Sunday, January 31, 2016

One week later...

We have been in Senegal for a week?! How is that possible? The time has flown by. We are now at Molly's house in the Somone on the Atlantic Ocean. We went swimming last night at sunset after an 8  1/2 hour car ride from the eastern Senegal town of Tambacounda. The water was delicious. I have not  been swimming in the Atlantic Ocean since 1998.

OK, where to begin to describe what we have seen and done and who we have met over the past several days...I'll start by saying that sadly, I cannot include any pictures. I'm having technical difficulties downloading the photos from my phone to my computer. I'm bummed...you would be in awe of the beauty of the people we have met - their physical beauty and the beauty of their hearts and souls that they share so readily. Once I get help from my resident technical advisor (Matt), I will post photos after I get home.

Our journey (commentary and profound thoughts to follow)
Tuesday
We left Dakar at 6:00pm by small plane to Molly (founder and director of Tostan) and Mory Camara (co-director of Tostan programs). We flew to the Casamance region of southern Senegal into the town of Ziguinchour. It was immediately clear that we were in rural Africa having left behind the developed city of Dakar. It was not village life and also definitely not urban life - goats wandering through the streets, small stall-like "boutiques" (the same as the "tiendas" of Latin America) lining the streets, trash and dust everywhere, donkey-drawn carts and bicycles with 2-3 people on them. It was a pleasure to land here and get beyond Dakar.

Already our journey was enriched by traveling with Mory. He is smart, funny, warm, and incredibly committed to the work of Tostan. He is 37, has 4 children and speaks 5 languages. We stayed at a lovely, small hotel where we ran into numerous people that Molly knows - members of a Senegalese medical delegation in the region working on an AIDS program and a man who is so committed to the work of Tostan that even though he has retired as a teacher, travels the region training teachers about Tostan's early child development program module and promoting non-violent discipline for students (violence as part of teaching is prevalent here) and engagement with parents in support of their children's education. His passion and commitment were almost palpable.

Wednesday
We met Pierre Coly, the 5th member of our travel group, who would be our driver for the next few days. Pierre is quieter and a bit more reserved with us than Mory, but got used to our chattiness and jokes and joined right in after a bit. He entertained us on our long drives with the most eclectic mix of African music. Pierre is a member of the Joola ethnic group of the Casamance region, he is 33, has a 15 year old son, and speaks 6 languages.

We met with the staff in the Ziginchour regional office for about an hour. Every time we meet with Tostan staff, I have to really focus to follow the French. I wonder what they think of me at times - I stare at them while they talk thinking somehow that that will help make the French more clear. I can catch enough to get the gist of the conversation. If I let my mind wander even for a second, I get completely lost. Lib's French is such an asset. Between her, Molly and Mory (who speaks English well enough to help me out) I am doing just fine. Everyone comments on how good Lib's French is and how amazed they are that she speaks with no (English) accent.

Before leaving for the village of Niaguis, we stopped back at the hotel to get dressed for our village visit. Lib and I borrowed beautiful Senegalese outfits from Molly. I wore a deep pink with white embroidery long tunic over a matching panga (wrap around skirt). Lib wore a flowing purple tunic over a purple panga. Mory was also dressed in traditional clothes - the most beautiful indigo blue tunic high at the neck and long to the knee with matching pants. The tunic was embroidered in silver thread and small buttons. We looked beautiful. We then piled into two cars (the regional staff and us) and drove about 1/2 hour to the village of Niaguis.

Niaguis has gone through two of the Tostan programs:
First the CEP (Community Empowerment Program) - a 3-year program focused on human rights, democracy, problem solving, health & hygiene, literacy, environment, and economic development. The program facilitator lives in the village and they meet 10-12 hours a week for 3 years. While going through the program, the community forms a CMC (community management committee) that implements and oversees projects taken on by the community and is also responsible for sharing what the community is learning with neighboring communities (what Tostan calls "organized diffusion"). In almost every village, the participants are predominantly women and teenage girls though men do participate in the classes and often hold some seats on the CMC. But, it is clear that the women are taking on the transformation and leadership of their community through this program.

