We got back from the Yaqu (YAchoo) trip quicker than expected. We stayed at a village school that Plateau Perspectives supports. There were about 60 kids there- all boarders. Because communities on the grassland are so spread out- miles and miles between tents/houses- the kids all live at the school and go home for a few days each month. It's a continual challenge to get good teachers to teach at the village schools, but it's essential that the children be educated. Limited literacy and numeracy lead to disadvantages when taking agricultural products to market as well as significant barriers to higher educational achievement and societal engagement. There is a new requirement for 100% enrollment of children in primary education, which means that many families with no access to village schools have had to move to town or pay fines. We're currently working on grant proposals to greatly expand the village school program.
Tomorrow we will be going out to another village called Jiongqu (JONGchoo). There we will again work on the grazing study and take water samples. We have to be back by Sunday night because we will be conducting village doctor training next week Monday through Friday. Just like with teachers, it's quite difficult to train and retain skilled medical workers on the plateau. Many "doctors" have less than a year's formal training- most around 6 weeks. Fortunately, there has been a strong push for women's health care workers to be trained, so some women have 1 to 3 years health care training. Women's and children's health care is critical here, as our surveys indicate mother mortality rates much higher than the rest of the country, and 25% child mortality before age 5.
Besides the health risks of bearing children, women face unbelievably difficult lives on the plateau. In every home I've visited, the women of the house have risen as early as 4:00 AM (but always before daybreak) and worked on their feet until around 11:30 PM- or whenever the household has gone to bed. They milk the yak in the morning, gather the dung for drying, fetch water from streams, start the fires, make tea and breakfast, clean up, make yoghurt and butter, make tea and lunch, clean up, wash clothes, gather the dried yak dung, milk the yak again, gather the dung for drying, make tea and dinner, clean up, and go to bed. I'm sure I've missed many of their activities, and all are done while taking care of young children. I've rarely seen a woman sitting. When men are present, the women are constantly seeing that every tea cup is full. In contrast, the men wake up around dawn. They eat and drink tea. They take the yak out to graze after the milking has been done (though many times it's the children who do this). Then they come home for dinner with the yak (if the children didn't do this). After dinner they sit and talk for hours drinking tea and smoking. Men are very good at drinking tea, chatting, smoking, and riding around on their motorcycles. When agricultural goods are to be traded/sold- this is the men's work.
From some people I've heard that it's a terrible thing to want to change a culture. If I were a woman here, I would think that that's an ignorant position. From others I've heard negative comments about feminism. If the effects of feminism are equal rights, responsibilities, and burdens for men and women- I think that this is an excellent cause. I once saw a video interview with a woman from this area. She was very subdued and looked down and away from the camera as she whispered that of course if she had had a choice she would have been born a man, but this is her fate to be a woman and she must accept it.
He has shown thee, o man, what is good and what is required of you- to do justice, and to love mercy... It's often tricky to figure out how to bring about what we consider justice and mercy without being rejected by the culture (or powerholders in the culture) that we are trying to "help". Right now, we're training women healthcare workers, helping to plan, construct, and support schools that are educating young girls alongside young boys, and modeling gender equality through our own lives and work. I get many stares here as I get my own water, fetch my own fuel, start my own fires, do my own dishes, and wash my own clothes. I hope that the stares will turn into deep pondering and introspection and lead to a greater sense of responsibility among men here. I also hope that we will be able to comment more loudly and directly on the subject of gender equality/shared responsibility in the future.
On another note, I'm re-reading bits of Walden. Many of you may be familiar with the quote "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"- however, it is the line directly preceding that I find more compelling and will close with today: "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
