Personal Update

So, I feel like it's been FOREVER since I've written a decent update about life here...mainly it's just been projects and photos (not saying that it's a bad thing), but it's been forever since I've submitted a long, rambling, and mostly incoherent post for you, my viewing public, to enjoy--or to wonder how I made it through university with such atrocious grammar and spelling inconsistencies. [To that, I respond that I've been in Senegal almost two full years now and English has become my 4th language and no one here really seems to care if I babble or can't spell anymore.]

Anyways, so as some of my last posts have shared, January was a pretty crazy busy month. In addition to everything I had to do for the peer educator training, I've also been coordinating purchase, delivery, and installation of chainlink fencing for the already-existing (but in severe disrepair) women's garden in my village plus monitoring/maintaining the school garden, and waging a defensive war against goat and donkey attacks on the baby trees at the school (involving chopping/transplanting jatropha trees around the baby trees to form a live fence). I've dealt with a lot of frustration over lack of community involvement in protecting the trees and maintaining the schoolyard and garden, but have refused to sit on my laurels (sp? Clueless reference...) and have become even more of a woman of action than I already am. There's so much to do and I am in a race against a clock (or a visa/flight that says I should be returning to America in May, or sometime around then).

My Stage at COS, otherwise known as Stage E.T. or Stage Bad Attitude. Look how far we've come!

Last week, my Stage (the group of PCVs I first arrived in Senegal with back in March 2008) had what Peace Corps terms the Close of Service (COS) Conference. Over 3 days and 4 nights, they put us up in a hotel, feed us ridiculous amounts of uber-rich food, and talk to us about finishing up things for PC (admin, medical, etc), leaving the village, and returning to America (culture shock and stuff...warning: you will all find that I am much stranger than when I left 2 years ago, even though I've seen many of you at least once since then). It was exciting, empowering, and overwhelming (there are just too many options out there!), and it's already over. By far the best part though was just being with my Stage for several days, and rehearsing a Bollywood style dance which we performed this past weekend for the awe and amazement of a few hundred PCVs.


A lot of my Stage-mates are starting to formulate plans for post-PC service, though several are in my boat as well--waiting to hear from grad school or other organizations. A few are extending for a 3rd year as well. This week, however, has been full of a lot of nostalgia as we start to say goodbye to each other. Some people are leaving as early as the end of March for America, though most are leaving at the end of April or early May, but I probably will not see many of them before they leave Senegal. It's a weird feeling and the nostalgia is catching all of us. Last night, we did a Stage dinner at a nice restaurant in Dakar and much of the evening was spent toasting our 2 years, marveling that we made it this far, talking about the future, and saying goodbye (or, see you later). As another pointed out, we go into PC expecting to form relationships with the people in our villages and our host families because of all of the time we spend with them, but the friendships that happen between PCVs kind of sneak up on a person. Though we may be quite spread out across the country, we are the closest we will ever have to someone understanding what it means to have been a PCV in Senegal. No one else can really understand what these past 2 years have meant, but we have been through many things together (or similar things separately) and that's a bond that won't soon be broken. Man, even with the chaos and stress of Senegal, it will be hard to leave. I'm already dreading it.

Team Kaolack

After COS, I stayed in Dakar for WAIST, the West African Invitational Softball Tournament, which drew PCVs and expats from all across West Africa. This year the Kaolack Region's theme was Lumberjacks (ie flannel and suspenders), which brings in plenty of irony in that PCVs are supposed to (and do!) promote reforestation and try to discourage people from destroying trees, yet we are dressing as a profession which, when not properly monitored, actually does the opposite. The Tamba/Kedegou Regions are cavemen (PC B.C.) and had by far the best costumes of the weekend (animal prints, bones, and messy hair, it's awesome!). Unfortunately, the Kaolack Region did not have as good of a showing as last year (3rd place with a trophy!), but we still had fun and played some good ball (esp superstars Chris P and Danielle S!). Enjoyable and nice not to have quite as many games as last year (4 as opposed to last year's 7), which made for a more relaxed WAIST.


Another aspect of WAIST, which people who know me know is not quite my thing, is the ridiculous party scene. Last year I felt like I had to go out every night and thus barely slept, but this year was much more chill and I only went out when I wanted to and was much friendlier and more rested. One party, however, was especially important to my Stage because for many of us, it was the realization of a lifelong dream: spontaneously breaking out into a choreographed Bollywood-style dance routine. Think Slumdog Millionaire meets Glee (which I just saw for the 1st time and LOVE!). I have always wanted to be at a dance and out of nowhere, everyone around breaks into a choreographed dance routine, and that's what we did! Yes! At midnight, without telling anyone except the DJ what was going on, we managed to clear the dance floor and absolutely rock it! Probably about 18 or so of us participated in the dancing and we just had soooo much fun! (There will be pictures on picasa, though they are kind of dark. I also tried having a video recording of it, but it was too dark, sadness!)

