Garden Greatness

From 4/4 -

So, I think I've found perhaps, if not my new favorite place, at least a new place to add to the list of favorites. After the mesa airstrip, the garden I visited this afternoon is a great spot to relax. Omar's garden is out past the Project Frutier buildings and orchards. Maybe 2km from town proper. It's mostly orange trees. One grafted Mango tree whose fruit I was definately eyeing, but after being given a giant bag of organges and tangerines I didn't really fell like asking for them.
Me and Ousmanne took a ride out there this afternoon; Omar's the president of an association that is meeting next week and Ousmanne's wife's group is going to be asking for a loan and he wants me to be there. Pretty much your typical white person can get things locals can't normally get. Omar's association is really a grouping of groups. They've gathered different collectives of work-based groups to increase their ability to ask for loans; power in numbers. Unfortunately for Ousmanne, I'll be in Niamey next week [where I am at the moment], but it was nice to come out and see this garden anyway.

This morning I had a little talk with my inspector. I've been trying to stay independant from the inspection, to do my own thing as I've always been accustomed to doing. I'd set up an appointment with the directors of my local CEGs to discuss getting English books, more specifically the 25% community contribution the fund requires. Well, after informing the inspector of this, he sat me down and we had a talk about how things have to go down.... yadda yadda. Nothing I haven't heard before, but all the same, this is the first time it's actually gotten involved with my work. But really he made some good points. Here it is necessary to start with the highest authority and work your way down. I made the mistake of going directly to the directors of my CEGs and I guess following that, the director of CEG 1 went straight to the people in Dosso, our local supervisory area, and claimed that he had already received 900 english and had kindly donated 300 to CEG2. He and my inspector have been at odds as of late. I guess the director was caught taking money from students, a no-no, money should be taken by the COGEs (like PTA) only. Don't know the story, but they are not getting along and I don't want to be caught in the middle, so I'll try to stick as strictly as I can to the downward path of Niger project development. I can see the director of CEG1 as a somewhat shaddy guy, he's always asking me what I can give him. Not the school mind you, but him. And where did all their chalk go to? CEG2 seems to have enough....
Anyway, I've cancled any meetings for the near future and will try to involve the Prefet and the Inspection more to try and follow the proper channels.

Today 4/10-
Another frustrating project development: I was denied funding for a conference I was trying to plan because my local partner was put down as the Inspection in Gaya, which technically is a national organization instead of a local one. So instead of letting me know this months ago when I submitted my proposal, my project was just left off a list of what was approved. No communication, even after multiple requests for updates on my project's status. Frustrated, unfunded, unsupported... un-loved? At least being in town to follow up on this and to do another conference on radio work gives me the chance to make blog posts