Kora lessons

Another thing I've been meaning to post about for a long time - new music lessons! I'd been interested in getting involved in music somehow, but I wasn't particularly interested in taking drumming lessons, which seems to be the most popular option in the city.

However, I lucked out and stumbled across the National Music School down the street from me (I can literally walk there from my apartment) that gives kora lessons. The kora is a large, stringed instrument played throughout West Africa. In Sénégal, the instrument was traditionally played by the Mandinké and other ethnic groups in the south, and is typically associated with the griot families - the oral historians of the culture.

I love the kora's sound. It reminds me of a harp and is gentle and pleasant sounding even when you're not very good at it (unlike the oboe).

Here's a video clip of my kora teacher playing last class. Once I get good enough to play something other than a six-note riff, I'll put a clip up of me. :)

I do, however, have a picture of myself with my new baby. My teacher had a friend who made koras and he finished making mine about a month ago.

I STARTED SCHOOL!!

That's about all I have to say for this post, but given the fact that I have waited for this day since early October, it is pretty historic.

As of last week, professors started to begin returning to classes. Not all are officially back to work, but the general consensus is that within the next week or so, school should be back in full swing. There are plans to try and finish the first semester by late June or early July, but most people are thinking that is a pretty optimistic goal.

For now though, I am glad to finally be starting and happy that students will still have a chance to get something out of the year. My first classes have been interesting, not only because of the subject matter, but also in terms of being introduced to a different style of teaching. Students have clearly been taught from an early age to take notes when professors dictate, so many professors stand in front of you and dictate over and over while students take down every word. So different from what I am used to!

So far I have had two theory and methodology classes and one class related to family and gender from a sociological perspective. The latter was probably the most interesting in terms of ideas and concepts, but I really liked the other two classes because it gave me a perspective on how pedagogy and methodology of sociology is taught and used in Senegal and in a Francophone system.

There's rumors that there might be another group of students looking to protest about not having heard whether they've been admitted into the school. But as for now, we're in school and plan to stay there, INCHALLAH.

So many new projects

The month of April is going to be a super busy month for MAJ members. In addition, my projects seem to be really taking off, and I am just hoping that we will be able to get everything done by the time July comes around and I have to leave.

First off, with the funds that remain for my project, MAJ members and I have been working to expand the initiatives in communications to the other regional ASBEF offices, starting with ASBEF and MAJ Guédiawaye. As a quick reminder of how the organization is set up, there are 8+ regional offices for ASBEF throughout Senegal, most equipped with laboratories and the possibility of offerring full reproductive and family planning clinical services. Each office is then expected to set up their own local MAJ group, where they train interested youth to become peer educators. The picture at the right is the ASBEF clinic in Guédiawaye.

In the case of Guédiawaye (a suburb of Dakar), a MAJ group has been set-up since early 2011, and this year the group is really hoping to expand its activities and increase its visibility in the neighborhoods surrounding the ASBEF clinic.

To help in this effort, MAJ members and I thought to put more of a focus on MAJ Guédiawaye with the remaining collected funds. We purchased them a new desktop, and last week held our first (of hopefully many) training sessions on social media and how to use these tools to advance the work and message of MAJ. I think the session went off really well, and I think we as presentors also improved a lot since we first gave this training session in October with MAJ Dakar. This feels particularly good because it menas not only are my language skills improving, but I'm starting to figure out how to work within the professional systems in Senegal. Woo-hoo!

Here are some pictures from the event. 

Setting up some the new machines with MAJ Guédiawaye members 

And a few pictures from the training session itself. 

Also related to Guédiawaye, we are in the process of purchasing a sound system, so that they can organize large "Mobilisation Sociales" with music and activities to bring people in and tell them a bit about MAJ, their efforts, and the ASBEF clinic at Guédiawaye in general. The deal should be finalized by the end of the week and I'll be sure to post photos. This equipment will also save them a substantial amount of money in the long-run because prior to purchasing this equipment, they had to rent the same materials everytime. This way, they will be able to use the system when they need it, and when they don't, they plan on renting it out to other organizations as a way to earn some cash back.

