Following Ilna - she wears her new backpack with textbooks |
Entering Ilna's yard. The gate is made of bamboo, the fence is a cactus called 'raket'. |
Entering the courtyard (lakou-a) of her aunt and uncle. Auguste follows. |
The house is mud and stick construction, so there are many holes in the wall and the rain comes in. |
Her aunt was at the market, so Ilna unlocked the door to let us in. |
Inside, Ilna stands in the everything room 'grand sal'. I am standing in the bedroom doorway. The 2 rooms are separated by an ancient, flimsy curtain. |
Ilna sits on her aunt and uncle's bed to answer questions. Her bed (which has no mattress) is directly across. She shares it with a cousin. Two other cousins sleep on the floor in between the beds. |
This is the kitchen table/cupboard - utensils and plates for 6 people, an empty toothpaste tube. We distribute toothpaste/brush/kotex/bar soap and facecloth. Note holes in wall. |
Water for drinking/bathing/cooking is carried from a well many miles away. It is untreated. We distribute Aqua Tabs free of charge to all students, no limit. |
I pulled the cover back on the bed Ilna shares with a cousin. It is a metal/barbed wire/stick frame covered with rags. assorted old clothes underneath. |
These are a few of the neighbors who followed us in. There wasn't room for everyone. Visitors are an event. |
This is the 'kitchen' where meals are cooked, when there is food available. |
Ilna poses in front of her aunt and uncle's home. Windows have no screens, which would help alleviate the mosquito (marengwen) problem. |