Notes from the Field

We walked to a village called Kenyandinto. Actually, we climbed up to it because it is on one of the mountains that surround Kenieba and for most of the way the path is straight up. We were joined by our friends Yambi and Suliman. Yambi guided us because Kenyandinto is his village, the place in the world where he was born. Suliman came along with us because he is new to Kenieba and wanted to climb the mountain to see the beauty of land.

We planned to leave at 10:00 A.M. but so many people for first aid we didn’t leave until 1:00 P.M. That meant we had to walk and climb during the hottest part of the day. During our journey, we noticed that Suliman, Robin and I were soaking wet with sweat while Yambi wasn’t sweating at all. He was carrying our backpacks, canteens and his bag of clothes on his head! He had been climbing up and down that mountain all of his life and he can make the journey with little or no effort at all. He didn’t even drink any water while the rest of us gulped down whole canteens full before half of the trip was done. Going home again makes you swift and strong.

As we climbed the steep path I was astonished by the sight of millet and corn growing on the side of the mountain. I can only imagine the difficulty of farming on a steep incline, the aching in your back and legs at the end of a long, hot day. Yet the millet and corn were there, growing tall and coloring the mountain a young, strong green.

I was also astonished by the sight of children guarding the crops. Here in the Kenieba circle, it’s the responsibility of the children to keep birds from eating the ripening millet and corn. In the early morning, mid afternoon and evening you can hear them playing their “balifondingolu”, wooden xylophones the sound of which scares away the birds. The clinking and clanking sounds make me think of the small guardians, the little children who spend their days like little monks in their solitary fields under the Malian sun. What do they think about on those long, lonely days? What are their hopes and dreams?