GOTCHI AND SATCHI: (part thirteen, the end) “Where is your father? I must see him,” Binta asked the children. Just at that moment, she lifted her head, and saw in the distance a sight that filled her weary heart with such happiness that she cried even harder. “Gotchi, look, look over there!” she sobbed. Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI: (part twelve) Days became indistinguishable from one another. Gotchi had no sense of how long it had been since they had left their village. She could hardly remember the day she had begun this journey, when her heart had been filled with eagerness and hope. Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI: (part eleven) Gotchi felt numb. She thought achingly of Satchi. Without money, she lost all hope of seeing her beloved friend again. She thought of all their hard work, and she thought of her father, brothers and sisters. The rains had still not come. Without money, would they all die of hunger? Of thirst? Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI (part ten… short story continued) After many months of wandering, Binta and Gotchi saved enough money to return home. They traveled back to the big city; Gotchi was no longer afraid of the bus. All she could think about was seeing her brothers and sisters. She fell asleep, each bump bringing her closer to home. Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI: (part nine, short story continued) After almost a month squatting in the mosquito-infested market, Binta abruptly announced, “It’s time for us to leave. Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI: ( part eight, short story continued) Binta and Gotchi went looking for food. They found several open stands lit with dangling, colorful light bulbs. They bought a small bowl of rice topped with a gooey green sauce. “Mommy, that’s not enough for us both to eat!” Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI : (part seven… short story continued) Binta dragged the terrified Gotchi to the marketplace, declaring, “This is where we will sell our medicine.” They found an empty space on the dirt ground, next to a fruit and spice vendor. After rolling out their torn plastic mat, Gotchi proceeded to neatly lay out their plants. She then found some discarded cardboard, and on it drew little sketches to describe what the medicines would heal: headaches, diarrhea, and malaria. There was even a potion to help people fall in love! Read more…
GOTCHI AND SATCHI, TORN APART BY DROUGHT: (first part of the Gotchi and Satchi story) This is a fictional story that I wrote based on the Wodaabe women of Couloubade, Niger… it is a story about love, about a mother and her daughter, about climate change, about migration, and about hope and resiliency. Read more…
SURROGATE BREASTFEEDING: (sixth in the breastfeeding series) In this photo, a Fulani mother cares for the baby of one of her husband’s other wives; her co-wife. The baby’s birth mother has left for several months to neighboring Nigeria to raise money for the family selling traditional medicine and magic potions. Instead of taking her nursing child with her, she has left it to be cared for and nursed by her co-wife. Read more…