Then the Peace & Security program which is about 18 months long and focuses on mediation and conflict resolution.

Third, the RPP (Reinforcement of Parental Practices) about a year long program that teaches participants all about brain development, the importance of development 0-3 years and how and why to interact with their children when they are young (something not traditionally done in the villages based on long-held superstitious beliefs that you bring your child bad luck and evil spirits by focusing too much on them and drawing attention to them).

How to describe the greeting we received...drumming and a larger group of women, dressed in colors almost too beautiful to process, dancing and clapping. They enveloped us as we got out of the car and danced us into the center of the village where we continued to dance some more. Lib and I were in our element - in a circle of joyous women, taking turns dancing in the center of the circle, celebrating together. I didn't want it to end....a feeling I experienced on each day to come. We shook hands, touched cheeks and exchanged Joola greetings. We were then seated in the "seats of honor" with Molly and Mory while the villagers proceeded to share with us all that has changed and developed in their village since they started the Tostan programs:

- Abandonment of FGC (female genital cutting), child marriage and women's empowerment and new leadership.
- Generally improved health, income generation, a clean environment and end of violence against children and women. 
- They discussed how there is much better organization in the community.  The village now has systematic birth registration in place and has all children registered in school. They have a garden and "factory" for making fresh juices and jams.  
- They presented several drawings that had been sketched by a young artist from the community on how the village was before the program and where they are going in the future and their action plan to achieve their goals.
The women sang songs on democracy and human rights.
The did a play on how the P&S (Peace & Security) module had helped to reduce conflict in the community and in the area in general and showed, through the skit, the steps for successful mediation.  They discussed how the Peace Committee had been called to do mediation, not only in their village, but in surrounding communities.  
- They also discussed how they loved the RPP module and were now interacting with their babies and infants, explaining that the information on brain development had led them to end violence against children in the school and in their families.  They said they were hoping to have more education classes in their community and also in surrounding communities. 

We were then invited to eat at the home of the Coordinator of the CMC - we had salad from their garden and also fruit drinks they made from local fruits - ditax, guava and mango juice.

While in the village, Lib and I were given Senegalese (Joola) names after two of the kick-ass women leaders in the village. Lib is now known at Hadi Sambu and I am Adama Sane. What an honor!

Thursday
We left at 9:30 from Ziguinchor and drove to Guinea Bissau.  Normally the trip should only take about 90 minutes but due to frequent border stops and checks in Guinea Bissau, we did not arrive until 12:30.  What was amazing is that when the men and women doing border control saw our papers and realized that we were from Tostan, their faces lit up and they began talking to us about how important Tostan is in Guinea Bissau.  It was really incredible for us as of course this was totally unexpected and spontaneous.  The first man said that he knew what Tostan was doing because he regularly listens to the Tostan weekly radio program. He said he thought it was great that women are being taught about  their rights and life is now changing for the women.  When another man at that same border control realized that we were from Tostan, he came running up and told us how great the program is. Molly asked how he knew about Tostan and he said that he is from the town of Gabu where his family lives and he said that EVERYONE had abandoned FGC and that the women's lives had changed so much since the program. "Elder women who had never been to formal school are now able to read and write and they now are managing their own projects!!" he exclaimed....he seemed so thrilled by this.  We then started asking all the agents we met when we were stopped (3 more) if they had heard of Tostan and they all said - "Yes of course!  We listen to the radio programs on human rights.  But the only problem we have is that you need to be doing this program in our region and not just in Gabou and Bafata. When can you come to our communities?  Every community in Guinea Bissau needs this program to achieve development." What incredible validation and verification of the efficacy and impact of Tostan.

We briefly met the staff in the GB national office, shared a delicious Senegalese lunch of dried fish and rice (eaten Senegalese style) and then Lib, Molly and I changed into our Senegalese dresses before driving to the village of Ginane. This was the beginning of our adventure into the true African bush. Seriously...it was what you picture (perhaps from movies) of what a small, poor, in-the-middle-of-nowhere African village looks like. We started the drive thinking it was about an hour away. It took us 4 hours on incredibly rough roads that got smaller and smaller as we got closer to the village until we were on a dirt track barely wide enough for the car winding through tall African grass land. You also have to consider the number of animals that run across the "road" and also walk out and stand in the road - cows, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, donkeys. Pierre is truly one of the most skills drivers I have ever seen.

