Encore de Photos:
My Fellow PC Volunteers and I
Jason, Bill, Rob, Keeya, Sarah, Shelley, Cheryl, and I. After our three months of training, we were sworn in as volunteers and sent to our posts to fend for ourselves. This was at the American ambassador's residence in Cotonou.
Swear in Ceremony with Notables at the American Embassy in Cotonou
My PC Stagemates and I at Chris's Hut Near Toukoun Tuna
A one week Guinea Worm eradication training program in the village of Ilaro (near Pobe) organized by Stacia. This picture was developed in Benin. You can tell because it is slightly overexposed. They often turn up the exposure levels on the developing equipment so the people's dark facial features show up. A good solution is to have your pictures developed in the US and always use a flash to light up people's faces.
Formation at the Hotel de la Plage
This was a several day long training seminar organized by Peace Corps to help volunteers and their counterparts (local Beninese people who we were assigned to work with) learn how to work together effectively.
There is one train in Benin that goes from Cotonou to Parakou. There is only one rail so when trains pass each other, they must pull off on a side rail, and let the other by. This was in the sleeper car of the night train.
Termite Mound (Castle is more like it)
Me in Front of a Termite Mound
I am 6ft. tall so this is at least 8 ft. tall!
My Neighbors
Bernadette and Jean on their Wedding Day
They cook almost exclusively with wood outside.
Most villagers have to haul water long distances because they don't have running water.. Claire was fetching water for her family (about one km away). Believe me- a basin full of water is very heavy. Your neck, shoulders and head have to be very strong to carry it. I tried it a few times and couldn't go for more than a few hundred yards.
Dirty Kids Playing on My Porch
One afternoon I when I woke up from a nap, they were all out there playing.
Kids Singing and Drumming on New Year's Eve
New Years is a joyous occasion and is bigger than Christmas. Since most people are poor, gift giving at Christmas is very limited. They don't need money to have a good time as you can see from this picture. Their drums consist of old plastic jugs. They really know how to sing and dance.
Kids Singing and Drumming on New Year's Eve2
Kids Dressed Up on New Year's Day 1996
It is a tradition that on New Year's day, that you go visit many friends and family to eat and drink. Kids dress up and go from house to house singing, dancing and asking for gifts.
I brought socks with me to Benin but never wore them because it was so hot. I gave them to my neighbors and they all put them on at once and came over to my house.
This old guy is a friend of mine. He would stop by my house every day and I'd give him his favorite drink- Sodabi (fermented palm wine).
This was a new Year's Party that I threw at my house. (outside only of course)
Can you see a theme here? Kid, Kids, Kids! I'm not sure of the statistics, but there are far more children under 15 than there are adults, due to the high infant mortality rate and the fact that almost no one uses any kind of birth control. Persons status is measured upon how many kids they have. If a woman is barren, she if often chastised.
Other People
Carder is the government rural extension agency that I was assigned to work with.
Albinos are fairly rare, but you do see them every once in a while. I think they are treated well. Their biggest problem is sun burn because the sun is so strong and they can't afford sun screen.
Whenever I would ride my bike through a village, kids would come running out of the wood work to chase me (in a friendly way). They acted like I was a Martian landing his UFO in their village, they would get so excited. Yovos on bicycles almost never venture out to their villages.
Hygiene is bad in Benin. This boy either has worms or malnutrition or both.
This is a favorite pass time for women. The styles of braiding are endless.
Caca or Carolle Playing with a Balloon
Scenes from Allada
Bush rat sellers. Allada is affectionately known by some as the "Bush Rat Butt Capitol of Benin" by many Peace Corps Volunteers. I tried it. It's not bad and tastes a bit like pork. I did not eat anything that was anatomically identifiable such as the head, and the butt (the most sought after part). The really gross part is that they burn off the fur and sometimes your rat butt will be a little hairy. This gives new meaning to the saying, "I don't give a rat's ass."
Bush Rat Sellers Swarming a Taxi
The most important north-south road runs through the middle of town and taxis stop to let passengers off and pick up new ones. When the taxis stop, these women sell to the passengers. It's "interesting" sitting in a taxi and having a plate full of rat butt stuck under your nose.
Gran-Popo Beach
The beaches in Benin are gorgeous because they are almost untouched by tourism and development.
Gran-Popo- Pirogue on the Beach
Fishermen Pushing their Boat Up on the Beach
Fishermen don't have motors, winches, ports or docks. They embark and disembark from the beach. They must paddle the boat and use fishing nets by hand only. There is also a long line of people on the beach who are pulling on a rope attached to the boat.
Fish Market on the Beach at Gran-Popo
Women come to buy the fish the fishermen have just caught.
Ganvie (Village on Stilts)
This little boy is paddling this big boat all by himself. He must not be older than 5 yrs. old! This a village on stilts in the middle of the lake Nokoué, just north of Cotonou.. The people fled here several hundred years ago seeking refuge from kings who wanted to capture them and sell them into slavery.
This is the traditional way that the the Tofinu (inhabitants of Ganvie) do their fishing.
Other Scenes of Benin
Fulani (also Peul) is a nomadic ethnic group that lives in the Sahel (the semi-arid region between the Sahara Desert and the more tropical areas to the south) regions of West Africa. They have very distinctive features, and body decorations.
Pâte is French for "paste" and it is the staple food in Benin. It is corn flour that has been cooked in water. You eat it with your right hand (your left is used for personal hygiene. - They can't afford toilet paper usually). You break off a small piece, dip it in the sauce and eat. I can't say I ever liked it much because well... it tastes a little like paste. On the other hand I loved Wõ vovo- (Pate Rouge) Red Paste, which is cooked corn flour with seasonings such as chicken broth, spice, salt, and tomato paste. It's really good! See Beninese Food Recipes
I worked with rural farming cooperatives in villages my first year. My only means of transport was my Peace Corps issued mountain bike.
Butcher in the Porto-Novo Market
Did I mention problems with hygiene? Obviously it is not refrigerated and not covered. There are flies all over the meat for sure.
Hut Where I Lived for 10 Days During Training
This was quite an experience. At night cockroaches would come crawling out of the cracks in the walls. I would kill them with my flip fop. I probably killed 10-15 per night. The next morning they would be gone! The ants ate them. All that was left were their wings.
As soon as you pull out the camera the kids go crazy! Everyone wants to get into the picture and hopes that they will get their own copy. (as you can see that isn't possible). They all scream with joy when the flash goes off.
Very few people have running water in their houses. In fact, if you don't live in a city or town, you are very lucky to have running water even near your house. For this reason most people have to walk to fetch water and carry it on their heads. The way you bathe with no running water is by bucket shower. You scoop up a water in a cup from a larger bucket and dump it on you. Click here for more info about hygiene.
During the rainy season this path became a a drainage ditch. I enjoyed riding down this path at night in the dry season when the air would be slightly cooler and the stars were blazing because there was no light pollution.
The conical roofs are over people's sleeping quarters, the kitchen, and food storage granaries. They are drying hot pepper, gumbo and cassava in the sun.
These are fortified mud huts (built like castles) in order to protect the inhabitants from attacking enemies in the North of Benin. They are two stories and the people live on the roof while the animals live on the ground level. There are secret hiding places for the inhabitants to hide on the ground level to ambush an attacker as well as secret escape routes.
A clash of modern and traditional ways. They rented a generator for the New Year's holiday. Villages like this do not have electricity.
Orange Seller in Lokossa Market
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