1.25.2009

Training 1: Accomplished

I am halfway throught with my entrepreneurship trainings. Due to serious incomptence on my counterparts part, the first week of trainings, scheduled the week of January 12 has had to be pushed back until mid February but the second week went ahead and started the week of Jan 19 as planned. The training lasted 5 days and Ousmane talked about various things such as why entrepreneurship is important here, what makes a good idea for a business, where to get funding for a project and basic business skills such as marketing and record-keeping. 16 members of the local ASC showed up to participate and they were a really fun group. They were fairly talkative (which pleasantly surprised me) and seem to be quite motivated. Several of them have really good ideas for projects. Masseck, for example, really wants to open a fish-selling business in town and Massamb wants to open a cyber. Now that Pout has internet, we will need more cybers, as the only one we have has 2 computers; neither of which work very well.

Although there were some stressful moments throughout the week, mainly dealing with budgeting issues, the week went quite smoothly and Ousmane did a really great job. He led all of the sessions as language and cultural barriers would make it a lot more difficult for me to do what he did. I wish that I was competent enough to have participated more, but sometimes the hardest thing is to admit that the best thing for everyone is for you to sit back and let someone else take charge (for the greater good). This is expecially hard for a control freak like me.

And the best part is: it's over! Halfway over in the long run. The plan had been to have two consecutive weeks of trainings and then I would leave to go on vacation in Mali, but now the two trainings sandwich my trip. I finished the first before I left and will come back to the second one. At least I have work when I get back, right? The participants were also really interested in doing basic IT trainings with Word and Excel when I get back so we may spend a couple of weekends in the computer room at the local middle school doing that.

I leave tomorrow morning to use up the last of my vacation days in sunny Mali. I know, I know, it's a bit early to have used them all up seeing as how I still have 7 months left in Senegal, but thats sort of how things worked out. If I went to Mali any later than January I would run into their hot season, which I hear is only suited for massochists. I am not a massochist.

So the next time you hear from me, I will be in Mali!

1.12.2009

So This is the New Year...

2009.

My first (and possibly only) visitor has returned to the UK, and so I am still in Senegal trying to figure out my work for the next eight months. Only, when I start to think about it, I get a little panicked at only having eight months left in Africa and my mind starts to wander.

My counterpart, Ousmane, and I submitted an application for a grant to put on two weeks of entrepreneurship trainings with a local youth organization the weeks of January 12 & 19. Our application was approved and the money was put in my account the first week in January, but when I went to finish up planning with Ousmane and buy the materials, he hadn't actually notified the ASC (the group we're doing the trainings for) of the dates and Friday was too short of notice to begin on Monday. Ipso facto: the trainings have been pushed back. I should have seen this coming, I really should have. I should have checked up on him more often to make sure that he had gotten ahold of the necessary people. There are a million things I should have done but didn't. Oh well. We will still have the week of trainings the 19, but then the second will have to wait until February 23 as I am heading off to Mali at the end of this month and then WAIST is upon us.

So this week, which I had planned on being super busy and productive, is turning out to be just another week of sitting around, checking up on my work partners and making plans for after WAIST in the hopes that I will contribute something to thie community before leaving it.

Sorry, I suppose this entry isn't very optimistic, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes amid all the frustration that goes hand in hand with development work.

In more exciting news: I received a donation of 40 books for my youth library that I get to drop off this week! Hurrah for the new english section language of the Pout Library!!!

1.04.2009

Special Guest Writer

Terry, my first visitor in Senegal, showed up on Christmas morning to spend two weeks here in sunny Senegal. A week and a half into his trip, I thought it might be a good idea to let him write about his impressions and experiences here. So, withouth further adue, here's Terry!

Well what can I say,
My first interesting experience in Senegal was Dakar airport. As I eventually made it through security and baggage claim at about 3am I was bombarded by about 15 taxi drivers asking me if I want a Taxi, well thats what I guess they were saying as they were speaking french and I don't.

Looking through the croud of taxi drivers I saw Mandi with a blow-up Santa doll, so fighting my way through them I got to Mandi and we then went to our hotel, The Hotel we stayed at was basic but it was great to be here with Mandi.

When we woke up we left the hotel and headed for Goree Island which is a small island off the coast of Dakar, it was used as one of the hubs in the african slave trade. It is a pretty Island.
We met up with 8 other PCV's there and we had a nice christmas dinner and hung out.

On Boxing Day Mandi and I went back to her site in Pout where I met her host family and even cooked them a hamburgers and chips for dinner, which was fun. We spent a couple of days in Pout with Ellie, her cat, then headed into Thies we spent a couple of nights there at a place called Massa Massa which was very nice and the food was amazing. We will go back there in April when I come back.

On the 30th we went back to Dakar to get the boat down to Zigunchor, as we got our tickets late there were no cabins left so we ended up with chairs so we spent 14 hours in the seats as there was no common seating area so it wasnt much fun but we got to Zigunchor.

We arrived in Zigunchor on New Years Eve and as we got off the boat we had to wait for the baggage, about 30 mins later we had to go through a door to collect the baggage.
There was about 200 people going through a single door and then looking for their bags it was an experience in its self. After we got the bags we got to the hotel and the fan didn't work and then the light in the bathroom stopped working and there was no water so I couldn't have a shower.
Needless to say we only stayed there for 1 night and we then went to the hotel over the road which had a fan that worked, lights that worked and water for the shower which was great.

We have been down here in Zigunchor for 5 days and it has been good. There is a street vendor that makes a mean spaghetti sandwhich which has been breakfast for the last 5 days.
The food in Senegal has been very good infact I don't think I have had a bad meal at all. Ironically, Mandi ate some Senegalese food that disagreed with her and upset her stomach, but I haven't had any problems.

We are heading back to Dakar today which means back on the boat in the seats again this time for 16 hours. Fun!

Well I have enjoyed my trip so far and it has opened my eyes a bit more on what I have. I will not take for granted as a lot of people here have nothing and are begging for money and food.
The transportation is an interesting experience as well as 95% of the cars would not be road legal in the west as there are bits hanging off and bits missing and smoke from the exhausts, but some how they are still going.

Well thats about it at the mo will try and post a bit more after the trip. Till Then
Take care and remember how lucky you are.