Ginane was smaller than Niaguis, very poor, very remote and has not yet finished the CEP - they are in the third year. Our welcome was joyous and powerful. There are very few visitors here and many of the villagers had probably never seen white people before. More than one small child screamed and cried when they saw us! Once again, their beauty is breathtaking. Much simpler clothes here but no shortage of color and pattern and pride in who they are and what they are doing. We danced and heard presentations and watched a play. And you have to remember all of this is being conveyed through the local language of Creole or Pular and translated into French and English for us. It is truly incredible. We were reluctant to leave but it was getting dark and we had to re-trace the rough route we had come on.

We arrived at the Triton Hotel - what might one expect from a small hotel in a rural area of the very poor country of GB? The rooms were like prison cells, there were goats wandering in and out of the dining area and Lib's room smelled so thickly of a latrine that we slept together in my double bed. It made for a lot of laughs among our travel tribe.

Oh, there is so much left to write and thoughts to share but I have to go to sleep. It is Sunday night at 12:30am (so I guess it's actually Monday) and we have a full day tomorrow. We are off to the Tostan Training Center in Thies and then onto a nearby village. We are heading out about 9:00am so I must try to sleep. I am having trouble sleeping on this trip and have therefore slept very little relative to how much I sleep at home. And yet, I feel a powerful energy and alertness that I often find lacking at home. I realized this today while having a bit of downtime. I am often so tired at home and suffer on some days from a profound lack of energy. And yet over the past week with little sleep, hot temperatures, and highly demanding days I find myself with energy, present and in the moment. Have I been consumed by some degree of complacency at home? What is missing in my days to give me energy and inspiration and to stimulate me? Something very important for me to explore more deeply.  I hate how tired I feel daily at home. It scares me and it makes me mad. I am surprised by my stamina  here. I want to preserve it. I want to absorb it and take it home with me and use it and share it with others.

I will write more tomorrow. Yup, just as we prepare to leave Senegal I will finally get a full description of what we have been doing out to you all!

Beaux Reves! Sleep tight!

ME

Monday, January 25, 2016

Tostan - Day 1

After 28 hours of travel, we met Molly outside the Dakar airport at 10:30pm (Senegal time) amidst throngs of Senegalese meeting friends and family coming in our flight from France. It was immediately Africa - the warmth in the night air, men in quiet voices saying "Madame" and waving keys at us asking if we wanted a taxi, bright colors of the women dressed in boubous (traditional Senegalese dress), the rocky and sandy parking lot...

Lib and I were pretty dazed. Beyond tired after having only slept for a couple of hours over our journey. Instead of napping and lounging at the Paris airport, we hopped the local RER train into Paris and spent 3 hours walking around. We came up out of the subway right at the Notre Dame cathedral! What a glorious view!



Ignore the puffy, squinty, jet lag eyes! Lib was a great tour guide. My first time to Paris!

To go from Seattle, to Paris to Africa in 28 hours...3 completely different cultures and settings. It's incredible really. Molly drove us to the King Farad hotel. It is on the Atlantic Ocean at the western most point of Africa. We so so tired and yet needed to decompress before sleeping. We didn't go to bed until about 1:00am. We reluctantly woke up at 9:45am to shower and get dressed before the hotel stopped serving breakfast at 10:30.

We met Molly at 11:45 and went right to the Tostan International office. We met all 30+ staff members in one large group and then spent the next 7 hours meeting with the various departments separately. The entire staff eats lunch together every day. We ate on large mats on the floor after we ll removed our shoes. We were served a delicious meal that reminded me of Moroccan couscous. Large platter of white rice with mixed veggies and a grilled chicken in the middle. We ate directly from the platter with spoons though Senegalese eat normally with their hands (Lucas would fit in well here!) I got to share my lunch with Fatou, the 3 year old daughter of a Tostan staff member. She is a hoot. She loved walking around in both Libby's and my shoes.

