Years In West Africa Research Articles

Chop Money

CHOP MONEY/E.A. Hubacker Coleman THE HARMATTAN came early. Already, in the first week of November, the cold wind from the Sahara swept down through a thousand miles of cracked mud and barren creekbeds and brought a fine foggy dust to settle over glasses and crockery and clothes hung out to dry and anyone who didn't move often enough. Old women rubbed their peeling hands and limped, favoring forgotten injuries. Beer came warm to tables and people wore jackets all day. Men laughed quickly and left long before the eleven o'clock curfew for the uncertain warmth of their beds. Despite his chapped lips, Brian welcomed the winds. He'd been traveling for months, and the haze and sixty-degree chill arrived with the quiet raucousness of an old and well-missed friend who had come to bid him "safe journey." The cold both comforted and enervated him. He fell victim to the night-time sloth of desert dwellers, avoiding the ten-minute ride to Sabon Gari in favor of the proximity and solemnity of Kano's Central Hotel. He hated paying the extra five Naira for each too-sweet beer and missed the body warmth of bars so small that only the sharp voices of proprietors' wives separated one from the next, but the exuberance of Sabon Gari magnified the harmattan's lonely chill. After three years in WestAfrica, he appreciated the Central's relative luxury: waiters, tables with matching chairs, water trickling into small pools around the patio. The hotel surrounded them on all four sides, deadening the noise of the bumping trucks and motorcycle-taxis on the street. A towering arch curved over half the tables; its crude concrete looked elegant in the haze of the harmattan. Brian liked to start drinking early, by six or six-thirty, or at least before the sun went down at seven, to enjoy the quiet of the empty bar. With darkness came the women—alone if they could sneak past the guards, on the arms of accommodating foreigners if not. By the time the lights along the patio edge came on, twenty or thirty Nigerian women of many colors, singly and in small groups, filled the tables with laughter and quiet talking. Scattered among them like prizes sat the five or six men whose skin and eyes broadcast their foreignness. At first, one woman or another would approach him almost every night. Though the attempts had trailed off as they had all come to know him, it didn't surprise him tonight when a tall serious woman rose from her chair two tables away and headed toward him. He The Missouri Review · 21 pretended not to see her until she was standing next to him, asking, "May I sit here?" He paused, because he wanted to look as ifhe were thinking of saying no, before answering, "By all means," and gesturing to the empty chair. She lowered her jacket to display her bare shoulders and the long line ofher neck. Feigning disinterest, she offered questions in the same way that the market-women offer their first price, a take-it-or-leave-it calm before the storm of negotiations. "Do you like Nigeria?" "Very much. The people are friendly." "Maybe. I do not like Kano." "But you like Nigeria?" "Of course. It is my country." He nodded, understanding. "And why do you not like Kano?" Despite himself, he softened to the sound and stilted vocabulary ofher English. He found his own words twisting to the familiar syntax and, though he could never entirely give up the efficiency of contractions, he admired the formal rhythm of her speech without them. She finished her Coke soundlessly and put the empty bottle on the table. "I do not know. It is too dry. Too many Muslims." "You're not Muslim?" "No. May I have a cigarette?" He put the pack in front of her and leaned back. Cigarettes were neutral; they carried no implications. "Help yourself." She lit it and inhaled. With the smoke she said, "Christian. I am from Benue State. In the South." "Then you don't speak Hausa." "No. I understand a little. Do you?" He shook his...

Instability of water resources and management of a planned water system in non-sahelian West Africa

Abstract Having verified the decrease in surface water resources observed over the last twenty years in West Africa, changes planned for the Sassandra basin, Côte d'Ivoire, are described. The methods used to generate two hundred year data series, the basis of previous studies, are presented. The generated time series allow the development of long term working patterns for cases similar to the climatic conditions pertaining before and since the drought of the late 1960s. The results demonstrate a clear drop in the performance of the water system, related to climatic conditions experienced since the start of the drought. The conclusions drawn from the comparisons and analyses indicate that, if the present conditions were to persist in West Africa, surface water resources would no longer meet needs which were identified and planned for on the basis of data records presenting characteristics different from those currently observed. The frequency of failures would then become much greater, leading to a serious decline in the output of existing facilities. Modifications made to the operation of the Buyo reservoir are also analysed.