Fancy snapping

Dancing daggers! (that's me in the maroon dress)

Something particularly interesting/enjoyable was the reaction many people had to MY dancing (and not just in our routine). While some people in my Stage know that I like to dance and have seen me do so on occassion, most haven't and were quite surprised. Even more so, a large portion of the Kaolack Region were surprised and made their amazement known (not just during our dance number, but any other time they saw me dancing during the weekend). I guess most of the last year, I've been so stressed with projects and grad school applications, that I haven't been able to have fun and just loosen up and dance before this weekend. Quite fun. :)



Well, I'm headed back to the village the day after tomorrow. I have to regulate some things with the fencing for the women's garden (either there was an error measuring or the hardware store cheated us a few meters of length per roll), as it turns out the 15 rolls was not sufficient (I only calculated needing 14, but bought a 15th just in case...) and we are 22m short, so I have to order/buy some more. I spent an hour today just looking at my planner and kind of freaking out about how fast time is flying here and how much I still want to do, while at the same time realizing I won't be able to do everything or see everywhere that I would like to. Shame. I'll have been gone almost 2 weeks though, so I need to get back. First, however, I need to print TONS of pictures from the peer educator training and buy some stuff for my host family. I'm not sure what the rest of the week will hold apart from a lot of gardening, but I really need to get back to finishing the Serere dictionary and do some follow-up on the training from January. My paperwork pile is growing as my COS date draws near, so that's another thing I need to start working on. I had hoped to get some done this weekend, but alas.



My replacement and her Stage arrive in Senegal in about 3 weeks, weird and exciting!

Encouraging Girls' Education

The group of female students who attended the ceremony. Hopefully many walked away motivated and determined to succeed in school and if not, that they are proud of their fellow students for their hard work.

Every year for the past 10 or so, Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers across the country run a scholarship competition aimed at promoting girls' education. Named for a PCV named Michele Sylvester, who was killed during her Service in an automobile accident. She was committed to girls' education in Senegal and so in 1993, a memorial scholarship fund was begun in her name to continue her work and passion.

The scholarship competition has never been done (that I know of) in my part of the Delta, so last May, with the help of my then newly-installed neighbors, Mary and Chris, we held it for the first time at the middle school in Djilor. [Side note: middle school students in Senegal range in age from 13-17 or so] We had teachers select the top 6 female students, who then had to write essays on where they see themselves in 10 years, and then we interviewed them at their homes (if possible). The interviews were interesting though awkward and difficult, conducted in French, which is the language of academic instruction in Senegal, and the girls had some difficulty understanding our American French accents. Students in Senegal aren't used to being asked questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or "When you have free time (no school or house work to do), what do you like to do?", so we really had to push the girls for answers (or beg their parents to keep quiet and not answer for their daughters). The awarding of the scholarships was based on personal motivation, academic achievement, personal essay, interview, teacher recommendation, and demonstrated financial need (determined from visiting their homes during the interviews).

From the 6 girls chosen to compete, we gave our recommendations and passed 4 applications along to the PCSenegal scholarship committee in Dakar, who met in August to choose winners for all of the regions of the country. One winner was chosen from each school to win a scholarship of $40-$60 USD to cover the cost of inscription fees, school supplies, and any other school expenses which may occur. Due to some beaurocratic issues and various regulations, scholarship awards were not available in time for the start of the 2009-2010 academic year (the greater Kaolack Region particularly had some issues, but alas). Since most of the school expenses for the year have already been covered, the money will probably wind up going to their families, but hopefully it will serve as an encouragement to their continued academic achievements. [Monitoring and follow up of scholarship funds is something PC Senegal is trying to improve, so as to make sure money is not just solely going to the girls' fathers' wallets, but it's hard to check up on.]

