Our cosy home!
on Melissa Hipkins (Rwanda), 20/Oct/2010 11:02, 34 days ago
We have had a visit from a team of men spraying the insides of houses as part of an anti malaria campaign. When they arrived at about 10.00, I was assured by the team leader that it was a US sponsored drive and that the chemicals used were safe provided we stayed clear of the treated rooms for 2 hours. The assurance was based on the wording used on the packages enclosing the permethrin. I had heard of no dire consequences when used on any other volunteer’s accommodation, so after a quick telephone call to Melissa, I gave the go ahead.Melanie has always managed to put them off spraying her house but Aphrodise claimed there is no choice in the matter; it is compulsory. That would make more sense if this is all part of a concerted plan. No one was able to tell me what sort of sanction is used to back up this compulsion. The actual spraying is limited to those rooms used for occupation, the bedrooms and living room. We had a bit of a stand-off over whether the dining area needed to be done; the snag being that all food and utensils must be cleared before spraying can begin. It’s sort of open plan between the living section and this dining area so it could not easily be isolated. Even though we have only been here for 9 months we seem to have accumulated a disproportionate amount of “stuff”, all of it on open shelves. The thought of all this being hauled into storerooms or outside was too much so as a concession they agreed that the archway connecting the two rooms could be blocked by a large woven floor mat and the door with the broken lock between this area and the passageway jammed shut with a broom through the door handle. Even with this clutter able to remain in place, the beds had to be stripped and the bedclothes, mattress and all our clothes put in an unoccupied room.Despite the inconvenience I was glad to see the team had been well trained and was determined to do a good job. They finished the spraying about 11.00 and Jackie and I were left out on the veranda to get on with things as best we could. Jackie took the opportunity to go to the market while I admired the scenery. After 15 minutes this began to grate a little, made worse by my lack of forethought to at least have had something to sit on. So I took it upon myself to break the rules and go in for a book and a chair. There was a remarkable lack of a chemical smell and the only sign of spraying was puddling of the liquid where it had run from the walls. Not wishing to push my luck, I took the minimum time to get the things I needed and resumed my vigil in a little more comfort.About 40 minutes later, Melissa came back busting for the loo and hungry for some for some lunch. So once again the guidelines were breached, this time with disapproving looks from Jacky, now back from the market. With 15 minutes to go, and with the spirit of the advice having been observed, we all trooped back in and began the task of getting everything back into shape.The treatment is due to be repeated after 6 months, that presumably being the duration of the effect. The effect as far as we could see was a good deal less than that judging by the activity of the mosquitoes whining around the bedroom that night, one being so affected it managed to get inside the net. Perhaps it’s too early to judge, but it’s a bit of a worry if this is the main thrust against malaria for the general population. We have netting over the windows, a good idea in theory but the principle result is that flies come in through the doors and then can’t get back out. Mosquitoes have appearedinside the house regularly and tend to cause a nuisance around dusk and the early part of the night. It’s only the sound of their flight that gives away their presence; their bites are entirely without sensation. But it means we have to wear socks around the house in the evening to avoid bitten feet. We still continue to take Larium weekly to prevent malaria, but most volunteers we know have abandoned this prophylactic approach, judging the risk affordable. I think most Rwandans would like the luxury of having such a choice.More problems with the electricity, this time due to pole collapse prevention. Initially the cuts were made when the new pole was being erected, the next lot when the transfer of the wires between poles was effected and finally when the old pole was chopped down. As part of the transfer process, the part of the wire array that crossed our road has been relieved of its burden of empty US AID tins of milk powder. Their original purpose was perhaps to make the wire more visible as a hazard to high vehicles. A dozen or more of these big rusty tins had been strung along the wire, nominally over the road but now, due to wind and gravity, occupying the portion of the wire over someone’s garden further down hill. Whatever the reason for their use, all they seem to do now is to weigh the wire down so making it more likely to be hit by one of the many passing lorries. Close by there remains a chain of these tins on the wire passing completely over a piece of cultivated ground, somaking their primary function even more obscure.Moses has been spending most of his weekends here with Melanie and on Sunday afternoon they suggested we go out for a drink with them. The weather had been wet and looked as though there was more to come. As a consequence of the weather or pole maintenance we had no electricity. We had prepared the week’s food earlier in the day so the lack of power only meant we might have to use the charcoal to reheat it and boil up some sweet potatoes. As time went by and still no juice we thought a more practical solution was for them to come over to us for a beer, allowing us to pop out from time to time tothe courtyard and monitor the charcoal.Melanie suggested a game, maybe cards, but we had hidden away that game you play with wooden blocks; a tower is formed and you remove blocks where you can and stack them on top of the tower, the loser the one to make the tower topple. Melanie was an old hand, but it was new to Moses. As Melanie says, he’s a cheap date; by virtue of his slight frame he is soon handicapped by the beer. The gloom doesn’t help and each one of us in turn succumbs to failure. As the evening progresses, odd remarks by Melanie about knowing someone better by seeing how they play games and talk of witnesses to marriageceremonies makes us wonder what may be on her mind. At last, the electricity returns as I lose the decider and the evening breaks up. Our speculations are ended the next morning when Melanie announces her engagement to Moses, a January date has been set and we’re invited.