The project aimed at young domestic servants also began yesterday. MAJ members are working with a community organization that provides resources and a counseling center for these young women - many who have never gone to school or quit early - to help them work towards reading and writing as well as learning how to better take care of their own health.

Yesterday, 2 MAJ members and I went out for an initial meeting with the young women who are taking part in the 2 month pilot program. Every Sunday (the day most of these women don't work or at least get off early) these 2 MAJ members will meet at the counseling center for a couple-hour session with the women, beginning with learning to read and write, followed by an hour of debate and discussion on a theme related to their specific issues on dating, relationships, and sexuality. For the purposes of confidentiality, I'm not going to post any pictures of the project, but promise regular updates as the program continues. 

To give you also a quick update on our progress with the Thiaroye Youth Center project, the MAJ member who lives near the potential site along with the MAJ National President and I all met with my Rotary parent here in Dakar to discuss the possibility of the Dakar Doyen Club financing a part of the project. We are waiting for members to return from a regional conference in Benin before we make a formal presentation to the club.

I think that's it in terms of updates. Promise more with more photos as the week continues!

Wade concedes to Macky!

A surprising update! Wade has officially conceded to Macky Sall. This is a wonderful thing for Senegalese democracy - transparent, fair elections and an unpopular president who stepped down gracefully. 

Election Day, Round 2

Thought I'd write a quick update on the current political happenings in Senegal, given that it is Election Day. As many of you may have read about, this year has been relatively unstable for Sénégal, a country which has a longstanding history of peaceful democratic governance since its independence from France in 1960. However, this is an election year, and the current President, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, made a series of unpopular political decisions beginning in June that have led to mass protests throughout the country, particularly within the past couple months as Election Day has gotten closer. Much of the unrest stems from Wade's decision to run for a third term, despite a law that he, himself, set in place to limit the Presidency to two terms. He claims that because this law was passed during his first term in office, he's entitled to run for yet another term. Given continuing allegations of corruption and mismanagement of his presidential power, many people are against Wade being allowed to run at all.

So it is in this climate that Senegal goes to the polls today. The country has a two-round election system, where a candidate needs to win a majority of votes (50% or more) in the first round; otherwise the two candidates with the top number of votes continue on for a second-round run-off. The first round took place February 26th, with incumbent Wade receiving 35% of the votes and challenger Macky Sall, a former member of Wade's party Parti Democratique Sénégalais, receiving 26% of the votes.

Its about 7:40 here and the polls are reported to close around 8:00pm. Early estimates seem to show Macky in the lead, however, these reports are not verified and official results will not be available until later on this week. So far, the day has been peaceful, with no real reports of protests or violence. Its sure, though, given Wade's unpopularity, that a victory for him tonight will continue to bring unrest and mass demonstrations.

I will try to post updates on the results as the week goes on. 

Reflections on my time at ASBEF past the half-way mark

These past couple months have served as a wonderful opportunity for me to confirm my interests in public health and community-based programs. The elections have meant that I haven’t been able to study that much in the classroom (my sociology classes have still yet to start, and my French classes were temporarily suspended until the elections were over), but my time with ASBEF has totally made up for it. This confirmation also couldn’t have come at a better time, as I am in the process of deciding where I should spend a ton of money to go and get my Masters in Public Health. Its nice to know that even though I shall be in debt up to my eyeballs for the next 20 years or so, I am pursuing something that motivates and excites me.

On a personal level, these past couple months have been a way for me to delve into trying to understand professionalism in a different culture and language, and how to find the happy medium between other people’s way of getting work done and how I’m used to doing it. While this sounds like a minor thing, I can’t begin to tell how much it has helped to focus on this. I feel so much more like a working member of the team, instead of a foreigner with a separate code and separate set of rules and expectations.

