Dear Amanda,
Please I hope you are not dismayed concerning what I am explaining to you from Ouagadougou. I can discuss or ask something freely with you, Julia or Dudu but for me, this is a private mother to us. I also understand that you just want to help with what you have. Please don’t misunderstand me just do it at your rhythm.
I have been able to take the camera out the last week, and yesterday I have received the three boxes. I have stayed long time with no reply because the Hospital building project became so busy (it is a full time job), and we got a Taiwan fair the last week. I am sorry!!!
I agree with you that “everything seems so easy at first glance is so difficult practically, it not only happen in Burkina Faso but also everywhere in the world”.
But most importantly in Burkina Faso as everywhere in the world, disposal financial resources are a key component if you want to be involved in any social matter. Just for an example, you freely sent to me a digital camera and here I almost took 2 weeks to find money to have it away from the postal office. This means that, my first step is to secure the financial status.
I am still thinking that “take family away from children is not a best way”, but when back home, I have to admit that it seems to be the more secure and pragmatic way. Why? Just because our traditional social organization is still very strong here. The risk is that if you keep the baby in the big family and give a stipend to the feeding mother, in more than 90% the money will be use for the whole family and the baby may lack the necessary care.
It doesn’t mean that this project is impossible. It is possible but with a very tight follow up at every level. It is not a job that I can do during weekend or after job. I have to be entirely dedicated to it and I would like. Unfortunately I don’t have the financial resources even for myself so I have to take a job for survival.
Even for a small scale and individual project it required:
1. Mean of transportation which is expensive here cause of oil jumping up.
2. Making field research, Set up communication to convince future feeding mothers that will agree to do the aids texts.
3. Make a medical check up for the babies that we want to help. We have to be sure that both parts are clean of any transmittable diseases.
4. And then, the follow-up of the mothers to be sure that everything is right.
Now to give some answers to your inquiries.
1. Mothers may agree with about 1000 NT per month to feed a baby
2. I have to precise my idea here: I was talking about aid orphans, babies that lost there mothers from aid disease. As it is not possible to have an aid transmitted orphan feed by a healthy mother, we have to first make a medical check up to find a healthy mother feeding a healthy baby that got his parent dead from the aid disease. The two last questions need a field research. And then still comes the question of money. I can use the week ends to go to my village and do this research but for any visit and in field research, you need to pay some money. As people are really very poor in the villages, every one coming from the town and specially doing any type of research is suppose to have money.
So Amanda, this is the whole situation, and I hope to hear from you about it.
Take care; be waiting for your answer.
Viviane
Dear Amanda,
上次我在瓦加杜古跟妳解釋的事情,希望你不要感到沮喪. 我可以跟妳, Julia 還有 Dudu 很暢快的討論或是請教事情, 但對我來說這就像是我們自己的母親. 我也可以了解你想要用你現有的東西來幫助我 我只是希望你可以用你自己的節奏來做事 請不要誤會我的意思
我上個禮拜已經可以把照相機拿出來了 昨天我也收到三個箱子 由於建造醫院的計畫已經變的很忙碌 並且是個正職工作 所以我也有好一陣子沒有回信給妳 我們再上禮拜也有一個台灣市集…真對不起
對於你之前說 “所有的事情一開始都覺得簡單, 但是之後會變的漸漸困難 這是全世界不管到哪裡都一樣的” 但是最重要的 我這裡就像是其他的地方一樣的, 如果想要參加任何的社會活動, 控制財金資源是一個重要的部分. 舉例來說好了 你可以自由自在的把妳的相機寄給我, 但是這卻花上我將近兩個禮拜把相機從郵局贖回 這代表說, 我的第一步是獲得跟保護財金狀況
我現在還是覺得 ” 把家庭從小孩生活中抽離並不是一個好的方法 ” 但是當我回到家後, 我覺得這感覺起來是個更安全 更務實的方法, 怎麼說呢? 因為我們的傳統社會結構現在還是非常強的 冒險的地方是如果將一個小孩放置在一個大家庭裡面並且給奶媽津貼, 大概將會有超過90%的津貼將會被所有的家庭使用, 小孩可能得不到該有的照顧
這不代表這個計畫是不可能的 只是需要在每個層級都要有很緊迫的追蹤, 這並不是我在週末或是下班之後可以做的來的工作 因為我必須測底的專注在這上面,而這也我想要的. 很不幸的, 我連讓自己能夠過活的資金都不夠了所以我還是需要一份正職工作來活口
即使是小規模或是個人的計畫都必須要:
運輸工具, 在這裡因為油價不停上漲的關係所以變的很貴 領域研究, 場地規畫, 設立交誼會議室, 未來奶媽們可以在那裡aids texts.設立醫療檢查站來檢視想要幫助的嬰兒, 必須確定嬰兒跟奶媽身體沒有傳然的疾病之後, 持續追蹤奶媽並且確定一切都按著正常程序走
這是妳之前問我的問題的答案
奶媽應該會同意大概台幣1000一個月來餵一個小孩
我必須把我的想法明確的說出: 我原先是想幫助孤兒還有愛滋母親的嬰兒, 而且要一個被愛滋病傳染的孤兒由一個健康奶媽餵養這也是不可能的, 我們必須首先建立一個醫療檢查站來找健康的奶媽來養雙親因為愛滋死亡的健康的小孩
最後你問的那兩個問題需要領域研究但是任何的探勘跟研究都是需要先付錢給別人, 當人們生活在非常非常貧困的小村子裡, 任何外地人 尤其是來做研究的人都要有錢才會好辦事
這些都是所有的解決之道 希望能聽聽妳的想法
Take care; be waiting for your answer.
Viviane
好久沒通信了，妳的身體都復原了嗎？
謝謝妳在忙碌中花時間寫這麼長的信，讓我理解到某些困難處。
回國後面對現實環境，相信妳能更清楚的知道自己人生規劃的考量，所以一切就安照妳的節奏來吧，目前先讓你自己安頓下來最重要。不論何時，只要你準備好進行協助你們社區的計畫，我都會是背後支持妳的一個小力量。
我門總共寄了4個箱子，是幾位太極拳同學加上julia和我的一點心意 請查收。
保重哦！ 保持聯絡。
Amanda
2007.10.22
Dear Viviane:
It’s been a while that we didn’t hear from each other, how you doing? Have you gone away from sickness?
Thanks for writing a long mail especially when you are busy, that really helps me understand some certain point of your difficulty.
Facing the real world after you get back to home, I believe that you can find and know what your future plan is and how to make it become true. According that, I wish you can just take your time and follow your rhythm. Now, I think that find a place to let you settle down would be the first priority. No matter when is that, when you are ready for helping your people and your community, I will always be there to back you up, even though I know what I can do is limited.
There are 4 boxes that we sent to you. All of them are from some of the members of Tai-Chi club, Julia and I, wish you could receive it soon.
Take A Really Care n Keep In Touch
Amanda
