Eating with hands REVISITED

First off
I HAVE SKYPE! anytime I have internet access, I'll be on skype and my comp has a video cam! check out my info entry for info.

While talking to a friend with Skype, I realize I forgot a big aspect of eating with your hands.
Malians pass a bowl of water around and everyone must wash their hands in the water before eating, However, many Malians dont wash their hands with soap. Some believe it brings more poverty. But mostly, people dont understand the concept of germs. If something looks clean, its clean. So think of all the times you think washing hands is necessary, like after the bathroom, cleaning, before cooking, etc, etc, Malians do that too, maybe even more, except without soap.

Its one of our roles here to sensitize on the importanc eof soap among other things. This could be in the form of small/larger projects or just informal discussions with people we are in contact with. So for example, during training we werent supposed to eat with anyone who didnt wash their hands, as a rule. As a volunteer, I sometimes carry soap around if I'm eating away from my host family. I always wash my hands with soap before eating and offer to those around me. I always wash my hands before eating and esp after coming from the nyegen (squat toilet).

This also a water sanitation issue too. The canals/rives/water sources are untreated and may be contaminated. People unirate/poop in those water sources, do thewir laundry, swin/play in it, maybe even drink from it. Theey dont see the germs so they dont exist.


See this is why these sorts of entries are hard bc I dont knoow how to end them. Just seems sad and shocking. But these sorts of entries are nessecary. *shrug*