Goodbye to Yelimané

We visited Yelimané for the last time this past weekend. As much as we realize things have changed since we first set eyes on that place, we also realize that nothing really does change. Kids get bigger, new ones arrive, older people leave, mud buildings are replaced with concrete, temporary markets are replaced with more permanent structures, true, but one could return there in twenty years and the same lives will still be going on. The spirit of the place will remain the same. The lives will no longer be lived by the current parents but by their children and they will continue much as before. Prayers will still be said five times a day, fields will still be hoed by hand, women will still give birth aided only by other women whose qualifications are that they have survived all their deliveries. The same food will be eaten, the same transport will be taken (this is meant in the most literal fashion – the same vehicles will be in use), the same villages no more than an hour’s walk away will be the furthest some of the women will ever travel in their lives. Children will still be cute and their lives will still be difficult ahead of them. People will take time for people. Tea time will remain the most important time, the only real time. The joy in life will be, as ever, chatting with family and friends. Nothing will ever be more important than properly greeting people. We hope to take some of these last bits home with us…