Transportation

by Lori Duff, Grahipla, Côte d'Ivoire

The Bandama River lies to the east of my village and has been dammed to make a lake. Our villages get a lot of fresh fish from the lake. You must also cross it to reach the other side of the country. From Kounahiri, you can travel north and take a hand-drawn barge across the lake or go south and be ferried across on a pirogue. A pirogue is small canoe-shaped boat, which is, in this case, manned by a little weathered fisherman. When not shuttling people across, he sits on the old bridge, catches and smokes fish, and works on his nets.

by Amy Bailey, Grand-Bereby, Côte d'Ivoire

Grand-Bereby is situated on a bay of the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of West Africa. The ocean plays a huge role in the lives of the people there. Without the water, there would be no fishermen providing a staple in the average diet, fish. Côte d'Ivoire is the world's largest exporter of cocoa and the second or third largest of coffee—all thanks to overseas transport. In this respect, water is significantly linked to the success of the southwestern region where I live, including Grand-Bereby.