Tidiani's mother is his father's second wife and has had ten children. After one son's death, Tidiani became the first son and was clearly aware of his responsibilities. Of all his father's 17 children, Tidiani was the only one they could afford to send to school. The rest stayed to work in the fields and the village. Little family hamlets dotted the countryside around the village.
Larger huts are for the family, while smaller huts are for storing food.
Tiny babies, only a few days old, lay cradled in aluminum bowls, while older men sat around surveying the scene and giving Tidiani and myself a hard time. The women remained shy and distant. Hungry, naked kids scrounged bowls for the last morsels of food. Most of the kids bellies were quite large, but I wasn't sure if this was malnutrition or just stuffed full of carbohydrates. There seemed to be little meat available.