Women for Girls - Updates, Nov 2008

We were so busy on our recent trip (November 14-25, 2008) that even the extra days we spent hardly seemed like enough.

Two new women joined us this time, our friend Anna and her colleague, Elena. Bringing new women with us is a way that we, Women for Girls, share our work first-hand with others. Each trip is unique, and we know everyone goes home with memories that last a lifetime and a special place in their hearts for some child who captured their attention during the visit.

(November 15, 2008) Our first day was spent on Gorée Island, now a UNESCO site, about 3 km from Dakar. During the three centuries of slave trade, Gorée was the island from which millions of Africa’s men, women and children left with balls and chains through the door of no return, pictured below.

Although we’ve been there many times, we make it a point to bring everyone who travels with us to this place. It is such a devastating mark in our history, and we believe that anyone traveling to Senegal must visit the island and the Slave House Museum just to unite with others in paying tribute to those who were forced to leave.

Joining us for the day were two Senegalese friends, Mbossé, who sells her necklaces and bags at a stall in one of Dakar’s open markets, and Aminata, a Women for Girls coordinator in Dakar.

(November 17,2008) On Monday morning we headed for the Ecole Adja Mame Yacine Diagne elementary school, in the center of Dakar, to visit the teachers and the four girls we support at the school. We went with Abdoulaye Tall (Pape) our coordinator. When we are back in Italy, Pape has regular contact with these girls to encourage them, gets reports from their teachers and visits their families. Our WFG relationship started at the school in 2006 with Khady, a girl not yet 10 years old who came from the periphery every morning with her blind grandmother. Khady, now 12 is pictured below with her teacher.

We visited her grandmother on the street who now brings along another little girl from the household to help with begging. Although we were saddened to see another girl not in school, it’s important to understand that the money earned by this grandmother is the only money coming into the household and is needed to feed all its members.

Ndeye is an excellent student despite her living conditions. We met with her mother, Sally, in Independence Place where they live under a tree; so far we’ve had no luck in finding an adequate room for them. As mentioned in the section on Dakar Education, we have families who are prepared to pay most of the first year’s rent until Sally can begin to work. Apparently, university students from other countries and families coming to Dakar are always willing to pay more money for the rooms. Teachers at the school are also helping with the search, and though we are not receiving encouraging news from anyone, we are not giving up.

Mame, who will be taking her exam this year, is all smiles and seems oblivious to the importance of the year; she’s doing well. We have been invited to lunch at her house next week, something that she and her grandmother have been planning for months.

Kourka is a girl WFG is working hard to keep in school. Although she just started at the elementary school this year, she has long been a friend of Mame, perhaps through Mame’s grandmother and Kourka’s aunt who often spent their days begging near the school. We saw Kourka for the first time last November 2007, weaving her blind aunt between cars stopped at red lights, asking for change. Pape had been in contact with them and would talk about school during their conversations. They come from Kébémer, a village about 250 km. from Dakar. Kourka’s father sent her to live in Dakar to help his blind sister beg and send what little money she could back to the village. For Kourka, school was just a dream; her aunt needed her so desperately that going to school was out of the question. For several months, to avoid any conversation with Pape about school, they were no longer found in its vicinity. When Pape saw them again, he organized with the woman to have WFG pay for all of Kourka’s school supplies and that every morning Kourka would bring her to a corner where she could beg until Kourka finished her day at school. Happily, Kourka began school in October 2008. Her dedicated teachers put in extra time helping her to recuperate in many subject areas. They are pictured below with Kourka.

We were so happy when we found Kourka in school, but devastated when we saw her aunt on the street corner pictured below with Pape.

She was so ill, and without the support of a family in Dakar, we wondered how long the situation would last. (In the beginning of December 2008 Kourka and her aunt left Dakar to return to the village. On January 3, 2009, Kourka’s aunt passed away. Pape will go to the village to see the family and discuss the possibilities of getting Kourka into a village school.)

On Monday evening, Women for Girls hosted a reception in our hotel for the teachers and director of the Ecole Adja Mame Yacine Diagne and for our two coordinators, Aminata and Pape. We could not possibly support our girls in the consistent way we do without the dedication of the school director, the fabulous teachers and our coordinators. The positive influence they all have on the girls and their families is indispensable for making our arrangement work. They were awarded with certificates of appreciation and pens.