Just 2 weeks ago, we were finally able to properly honor the winners and finalists in the Djilor branch of the competition. Held just days after the peer educator training weekend, we gathered a group of about 45 female 5eme students (eighth grade or so, according to US equivilent) plus the winners (all currently in 5eme except for one girl in 3eme which is the French equivilent of a sophomore) and invited the winners' parents to also show up. We wanted to screen an awesome video, "Elle Travaille, Elle Vit!" (http://www.senegad.org/gallery.html), but yet again technology failed us. Instead, we had a dynamic discussion, asking the girls what they want to become when they grow up (teacher, nurse, premiere ministre in the government, police/gendarme, lawyer, etc) and why it is important to encourage girls' education, before awarding certificates and school supplies to the winners/finalists and sharing sodas with all of the attendees.

Awa Ba (3rd place), Awa Diallo (4th), Oumi Diallo (1st), Fatou Diallo (2nd)

[Though 3 of the girls share the last name Diallo, they are not related...Diallo is a very common Pulaar last name]

1st place: By far the strongest academically, Oumi rocked her interview and also demonstrated major financial need. The youngest of 7 children, Oumi is the only child to make it to middle school, while the rest of the family farms. She lives in a small village 4km from Djilor, without electricity (and no one in her village has a cell phone, which is rare in this part of the country) and walks that distance to school each day. She wants to be the government minister of education and enjoys English class because speaking English will "allow her to communicate with the rest of the world." She also expressed her refusal to marry before finishing her studies (a big issue here, I sure hope she will follow through and not have to cave to early marriage due to financial need). What most impressed us was her interest in the greater world outside of her village and even Senegal, balanced with her obvious care and concern for her family and village. Since we interviewed her last May, she has been chosen as "La Responsable" of her 5eme class, meaning she is basically like her classes female student president, showcasing her leadership abilities as well. Her father has also recently fell ill, adding to the family's hardship, but she is still rocking out in school.

2nd place: Though the youngest one competing (probably about 11 or 12 at the time), Fatou surprised us with her understanding of the questions, poise in answering, and humble confidence, even in the French language. She has high grades and incredibly strong teacher recommendations. Her family was friendly and inviting, especially her dad who is active in their neighborhood and understanding of the situation of girls in Senegal, though their financial need was quite evident. [While 1st place was the only one officially allotted a scholarship through the memorial fund, because multiple girls were deserving, local PCVs contributed to give 2nd and 3rd places a small financial award as well.]

3rd place: From the first introductory meeting about the scholarship competition in April '09, Awa Ba blew us out of the water with her motivation, determination, and desire to win. The oldest of all of the participants, Awa exuded confidence (a rarity among middle school girls, both in Senegal and America) during the interview process. She shared that she wants to be a doctor when she finishes school and while she did not have quite the same financial need as Oumi or Fatou, her academic achievements and motivation alone deemed her worthy of recognition. She participated in our November Girls' Leadership Day with Awa Traore from PCSenegal.

4th place: From Nguekokh (Chris/Jaime's village), Awa Diallo missed her first interview because she had to go to Djilor to grind millet for her family's dinner that night. We rescheduled and she did a great job, talking about how she enjoys math class. We were not able to give her a financial award (just some notebooks and pens), but hopefully she will use 4th place as a jumping off point and will apply for the scholarship again next year.

Here's some pictures from the afternoon:

The winners, Oumi's mom, Fatou's Dad, and a few school officials

Presenting Oumi with her first place certificate, notebooks, and pen's.

It was a great afternoon and though my time in Senegal is running short and I won't be able to do the proper follow-up I would like (such as starting a girls' group or something), I hope that several of the activities I've started with the Djilor middle school (and not just those involving monetary funding), will be able to be continued and improved upon in future years.

A Dream Realized

Last November, my old neighbor Jaime and I, responding to a request from our local middle school, started planning what we hoped would turn into a dynamic girls' group aimed at reducing early marriage and teenage pregnancy. Over the course of a few months, it turned into education sessions focused on adolescence, early marriage, and teenage pregnancy, meeting separately with groups of girls and boys, at two different area middle schools. Unfortunately, last year the school system was plagued with strikes (this year too...) and school events/testing and it became very difficult for a team of 3 or 4 of us (myself, Jaime, the nurse or a local NGO worker, my counterpart Farba, and a woman from the first middle school who originally requested such programming--only to quickly drop out due to requests for more money...) to make sessions at both schools. In the desire to create a more sustainable program that could function even without our main team, I talked to people about doing what PC calls a Training of Trainers to train some teachers and students as peer-educators (known here as relais) to lead sessions at their own schools.

I wrote a grant, funded by USAID, and received financing for a 3 day training, creation of training and teaching materials, tshirts (relai "uniforms"), meals (breakfast and lunch each day), and transportation of goods/people (lots of photocopies, tshirts, etc). What follows is a brief summary of the weekend, which proved to be enlightening and educational, for all parties involved.