On an organization-wide level, projects are developing and developing fast.  To the left are a couple pictures of a soon-to-be “Coin Jeune” or “Youth Corner” being developed by the MAJ group in the Dakar’s suburb of Guédiawaye. The suburbs typically have less access to healthcare and are quite disconnected from the city of Dakar itself. One of the MAJ Guédiawaye members lives in Thiaroye, a neighboring suburb, and recently acquired a vacant space on the first floor of his apartment building. We thought some of the money raised could go towards turning this into a mini youth center, where weekly education sessions would be held related to reproductive health topics and where youth could come with health problems and be referred to nearby clinics free-of-charge. Here is a MAJ member leading a preliminary community meeting in the vacant lot with neighborhood youth to brainstorm ways in which the space could be used.     

Other projects on the horizon: a pilot project with a local community organization working with young maids in the city. These women often work long hours and quit school early as a result – meaning that they typically receive little to no reproductive health education. We’re hoping to start a 2-month pilot program with these women within the counseling center created by the community organization. Every Sunday, MAJ members plan on leading discussions on reproductive health at the center, and the funds I have raised will go towards the preparation of these sessions.

And finally, MAJ members and I have started another communication project this time with MAJ members in Guédiawaye. With the funds raised, we purchased another PC for the MAJ Guédiawaye branch, and next weekend, a MAJ member and I are leading another training session on social media. Super excited!

I will try to be better about posting updates as programs develop. There is so much left I’d still love to be a part of before I leave, and there are only 4 months left before I have to go home. Time is flying! 

Just got back from a week in the Casamance, the region of Senegal south of the Gambia. The region has been officially in rebellion for nearly 30 years, and there continues to be occasional violence between rebels and armed forces in the area. However, because of the Casamance’s natural beauty and incredible beaches, there is clear potential for a thriving tourist industry. As a result, the government has done a lot to make sure that much of the Basse Casamance, the area south of the Casamance River, is safe to prevent any further damage to tourism.

My friends and I headed to Basse Cassamance by boat, an option that takes about 16 hours overnight and brings you to Ziguinchor, the capital and largest city of the region. We then took a sept-place (a common form of public transport with seven seats for people stuffed into a really, really old hatchback) directly to Cap Skirring, a resort town almost on the Guinea-Bissau border so that I could attend the annual Rotary Club Gala in the Casamance hosted by the Rotary Club of Ziguinchor. 

I was invited to the Gala by my Rotary Parent in Dakar (pictured with me below), who also was incredibly sweet to find me a LOVELY room on the beach at the same hotel where other Rotary members were staying for the Gala. The Gala happens once a year and gives Rotarians from all over Senegal to come to the Casamance, discuss common projects together, and spend time together as a group. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet Rotarians from around Senegal, listen to great local music, and enjoy really good and really fresh seafood. 

The Gala happens once a year and gives Rotarians from all over Senegal to come to the Casamance, discuss common projects together, and spend time together as a group. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet Rotarians from around Senegal, listen to great local music, and enjoy really good and really fresh seafood. Here's another picture of the entertainment that night. 

And a couple pictures of the "cabin" (as it was called) of mine at the hotel Cap Skirring and the view of the beach.

After the Gala, my friends and I stayed another night in Cap Skirring, walking the beaches and doing a lot of swimming. These are the best beaches I have ever been to.

Then we went by car to a town called Elinkine where we hopped a boat to the Island of Kirabane, an island in the Casamance River. We stayed a night there in an auberge on the water. This is the kind of boat we hopped on - this shot was taken as we went to the island itself.

We then took another boat to a very remote part of the river coast called Point St. George. And we saw dolphins. Lots and lots of dolphins. They were jumping and playing right next to the boat practically. I was so happy, and I may have done a lot of squealing. However, I could not get any photos of them.

 

At Point St. George we stayed the night at the only lodging option on the island for tourists - a restaurant that offers to rent tents for 2,000CFA (about $4) a tent. We had a delicious meal of Caldou, a speciality of the Casamance with fresh fish and onion/lemon sauce, and then slept in tents on the beach. Just beautiful. In the morning, we headed towards the manatee sanctuary and even got to see a couple tails and heads come up above the water. Then I was really, really happy.

