Senegal Updates 2009

Women for Girls grew again on our April 16-21 trip. We expanded into another village and have a micro credit initiaive that includes getting every school age child in school.
We arrived on Thursday evening April 16, and Pape met us at the airport and brought along our usual taxi driver, also named Pape. We went to Just 4 U, a place we always look forward to for our first Senegalese dinner and a couple bottles of Flag, the Senegalese beer. This time there was even live reggae music.

Friday April 17,
This morning we walked across Dakar to the car rental office only to find it had been closed down. A man who had worked in the back office is now with another company, so luckily and without too much delay, we had our jeep for the next morning. In Dakar we either walk from place to place or use taxis. For our visit to Mbousnakh village we need a 4-wheel-drive jeep to guarantee our arrival.
After signing the contract for the jeep, we went to an exhibition in the center for artisans and organic producers. These participants, most of whom are women, are very well organized. They participate in cooperatives for abused women and girls, the physically challenged, or people living with AIDS. The products they make and sell are all top-quality organic and range from honey to shea butter, baobab fruit, traditional medicines, oils, peanut butter and cotton. These economic activities enable these women to support their families and help their cause. The one thing they lack is a fair trade distribution network which would help them expand their markets.

Traditional medicine at the producer's fair

We were invited to the home of Aminata, a WFG Coordinator in Dakar, for a delicious lunch of Ceebu Jeen - a dish made with fish, rice and a variety of root vegetables, which is considered their national dish. After drinking tea, the traditional 3 times, we set off on our family visits to see the children we sponsor and talk with their mothers.
The girl in the picture, Kumba, is the younger sister of two children we already sponsor and will be starting school in the fall.

Her brother Mamadou is at the top of his class. They live together in a dark, two-room place that felt like an oven.

Kumba's house

We also saw another boy, Aladji who is 14, but because of a “judgement” his actual papers document that he’s only 11. He is pictured above and works hard to be the third in his class.
Judgement is a relatively common practice in Senegal and it's usually done for two reasons. The first is to provide older children who were never registered at birth with their official identity papers. The second is to give those children who started school late a reduced age which then allows them to take the state exam at the end of the first 6-year cycle of school which can be compared to our elementary school. Children can take the difficult exam twice, but only if they are no more than 14 years old. An example would be a child who starts school at 9 years old. Sometime before the end of the school cycle, she would have to have a judgement to establish she has the allowable age to take the exam.

Saturday April 18,
Early Saturday morning we headed for Mbousnakh. We were able to talk with some of Awa’s teachers and with the community group about the progression of the grain mill project.
One teacher in particular, Fatou, is very much involved in social issues that affect rural villages. She has written poems on rural exodus, the perilous voyages of Senegalese boats, and is now organizing a conference to educate families on the problems of early marriage. Adolescent girls are too often destined for early marriage for the convenience of families; there is no benefit for these girls. They are taken out of school and usually married to an older man. They have little choice in their destiny.
The grain mill project is progressing at a steady pace with the income and dispenses managed according to the initial plan. The women are especially happy with the Tostan training.

Women during our village meeting

Off to Kebemer

Kebemer, actually Ndiatah, is the name of the new village. We became involved through Kourka the girl we finally managed to get into school in Dakar. In our November 2008 updates, we were delighted to report that Kourka was finally in school but when we saw how ill her blind aunt was, we knew the situation wouldn’t last long. A few weeks after our departure at the end of November, they barely made the return trip to the village, and early in January the woman died. Pape, on his first visit with the family to offer condolences, was able to organize for Kourka to attend the school right in her village.
Kebemer is the main town and a central bus stop. We spent the night there and it is as lively at night as by day with people scurrying about with loads on their heads, or children on their backs as they wait for buses. We ate dinner at a restaurant with people coming and going and diners glued to the TV during their meal.

Sunday April 19,
The next morning we headed for Ndiatah, 15 chilometers from Kebemer. The village is very small, and has no running water or electricity. The homes are huts, all with mud walls and floors and with thatched roofs. Two distinct ethnic groups, Pulaar and Wolof divide the village into two separate parts. In Kourka’s Pulaar side, there are 7 compounds each of which houses an extended family. Kourka’s compound has about 15 people, living in 3 huts and a communal gazebo. We were welcomed with open arms, and everyone was dressed in their best for the occasion. Kourka herself came running out of her hut, smiling from ear to ear, dressed in an elegant pant suit.

Kourka with Elena

Kourka’s Dad immediately set to work preparing a drink made with millet, milk and sugar. It was good, but one glass was plenty for us, while Pape and our chauffeur Badou each had three.

Kourka's father

We also paid a visit to the oldest woman’s hut. She was the mother of the blind aunt who passed away, and we were touched by her discourse, even tough we couldn’t understand it. It was the words that came straight from her heart and her welcome that moved us.

Kourka's greataunt, the oldest person in the village

This was our first visit to the village but it was already the third trip for Pape. He feels so at home there and really loves the place and its people. We had the same sensation. It was because of this that Pape thought about working with Kourka’s father to develop a micro credit project and wrote to us about it before we left for our visit. We were obviously skeptical but after talking to several people who have development programs in Senegal, we were ready to invest some money, as long as Kourka’s Dad would accept the idea. The project would entail buying several sheep in April, keeping them there to graze on the land and eat scraps of food, and then sell them for a profit in Dakar in the beginning of December right before the Tabaski. This is the holiday, the most important of the year for Muslims, that occurs after the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It is celebrated by all Muslims, not just those completing the pilgrimage. This Celebration of the Sacrifice commemorates when God asked Abraham to demonstrate his faith by sacrificing his own son, Ishmael. At the last minute God intervened and substituted a sheep because the real sacrifice had already made when Abraham demonstrated his strong commitment.
WFG would finance 100% of the purchase and receive the money after the Tabaski in December 2009 and December 2010. Part of the agreement is that in September every school-age girl and boy must attend school. The women are the backbone of the village, but to focus on them and insist they manage this initiative would be setting up something so unnatural that it would be bound to fail. To begin by getting every girl in school and to make sure they stay there will naturally give these girls, as they become young women, the confidence to pave way for development at the village level. Social norms and African traditions are very strong and lasting changes will occur with full respect of these traditions. Development takes time.

Elena and Sarah with the children

Great news about Ndeye
After our last trip, Pape found a room for Ndeye and her mother Sally. Ndeye was the homeless girl who lived with her mother under a tree in Place d’Independance. We visited them in their new home. The room is far away from the center and quite small, just 4 walls, with no electricity or running water and a common bathroom in the courtyard. It could easily have been a four-star hotel judging by the confidence it has given Sally.

Sally with Pape

Ndeye in her room

Ndeye seems to be very outspoken and already accepted by her new classmates so our concerns about changing schools mid-year were irrelevant.

Ndeye’s school

Ndeye's new classmates. Ndeye is sitting in the middle of the second row

Since we’ve been back, Pape told us that he organized a little stand in the neighborhood where Sally now sells vegetables and dried fish. When Sally develops the confidence needed, she can begin paying part of the rent for the room.
Our two girls remaining at the elementary school in the center are doing well. Mame has her exam this year and Khady ended the school year with good marks.
Our next visit is scheduled for the beginning of November 2009, so stay tuned for updates shortly after!