The Polio Safari

You heard me correctly, I went on a polio safari. First of all, let me tell you about the skirts these women wear. They're closest to sarongs, but not, because it's Niger. I don't know how they do it all the time. I wear them (they're called pagnes) everyday, and I still end up having to readjust everytime I get a chance. But I'm getting ahead of myself. One of my friends in the village invited me to come along with her to the bush (the little bitty villages surrouning my village) and help with a massive polio vaccination campaign. So I said, "Heck yes!" My neighbors and friends all objected, saying, "Baraka! You'll be hungry! There's no food in the bush!" or "Are you sure you can walk that much?" My response was always to brush off their concerns because I'm oh so strong. Kind of. So, come the morning of polio safari, I jumped into the back of the pickup truck (which I almost fell out of, that was entertaining) and we drove off into the bush to do our thing. I of course had to wear my safari hat, because I don't enjoy sunburns. Reason number one why it was a safari. When my group of three got off the truck to venture into the bush, I was following my friend who invited me, a woman. Here's where the pagne thing comes in. I was struggling to keep up with her, because I still can't quite walk in pagnes. Was gracefully gliding along, as I was tripping over anything and everything holding on to the pagne because the wind was blowing it open. I don't know what she was doing differently, but she had no problems whatsoever. I felt like that little rabbit on Robin Hood with the raggy teddy bear who says, "Wait for me! Wait for me!" But I truged on. They pointed out everything along the way, "Look, Baraka! A tree! Look, Baraka! Peanut plants! Look Baraka! A snake trail! Look, Baraka! Thorns!" Reason number two why it felt like a safari. The topper was when the man who was accompanying us on this venture ran into a feild and grabed me some peanuts to munch on along the way, just to ensure that I didn't get hungry. Safari indeed. We proceeded to spend all day finding the random villages, compounds, and hamlets in the bush and vaccinating the children in said homes for polio, which is, by the way, far from erradicated. It was hard work (despite the fact that they pamper me) and one of my most rewarding experiences thus far because I had a chance to see the different lifestyles of those living so close to me in what we would consider isolation. I met wonderful people, freaked out a lot of kids because I'm white, and had a chance to bond with the friends I've been making in my village so far. Polio safari was well worth it.