Blog: On the Ground, Week 3
On dit quoi? That’s colloquial slang for “What’s up?” I am officially used to being in to Cote d’Ivoire; jet-lag has worn off, I’m used to taking cold showers everyday, and I’m starting to speak French with an Ivorian-melodic, twang.
This week was particularly productive. I held several meetings in Abidjan with Olivier Toguei, our Cote d’Ivoire correspondent. Olivier has been with Ivorian Hope since 2003 and is our eyes and ears on the ground for all Ivorian Hope operations. This week, we organized a team of volunteers that are in Duekoue to conduct a field assessment. Duekoue is situated in the West of Cote d’Ivoire and is about four hours from Abidjan, the capital city. It’s a rural area rich with cocoa plantations, most of the lumber comes from this region, and it is riddled with frequent violent outbursts, land disputes, and raids during civil conflict. Several homes were destroyed and raided during the last civil conflict in March 2011. There are 12,600 homes in the West that need some sort of rehabilitation and we decided to go back to one of the villages we’ve been working in the longest to assess the damage. The team assessed 27 homes in Duekoue that need some rehabilitation of roofs, doors, windows, cement, and paint. The rainy season is starting and we want to make sure we are able to rehabilitate as many homes as possible because some women and their children are currently sleeping outdoors. This presents a security threat for women and is not conducive to the economic development of the village if families do not have a stable place to live.
This week we move on to contacting wholesalers and trying to negotiate with local sellers of goods to be able to provide materials for the rehabilitation. It is extremely important for Ivorian Hope to purchase the supplies locally in order to contribute to the local economy as well. We are counting on the young people in the village to supply the labor for the rehabilitation project so it will truly be a team effort.
Here’s to another productive week!
Event Encourages African Unity
Gathering together with a solemn and determined resolve, Ivorians, Americans, Malians, Congolese and participants from various other nationalities proved that the concerns of Ivory Coast are the concerns of all. On Saturday, Jan. 28, CRI Panafricain-USA hosted the conference, “Free Ivory Coast, Free Africa Now!” to address the developing concerns in Ivory Coast and Africa as a whole. Comprised of two separate panels, the event was a day-long session created to analyze the political atmosphere and needs of Ivory Coast framed in the context of Africa’s larger concerns. Panelists drew from various professional backgrounds and organizations including the Answer Coalition, The Nation of Islam and Ivorian Hope Charity.
Ivorian Hope’s President Christine Hall gave the first presentation, speaking to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis situation in Ivory Coast and urging all to join with her humanitarian efforts. She also detailed the difficulties many Ivorians face with land ownership issues in the western region and the issue of rehabilitation during the question and panel discussion.
“Everybody here in Washington has lost someone,” Hall said speaking of the local Ivorian community. “The way they killed people in Duékoué was a genocide.”
Panelist Tohou Bah, an educator in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, knows about the loss firsthand. Bah spoke on the genocide of the Guere people of western Ivory Coast. His own niece was raped and killed by opposition military forces.
“We’re talking about justice, but where is justice?” he questioned. “With your help and assistance, we will overcome because Cote d’Ivoire is not dead, Cote d’Ivoire is sleeping but will rise again.”
Originally from Congo, panelist Deborah Kipene immediately spotted a similarity between the rebellion in Congo and the post-election crisis in Ivory Coast. In April 2011, she left her home in Congo to participate in sit-in protests outside of the United Nation Peacekeeper’s barracks in Abidjan, demanding that they leave.
Eugene Puryear, the final panelist on the first panel and a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, believes that the greatest concern in Ivory Coast is not the individual characters of former president Laurent Gbagbo and current president Alassane Ouattara. The most pressing issue at hand is the unity and freedom of Africa.
“Africa needs to determine its own future,” he said. “Africa must unite on a continent basis.”
Toussaint Alain, one of Gbagbo’s former advisors and a member on the second panel, agreed.
“The way of Africa has to be taken into account; especially when it comes to its own affairs. African conflicts have to be fixed by Africans,” he said. “But we have to be very clear and we have to think about building our future, so that the choices of tomorrow be done in knowing what was the past.”
