Saturday, September 28, 2013

Anglais rekk!


“It’s hot, de”

I just completed a week of English Access Camp, a program run by the US Embassy for students aged 15-17.  I worked with 2 other volunteers and 4 English teachers to organize the camp in Tambacounda for 57 students, both boys and girls.  It was an amazing experience.

I was very impressed by the level of these students’ English.  All schools in Senegal require English classes beginning in 6th grade.  From what I have seen in my village and at the local high school, they are not absorbing much of this language; just learning French, the national language and language of the classroom, is difficult enough for them.  However, I was blown away by the talent of the Tambacounda students.  Each of the 4 teachers had chosen several students to attend the camp and ability certainly ranged a scale, but we were able to successfully conduct all activities and discussions in English, as well as require the kids to continually speak just English.  Anglais rekk! (English only!)



We had a wide variety of activities for the students.  Each morning, we’d begin the day with an icebreaker or game.  My favorite was watching the students participate in a 3-legged relay race; they’d never done anything of this sort before, and they loved it.  Several groups fell on the ground as they hopped down the field, and a few groups figured out how to run as a team.  Another day, we played silent birthday line-up; this activity ended with a girl asking the point of the game, and we gave an explanation of the importance of teamwork (since that activity did not require any English speaking).  Another daily activity was teaching them English songs.  I taught them “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” “Have You Ever Seen a Penguin Come to Tea,” “I’m a Little Tea Pot,” and “Old McDonald.”  We had a contest of who could sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” loudest, and it was hilarious to watch the kids hopping around to “Penguin Come to Tea.”  On the last day, during the final song session, the kids chanted for us to dance Senegalese-style.  After appeasing them briefly, we taught them Macarena and the Chicken Dance.  The three of us were standing on a bench to teach them these dances and were very visible to people walking down the street; we got quite a cheering from outside the school as a result.

The main part of each day consisted of small groups of about 10 students, which allowed the students time to practice their English.  We played games such as 20 questions, identify the person/place taped to your back through questions only, and team builders such as Human knot, as well as held discussions.  The most interesting session involved a line-spectrum debate.  I’d read a statement, and they’d have to group themselves into “agree completely,” “somewhat agree,” “somewhat disagree,” and “disagree.”  Each person then had to justify his/her response.  Some statements were simple and there was unanimity: “Boys and girls should both go to school,” “Children should go to school until graduating from high school and then continue to university,” and “Men should not beat their wives.”  It became more interesting with controversial topics such as “It is possible to overcome the corruption in Senegal” and “Senegal can become a developed country.”  For those statements, the students explained (in English) the problems in Senegal, which included officials pocketing money, development only occurring for cities, friends and family expected to be hired for official positions (and offended if not chosen), many unqualified teachers, and numerous other reasons that were very well articulated and do represent the political climate in Senegal.  I was happy to see that the majority of students were more optimistic and thought these obstacles possible to overcome through education, sensitization, laws, and law enforcement.

We also had sessions involving the entire group.  A trivia game was particularly popular among the students.  They had a larger amount of world knowledge than I had expected, though they were all convinced that the United States has 52 states.  (Apparently, this information is in their textbooks.)  Another day, we had an American culture question and answer session.  They each wrote down a question on a piece of paper, and we responded to as many as possible.  There were the normal questions of “What is education like in America,” “At what age do people get married in the United States,” and “What’s your national dish.”  Some more interesting questions were “How do people vote in elections,” “Why do you run English Access Camps,” and “Why do Americans want to become the best in the world and spread their culture everywhere?”  That last questions was particularly intriguing to me, and we asked the students to determine answers within their groups.  Every student agreed with the statement and thought Americans want to convert everyone to be like them; we then tried to explain why Americans think development is important, and I shared my (somewhat idealistic) opinion that the purpose is not to defeat cultures, but merely to help.