(November 18) On Tuesday, we visited Adama’s new school and met with her teacher and the school director. Adama, pictured below, is in her first year of a three-year program that focuses on sewing but also includes information technology, French and business skills.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons were spent visiting students and families who are being followed by Aminata in other areas of Dakar. They all have drastic economic and living conditions and are being assisted with school fees and supplies and by Aminata herself who helps them review lessons after school.

(November 19) On Wednesday, we set off in the rented jeep with Pape and Badou, our trusted chauffeur who accompanies us on our trips to the village. We always love going to Mbousnakh, but this time we were filled with a special excitement and the feeling that our years of work were beginning to show results. The village wanted to thank Women for Girls and was planning a feast to celebrate the mill that would arrive in the village on Friday November 21, 2008. On our way, we stopped in a town called Thies for our meeting with Tostan, the organization responsible for the three-year training program WFG organized for the village. Tostan is a non-governmental organization which was founded in 1991. WFG decided that with over 25 years of community education and experience in community–led development, Tostan could provide the necessary training to make the village’s mill activity successful, and create a solid foundation and community structure for future activities. Although WFG received funding to purchase the mill for Mbousnakh, in was unthinkable that we place the mill in the village and hope that the operational training provided by the company would suffice. How could a village, whose adults can’t even write their names, manage such an activity, handle the income, or organize maintenance? With the training we organized, we are confident the mill will not become another one of Africa’s mismanaged economic development initiatives and we won’t find it idle and rusting away on our next visit.

We stayed at the National Center for Agricultural Research (CNRA), the organization which will train the Mbousnakh farmers in sustainable agriculture, when they are ready. We feel at home at CNRA and Mamadou, the Maitre d’Hotel makes sure that we are served Senegalese specialties for our dinners and that there is plenty of Cafe Touba at breakfast.

(November 20) Thursday we left the Center and visited Awa’s high school, just outside Mbousnakh. We sat for hours in the director’s office, below, and could have stayed all day just to listen to his words and thoughts about education, development, Africa and its place in the world, Europe, the United States, Obama, etc. Awa was with us and he stressed to her the importance of diligence, of never giving up, and that for her to succeed it will take much more than it would for another young girl like her in another part of the world. At this point, we as mothers, wished we had a tape recorder so our children could listen to his words.

He pointed out that we, in Italy, think about Awa in Mbousnakh and wonder how she’s doing. She’s actually doing better than average this year.

We went on to the village and after eating lunch we observed a Tostan Community Empowerment Program training session with the community group and trainer, Oumou Séne.

Sixty women and men have been chosen democratically by the community to participate in the training. Flexibility is important and review lessons will be provided for the men who will be present after the Tabaski, a holiday on December 9. The session was dedicated to discussing the human right to security. Madame Séne allowed each woman to state her feelings. They discussed how to recognize if the right is being violated and what they could do should this happen. More information about this Tostan training program can be found at the end of this Update.

We managed to make it in time to visit each class before school let out, and then we went back to the CNRA. We are always surprised by the variety of plant and animal life at the center. Seeing this myriapod, however, was a first.

(November 21) Friday we drove back to the village and at the crossroads waited for the company from Theis to bring the mill. The mill was paid for by a grant from the Foundation of American Womens’ Clubs Overseas (FAWCO ) and a contribution from honor students at the High School of Law and Government and Community Service in Queens, New York. There was so much excitement over the mill and last minute preparations for the afternoon’s celebration that we spent a lot of time watching the bustling activity and taking pictures. Lunch was enjoyed in the company of teenage girls, all Awa’s friends. Before the mill demonstration and the celebration, a local radio station interviewed Pape and us. We spoke about how, through Adama and Awa, we came to know the village and how our relationship has grown throughout the years. We talked about our faith in the creative capabilities of these women and that with this mill, pictured below, and the three-year training to accompany it, we are convinced they have the base for the social and economic potential to improve the lives of everyone in the village.

It was emotional watching the faces of the women during the mill demonstration, when they put the grain in and the fine, powdery flour came out. It will save them hours of laborious work.

