Newsletters from Senegal

Aurore Fonseca came to Senegal from France to volunteer with us this past summer for one month as a part of our Law/Human Rights project. Read about her stay!

Franco-Italian Volunteer Lara Bosco spent a month with us in Senegal over the summer and she recently returned to say “Coucou” in person! Here, she recounts an afternoon spent with a friend...braiding hair!

The campaign is well under way, and we’ve been able to really see results in both of our talibé centers, and also in the daara where we constructed a washroom. In our talibé centers, volunteers are implicated in helping teach the talibé about hygiene, encouraging them to brush their teeth, take showers, and wash their clothing regularly.

Our Assistant Director, Fina Senghor had different Christmas plans this year. She decided to get MARRIED!! The religious wedding at the mosque took place around 5pm, which was followed by the reception where Fina's friends and some of her family gathered to celebrate by giving presents, taking photos, and, most importantly, sharing stories and sentiments about Fina.

Italian volunteer Diego Bugini shares an experience he had attending a wedding in a Peul village with some other volunteers in Italian...French...and English!

Volunteers here in Senegal on the seventh were lucky enough to celebrate this holiday with their families; in my house we ate mutton for five meals in a row (including breakfast!!)

October has seen quite a few departures—most of the volunteers who spent the summer here with us have returned home, as has our Desk Officer, Emma Sharpe, who worked in our office here in Saint Louis for 10 months. Their presence is definitely missed! With Emma’s departure, our office now has a new Desk Officer, Joke van Eylen from Belgium. Look for her introduction in the following pages!

Ramadan is the sacred month in Islam when it was believed that the first verses of the Koran were presented to the Prophet Muhammed by God. During this month, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours to teach them patience, spirituality, humility, and submissiveness to God.

This summer we had two groups of teenagers come to Senegal to do two weeks of work here. In the mornings they either took a French class or worked at one of our Talibé centers, and in the afternoons they worked at the daraas doing renovation work.

Two weeks ago, a group of seven of us, Maria, Katie, Leah, Jackie, Matt, Beckie and I, organised a trip down to Lac Rose. After the Touba trip, we were keen to explore some more of Senegal, especially since some of us were only here for a month. We gathered a rough group of volunteers together, and tried to find a way to get down.

For the past couple of Wednesday evenings some of the volunteers have partaken in dance and drumming lessons held at a school in Sor. For one hour, volunteers learn a Senegalese dance from teacher Ma, while a drumming troupe provides a live musical accompaniment. It’s not just the instructors, drummers and volunteers who are at the school though, often there are many children who come after soccer practice or school to watch!

A few weeks ago, a group of volunteers, local people and staff members gathered to help clean a ‘Daara’, which is the place where Talibé (people of low resources) live. After we got lost for a bit on the streets of Saint Louis, we finally arrived at the meeting point at the area of ‘Diamaguene’, where the Daara is located.

The French established a post at the mouth of Senegal in 1638 and in 1659 founded Saint-Louis on an island there. In 1677, the French captured Gorée from the Dutch, and it was, for a time, the main French naval base in West Africa.

Eating lunch is now a luxury for volunteer Jessica Dickson, who spent the last month asting during Ramadan. Jessica is one of several volunteers who decided to join the majority of the country during the last part of August and the first half of September by restraining from food and water during the day.

During the holiday season, several of the oldest and most picturesque buildings in St Louis opened their doors to the public as part of an interactive exhibition named “Entre’Vues”. Sixteen sites were opened to the public as part of the initiative. An initial failed attempt at seeing some of the listed sites was due to the fact that the principle of an open house had been revoked for the customary lunch break.

The Arabic name for Tabaski, “Eid al-Adha”, translates as “Festival of Sacrifice”, and that it is. Every adult Muslim with the means to obtain a ram is expected to kill one in honor of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God’s will. The story comes from the Koran, where Allah tells Abraham in a dream to sacrifice his son Ismail. Abraham follows his orders, but discovers that, miraculously, a ram had been killed in place of his son.

For most people the image of Africa is the one that you find on the Discovery channel; vast landscapes, birds, large animals and strange cultures. The Discovery channel image of Africa is never a reality for us, and is something we can only see on the television. Le Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj proved to us that the images are real.

We arrived to our camp about two hours before sunset, leaving plenty of time for exploration. After relaxing and rinsing away the sea salt, a group of us took to the dunes. We hiked up the massive hills and jumped down on the other side landing knee deep in the powdery sand. It is amazing to reach a crest and see nothing but sand for miles and miles.

A group of volunteers set off to the Langue de Barbarie Island to enjoy a quiet, relaxing weekend. Campement Ocean et Savane is situated on the island, which lies about 15km South of St. Louis. The volunteers met at the Projects Abroad office on Saturday morning, and despite a local taxi strike, were able to make it the Gandiol lighthouse, where they took a pirogue (motor-powered wooden boat) across the river to the campement.

Both of our summer programmes are off to a great start. At Cheikh Amadou Bamba, a local high school, volunteers are providing free English classes for high school students and adults alike. The lessons are both active and dynamic, and feedback from the Project supervisor and the students has been very positive and encouraging. There are several classes a day and attendance has been really good, some classes are even full. The students are really keen to learn.

