By Alou Doumbia, Construction & Administrative Manager
Usually when I went to a village for school building projects, I did not pay attention to having direct contact with the population -- I drank their water, I squeezed their hands without fear.
Since COVID-19 things have changed, it is me now who is feared. As soon as I take the road to visit with a partner village, I wear my mask, I wash my hands with soap or antiseptic gel to protect myself and others against COVID-19. Despite these precautionary measures, the villagers are wary of me, worrying that I may contaminate them.
For anyone who has not visited in these villages since the outbreak began, I warn them that things are strange -- the villagers are no longer rushing to shake our hands. When I go to a village, as I walk towards people, everyone looks at me to the point that I take myself for a star…before I remember that they are more likely worried about me as an outsider.
In the past, I would have been greeted by many friends and partners upon arrival in a village. Today when I have a meeting with the school committee of a village, I cross the school yard alone to go to the principal’s office. There I meet the president and some members of the school committee while respecting the distance of 2 meters.…We discuss our issues for just a few minutes without seeing anything other than our eyes, wearing a mask is compulsory.
What I remember is that human beings plan a lot of things, but nature imposes its strength to change the plan. The weekly markets where people from neighboring villages meet have become more humble, the chiefs have become less demanding in gatherings. With us in Mali, those who triumphed yesterday are holed up today, those who cried before, laugh today ... yet everyone is reminded that nothing is eternal in this world.
Above all I say that our villages place a lot of importance on our partnership, it deserves to be nurtured whatever the challenges. And if I can give my partners one piece of advice, it would be to face the challenges to provide a better future to the thousands of children who benefit from our support.
Constructing new schools during the time of COVID-19 requires special protocols and protections to make sure local villagers are protected from infection by crews our own staff. This spring/summer, we halted construction until we could design good, strong policies to protect everyone involved. Construction has restarted now though!