Our final activity consisted of a performance.  Each group had written a skit during the week, without any help from us.  The skits were amazing.  One group presented on the importance of protecting the environment by not throwing trash on the ground or cutting down trees.  Another presented on the problem of student-teacher relationships and how it could lead to child pregnancies and teachers being fired.  A third group presented on the problems of students dropping out of school early because their parents can’t pay for their school supplies.  The final group presented on talibe (children who are sent to study the Kora,n, but are often beaten by their teachers and must beg on the street for food and money) and how people should give them the opportunity to improve their lives instead of treating them poorly.  They hit on such key points and issues within Senegal and provided idealistic solutions that I hope they continue to follow when they’re adults.  These skits strengthened my faith in the education system and its ability to create leaders who understand and are determined to achieve solutions.

We had a large budget for this camp, so I determined that rather than throwing an elaborate party at the end, we should buy school supplies for the students (though we still did give them delicious fatayas – fried dough stuffed with mashed fish and onion sauce cooked by one of the teacher’s sisters).  Each student was provided with a large notebook, small notebook, red pen, blue pen, eraser, highlighter, and school supply packaged set (consisting of a protractor, ruler, pencil, colored pencils, eraser, and pencil sharpener).  The kids were overjoyed at receiving such items; now they can begin the school year with their supplies, rather than waiting until a few months in to purchase them.  (Many students spend the first few months without even a notebook until their parents find the money to buy them the supplies.)

The camp was a great opportunity for me, the students, and the teachers.  It was an amazing chance for them to practice their English every day for 4 hours.  At the end of each day, they didn’t want to go home and would often stay late to practice their skits (leaving only because they had required house chores to complete before lunch).  I was astounded at their ability to express themselves and also to help their friends to express themselves; they were very understanding of each individual’s different comprehension level and prepared to encourage each other to speak or explain a person’s intentions.  The fact that these children could defend societal issues, tell traditional Wolof stories, write engaging skits, and play complicated games in English attests to their individual drive and motivation in succeeding.  Passing school is not a guarantee here, but these students are certainly on their way to attain it. 


Friday, September 20, 2013

Lutax nga jooy?

This year, I decided to celebrate Rosh Hashanah as best as I could in village.  To prepare for this, I needed a shofar.  Every Sunday, I go to my weekly market.  There is a man there who sells items used for mystical purposes: porcupine quills, conch shells, bright pink Fanta seeds, rabbit furs, live chickens, and much more.  I approached him and asked him for a sheep's horn.  He rummaged around his baskets of supplies and pulled out two horns.  I'm not sure that they were a sheep's horn, but they looked the same.  I chose the larger one for about 40 cents (about the length of my elbow to the tips of my fingers).  Now came the first unexpected problem: there was no hole on the end.  I asked him to cut the tip off, assuming the hole was close to the end.  This proved to be incorrect; after he'd cut nearly 1/3 of the horn off, he still hadn't reached the hole, and he was exhausted from sawing.  (He was using a hand saw and horns are hard.)  To give him a break, I offered him to bring it home, take his time, saw it off, bring it back the following week, and I'd pay him for his labor.  He seemed relieved, leaned back in his chair, and promised to have it cut to the hole and sanded smooth for me.

I returned the following week, and he called me over when I was still a few stalls away.  He proudly retrieved the horn.  It was now nearly half the size it had started out, but the hole was clearly visible, and he'd done a nice job of cutting it smoothly.  I thanked him, paid him generously for his efforts ($1, which left him overjoyed), and happily placed the horn in my backpack on top of the 7 kilos (15.4 lbs) of vegetables I'd bought to give my host family for the week.  I then went to my stall to teach the importance of moringa ("the miracle tree") to whoever stopped by my booth, and tried not to think about my excitement over my purchase.