As the centre proceeds through its initial phase, extra elements to the volunteer’s participation are anticipated, which include French and English lessons, teaching of basic hygiene practises and even nutritional food supplies. Current plans are to introduce an effective ‘clean and reward’ inter daara competition, designed to encourage the Talibé to keep their daaras clean and free of rubbish.

This year saw the 17th edition of the Saint Louis Jazz Festival take place around the town. From the 28th to the 31st of May, Saint Louis became mobbed with tourists and jazz fans alike, coming from near and far to check out the live music on offer. The main stage was situated in the Quai des Arts venue near the North point of the island. Each night, two performances took place there and these events attracted vast crowds.

One Sunday, a group of 13 volunteers decided to leave St Louis and explore the surrounding areas. A day-trip was planned to hire scooters and ride to near-by ‘Zebrabar’, a tourist complex based on the river Senegal, which is ideal for relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. The volunteers met in town to hire their scooters.

From the 6^th to the 10^th of April, volunteers on teaching and care projects were involved in a renovation project as high schools and primary schools were off on holiday. The renovations were based on two sites, and the volunteers split into two groups of twelve.

We have been receiving many volunteers who come to Senegal to improve their French skills. Some volunteers come here to primarily take French lessons but many chose to have lessons alongside their placements. Each volunteer is allocated a local French teacher and usually they have three hours of lessons a day. Teaching is ususally one-to-one and each teacher can receive a maximum of three students at a time.

Some of our volunteers on Care projects have been assisting a local First Aider, Touba, on visits in Daaras (schools where the Talibé street children learn the Koran and sleep overnight). Generally aged between 5 and 20, Talibés are often orphans or children from povertystricken families entrusted to a Marabout (Islamic teacher). A large part of their day is spent roaming the streets to beg for food and money, which is given to the Marabout in return for his teachings.

On the 30^th of December, the streets of St Louis came alive with a carnival known locally as ‘Les Fanals’. This event is a procession of decorated lanterns that resemble carnival floats. The historic processions are a tradition unique to Saint Louis. They were initiated by the signares (in colonial times, signares were the colonists’ prestigious wives) and have their roots in the lantern-lit marches to midnight Mass. Some of the volunteers attend the procession and a few were even involved in the parade. One volunteer was dressed as a nun and another as Louis Faidherbe.

Tabaski, or the Festival of Sacrifice, is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It is a commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah (Arabic for God). The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, Allah intervened and instead provided a ram as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice an animal (usually a goat or a sheep), as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah.

Some of the volunteers decided to explore a camp site situated on the peninsula, the Langue de Barbarie, to relax in its calm surroundings for the weekend. The group met at the Patisserie 'Delices du Fleuve' to stock up on treats for their weekend away, and then headed off in taxis to Gandiol a nearby village, about 40 minutes South of St Louis. When they arrived at the lighthouse, a pirogue (small wooden boat usually used for fishing) was waiting to take them across the river to the 'campement'.

Going home is a moment when all your emotions are divided between sadness to be leaving and happiness to be reunited with your family and friends. The hardest part is definitely saying goodbye to the people you have spent many great moments with, without really knowing if you'll see them again.

The volunteers were keen to have a weekend away and discover more of Senegal so they headed to a camp in the Desert de Loumpoul, approximately 100km South of St Louis. They set off in two 4x4 vans early on Saturday morning, following the road South of St Louis

Some of the volunteers headed North of St Louis to explore Mauritania for the weekend. They packed their bags and headed off to cross the border where they were met by a friendly guide who provided much entertainment and many witty jokes throughout the weekend. There was a bumpy ride through the desert to make the 1st stop in a nomadic village. The volunteers were greeted by the chief of the village, his wife and numerous playful children.

Some of the volunteers headed out of St Louis to spend a weekend in the calm surroundings of 'Campement Ocean et Savanne'. Situated on the Langue de Barbarie, the camp is right next to the Atlantic Ocean on one side and has the River Senegal running along the other side. It is reached by a short trip in a pirogue from the mainland. Volunteers spent most of the weekend sunbathing on the beach, swimming in the sea and relaxing in huts...

St Louis is well known because of its international Jazz festival. People travel from all over the world to play, watch and appreciate the music in St Louis. This year the festival lasted for 4 days from Thursday to Sunday. Each evening the local bars were heaving with people, both Senegalese and foreign, and the atmosphere was incredible. This year held special importance for Projects Abroad because one of the volunteers (Heidi Goldsmith) was participating.

Parades! Drums! Canons! On the fourth of April, 2008, Senegal celebrated its 48th year of independence. In the spotlight this year was the promotion and celebration of women and youth, as well as national security. This month, our volunteers were lucky enough to experience the festivities.

On the last Friday in February sixteen volunteers, a driver with a Pokémon hat and Issa (our volunteer coordinator) set off for Dakar. The departure time was 5 o clock however one volunteer decided to arrive, in true Senegalese style, one hour late! So the overall departure was delayed.The following day, after a huge breakfast (including pain au chocolate and fruit juices) we went to the zoo.After the zoo we drove out to see one of Dakar's most famous attractions, Lac Rose.

