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Playing House I love this postcard because it tells a lot about life here. First, the kids are playing "house" like they do everywhere. Notice the little girl has a baby tied to her back, just like nearly all of the women I see here. Women walk, shop, work the fields, cook, and clean with babies as old as 2 or 3 years old tied on their backs. Pluses: the kids are with their moms (or aunts or sisters) and the kids are very content and secure. Minuses: The kids don't get a lot of stimulation, and are often bow-legged from being strapped this way. |
Also, notice how young the girl is, and she's already learning to carry things on her head. I love to see women and girls coming back from a well - each will have an appropriately-sized container of water on her head. The littlest girls - 3 or 4 years old - practice with a little bowl or tuna can of water. Too cute! And I know better than to even try carrying something on my head - it would be sure to crack up any witnesses!
Do you see the little boy's belly button? (Click on the photo to see a larger image). How it sticks out so badly? I bet 30-50% of the kids I see here have this abscessed belly button, especially kids in the villages where they would have been born at home, not in a hospital. The story I get is that the umbilical cord was cut too close and the stomach wall (abdominal muscle) was cut. The weak spot lets the intestine push out. (Yuck). My friends who are health volunteers say it's completely cosmetic - it doesn't hurt anything. Often as the kid grows, it goes away. Sometimes it doesn't. I've seen the abscess as large as my fist, but usually it's about the size of a D battery. The boy in the photo has a small abscess, based on my experience.
And finally, don't miss the gender roles - the girl will walk carrying the baby and the plantains. The boy will walk empty-handed. Just like mom and dad...