While panelist Dr. Oumar Mariko is not a specialist on Ivory Coast, he recognizes that Ivory Coast’s issues are Africa’s issues. As a presidential candidate in his native Mali, he sees Ivory Coast’s and Africa’s problem as a question of liberty, sovereignty and independence.
“We have to organize; we have challenges to relieve,” he said. “Each generation has its mission to accomplish.”
Although the strategies and points of view may differ, activist Deborah Kipene said it best: “We are fighting for one reason; to bring the right message to Africa.”
Blog: On the Ground, Week 2
By: Pren-Tsylia Boa-Guehe
Week 2 Blog Post
Hello World!
I have awaken from my slumber! Week two was a blur because I was suddenly sick with Malaria. Malaria is a flu-like sickness that is prevalent in development countries, especially Cote d’Ivoire. Malaria presents a combination of fever, chills, sweats, headaches, nausea and vomiting, body aches, and general malaise and in worst instances can be deadly.
According to NIH, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most impacted region in the world. In 2008, malaria caused between 708,000 – 1,003,000 deaths. Malaria is the second leading cause of death from infectious diseases in Africa, after HIV/AIDS. Malaria thrives in warm, tropical regions and is transmitted through mosquitoes carrying the virus.The World Health Organization started world-wide eradication initiatives as early as 1955 but most of Sub-Saharan Africa was excluded completely from the eradication campaign due to factors such as the emergence of drug resistance, lack of availability of insecticides, wars and massive population movements, difficulties in obtaining sustained funding from donor countries, and lack of community participation. Unfortunately, treatment programs in Africa still have not been prioritized. According to a 2009 World Health Organization report, t he limited funds for malaria control appear to be disproportionately focused on smaller countries in Europe and the Western Pacific with lower disease burdens where success is more easily achieved. It is very easy to treat if diagnosed in time, but can sometimes be deadly. I wrote a paper about Malaria last year and about preventative methods and treatment that can be used to mitigate Malaria’s effects on the economic development of developing countries.
So why did I get sick if I know all of this you ask? In the midst of all the exciting Ivorian Hope work I forgot to take my anti-malarial medication, Doxycycline. Doxycycline is a highly effective anti-malarial preventative if taken daily. It even has other advantages such as fighting acne. Now that I’ve learned my lesson about how fortunate I am to have treatment available to me and the importance of taking my anti-malarial daily, let’s just say my skin is smooth as silk.
Upcoming Africa Event
Goucher College presents their annual “A Glimpse of Africa Celebration.”
This cultural exhibition and fundraising event will feature amazing hip hop, theater and dance performances. Participants will learn about Africa and meet with local African organizations including Ivorian Hope Charity.
The event will take place at Goucher College on Sat. Feb. 25, at 7pm.
Blog: On the Ground
By: Pren-Tsilya Boa-Guehe, Assistant Program Director
Hello World!
It has officially been one week since arrival to Cote d’Ivoire and the trip is already proving fruitful. I am currently in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, where there seems to be very few visible marks of a civil conflict. The streets are filled with bright lights from the New Years parade, there are now street cleaners that sweep the streets daily, and plenty of vendors working in the street markets. Taxi drivers still do not obey traffic laws and the food is still amazingly, delicious. However, the political tension is almost palpable.
Saturday, January 21, 2012, a political gathering took place five minutes from my residence. The gathering was comprised of members from the former president, Laurent Gbagbo’s political party, the FPI. The FPI received approval for the Ministry of the Interior to conduct a peaceable gathering one month prior to the event. UN peacekeepers and local police forces were present. Speakers from the FPI spoke about the significant presence of Gbagbo supporters that still exist in the city and called for continued patience and organization despite provocation. One hour into the conference, suspected members of the current president’s party in civilian clothing created a disastrous and physically combative scene. According to local newspapers, one person died and as many as 60 were injured from the rocks thrown, machetes used, and tear gas used.The incident occurred two days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit in which she called for increased dialogue between the current president’s political party and the former president’s opposition party.
The events were definitely frightening, deplorable, and unfortunate. Local residents have informed me that this is not the first time that this has happened since President Ouattara came to power. However, members of both parties acknowledged the deplorable nature of the events in local newspapers. The president has not made any official comments on the matter. Nonetheless, I am grateful to be here and hopeful for the future of Cote d’Ivoire because of the resilience of the people here.Democracy never came without a fight.