Later, as I walked the 5 km back to my village, I decided to pull out the shofar and try it.  I was alone on the path, no one would be able to hear me, and I could ensure myself of my abilities.  With a large smile on my face as I laughed at the absurdity of blowing the shofar on a random bush path in Senegal surrounded by fields of corn, millet, and peanuts, I put the horn to my lips.  Still walking (it was almost 5:00, I hadn't eaten lunch, and I didn't want to waste time in getting home to eat the food my host family had put aside for me), I blew into it.  Only a squeak came out.  I tried again, with the same result.  Now I began to be worried - I was always good at blowing my brother's shofar at home, but this one was much smaller making it more difficult.  So I stopped walking, took a deep breath, and blew again.  Once more, I was rewarded with just a small squeak.  I decided I was just tired from working all day and would put it away until Rosh Hashanah.

On the first night of the holiday, I arrived home just as it was getting dark.  I pulled out my shofar, stood in my back doorway, and decided to surprise my host family with the call of the shofar.  But, when I blew into it, I once again could only produce a small squeak.  I tried again and again and again, but only squeaks came out.  I continued to try for 15 minutes.  Finally, my host brother came into my room, followed immediately by the rest of my host family.  They stood clustered in the door and asked me if I was ok.  I told them I couldn't get any sound to come out and held up the shofar.  They stared at it and repeated their question, this time adding, "Lutax nga jooy?"  (Why are you crying?)  I started to laugh; they'd been hearing the squeaks of the shofar, my panting after each extended breath, and my sighs of exasperation and had assumed I was standing in my backyard crying to myself.  All of them had sat quietly on the cement slab outside, unsure if they should interrupt until finally they couldn't allow me to weep by myself anymore.  After I assured them I hadn't been crying and explained the shofar's significance, I decided the surprise was ruined (and impossible to obtain) and followed them outside.  There commenced a long evening of the children and me trying to get a deep sound out of the shofar.

But it wasn't until the following day that I was finally successful.  (On closer inspection in the daylight, I found the problem to be the size of the hole.  It was very large and part of one side was also cut open.  The only way I could properly blow it was to hold one side of my mouth closed with my other hand to prevent the air from escaping.  I must've looked ridiculous.)  The sound drew all the nearby kids over, and they watched as I produced this strange sound; none of them could get anything more than a small squeak out of it.  One toddler was scared of it.  She couldn't understand how noise could come out of a horn (an object she's completely familiar with).

To finish off my Rosh Hashanah observance, I ate apples with honey, cooked teighlach, and observed Tashlich with bread in the river nearby.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Creating a Library


Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing to you in regard to a current project my village.  The school is working to create a library to be based at the middle/high school.  This library would include textbooks and pleasure books for use by the students, teachers, and literate community,

Currently, there is a lack of available books.  In classrooms, students do not have textbooks to take home to learn the material.  Thus, they often have only their notes and practice problems from class with no additional information to study before exams.  When they read literature for French class, there are a few copies of books that are passed between the students; a few students are assigned the book each week, and they read the assigned chapters for the month before they are reassigned the books.  Even the teachers do not have access to appropriate resources.  The lessons and information they teach is often based on out-of-date materials.  I have walked into classes where teachers explain that Pluto is still a planet or that malaria can be treated by several types of prescription drugs, obsolete information that is no longer accepted by the scientific community; unfortunately, the teachers have no way to access this new information.  Having current textbooks is a vital aspect of improving the Senegalese education system.

In addition to textbooks, the library will include pleasure books.  At the moment, it is rare for a student, teacher, or community member to have the luxury to afford a book.  There is not one person in my village that has ever read a novel or understood that reading can be for fun, not just as assigned schoolwork.  I have been a bookworm for as long as I can remember, losing myself in the lives of the characters.  I want to provide the same opportunity to the community here to allow them the pleasure to curl up with a novel and the chance to learn about the world outside Senegal through reading books.

Thus, I am turning to you for help in financing this project.  If you are able to donate, even just five or ten dollars, I would greatly appreciate the support.  We have all been so fortunate in our lives as Americans to have up-to-date textbooks for every student and every subject and free access to public libraries.  Now it’s your chance to provide the same opportunities to students and community members in Senegal.  Donations can be submitted to: http://SenegalLibrary.causevox.com/ until November.

Thank you very much in advance, and thank you for all your continued support while I’ve been in Senegal.