Road Trip

It’s safe to say that the past week probably did not turn out the way we expected it to!

Last weekend we were excited that our friend Lindsay was finishing her recent two-month stint at Galmi by coming out to Danja for a few days. We had a relaxing weekend of eating, sleeping and the odd game or movie – pretty much what the doctor ordered (literally).

Lindsay was due to take a SIMAIR flight back to Niamey on Tuesday to reach her international flight out in the early hours of Wednesday morning. However, as is occasionally the case, the pilot got in touch early on Tuesday morning with unwanted news: due to a large storm system which was pummelling the middle of the country, there was no way they could fly that day.

Within a couple of hours, we had hopped in our neighbour J’s truck and were on the road from Danja to Niamey!

Rest stop on the way to Niamey – storm clouds still with us!

Thirteen hours (J. and Peter did half each), a lot of sandwiches and a couple of hairy moments driving through water which was several feet deep later, and we made it in with about three hours to spare. Lindsay was safely dispatched, and the rest of us hit the hay at one of the SIM guesthouses.

The Niger river in Niamey – already doubled or trebled in rainy season!

Checking out the mud the morning after the night before.

We’d resolved to turn around and slog our way back on the road the next day, so we rose early (ish), did a bit of mandatory shopping (Cereal! Chocolate! Salt & Vinegar crisps! Cheddar! BACON!) and set out.

But mild disaster struck. About two hours out of the capital, we broke down. Fortunately, we were shown a nearby mechanic. Although the problem seemed beyond their resources, they were happy to let us hang around! Many phone calls later, and J. had contacted a couple of experienced hands from Niamey who dutifully grabbed a spare truck, a few tow ropes, and were with us in a few hours.

It did mean that on Wednesday night we found ourselves back in the guesthouse we had left that morning, having now travelled the same stretch of road three times in 24 hours!

J. notices that the top half of his engine block is missing. Thankfully it was intentional!

The next day, the good news was that the vehicle could be repaired. The bad news was, it was going to take a few days. Again, other SIM-ers came to the rescue: the owner of the borrowed truck was willing to let us take it back to Danja. So on Friday morning, we set out at 5am – and finally reached home at 6pm that night.

In all it was a great reminder of two things: the SIM community in Niger is always ready to drop everything when you’re in a pickle; and that you should never be too certain about your plans! It was also really nice to spend a little time in Niamey on Thursday, both with fellow workers and out and about…

Yup. Indian restaurant. Real curry. Hurrah for being stuck!

 

Still, we’ll maybe be happy enough to not travel anywhere else for a few days!

Come to Danja, See the Sights – Crash a Wedding?

We were very excited last week at the arrival of Louise and Laura for a week-long visit. The girls were completely up for a visit to Niger, and Danja was more than happy to take advantage!

The girls visiting Danja village.

Louise takes a camel ride…

…and Ruth joins in!

The week saw lots of R&R combined with getting to know folk around the Danja projects. It wasn’t just fun and games though – they were able to visit and see a range of SIM’s ministries locally, and helped out with school for one of the compound families. (Louise’s day job is as a physics teacher, so was able to bring along all sorts of toys!)

Pressure and momentum combine…

Additionally, one of our local church families was hosting a wedding at the weekend – so early on Saturday morning we found ourselves in the midst of a real Nigerien cultural experience!

Like a lot of Christian church weddings in Niger, the series of events seemed to be a mix of local tradition and newer influences. The wedding service was a fairly western idea, apparently, and the structure was fairly recognisable.

The band leading praise… no circle dancing today!

The choir were robed up for the occasion!

 

Some of the traditions include things like: most of the wedding party wearing clothes made from identical cloth; many of the ladies from the bride’s family remained at home after the first part of the celebrations; and the entire world and his wife packed in to the church’s courtyard afterwards to meet and greet. There was a great atmosphere as everyone came to see the happy couple.

Not a bad crowd!

The bride and groom (centre).

Ruth, Leng, Louise & Laura – not sure Isaac was too pleased to be dragged in too!

 

Circle Dancing

[Peter writes] This article was due for publication last weekend… but nothing’s ever that simple! Having noticed a few problems with the cabling that delivers the internet from our satellite receiver across the compound site, I set about repairs last weekend. Saturday’s work went swimmingly, but on Monday afternoon I began to get the sinking feeling that everything had gone horribly wrong… and I was now responsible for depriving everyone of their connections!

Cue frantic research, with little result. By a huge stroke of good fortune, this week of the year would normally see us working at the excellent New Wine Ireland Conference in Sligo, on Ireland’s glorious west coast. (Something I’m dearly missing this year, I have to say.) This meant that lots of “knowledgeable” types were all in one place at the same time! A lengthly e-mail was dispatched forthwith (from the office, the only place where we still had a connection.) Without fail, within 48 hours of my initial (and I’m told, fairly amusing) despair, Andrew had pointed out something blatantly obvious which I had missed and the problem had been repaired.

Moreover, our slightly flimsy junction box has been rehoused in a rainproof steel case – so hopefully that should keep everyone’s Facebook-browsing ticking over slightly more reliably!

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So anyway, back to last week’s highlight. With procedures now fully underway at the Fistula Center, the staff arranged a bit of a celebration last Friday night with one of their favourite activities – circle dancing!

Ladies dance in the background as the singers get underway.

For a Northern Irish comparison, you could cast your mind back to any socials or céilidh you have ever attended. There was live music at the front, with the band on the steps at the front of the Fistula Center…

CSL’s multitalented S. was on bass… until it broke, and he switched to guitar!

…and some of the singers doubled as leaders for the dancing, demonstrating how to perform the shuffling steps forward and back in a line.

The ladies were capable of some very choreographed moves!

Also comparable to my memories of socials, most of the men clung to sitting and watching for as long as was humanly possible, before eventually being dragged up to take part near the end. It was such a breathtaking performance, I dare not show any pictures. (That, and my camera battery conveniently ran flat.) So here’s a picture of the lead singers instead.

A lot of the songs were recognisable from church, which reflects the general tone of Hausa worship! Can’t really imagine line dancing to “Thine Be The Glory”…

The Fistula staff try to regularly have events on to help provide a high standard of care for their patients, many of whom are extremely vunerable and in the midst of a critical stage of a traumatic life experience. This week, they projected a film down at the patient village – remember, some of these patients will come from extremely rural communities, where they may never have seen moving pictures before!

I think, though, that circle dancing remains one of their favourite ways to socialise, whether taking part or watching the nurses and staff having a go. Nigeriens and westerners together, it was quite a sight – though perhaps one group were a lot more coordinated than the other!