April 21, 2004

The school of Siriba-Tiema is complete. The mason had gone for couple weeks to break ground in a new school site and now he has been back to Siriba Tieman to give the last touch to the school. The classroom is covered with a nice, sloped roof sheet. There are also three latrines that have been completed.

The community is still rallying to finish the school and they can't wait to see their kids learning in this new setting. The entire village cannot wait to inaugurate the new school, and they are doing everything to finish it before the rainy season comes.

Between rain seasons is the time for building new huts and celebrating weddings. The BwB team was lucky enough to attend a very special wedding in Siriba Tieman. Weddings are common practice everywhere in Mali, but in Siriba recently, one wedding had a very special touch: Two-dozen couples got married on the same day! It was an incredibly joyous occasion. The couples are kept out of side during the celebration and the others do the celebration with drums, xylophone and singing.

Because of this unique opportunity, people from neighboring villages and those living in big cities came to Siriba to share the joy. Everywhere was colorful clothing and dancing. In every family where there was a bribe or a groom, the entrance of the house was painted with white and red clay. This was so people could easily identify each family and come give blessings and keep on touring around the village.

Meanwhile, the couples got to know each other because this is the first time they met. You can guess that if this is the first time the partners met, then the parents may have arranged the marriage. For three days the celebration went on, and people planned to meet for next year's celebration—after the school inauguration celebration that is!

Back