Above, women at the celebration; below, face painted dancer from a neighboring village

(November 23) Saturday we left the CNRA and headed for Pink Lake, it was Anna and Elena’s last night. The lake’s pink color comes from microscopic organisms that give off a red pigment which enables them to live in the excessive salt concentration. Depending on the sun’s rays and the wind, the color of the lake changes to different shades of pink.

(November 24) Monday, we had lunch with Pape at Mame’s house. Together with Pape, we picked Mame up at school, and then all took the taxi down the street to pick up her blind grandmother and proceed to her house. We thought that it was a special treat for them to be riding in a taxi, because normally they travel to and from the center packed in an overcrowded bus.

Back in Italy, Elena said that that when her alarm rings at six in the morning for her to get up and go to work, and she just wants to lay in bed for a bit more, she thinks about Mame and her grandmother, then gets right up. There is only one hour time difference, so Elena knows that Mame is already up and on the way, together with her grandmother, down the long road to school.

The mission of Tostan is to build the capacity of individuals, families and communities in Africa to improve their lives and bring about positive, sustainable development. This is carried out through basic non-formal education with a human rights framework that provides the foundation for social and economic empowerment.

Mbousnakh is responsible for providing the training space and room and board for the trainer. Oumou Séne, the trainer, lives with Coura, the president of the community group. Oumou, who will live with Coura for three years, is responsible for training 60 women and men in this Community Empowerment Program. As we have seen from observing a training session, Oumou actively involves these people who have no formal education by using a combination of techniques including songs, sharing and games. The community identifies goals as well as obstacles that keep them from achieving these goals. Sharing one’s views and respecting the views of others are ways to encourage self-confidence. Dialogue, negotiation and mediation are means to achieving social and economic empowerment.

Tostan first came to Mbousnakh in September 2008 with Pape to introduce the program and plan the initial baseline survey about all aspects of the community which include information about its population, health, potable water, education, economic activities and infrastructure.

The first part of the Community Empowerment Program is called Kobi, a Puular word that means, “preparing the soil”. This part lasts for over a year with three weekly lessons and modules on Human Rights and Democracy then Hygiene and Health. The problem solving process is an integral part of these sessions. The second part, which is scheduled to begin in November 2009, is called Awdé or “planting the seed”. This includes lessons on literacy, math and calculations, and management skills. Reinforcing themes from Kobi is done through interactive literacy. The last part of this section is all about transferring this knowledge into action and accompanied by Oumou, they prepare for micro credit, balance accounting books, check records, hold meetings and make future plans. Oumou, by living in Mbousnakh, provides the confidence and security necessary during this time.

In addition to these class activities, Tostan will train a Community Management Committee this February 2009. This committee will have 17 members, selected from the original 60, representing the community (elders, women, men and youth). These members reinforce class activities and work in the community on critical areas such as education, health and the environment. They will eventually organize income-generating activities such as micro-credit loans, community gardens, food transportation and animal husbandry co-ops for Mbousnakh.

Organized diffusion is the model used to create social change. Participants learn in class then share and discuss outside class using traditional African methods of story telling, theatre, song and non-traditional methods that might include flipcharts. Adopting issues in this way leads to larger social movements that create lasting change. Some social mobilization activities include campaigns to increase vaccine coverage and birth registration, and campaigns to abandon harmful practices such as female genital cutting. (Female genital cutting is not practiced by the Serer ethnic group of Mbousnakh. Tostan is recognized internationally for helping villages through this Community Empowerment Training Program to arrive democratically at decisions to abandon this practice.)

Tostan has modified its training from experience of over twenty five years. Women for Girls believes in the principles that guide the Tostan Community Empowerment Program.

Holistic basic education in national languages that addresses many subjects of interest and importance to learners can have a major impact on development.

Human rights education is the key to social transformation and is the foundation for all other learning.

Educated, engaged participants are the best social mobilization agents and should lead the movement for social change in other locally connected communities.

Trainings do not judge or blame people for what they do. Blame leads to resistance and defensiveness and does not help people change behavior.

People will make the right decisions when given good information and the chance to freely discuss that information.