Hey Friends!! It has been a while since I last wrote, and so much has happened. A few weeks ago I experienced the full spectrum of life, all in one week. It started with the death of one of my best friend's daughters. The little girls name was Cheriffa, she was three years old, and died of malaria. I had known that she had been sick for a few days, but Bare (her mom, my friend) had taken her to the doctor, and usually people get medicine and then recover. Unfortunately, recovery is not always the case. I was at the pump, when all of a sudden all the girls at the pump were like, "Jamila, did you hear that Cheriffa died?" My face just fell, I couldn't believe it. I immediately left the pump, and hurried over to Bare's house choking back tears the entire way. As soon as I entered her concession, I knew the news was true. Not many people were at the concession yet, but all the women who were there were my close friends, and everyone just stared at me when I walked in, they knew how much I loved Cheriffa. I walked straight over to Bare, who was sitting on a mat, sat down next to her, put my hand on hers and said, "Bare, really? Cherrifa..." I couldn't hold back my tears any more, they just started pouring down my face. This was the first time my women had ever seen me cry, so when I started crying, they all started crying, and we just sat there and cried together for a few minutes. The next hour was kind of a blur, the concession rapidly filled up with women, there was crying, wailing, pounding, and talking - death is something that everyone in the community comes together for, so a lot of activity was happening. When the men came to take out Cheriffa's body, we all sat as one and shared in each others grief. Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time hanging out at Bare's concession, just sitting with her, meeting her entire extended family, and talking about Cheriffa.

Despite the grief and despair of death, there is also the joy and happiness of life. A few days after Cheriffa's death, I was hanging out in my friend Angie's village, when I received some really happy news. My neighbor and great friend, Kaoula, his wife, Jummai, at given birth to their first child, a baby girl. I was so incredibly excited!! Of course, I rushed home the next day, I was just busting at the seams, everyone I talked to was like, "Did you hear Jummai had her baby!" I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. :) I threw my stuff in my house, and then ran over to Jummai's to see the new baby. I sat down on the bed, (Jummai was laying in the floor), and Jummai handed her right over to me - she was so beautiful!!!!!!! She was sound asleep, and looked so content. I visited Jummai every day, each time admiring her patience and calmness. (Jummai is probably around 17, and she handled things like she had been doing it for years.) In Niger once a woman gives birth, she stays inside her house with the baby for 7 full days, on the seventh day is the baby naming ceremony, when the baby finally receives their name, and the family has a party and basically welcomes this new child into the world. I was totally excited for the ceremony, I live inside of Kaoula and Jummai's concession, so it was basically a party at my house. Kaoula was such a proud papa, he talked to a friend, and was able to get a generator, and a TV, so that guests to the party could watch music videos, and he killed a goat and had incredible food made. So guess what they decided to name their baby girl?...JAMILA!! After me! I was so touched, to be some one's namesake is such a big deal! Jummai and Kaoula just gave me big smiles, when I thanked them for the honor. The old ladies were all teasing me and telling me that because she is named after me now I needed to take her back with me to America. Over all is was a great day, and a great way to welcome Jamila into the world.

Now I am currently in Niamey. I am here to VAT for the new stage that just got here, which means I am a volunteer trainer for two weeks, and get to help the new kids with questions and concerns they have about Niger. I'm also helping out with the music festival, PANGEA. Liz and Haley put together a great dance routine, and we will be teaching it to about 20 middle school aged girls. I'm super excited.

Well, I guess for now, that is about it. I'm sure that since I'm in Niamey I'll be able to post sometime again soon. Hope that all is well!! :)

Ciao!
Ari