Graduation

After four intense days of training on the last day Dr. Becky and Pat went over complications at birth, administered exams to verify the level of comprehension—and happily everyone passed.  We were visited by the Prefect of Ingall, who is the governmental leader of the commune and the Tuareg traditional chief over all the communities with whom we work.

The support of the local authorities is very important and making them aware of our work is always a challenge since we are so remote.  We invited the Prefet of Ingall and the Tuareg traditional chief to see some of the final day of training and the graduation ceremony.  The visit of these two was a huge stamp of approval for our work and they promised their support wherever possible.  We were delighted they came.

I always ask them to sign for their envelope. Since none are literate–none have a signature so they are challenged to make their marks. It is charming to see these brilliant women struggle to get the x or triangle or squiggle that they have adopted as a signature into the correct box on the paper. This may be the only time they use it, but anyone who ever attends our training must sign for their per diem–so I suspect they are getting used to it.