Burkina Faso is the diamond stud near the middle of Africa’s meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia, containing a population of roughly 300 people. The region’s dusty winds and relatively cool nights from December to June decreases peoples’ immunity to respiratory problems. This, along with the area’s high population density adds up to make bacterial meningitis “hyperendemic” to this area. And it’s Burkina Faso which often makes up the vast majority of meningitis cases and deaths. From Moco in Burkina Faso. ….there has been a meningitis epidemic in the region of Orodara, where I live. About 250 deaths country-wide so far, so the ministry of health set up a huge vaccination campaign and I spent the past week assisting with vaccinations in Tin and the smaller villages nearby which our health clinic serves. After over 2000 vaccinations and almost that many screaming kids (they dont like shots), we're all done. Though it kept me really busy, it was nice to feel useful and hopefully there wont be many more meningitis cases in my area at least. Also in the name of trying to get something done, Garrett decided as a teacher he would begin a HIV/AIDS statistics project for his students. They had to regard the prevalence rate of the disease in both Burkina Faso and throughout sub-Saharan Africa for men, women and children. Students also had to diagram their statistics and figure out why women are more affected by the disease then men; why some people can get it easily; and, why HIV/AIDS is more common in urban areas. At some point, the project then took on a life of its own. I also supplemented it with a sex ed lesson, go me. There was laughing here and there, some of it intended, some of it not. The tough question was: why are women more likely to get infected if they use medicines to dry their vaginas for sex? I couldn't figure out a way to explain it so the class didn't crack up. The guy then asked me what a vagina is…grrrr. Speaking of school: “Technically, primary-level education is free in Burkina Faso,” writes Joel Turner in Burkina by Joel. From there on, the issue of school fees gets complicated and a little confusing. Before long, you may understand why the number of children attending primary school still hovers around 30 percent. Joel explains. There are, however, annual dues which are collected by each school’s Parent’s Association (APE). The annual fee comes to approximately $3 per student per school year. $1 per student goes to the APE, which is responsible for the maintenance of the school and teacher housing, among other things. $2 per student goes to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) which provides breakfast and lunch for all students in Pobé-Mengao (even in Burkina Faso, $2 for a year’s worth of breakfast and lunch is quite a deal). For various reasons, a significant number of parents fail to pay the school fees. Many grasp, obstinately, to the misunderstanding that primary education is gratuitous, as per the Government’s advertisements. Some hold to the suspicion that the APE and the teachers are pocketing the money. Others simply claim that the amount is too much. They cannot afford to pay. While $3 is pocket change in the United States, it must be said that for an average Burkinabé household with five children enrolled in primary school, $3 times five children can become a significant amount. But it is not an unrealistic amount. What lacks is both a vested interest on the part of parents in their children’s education and an effective accountable system of enforcement on the part of teachers and the APE. Between parents and the school there exists a crippling lack of communication and trust. What threatens to frustrate me more than the lack of concern on the part of parents is the defeatist’s approach the teachers and the APE takes to the problem. When I ask “What can we do to get the parents to pay?” the general response is, “It’s not easy” or “Parents, they just don’t understand.” Sometimes the absurdity is so immense, I know not whether to laugh or explode in a fit of anger. It was a regular Wednesday evening for Becca Faso, who was out buying bread when she stumbled upon a group of people in her village. There were many huddled in a huge circle obviously watching whatever was going on in the middle of the circle and also many others selling typical Burkina snacks and chatting etc. I asked one of my students what was going on and they told me. Masks! Burkina, indeed West Africa, has a long traditional history of mask festivals so I was excited to finally get to see some for myself. However, my students quickly warned me, “Madame, they will hit you!” “Did you say hit??” Yep, they said hit.