The diversity of the staff is remarkable - members from England, Italy, Senegal, France, Zimbabwe, Togo, US. We really got to hear in depth about the work of the various departments - grants, evaluation, programming, and time with the directors. It is a lot for the staff to meet with all of the visitors who come. It was so generous of them to give us their time and answer our questions. You can really see that the organization focuses on working collectively like the villagers who go through the Tostan Community Empowerment Program do - with a respectful, integrated, communicative approach.

I wish I had some pictures to share of the street scenes from today. I was outside so very little...just got to see the area from the car. Dakar is much more developed and cosmopolitan than any city I saw in Congo. The roads are in excellent condition, there is even an elevated auto-route with on and off ramps! But right along side all of the cars are still the horse-drawn wooden carts used for hauling brush, construction materials, etc. There is rock and rubble and garbage everywhere. Young men hanging out with little to do. Road side stands selling fruit and veggies. In all of these ways it is so very similar to Congo. It is Africa.

Tomorrow (Wed) we have a more relaxed morning - time to sleep in and then go to a local market with Molly. Then we head back to the airport to catch a plane to souther Senegal. We will be visiting a regional office and village in Zingunchor. Then on to Guinea-Bissau the next day. We will visit 3 villages over the next few days. We will head to Molly's house at the beach on Sunday.

I don't know what the internet access will be like until. Will post again once we have access. Inshallah.

lots of love!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

On Our Way

We are at Seatac airport waiting to board our flight to Paris. The news playing in the background is of the snow storm extravaganza on the east coast that delayed our trip. Just heard from our brother, Marc, in the D.C. area that they have power and are doing well. The photo of his front yard is pretty amazing...there is easily over a foot of snow!

Lib is going to play tour guide for me for a few hours in Paris during our long layover. It will be my first time to France! We packed a coat and a warm hat in our carry-ons (two things we will NOT need in 80 degree Senegal) for our short Paris jaunt.

We are happy to be on our way and are looking forward to the first sights and smells upon landing in Dakar Sunday night at 9:00pm Senegal time (8 hours ahead of PST).

More soon!



Thursday, January 21, 2016

Back to Africa

Libby and I are off to Senegal to spend 2 weeks with the remarkable and inspiring Molly Melching, founder and director of Tostan (tostan.org). Tostan is an organization that offers a 3-year informal education program to rural villages in Senegal and 7 other West African countries that is deeply routed in human rights and founded on the tenets of respect, love and dignity. The organization celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. I believe this organization and program are THE model for what sustainable social change looks like. It is dramatically impacting quality of life and individual empowerment throughout West Africa currently with the vision to scale this impact globally.

Libby and I have been involved with Tostan for nearly two years, deepening our relationship with Molly and our understanding of and commitment to the program. It is an honor to get to go to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau to see this work up close and to witness the transformational change that is happening in the villages.

I highly recommend the book "However Long the Night" by Aimee Malloy. It is the story of Molly Melching and the birth of Tostan. It is a page turner. Seriously. You will want to keep reading and reading. You will become a believer, too.

Our bags are packed (though I still can't figure out why Libby's duffle bag has so much more extra room in it than mine, and I have a fraction of the clothes she's bringing), alarm set to wake up at 5:00am to head to the airport tomorrow morning, and family dinners cooking when we get the email that our flight from Seattle to Washington DC tomorrow is cancelled due to the forecasted mega snow storm due to hit the East Coast tomorrow evening. Big drag. I know it pales in comparison to what the folks living on the East Coast are going to be dealing with over the weekend.

Not much to do but enjoy dinner with the family and explore our options. We were lucky to find open seats on a Delta flight mid-day on Saturday. We will miss out on 2 full days of our original Senegal itinerary and spend a 7+ hour lay-over in Paris, but we still get to go to Senegal.

So, a bonus day at home tomorrow without last minute trip preparations. Extra time to get our heads and hearts more deeply into the purpose of the trip - to listen, to witness, to question, to participate, to learn, to enjoy. Thank you for reading. Can't wait to share our experience with you.

Stay tuned...