An Informal Visit

One of the things Mamina and I did while in Bobo was to visit her oldest sister, Awa. Awa lives in an informal neighbourhood known as Secteur 22, way the heck out on the edge of town. To get there, we took a taxi through 20 minutes of Bobo's relatively tranquil streets and got out at a point where the number of donkeys on the street far outweighed the number of cars. From there we left the paved road and walked through narrow streets that twisted around the houses with not even a nod at the idea of a grid. No car could ever fit down those streets.

An informal neighbourhood can mean anything from the dirtiest slum to something only slightly removed from normal city life. Awa's neighbourhood is the latter.

There is no electricity other than what is stolen from the main lines, no water other than what is brought in in oil drums, no sewage system, cooking is done with wood fires and gas burners, and the people of Secteur 22 do not own their properties.

Awa's house was typical - two small rooms, one for the whole family to sleep in and another for everything else. This is what houses are like in the village too, but village homes are grouped around a family courtyard where most living actually takes place and Awa's tiny house fronts onto the street. So most of life in this neighbourhood takes place in the streets.

Secteus 22 was a clean and friendly place with lots of families. Everyone there was poor and uneducated, but it seems like the government is taking a step towards improving life in the neighbourhood. I noticed small signs on each house with the family's name and a number, which Mamina explained are the first steps towards formalizing each family's property title.

I took lots of photos, hopefully I'll figure out a way to get them posted one day.