Desert Gills

Here you can see the finished 'Kitso' product. It's a common, although not universal, hairstyle among Hausa women and girls. I was looking around our group of Wessterners at Day of Prayer yesterday and could not help but be struck that I am the only American here now. At the moment, we have three Kiwis from New Zealand, two Romanians, two Canadians, two French, one German, one Japanese, and one (pictured) Swiss German. It's great to enjoy the international flavor. Usually, Americans are the most populous sub-group on the field, within this agency (where we make up just over 50% of the total), and here at the hospital.

We were delighted to have "Kitso" (braiding) put into Ir's hair, by my favorite nurse S, with Ir's recent compound best buddy R standing by. Ir had to sit still for two hours, and Saratou did not pull as hard as she usually does, noting that little girls usually can't tolerate it so well. As a result... the braids started coming undone over a matter of days... instead of weeks. But that was ok, we all had fun with it. At least Ir didn't have to brush her hair for a week!

Ir had the opportunity to join some ladies in making a traditional mud-based wood-fire oven at the CREN, a facility joined to the hospital where women learn about better nutrition and food preparation habits. Most families in the village use this kind of oven (not having gas or electricity readily available).