The tents at Pt. St. George.

Then began the less exciting part of the trip, to say the least. It was an expensive boat ride to Point St. George and people had reassured us that even though there was no public transport to the nearest down, there was a dirt road people took to the closest town from the Point. A hefty walk they said (about 9km), but people made it all the time. So we had a guide that took us halfway there to a giant, giant, giant tree called a fromageur in French – known as a kapok tree in English. The others proceeded to climb the tree with the gear to look out from the platform built around its base at the top. I however, made it up four rungs and panicked. This happened the last time I was in Senegal too and tried to climb a boabab. And yet again, it was terribly embarrassing at the time, and is now super funny. But at least I got a picture with the giant on the ground level. 

Me and the tree. 

Giulia, one of the braver members of the group. 

With the tree behind us, we had 5 km left ahead to walk. It seemed easy at first, but it got hotter and hotter, and then we got lost a bit, but finally we found the only other person stupid enough to try to walk that distance during the middle of the day; a wonderful, wonderful man named Jean who let us follow him to M'lomp, the nearest village to the Point. By the time we made it there we were thoroughly stinky and bright red, but we made it. 

Here's us on the fateful march.

And a final picture of the group, looking hot, sweaty, and cramped (But happy!) in a sept place.

All in all, a great trip that allowed me to do a bit of exploring outside of Dakar and meet up with the whole Senegalese Rotary community. But needless to say, I am very happy to be home again, with all the creature comforts of Dakar – including functional public transport! 

MAJ Update 12/8

It has been awhile since I last wrote an update on my ongoing project with MAJ and ASBEF.

Following the International Conference on Family Planning, things have definitely calmed down a bit, but there is still much to be done before leaving in July. The conference turned out to be not only a great way for MAJ members to participate and learn from the international community of reproductive and sexual health professionals, but it was also an excellent means for MAJ members to promote their own activities.

Post-conference, the MAJ Twitter account has been really advancing. We are up to almost 100 followers, which I realize is not a huge number, but considering a couple months ago when we had no Twitter account and little interaction with the greater reproductive health community, I would say that we are off to a pretty good start. Through Twitter, we are regularly interacting, sharing information with, and asking questions of IPPF, the international parent organization funding ASBEF, as well as engaging both Senegalese youth and young people from around the world in dialogue. I’m also finding that Twitter is a great way to share professional resources from other reproductive health organizations on the social media site, and we have been using Twitter to track down a number of helpful resources in French for MAJ activities.

Our YouTube channel also has some new features. The channel is a bit more put together now, with additional videos, playlists, and other featured channels. We’ve also made contact through YouTube with a group called Scenarios from Africa, a project originally created by two Emory University professors to create short skits about HIV/AIDS in Africa for young people. 2 particularly cool things about this program: 1) the ideas from the skits are submitted to the organization by African youth between the ages of 10-25, 2) The films are then translated into over 25 languages found in Africa, from the colonial languages like French, English, and Portuguese, to local languages like Wolof and Pulaar (those two I was particularly excited about). I’ve embedded a particularly funny video below dubbed into English, though you can check them all out at Scenarios from Africa's YouTube channel. One of Scenarios from Africa’s local partners is ACI Baobab, the NGO through which I took classes during my first study abroad experience in Senegal. I am hoping soon to meet with someone at ACI to look into the possibilities of MAJ members submitting story ideas for the next round of selections for films.

  

In other news, just under half of the funds raised remain and I am trying, along with MAJ members and ASBEF staff, to decide how best to use what is left. I recently visited ASBEF Guédiawaye to begin the process of figuring out what the MAJ group there needs in terms of additional programmatic and technical support. Hopefully, some of the remaining funds will go towards helping this smaller MAJ group out in the suburbs of Dakar – an area that is historically poorer with less access to health information and clinical care.