Although St Louis is Senegal's second largest city, it does not have that "rushing atmosphere" that is often found in big towns. Everywhere and everyone are quite relaxed here in St Louis. So much so that it is considered normal for people to be half an hour late for a meeting.

Marine arrived here in Senegal a couple of weeks ago to do a sport project with some of the local football teams in St Louis. She has been faithfully keeping a blog recording her most memorable experiences so far. She wanted to share certain extracts with all our readers; describing her adventure so far.

As New Year drew near the 9 volunteers, who had decided to stay in St Louis for the festivities, started to get itchy feet. So on the 31st of December everyone decided to pack their bags and go to the town of Thies for a bit of a look round and a change of scenery from the dusty streets of St Louis.

This month some of the volunteers decided to spend the day visiting a well known bird park north of St Louis. In order to see as many birds as possible the volunteers had to leave very early in the morning so as to arrive at the Park before the birds left to feed in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day and there was a lot to see during the drive through the park including a huge lizard known as a Veran.

Several of the volunteers packed their bags last weekend and headed off in a sept place (an oversized taxi with 7 seats) to visit Dakar. The sun was shining and everyone was in a very good mood. After a gruelling 4 hour drive they arrived in Dakar and set off on foot to visit the city. After seeing the “place d’independence” and the government buildings they went to “les Almadies” and had a wonderful lunch of fresh fish in a restaurant right by the sea. The afternoon was spent near Ile N’Gor, swimming in the blue, blue sea and lazing on the beach.

Ramadan: The 9th month in the annual calendar. The aim of this month is to understand what it is like to resist your natural instinct as a human to eat and drink. However, “Sawn”, the Arabic word used to describe the fast, signifies a lot more than just denying ones self food and drink. It is imperative that people fast for one whole month from sunrise till sunset. However the most important aspect during the month of Ramadan is to become closer to God.

On the 17th August 2007 the Summer School, aby kane diallo, played host to a new kind of learning. Eighteen students, aged between 13 and 20, put aside pen and paper for the day to take part in a football tournament, organised by the volunteers. At 9.00 o clock three teams of six students and the highly successful “Team Toubab” (made up of the teachers) sweated it up under the blistering morning sun.

The volunteers really were in a small paradise of their own, surrounded by nothing but white sand dunes and the sea. After a three course meal everyone set out to see the nearby sand dunes and visit a Mauritanian village. Much fun was had rolling down the dunes and running about in the sand. After stopping for a special cup of Mauritanian tea prepared by the women in the village it was time to head back to camp to see the sunset.

Summer in St Louis is the perfect time for children to enjoy various activities. The summer care program will mainly take place at the kindergarden Daraay Goneyi from June 4th to September 28th 2007. It will actually be a day camp with play schemes that run on weekdays.

Five weeks ago, I left my comfortable Swazi routine for a month long holiday in Senegal and Mauritania. We left South Africa at the first sign of autumn, in late April (remember, I live in the southern hemisphere), on a school bus, to Johannesburg. It was here that I parted from all of my friends but Bram, the other American in my year at Waterford. He and I stayed overnight at a backpackers in Joburg, before taking our evening flight to Dakar, Senegal.

At the beginning of April, 12 volunteers embarked on a journey around both Senegal and the Gambia. Starting in St Louis, the Projects-Abroad home town, we travelled on the first day down to Dakar- a five hour sept-place ride at the best of times, but our trip coincided with the Muslim festival 'Gamou' (the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad) which meant huge delays and arrival into Dakar during the early hours of the morning.

An understanding of Senegal's marabouts and the power of the Islamic brotherhoods are fundamental to an understanding of Sénégal itself. The subject involves religion, politics, economy, God and the State, and is remarkably complex.Whereas orthodox Islam holds that every believer is directly in touch with Allah, the hierarchical societies of North and West Africa found it more natural to have religious leaders ascribed with divine power providing a link between God and the common populace.

This is not as easy as it first seems. These men do not have papers or a residence; therefore they have no chance of finding a job. Without a job there is no way of finding accommodation, and therefore these immigrants then embark on a vicious circle of poverty and exploitation, often working for criminals for small remuneration. The majority of immigrants do not even have enough money to survive; the idea of sending money to families back in Senegal becomes an unfeasible dream. The situation is in fact impossible.

The cuisine of Senegal is similar to other cuisines found in West Africa, but at the same time has its own unique dishes. Distinguishing influences on Senegalese fare include the nations many ethnic groups, the largest being the Wolof; Islam, which first penetrated the region in the 11th century; and various European cultures, especially the French, who held the country as a colony until 1960.

Tabaski, otherwise known as Eid ul-Adha, occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Eid ul- Adha is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah. Others celebrate Eid-ul Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year.

Île de Gorée (i.e. "Gorée Island") (pronounced /goRe) is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i.e. "commune of arrondissement") of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Gorée is famous as a former center of the Atlantic slave trade from where many Black slaves were deported to the Americas.