I got back from Diourbel on Friday - been sort of busy recovering since then! It was a good trip, but Diourbel is incredibly hot and dusty and mosquito-y. Also my anti-malarial-induced nightmares were really acting up, so I wasn't seeping very well. As a result, I'm a little bit sick, mostly dust-induced allergies. But I'm happy to be back in Dakar, have spent a lot of time with friends at the beach this weekend. I can't believe how soon I'm leaving. Of course I feel like I haven't seen half of what I meant to, and there's so much left that I want to do. However, I'll be really happy to be home. I miss my family and friends a lot (not to mention air conditioning, American food, normal running water, etc, etc.)
Diourbel was one of the places I've been before, last November, so it was really nice (and weird) to be back there. I got to see Astou Ndoye, whom I interviewed last year. She's doing really well, and is basically just as awesome as she was last time. Her kids are, of course, a little bigger, which is always weird to see. And she's even more involved in the eco-village. Astou is really smart and driven, and last I talked to her she was talking to me about her micro-loan. Now, however, she is looking to take on more responsibility within the ecovillage, and maybe help organize micro-loans for other people, or help out with the solar ovens project they have going on. Really, I can't stress enough how awesome she is.
A really cool thing I got to do in Diourbel was that if I interviewed a micro-loan recipient at the ecovillage headquarters, I showed the recipients their Kiva page. It was ridiculously amazing and bizarre to show the borrowers their kiva page, and the little pictures of the kiva members who financed their loan. They were sort of into it, but not as much as I was. I was like, see, isn't this AWESOME!? The money comes from all over the world, but not from rich donors, but people like you and me! We are all helping eachother and it is a circle of life and beautiful global community and ...
And Astou, or whoever, would be like, yes, thank you, that's interesting - can you tell me why I haven't gotten my second loan yet? I've got peanut seed to buy, so it'd be really great if you could tell the people in Dakar to hurry up and give me another loan already.
Can't say I blame them, but it was still fun for me to make the Senegal - NGO - Americans - Kiva - Senegal connections.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Maids Literacy Course
Things have been pretty hectic here, recently. Some more GENSEN interns showed up a few weeks ago, so I've had a lot of people to talk to and hang out with, which has been great. Another SEM intern came a few days ago, as well, although we're not really sure what he's doing yet. As for me, I'm continuing my Kiva & SEM updates. However, the maid's literacy class is not going so well. It's been so long since I posted that I never really talked about the class.
In Dakar, maids are called "bonnes". They are mostly 15 (or so) year old girls who come from the rural villages to live with and work for Dakar families. Both homestay families in Dakar that I've lived with have had maids. They're not just for the rich, or even well-off. The maids cook, clean, and do laundry. Sometimes they help take care of the younger children, although that isn't their main role. Almost all of these young women are illiterate, and most of them do not speak French. Some come to Dakar for a season, during the vacation, so that they can make money to continue their studies and stay in school. However, most of them seem to have no better options than to work in Dakar for awhile, and then return to the village and marry. Most of them will never learn French, and never learn to read.
A Fulbright scholar a few years ago set up a literacy program for some of these women. Sounds great, but of course, unless a program like that is partnered with a very stable NGO, after the original funding dries up and the Fulbright scholar leaves things tend to go to hell. So right now, even though this program was sort of partnered with GENSEN, they are in danger of failing. Ibrahima, the teacher, hasn't been paid in months. (Although sometimes flaky and prone to not showing up for class, he's kind of a saint. He's told us that even if we can't get enough funding to pay him he will continue to teach the class for free, because these girls deserve an education.) The elementary school whose rooms they use (Class is 6:30-8pm three times a week) is going to start charging them for the space, and they can't afford that. The classrooms are falling apart as it is, the girls are great but don't always show up, and never on time, and they have no curriculum to speak of. GENSEN has decided they want to cut this program loose, so a fellow intern is looking to find another, bigger NGO to work with them.
Does anyone reading this blog have any connections with Oxfam, or big global NGOs that fund women's literacy initiatives?
I'm trying to help them out, in various ways. Mostly, though, when I go to the class to sit in on a lesson, I end up teaching the whole class. This happened twice last week, when Ibrahima didn't show up. I didn't have a lesson or anything planned but I just sort of improvised as I went along.