Along with the help of another MAJ member living in the suburbs, I am also looking into helping finance and support a youth center that could be run by MAJ members in another suburb called Thiaroye. While Thiaroye and Guédiawaye aren’t too far away from each other geographically, transportation difficulties and unbelievable traffic jams as people try to get in and out of the city make it much harder for youth in Thiaroye to access services or be involved with MAJ Guédiwaye. This MAJ member happens to have an empty room attached to his apartment complex and was interested in turning the space into a resource center for youth, where they could come and get information about reproductive health, free condoms, and perhaps be referred to near-by health centers as needed. It would also be a place to hold activities and education events. I thought this was a wonderful idea, especially because the space is not being used, and it is in a low-income neighborhood with a lot of young people living in and around the area. We are in the planning stages now, but are hoping to schedule a sort-of town hall meeting in Thiaroye with youth to discuss how they feel the space could best be used.

This sort of project is particularly exciting to me because there is just so much that could be done with a space like this for relatively little money, and we get to begin from square one – meaning that community members (i.e. youth) will have input from the beginning into what this youth center could look like.

Music in Dakar

Going out in Dakar and listening to great music with friends. This has become one of my favorite things to do while I’m here. Its usually a very relaxed environment, and I have never been disappointed by a group. Plus, there are generally so many options to choose from, not only on weekends, but also on weekdays, and coming from Haslett, Michigan, having that variety feels like such a luxury.

I thought I would highlight 3 music acts that I’ve seen so far in Senegal. Most recently, a group of us went to see Souleymane Faye,  a Senegalese musician who has been playing in Dakar and throughout Senegal for the past 20 years. His music was kind of a mix of folk, R&B, and the blues, with Senegalese djembe (drums) providing the driving rhythm and jumping in for numerous drum breaks. We saw him at Just 4 You, one of my favorite clubs in the city. Also, we went with my roommate and landlady, who has been in and out of Dakar for 20 years and knows Souleymane Faye very well. Which meant I not only got to meet him, but I also shook his hand and had a chance to babble pathetically in French to him about how great he was. I was kind-of star struck. 

The next most recent group I’ve seen is a group called Four for Africa. They are an Italian-Senegalese funk and reggae group with a English lead singer that plays AMAZING covers of Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Yes that’s right. And the place we went to was literally 5 minutes from our house walking and the owner was a musician himself and got up to play with the band a couple times. We were pretty convinced we were the only people there who were not somehow connected to the band, and because it was mostly Senegalese and Italian people there, the common language seemed to be English that everyone was using – even though we were the only ones for whom English was actually our maternal tongue. It was a crazy experience – I almost at times felt like the concert was not even for us. But it was absolutely wonderful.

Check them out at this link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP1tIG9Rtjs

And finally, a group called Takeifa. A great blend of Senegalese mbalax and folk and a bit of rock. And the lead singer was super cute, my friend knew him, and we got a picture of us together. 

Adventures in Morocco

It has been awhile since I last posted. With the holidays, and a tour of family members that came through one by one through Dakar and met me in Morocco, the past month has been pretty busy. But having both parents come to Senegal and getting to take a vacation with Dad and Genevieve to Morocco was absolutely wonderful, and a great way to bridge for me my life in Senegal with my life and family in the United States.

I think the best way to describe Morocco and our experiences in the country is to post pictures. The country is absolutely beautiful, at least the parts of it that we saw, the food was delicious and had so much variety, and there were considerably more things to see in terms of history and architecture - a pleasant change from Dakar, where tourism is just not as developed and the countryside is less varied. 

Dad and Gen met me in Casablanca, where we spent one night and then took the train to Meknes. We stayed there for a couple days, went to the Roman ruins of Volubulis, and then headed east towards Fez. A couple days in one of the oldest cities of the Muslim world, and then we left for Marrakech, driving through the Middle Atlas mountains to get there. And after a week of traveling, I feel like I had barely seen any of the country, which seems to be a common feeling I get now when going to knew places. I would love to be able to spend at least a month in the country next time, it is so big and vast and clearly so diverse in terms of topography, ethnic groups, languages, climate, and FOOD. Here are some pics. 