Tillage and soil physical properties in semi-arid West Africa

In the semi-arid zone of West Africa, the growth of annual crops is severely constrained by soil and climatic conditions. Soil physical properties, specifically low porosity resulting from the particle-size distribution and predominantly low-activity clay, restricts root system development and crop growth. Using intensive mechanical tillage is an effective method in enhancing soil porosity and physical properties. This paper summarizes the results of tillage experiments conducted for about 30 years in West Africa. Tillage methods evaluated involved deep plowing with motorized equipment or animal powered tools using tined equipment and ridgers for earthing up. Soil properties and plant characteristics evaluated were porosity, root development, microbial life, soil-water reserves, and crop yields. Results of no-tillage and minimum-tillage studies are also discussed. Application of reduced tillage techniques did not produce satisfactory results. Several mulch farming systems, using dead or living vegetative covers, were also tested in regions where annual rainfall exceeds 1000 mm. The results obtained support the conclusion that soil tillage is an excellent means of improving soil physical properties and crop yields in the semi-arid regions of West Africa. However, adaptation of this technique by resource-poor small farmers poses several technical and logistical problems.

Serologic Evidence of Cryptosporidium Infection in US Volunteers Before and During Peace Corps Service in Africa

To obtain prevalence data on Cryptosporidium infection in healthy US adults and to determine how often Cryptosporidium infection occurs after relocation to a situation of potentially great exposure, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for anti-Cryptosporidium IgM or IgG was used to examine serum from 75 US Peace Corps volunteers before overseas service and after up to two years in West Africa. Of the volunteers, 32% had detectable anti-Cryptosporidium IgG initially, suggesting that infection sometime in life is common. After six weeks, one year, or two years overseas, 5% (1/19), 14% (8/56), and 13.6% (3/22), respectively, became newly IgG positive. This implies that the risk of acquiring Cryptosporidium infection and its associated diarrhea is real for travelers and temporary workers in endemic areas. Persistence of IgG and/or IgM response for 12 months or more occurred in some volunteers, although the significance is unclear.

Rainfall and Atmospheric Circulation during Drought Periods and Wetter Years in West Africa

Abstract The semiarid regions of Africa experienced a number of extreme rainfall fluctuations in the present century, most notable of which are the “wet” 1950's and the drought 1968–75. Thirty-seven century-long regional rainfall departure series evidence the continental scale and marked coherence of these anomalies and illustrate important climatic teleconnections. A comparison of sub-Saharan droughts and wetter years suggests that a northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) may account for wetter years, but that a weakened “intensity” of the rainy season, independent of ITCZ position, is the most likely cause of drought in the sub-Saharan region. This and the tendency for synchronous fluctuations north and south of the Sahara (i.e., tropical and extratropical regimes) suggest that changes in intensity of the Hadley circulation may be an important factor in West Africa rainfall fluctuations.

A Wind in Africa: A Story of Modern Medicine in Mali

A Wind in Africa has become a controversial book. Is its author egoistic, racist, and anti-African? By describing America's humanitarian measles control and smallpox eradication program, is the book intended as a counterweight to our unsavory involvement in Viet Nam? Well, from the viewpoint of a physician who spent two years in West Africa (the locale of this book), the answer to all these questions is a qualified no. Dr Imperato, then head of the Agency for International Development measles and smallpox program, now with the New York City Health Department, has written a harsh but accurate and entertaining view of the life and times of an American physician in Mali. His descriptions of American embassy wives and expatriots of all nationalities and of providing bush medical care, bargaining for art work, traveling the roads, and dealing with African servants have the unmistakable ring of authenticity. Dr Imperato describes the