Day of the African Child

Friday was the Day of the African Child, which we celebrated by throwing a huge party for the kids in our pediatric AIDS program and their families. Diafuka and Bertin found us a great venue, a restaurant near the airport called La Palisse that had a couple of beautiful gardens and a playground. We had face-painting, hat & mask-making, and lots of other games and art projects, plus some traditional dance & music performances. Word got out that a couple of muzungus were handing out stickers, and Marianna and I literally got mobbed by little kids (and adults!) wanting to get in on the action. By the end of the party everyone looked like the victims of a great Sticker Incident, hands and faces covered in shooting stars, letters of the alphabet, smiley faces, and the occasional (and widely coveted) “great job! A+!”

…Joseph came into work this morning to tell us that the party was on TV and that it looked like a lot of fun – glad they didn’t show the t-shirt riot that occurred at the end…