Dad and Gen on the train to Meknes.

Dad and I at our Ryad (refurbished large homes used as hotels) in Meknes. The skyline was absolutely breathtaking, but it was bit difficult to photograph with people in the picture.

These two shots are from Volubilis; an ancient Roman city just north of Meknes that during Roman times was one of the southern-most posts for the Roman empire. The ruins and mosaics were cool, but what was cooler was the location - nestled in the mountains and with olive groves all around. The ruins were also right next to Moulay Idriss, one of the holy sites for the Tidjaani sect of Muslims (many of whom are in Sénégal).

Moroccan tea. Amazing. Very sweet, very minty with a lot of fresh mint, and incredibly hot. Similar to Senegalese attaaya (mint tea), but less strong and much more enjoyable when it isn't sweltering outside and you actually need something hot to warm you up.

Babouches!! Those who know me know my dangerous addiction to shoes (it nearly rivals my love for food) and babouches (these pointy-toed shoes in the background made from leather) were everywhere. I may or may not have purchased 12 pairs, but I can proudly say that only one pair were for me and the rest for friends in Sénégal. I'm such a good friend. 

Monkeys! To be more precise: barbary apes. These guys are found in the cedar forests in the Atlas Mountains. They are pretty well domesticated now because tourists can buy and feed them peanuts, but I still had a lot of fun pretending to be a monkey. 

After a week in Morocco, the three of us came back to Dakar for a few days. My Dad and Gen met my host Rotary club at one of their meetings, as well as just about every other person I know in Dakar. And everyone fed us too. Needless to say, they left very full.

My Dad was in Senegal last time over 20 years ago. When there, on the island of Gorée he met a lovely woman who showed him around the island and talked to him about the history of the place. This woman owned a restaurant, one that is still there on Gorée, though she no longer is living. But here children were there and were incredibly touched by Dad's story, as we were. This is a picture with this woman's children and us outside her restaurant. 

Dad and I outside Hotel Miramar, the hotel Dad stayed in over 20 years ago. 

Now the rest of the photos will be unashamedly about food. 

Moroccan soup! Called harira, I had every chance I could get. Super cheap, hot and delicious, I am determined to figure out how to make it. 

This was the first food I bought in Morocco. A pomegranate, whole-grain baguette, 1kilo of olives, and 3 persimmons, all for about 25 duram, so about $3.50. I was happy. 

Our first breakfast in Casa. A beautiful, French spread with canned eggplant of all things that was a passed-down recipe from the woman who owned the B&B. They were sweet, spicy, and super flavorful and I was mildly annoyed she wouldn't give me the recipe.

This was one of my favorite experiences in Morocco. We were in Moulay Idriss and wanted olive oil, so we stopped at one of the olive presses and got a tour. The giant heaps of olives on the left are curing in salt, and the blue tubs are filled with olive oil. Someone ran out and found us a 2L bottle, and I got to smuggle fresh olive oil (which tastes so go) into Senegal for about $8. I was very, very happy. 

Moroccan crepes for breakfast.

Moroccan salads. That what was always on the menu, but that was just not enough words to describe the colors and spices.

Tajine world! These conical pots are used to make the dish also called tajine, which can be any variety of meats, vegetables, or fruits even slow cooked in these guys for at least 3 hours. We went to an outdoor market place where they are made and I picked one out to try using in Senegal.

Kefta! Grilled ground meat kebabs we got at a "truck stop" with our wonderful driver Abdel on our way to Marakech. This totally beats gas station food in the U.S. Plus, food in Morocco is served with salt and cumin instead of salt and pepper. What an amazing idea.

Moroccan persimmons. I may or may not have purchased 1/2 kilo and ate them all in one day (about 10).

Another Moroccan breakfast in one of our other Ryads. With olives.

This is the tajine, much less pretty once we had already dived into it, but still delicious. Couscous with layered vegetables, chicken and saffron. Yum!