Under clear skies they took off from Parakou, not looking back but with a good deal of looking uphill in their collective future.
Spanning May 9- 12, this year’s edition of the annual Borgou Bike Tour took a mob of 18 PCV’s and six Beninese translators on a 180km trek through the rolling hills of the eastern Borgou with the goal of disseminating information on HIV/AIDS prevention to residents of the 16 towns and villages punctuating the route. The terre rouge roads between Parakou and Kalélé gave the group their fare share of challenges -- even registering a few casualties – but by the time the riders reached the finish they could brag over 4,200 men, women and children had received age-tailored information on HIV/AIDS prevention and condoms courtesy of Populations Services International (PSI).
Riding between 25 and 50km per day, the group wound their way through Guinigourou, Perere, Nikki and ultimately arriving in Kalélé in the mid afternoon on the 12th. Mercifully the weather cooperated, providing sufficient cloud cover when it seemed most needed but never breaking into rain.
“ It was an amazing ride, I’m really proud of everyone who worked their [backsides] off,” commented tour coordinator Rachel Miller, “And more importantly, I don’t think we could have done it without the Corps Volunteers Beninoise.”
Four representatives of the year-old volunteer organization, along with Mr. David Ogodadja of Guinagourou, provided the group with invaluable Bariba, Peuhl and Gando expertise to engage the age and gender divided groups in each site. ,They were also joined by a young man quickly dubbed “Saka Moto” by the riders to fill the role of chase car.
For the information sessions, each demographic – older men, older women, young men, young women and young children – was presented information on the dangers of HIV/AIDS and was invited to discuss how they could go about preventing the disease. In the cases of the young men and women, condom demonstrations were also a crucial part of the presentation.
“The best part was watching the girls who did have some knowledge of AIDS and condoms take the lead,” said Sandy Phillips, “because it is them the others will actually go to for advice in the future.”.
For the older members of the community, the emphasis was placed on the influence of their experienced voices in the community and encouraged the senior community leaders, including the several Bariba kings who joined the sessions, to use that influence to stress the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention.
As for the children, the sessions were more sing-along than true sensibilisation. Led by CVB president Ibrahim Tchan with a guitar carried on his back throughout the bike ride, the children sang about the importance of making good decisions throughout their lives and taking responsibility for themselves. Just as important as the message, giving the kids an engaging activity allowed the other groups to discuss without interruption.
Coordinating the event was no small task, and Miller was quick to point out the help she had in organizing. She specifically wanted to thank PCVs Leslie Wright and Ryan Vroegindewey for making overnight arrangements in Nikki, as well as Sandy Phillips and James Fischer for doing the same in Kalale along with a festive reception from the local Scout troop.
Financial support came from the mayors of Nikki and Kalale, each providing 30.000 CFA to cover costs. The group also received vital material support in the form of 840 sachets of Alafia water, partially carried in small quantities by the riders and the rest delivered in super sacks to each of the overnight stops. Advance publicity was donated by Radio DEEMAN out of Parakou with Bariba language announcements broadcast across the area.
And to that end, the on site publicity came from the 24 multi-racial mountain bikers -- armed with condoms, phalli and a vital message -- who came into each town along the way hoping the attention they drew gave them the forum to make a difference.
So yeah, we did that. Very cool experience, despite Jaren riding two days with a rubbing brake pad (mechanical flaw with springs in the mechanism) and Steve riding the entire first day in high gear (stupidity, machismo and more stupidity). It was interesting to get out into some of the further reaches and realize that sometimes people understood more than you thought they might, and yet other times you found yourself bowled over by the levels of ignorance on basic things like how the human body works.
Some pictures, in no particular order:
Rolling into some village
Sitting with the old men, giving the local king rubbers
Keeping the kids distracted
At the high school in Perere
Condom demonstration (phalli not visible)
Jaren and her ride
Be glad you can't smell him in this picture
Taking a break in the last village (no lie, there were THOUSANDS of bats in that tree)
Another booming metropolis
Buckwheat!
Village with a really nice nairi tree
Kilometers on kilometers of terre rouge (surprise, its an uphill!)
The Schwartz's
Other highlights and notables included Steve getting the kids running along side of his bike to chant “Ali Boo mbye!” as they ran, Bariba kings showing up at all the sensibilisaitons, the views between Nikki and Kalele, Jaren riding 100+km with a case of amoebic dysentery (she’s a tough cookie), sitting under the tree with 1000 bats in it, the ragu with wasa wasa (think mashed potatoes and cous cous with tomatos and onions) in Nikki, Jaren slipping pre-chewed meat onto Steve’s plate and not saying anything until after he’d eaten it, the kid in the Sidney Crosby Penguins t shirt in some podunk village, the girl in the Osama bin Laden t shirt in some podunk village, and the immense joy of a good downhill.
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