Group shot, end of Day 3...can you find me?

So I've been stressing for months (see: lack of sleep and the RENT soundtrack being continuously stuck in my head) in anticipation of planning and hosting this peer educator training and last weekend the stress and planning finally came to fruition. With the help of 3 health/science teachers, Batman and Robin (my unofficial counterpart Farba and his BFF Diegan, president of the rural community of Djilor), the local nurse, and several area PCVs, we trained 28 students from Djilor and 14 from Sadioga to be peer educators, specifically trained in reproductive health. Sessions from the training included: the importance/roles of a peer educator, Adolescence/Puberty, Early Marriage and Pregnancy, STIs, HIV/AIDS, Family Planning Methods, male and female condom demonstrations, how to lead educational talks in the village/at school, general Q&A, breakout brainstorming and action planning by school, and an awarding of certificates of participation. We started each day around 8:30am or so (come on, this is Africa...) and went until after 6pm Friday and Saturday (3:30 on Sunday), providing breakfast and lunch each day (and sodas and beignets on Sunday afternoon to celebrate!).

Here are some pictures of the weekend: many more will be available on Picasa in a few days...

Farba, my unofficial counterpart and the hero of local PCVs talking to the students about leading health talks.

The local nurse talking about family planning methods (some people tried to convince me not to do a family planning session with the students, but it wound up being the most interesting session to many of them!)


Motivated Sadioga students creating their action plan for educating their communities, which Mary and I will follow up on.

Fellow PCV Emily talking about STIs

We had a lot of info to cover in a few days, so I hope it stuck. I must admit that I had initially grossly underestimated the students existing knowledge about reproductive health, but we passed out a questionnaire on Day 1 to find out what they already knew and the results were astounding and horrifying. Most students though Senegal had a HIV infection rate of over 80% (it is officially around 1.7% or so, but varies greatly on location in the country) and could not name a single STI. At the end, we passed out closing questionnaires to measure their knowledge and while the results weren't perfect, their was an obvious improvement in understanding and awareness about reproductive health issues. To cover for the fact that time was limited and many activities we prepared for we did not actually get to (this is Africa, things happen and you have to be flexible), we also handed out thick folders with basic and more detailed information, class lessons, skits, and statistics about reproductive health, so I hope that the students will be able to revert to that info and the local resource people we identified throughout the weekend, when they go to lead their own sessions. They already have served as important talking pieces when students showed fellow classmates and family members, so hopefully the knowledge will continue to grow.

A side problem: The training was originally supposed to be for 42 students, but the 14 students from the 3rd school (Diossong) wound up not showing up. The transportation kept falling through for them all week and in spite of our insistence to just get on a bus and we would pay their fares as soon as they got to Djilor (15km away via bush, 30km or so via road), but the principle let us down. [Very frustrating because He was the one who searched Me out last year to participate in our programs and we had already done a few reproductive health sessions with them in early January, plus we budgeted and made purchases for all of their students as well.] Due to the great distance, the Djilor students were to host the visiting Sadioga and Diossong students in mini homestay situations. With Diossong not showing up and the big Sadioga wrestling tourney weekend happening (and students wanting to commute each way to watch at night), most of the homestays did not happen. The ones that did proved to form new friendships and create opportunities for collaboration between students from the two schools.

Numerous thanks to my neighbor PCVs: Mary for her emotional support and help stuffing folders, Emily for coming all of the way from the land of the Pulaars to share her knowledge and expertise on the subject, Chris for the title of the training (Ma Sante, Mon Choix), and Jack for bringing cheese to the folder stuffing and wearing a boubou on Saturday. Farba, as always, was my life saver and acted as our school liason, garnering support from school and local administration and keeping things organized. Cilor, Farba's wife, led the fabulous cooking team, whose delicious meals was spread across a 15km radius. Ndeye, the nurse, for sharing her medical knowledge, wisdom, and fabulous acting skills. To the teachers, who spent their weekend working with students and helping us lead sessions (even when we PCVs disagreed with some of the info they were sharing, or the way they were teaching it...). And to all of the community relais (Samba, Malick, Amadou) for sharing their experience and tips on being relais with the students, and for their singing and acting.

[I apologize if this entry is somewhat disjointed and incoherrent, full of mispellings...I am tired and not feeling like a very eloquent writer but wanted to post about this training before it got too late. I have several more updates to post, hopefully within the next week or so while in Dakar.]