The thing is, I love teaching. It's not What I Want To Do When I Grow Up, but it's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. I'd love to come back here and teach these girls to read and help set them up with supplies and an actual curriculum. But I'm not sure, with only a few weeks left here, what I can do for them.
Anyway, I'm in Diourbel now, doing more updates for SEM & Kiva, and visiting my friend Ellen, who is a peace corps volunteer here. I wrote about her last time. It's nice to see her again, and Diourbel is hot but nice. Very mosquito infested. I'm going to get my hair braided. Appropriation of culture aside, it's too hot to have such long hair without braids. :)
Sorry for such a disjointed post, but wasn't sure when I'd get to update again!
XOXO,
Robin
In Dakar, maids are called "bonnes". They are mostly 15 (or so) year old girls who come from the rural villages to live with and work for Dakar families. Both homestay families in Dakar that I've lived with have had maids. They're not just for the rich, or even well-off. The maids cook, clean, and do laundry. Sometimes they help take care of the younger children, although that isn't their main role. Almost all of these young women are illiterate, and most of them do not speak French. Some come to Dakar for a season, during the vacation, so that they can make money to continue their studies and stay in school. However, most of them seem to have no better options than to work in Dakar for awhile, and then return to the village and marry. Most of them will never learn French, and never learn to read.
A Fulbright scholar a few years ago set up a literacy program for some of these women. Sounds great, but of course, unless a program like that is partnered with a very stable NGO, after the original funding dries up and the Fulbright scholar leaves things tend to go to hell. So right now, even though this program was sort of partnered with GENSEN, they are in danger of failing. Ibrahima, the teacher, hasn't been paid in months. (Although sometimes flaky and prone to not showing up for class, he's kind of a saint. He's told us that even if we can't get enough funding to pay him he will continue to teach the class for free, because these girls deserve an education.) The elementary school whose rooms they use (Class is 6:30-8pm three times a week) is going to start charging them for the space, and they can't afford that. The classrooms are falling apart as it is, the girls are great but don't always show up, and never on time, and they have no curriculum to speak of. GENSEN has decided they want to cut this program loose, so a fellow intern is looking to find another, bigger NGO to work with them.
Does anyone reading this blog have any connections with Oxfam, or big global NGOs that fund women's literacy initiatives?
I'm trying to help them out, in various ways. Mostly, though, when I go to the class to sit in on a lesson, I end up teaching the whole class. This happened twice last week, when Ibrahima didn't show up. I didn't have a lesson or anything planned but I just sort of improvised as I went along.
The thing is, I love teaching. It's not What I Want To Do When I Grow Up, but it's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. I'd love to come back here and teach these girls to read and help set them up with supplies and an actual curriculum. But I'm not sure, with only a few weeks left here, what I can do for them.
Anyway, I'm in Diourbel now, doing more updates for SEM & Kiva, and visiting my friend Ellen, who is a peace corps volunteer here. I wrote about her last time. It's nice to see her again, and Diourbel is hot but nice. Very mosquito infested. I'm going to get my hair braided. Appropriation of culture aside, it's too hot to have such long hair without braids. :)
Sorry for such a disjointed post, but wasn't sure when I'd get to update again!
XOXO,
Robin
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fake Blog Post
This is not an update! Even though I owe you, gentle readers, many. Baal ma! (Sorry). I'm having a bad day, though, with some computer problems and an uncertain prognosis for the Maids Literacy class I was helping out with. Still, I always find something interesting in the Times to take my mind off it.
Op-Ed Column, "Rebranding Africa", by Bono
Interesting article. I'm excited that Obama will be in West Africa, even though he won't be in Senegal. Here is the comment I posted to the article:
Dakar, Senegal
July 10th, 2009
1:41 pm
I am an American college student interning for the summer in Dakar, Senegal. It is my second trip to Senegal, which is the only place I have traveled within the continent of Africa. Reading over the article and the comments, a few things struck me.
I, too, was wary of the title of the article, and the concept of "branding" and "re-branding". However, I don't disagree with Bono on any one point. He is not suggesting that it is a good idea for Americans to make generalizations about Africa - only that since the "Western" population seems to make so many generalizations anyway, we might as well make them well-rounded generalizations. I agree with the people above who have remarked on the concept of speaking about Africa as though it were one country and not a diverse continent with many countries and a multitude of both problems and progress. Educating Americans, among others, about the positive happenings in African nations like Ghana will help lead to a further understanding of how different each nation is, and the diverse issues each state needs to address.
