or Liberia. And yet the devastation is so blatant and the rebuilding so prolonged...

So while I was in Man, I was out in the field everyday (yeah!) and I learned a little about some of our other programs. A lot are youth focused, for example we train and support youth in micro-enterprises like opening their own coiffure:

or chicken house:

or café named the Far West Gang:

These are actually really cool, inspiring projects. Although they don't affect huge numbers of people, it is a big deal for the youth that are involved. For example, the young men who started the salon have, in less that year, already opened a women's salon next door and are doing petit commerce in their store front. Projects like this, that invest in the youth and help villages rebuild themselves, are always good. Multiple people, both staff and beneficiaries, commented to me how even just the presence of NGOs has helped this area: people feel more confident to return, there is help rebuilding institutions like schools and health centers. Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid.