Crazy Adventures in the Life of a Redhead

Much awaited was my visit to Kaolack and short internship with GRADES (Group of Reflection and Action for the Development of Senegal). Before leaving for Kaolack, my family in Pikine told me three things about the city: there is a lot of theft, it’s dirty and the water is salty, and there are more flies than in Dakar. Sounds like a nice place, huh? Knowing that humans are prone to exaggeration, I had no doubt that I would find something good about this new city and region, in spite of the negative lot of characterizing details I received prior to my travels. Certainly I was right: I found many good things that I liked about Kaolack; unfortunately, so was everyone else. I traveled to Kaolack to assist GRADES in writing their Strategic Plan 2012-2016. I left Sebikotan and arrived in the city nearly four hours later when the sun was high in the sky and fiercely strong. My host told me that his wife had recently been mildly, physically assaulted and robbed by a motorcycle driver; he en...

As a small detour from my volunteer work in Kaolack, one of the largest cities in Senegal, I took a short trip to visit a medium-sized village of about 4,000 inhabitants, called Keur Madiabel, to see how agricultural work transpires in this region. My thoughts were lively and contemplative during my stay. How I love the African countryside! It is full of splendor, with its brusque vegetation and looming trees that cannot be compared. All that I cherish about Africa is represented in its natural context: its overcoming spirit in the face of extreme difficulty—how farmers work the earth with diligent and intensive labor under the boiling sun; in its aptitude for survival amidst destructive travails—the unbelievably hearty vegetation that grows in spite of limited water and nutritive resources; and in its conviviality and hospitality—the symbiotic relationship trees have with plants, enriching the soil and the health of the crops. About half of the children living with my host family ...

According to Muslim tradition, once a year, Senegalese people celebrate the holiday Tabaski, which commemorates the Koranic account between Abraham and his son Ishmael: God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael, who accepted his fate as a sacrificial offering to God. However, as Abraham was getting ready to slaughter his son, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to abstain from killing his son because God had found him faithful and had provided the sacrifice in lieu of his son. To memorialize the religious significance of the holiday, Muslims—generally married men, grown-up men with stable jobs, and widows—purchase rams, which they eviscerate on the day of Tabaski by slitting their throats in the name of Allah (also the Halal method of killing an animal). Islam honors these sheep with the belief that the souls of these sheep go directly to Paradise (as well as those who are killed for the naming ceremony). There are three salient factors composing this holiday: the ...

Having contacts in a foreign country is always a blessing; simply knowing you have a connection with people is comforting. When I started spreading the word that I was finally leaving for Senegal, my former director of Ministry and Service at North Central College put me in contact with one of his close friends who had spend a considerable amount of time in Senegal working on his master’s thesis. His friend was more than willing to pass along the name of an eclectic group of people working on an agricultural project in the Mbour region of Senegal: the Beersheba Project (thebeershebaproject.org). After communicating for about four months with one of the members of Beersheba, I finally met this dynamic group of people. Beersheba is composed of three founding couples (French/Korean, Canadian, and American) whose goal is to train Seer Christians (one of the main ethnic groups in Senegal) to be better farmers and more resolute believers. Their dedication to the long-term was inspiration...

Upon returning from my four-city, three-week tour of Senegal, I really felt like I was going home. Pikine and my family there have become a comfort to me during my journey here in Senegal. What a blessing to have a home away from home! The weekend of my return was my birthday celebration weekend, and my happiness was truly overflowing to be able to celebrate such a milestone in my life. Since I love birthday parties, especially my own, I would have been slightly disappointed had I not planned anything. After dropping off my bags and chatting with my family, I took off for downtown Dakar where some lovely friends live. Having great friends here in Senegal was not something that I expected, but these two people and their friends are quite wonderful and with whom I do enjoy spending time. Aude, a dynamic and admirable French girl, and I bought crêpe-making necessities, which would be the crowning glory of the evening. We fried fish and I made a Senegalese onion sauce (really the only ...