Water is life

‘L’eau, c’est la vie’. You often hear this phrase uttered in West Africa. It translates, 'water is life'. Although the expression is self-explanatory, it has even more meaning when you consider the 40-plus degree daytime temperatures and harsh surrounds of this arid Sahel region.

As a Sydney city-dweller, I’d never spent much time considering the attributes of this most precious liquid, as it was just always there. I think Australian farmers 'get it', as do residents of West Africa. It's so important, we even have a couple of missionary friends here who dedicate their lives to locating and drilling for water, so that others may drink.

As if the life-giving attributes of water were not enough, I’ve found it to be a great curing agent. A couple of months ago I awoke from an uncomfortable sleep with an itching sensation on my back. I went to the mirror and lifted my shirt to find my back was covered in huge, red welts (caused by some insect of sorts).

I quickly consulted a medical resource specialising in self-treatment, designed to aid those in isolated locations where there isn’t an abundance of medical supplies. Under the section for welts, it simply recommended running cold water over the affected area. After 15 minutes in a cold shower, my back was almost back to normal. I appreciated water that day.

And, we've found that flushing you body with water will eventually cure just about any stomach bug, even if they are severe. Water is one God-given gift I am very grateful for. Yet, despite all these amazing qualities, I recently contemplated its deficiencies. Namely, it takes about 15 minutes in the African sun for the thirst quenching attributes of water to wear off… then you are thirsty again.

As I pondered this, I thought of the conversation between Jesus and a woman drawing water from a well in John, chapter 4. I can picture Jesus standing over a well under the hot Middle Eastern sun, telling the woman that ‘everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.’ (Isn’t that the truth, and didn’t the woman know it!) Jesus then adds, ‘…but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.’

Now that is some water worth thirsting after.

Jon

A different life

If Cathlin and I grew up in a south-western Burkinabe village, and our parents arranged for us to be married, we might live with them in a home like this.

Our aunts and uncles, grandparents and children of any of the aforementioned would live with us (oh happy days). The kids would sleep in the first room of the red, mud-brick structure that leads to the forecourt, and the women would sleep in the adjoining room.

I would sleep next to my father-in-law, brothers, uncles et al upstairs, next to the millet silo. When I or dad-in-law get hungry we’d simply tap on a wooden log, or pillar, that stands in the middle of the house, and goes from the ground to the top storey. Our wives would hear the log vibrating, and come up to see what we were after. Hopefully they’d bring up couscous and sauce, but more likely a millet concoction would have to suffice.

And if I ever have to make a quick escape (perhaps during washing-up time) I can climb down the wooden branch on the right of the picture, without anyone noticing.

Jon

Africa's favourite coffee

On a recent trip to the southern city of Bobo-Dioulasso (a 5-hour bus ride from Ouaga) we found proof of Nescafé's dominance in the African coffee market. [See Jon at left with his dream-sized mug - but not brand - of coffee.] The Ivory Coast produces a lot of coffee, but unfortunately (depending on how much of a coffee snob you are) most of it ends up in the instant coffee tin.

So the ground coffee we buy here is from France, but could originate from the Ivory Coast. There are little coffee bars (not exactly like our idea of a 'café' back home) on every street corner in Ouaga, where instant coffee kept luke-warm in thermoses is sold.

It's almost always the men who are sitting at the bar on the stools, listening to the radio or chatting with the guy behind the bar (the barista?) They only serve Nescafé. Perhaps people believe the spiel on the can of Nescafé coffee: 'drinking coffee in the morning gives you a good mood' and 'experts say that drinking up to 4 cups of coffee a day is not harmful to your health' (or words to that effect)

Note: This large mug, on the side of a busy main road in Bobo, is actually a coffee stand. The part with 'Nescafé' on it folds down creating a little serving window.

Cathlin

Kung Fu Fighting

West Africans have a love affair with Kung Fu movies. When I ride to a near-by village, I go past a hut that is completely covered with straw to stop any light, or prying eyes, pervading the darkness.
The straw, however, does little to stop the noise entertaining scores of people sitting outside. It is the sound of Kung Fu; ‘Pow’, ‘kabow’, ‘ah-yay’ go the films (apologies to batman fans for borrowing his noise descriptions). A mix of amusing dubbed French voices are heard between the exaggerated punching and kicking sounds, which rise and fall according to the importance of the fight (i.e. If it’s the final fight between the good guy wearing white and the bad guy wearing black, the volume is intense).
Amusingly, the unreal movies have a lasting impression on real life Burkina. Namely, people of Asian descent are rarely the target of crime, because there is an assumption they are experts in Kung Fu fighting.
Jon