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QUILLS & QUEUES Quills & Queues: Couple's book aims to inspire service and adventure Comment By Angela Decker For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Angela Decker For the Tidings Posted Oct. 22, 2015 at 4:50 PM By Angela Decker For the Tidings Posted Oct. 22, 2015 at 4:50 PM » Social News When Asifa Kanji was 58 years old and her husband, David Drury, was 60, the two lifelong travelers decided to use their adventurous spirits in the service of others and joined the Peace Corps. Their side-by-side memoirs, “300 Cups of Tea and The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love: Riding the Peace Corps Rollercoaster in Mali, West Africa,” is a result of the 14 months they spent living and working on the edge of the Sahara desert in Mali. “The book talks about the work we did in the Peace Corps, but also reflects on our lives and the lives of the Mali people, how the experience changes us and how we touched each other,” said Kanji. Kanji and Drury will read and discuss their work at Bloomsbury Books at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26. While both had spent time overseas before, living in Norway, India, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and several other places in Africa, this was their first time in an area with so few amenities. “We arrived in the Peace Corps training camp with mud huts, no running water and tiny hole-in-the ground outdoor toilets,” said Kanji. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what have we signed up for?'” “Mali was the first time we lived amongst so much poverty, but it was also one of the most beautiful experience of our lives,” Drury added. “We’ve become accustomed to thinking that people who don’t have ‘stuff’ are not happy, and Mali refutes that. The Mali people are some of the poorest we’ve ever met but also some of the happiest,” he said. The book recounts vampire cats, fart jokes and giant termites, while sharing the story of deep friendships and boundless kindness from the Malian people. Kanji’s Peace Corp job involved educating mothers and children about nutrition and working to reduce the area’s high numbers of malnutrition. “I experienced such extraordinary generosity from the people. They didn’t have anything, but they shared everything,” she said. In 2012, less than a year and a half into their service, there was coup in Mali in which soldiers overthrew the elected government. Drury was in the country, but by a coincidence, Kanji had left for a funeral. Drury worked at the public radio station and cyber café training individuals on the business aspects of radio. “I was around very educated, politically minded people, and I got a hell of an education,” he said. “I remember asking how they could stand living under a military government, and one person said to me ‘You Westerners were born into a democracy and tend to have a blind faith in it. Blind faith in democracy is not a virtue, it’s a blindness,’” Drury said. Eventually, the two were evacuated from Mali before their Peace Corps term of service was over. Kanji says the sudden end to their experience was, in part, the inspiration for the book. “Our experience in Mali felt like unfinished work. In some ways, the book is a way of saying 'thank you' and bringing closure,” she said. All proceeds from the book will go to fund grassroots projects in Mali. Both Drury and Kanji say they hope their story inspires other people, especially older people, to travel and work in service of others. “I grew up in a family where serving others and being of service was the only in goal in life considered acceptable,” said Kanji. “If you are going to do anything in the world, it is always better to do something in which you can give back.” “Also,” said Drury, “the world is a great place. I hope this book inspires people to travel, get out and enjoy it.” For more information about the reading, visit bloomsburyashland.com . Bloomsbury Books is at 290 E. Main St., Ashland. Reach Ashland freelance writer Angela Decker at [email protected]. By Angela Decker For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Angela Decker For the Tidings Posted Oct. 22, 2015 at 4:50 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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