A typical evening in Kpendua

Each late afternoon/evening, a crowd of kids would gather outside of the clinic, where we were staying. Usually, Derek would play soccer with a group (or frisbee), and I would bring out crayons and paper. The children were so excited by crayons and paper--something that seems so simple to most Americans. One time, Derek folded a paper airplane for one of the kids...for the rest of our time there, no matter what we were doing, kids would approach him, hand him paper (some would say "plane," make a gesture like an airplane, or just assume he knew what they wanted.) You can see some photos below, including one such crowd of kids surrounding Derek! Eventually, it would get dark and we would go in to get ready for dinner (put lots of bug spray on and long pants/sleeves). Sometimes the kids would still hang out for a while, but they eventually went home too and we started again the next day.