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!
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
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