The final countdown….

Here it goes, I have 9 days left in village and 16 left in Burkina. For the last month I have been wishing away my days, so I could hurry up and leave. I spent Christmas in my old village of Nakaba. For three days I partied with friends, made promises to never forget them, and said my final good-byes. Christmas was a bitter sweet time to be saying good-bye, everyone was happy to be celebrating the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, while I went from house to house to say “Au Revoir!” I tried to make it to every single house in Nakaba, but at the end of the day, it was way to much. I tired to keep a happy face, mostly because Burkinabe don’t like people who cry or are unhappy, but who knows if I will ever see these people again. My babies are going to grow up with out me. 

The hardest part was leave my faithful comrade, Benga. My old boss, finally got a job transfer to the main hospital in Koupela. He had spent 10 years in Nakaba, when most nurses only spend 2 years. He took his whole family, and even the family dog, he asked me what I thought was best for my dog, and I told him,Benga should stay in Nakaba. He now resides at the house of the new head. The day I showed up, I went to meet the new nurse and before I even finish saying hello, Benga comes running down the path way,and if he had been bigger, he would of tackled me to the ground. We spent 3 great days together, and saying good-bye to someone who doesn’t respond was really hard. I know my village will take care of my dog, and Benga will be a great keeper of the hospital.

(On Christmas, with all the women in my Family.)

Here is something I wrote about my village of Nakaba, which no matter how I phrase it, it’s true:
“At the end of my two years in Nakaba, I know I helped change my community. I showed them how to combat their problems, by identifying and using their local resources. I may have been the push they needed, but they did the work themselves. During my service, this community showed me what it is like to be an agent of change.” 

For what it is worth,Thank you Nakaba!

Now I’m in my other village, just hanging with the few friends I do have. These next weeks are going to go by so fast, I’m trying to savor everything. After I leave here, I’m in Ouaga for a week to finish up paper work,medical stuff, etc… which will be easy,since the hard part is already done!! 

I’ll update one last time before I leave, and also while I am on my AWESOME SOUTH AFRICAN VACATION!

Mail:
Kirstin
Emerald
Mom