Second, the concepts of "aid" and "development" are often tossed around, especially when we talk about U.S. financing programs in "developing" countries. Dambisa Moyo has recently received a lot of attention for her book, Dead Aid, which criticizes, I believe, American foreign/economic policy towards Africa. Although Moyo comes on a bit strong, I think that an increased effort must be made to scrutinize where American money is actually going. When we supply mosquito nets, are we driving a local pharmacy that sells them out of business? Is the money ending up in the hands of corrupt local officials? Are NGOs starting well-intentioned programs that will founder if the NGO loses interest or funding? I have seen villages where NGOs had introduced solar panels - but once the NGOs folded a few years later, the villagers had no way to get broken solar panels fixed, or update their technology. We need to make sure that economic aid is creating local jobs, sustainable profits, and environmentally friendly business practices.
Lastly, full disclosure: I am interning for a micro-finance organization. While the micro-credit initiatives here in Senegal are not perfect, I have seen many things that give me hope for the future. Kiva.org and their local affiliates are doing an amazing job of making it easy to fund entrepreneurs all over the world with the click of a mouse.
I hope that President Obama makes mention of micro-credit initiatives in his speech, and talks about the need for bottom-up development. We, as Americans, can throw money at the worlds problems all we want (and, sometimes, I think we should) but the real "development" is going to come from within the countries, and the continent. The keys to this, IMHO, are education and empowering women. (I'd love to be a fly on the wall if Bono and Nick Kristof ever get to talking about those subjects!)
/rant&ramble. Hope to see more columns like this in the future. Let's not wait for celebrity guest columnists to see articles about these topics!
Op-Ed Column, "Rebranding Africa", by Bono
Interesting article. I'm excited that Obama will be in West Africa, even though he won't be in Senegal. Here is the comment I posted to the article:
Dakar, Senegal
July 10th, 2009
1:41 pm
I am an American college student interning for the summer in Dakar, Senegal. It is my second trip to Senegal, which is the only place I have traveled within the continent of Africa. Reading over the article and the comments, a few things struck me.
I, too, was wary of the title of the article, and the concept of "branding" and "re-branding". However, I don't disagree with Bono on any one point. He is not suggesting that it is a good idea for Americans to make generalizations about Africa - only that since the "Western" population seems to make so many generalizations anyway, we might as well make them well-rounded generalizations. I agree with the people above who have remarked on the concept of speaking about Africa as though it were one country and not a diverse continent with many countries and a multitude of both problems and progress. Educating Americans, among others, about the positive happenings in African nations like Ghana will help lead to a further understanding of how different each nation is, and the diverse issues each state needs to address.
Second, the concepts of "aid" and "development" are often tossed around, especially when we talk about U.S. financing programs in "developing" countries. Dambisa Moyo has recently received a lot of attention for her book, Dead Aid, which criticizes, I believe, American foreign/economic policy towards Africa. Although Moyo comes on a bit strong, I think that an increased effort must be made to scrutinize where American money is actually going. When we supply mosquito nets, are we driving a local pharmacy that sells them out of business? Is the money ending up in the hands of corrupt local officials? Are NGOs starting well-intentioned programs that will founder if the NGO loses interest or funding? I have seen villages where NGOs had introduced solar panels - but once the NGOs folded a few years later, the villagers had no way to get broken solar panels fixed, or update their technology. We need to make sure that economic aid is creating local jobs, sustainable profits, and environmentally friendly business practices.
Lastly, full disclosure: I am interning for a micro-finance organization. While the micro-credit initiatives here in Senegal are not perfect, I have seen many things that give me hope for the future. Kiva.org and their local affiliates are doing an amazing job of making it easy to fund entrepreneurs all over the world with the click of a mouse.
I hope that President Obama makes mention of micro-credit initiatives in his speech, and talks about the need for bottom-up development. We, as Americans, can throw money at the worlds problems all we want (and, sometimes, I think we should) but the real "development" is going to come from within the countries, and the continent. The keys to this, IMHO, are education and empowering women. (I'd love to be a fly on the wall if Bono and Nick Kristof ever get to talking about those subjects!)
/rant&ramble. Hope to see more columns like this in the future. Let's not wait for celebrity guest columnists to see articles about these topics!
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