Program Overview
Program Overview
Imagine your summer in Senegal.
Assisting at a local health clinic, volunteering at an orphanage for newborns. Visiting a reserve for West African turtles and a majestic pink-colored lake. Picture yourself learning the steps to a traditional African dance or working with a professional photographer to capture and share your experience in images.
A nation of over 13 million people on Africa’s west coast, Senegal is home to a rich culture and playful society whose people openly embrace diversity. While the population is predominantly Muslim, Senegal is a decisively secular state. The country is a paragon of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence between different people and cultures.
Whether you’re sharing traditional meal of spicy fish and vegetables with your host family, teaching English at a community center, or creating a performance piece with artists-in-residence at a funky seaside retreat, fresh, intercultural perspectives await through C1 Leadership Academy in Senegal.
Service
Service
In Dakar, follow your own passion for service.
You could work with a health clinic for the poor, doing anything from assisting with care, to helping update their websites. Whatever your responsibilities, you’ll be helping provide a marginalized group with information and services they would otherwise have no access to.
If you’re interested in work that’s even more hands-on, you can assist at an orphanage that receives abandoned babies. Given the importance of human touch for newborns, holding these babies—sharing with them your warmth, and love—helps contribute positively to their development.
If working in the classroom is your passion, you can help teach English classes at a local community center. It’s an amazing opportunity to share your knowledge while engaging in cultural exchange with locals of all ages.
Leadership
Leadership
The goal of the C1 Leadership Academy is to train the next generation of innovators, leaders, change makers, and social entrepreneurs—the young people who will help solve the greatest challenges of the 21st century.
In Senegal you’ll explore concepts and develop skills that will help you to think independently, effectively manage situations, and more easily navigate interpersonal experiences throughout your life—preparing you for college and beyond. You’ll do this by:
- Developing a personal portfolio that tells the story of your life—an autobiography that explores your passions and strengths, your dreams and aspirations
- Journaling your experiences while on the program to analyze the meaning and purpose of your life
- Analyzing case studies of young leaders who have become change makers by solving critical social problems
- Applying the skills and concepts you learn in class to real-life scenarios you’re facing every day during your service project
Language
Language
The goal of the survival French language class is to build a functional vocabulary and phrases you can use with your host families, for getting around, and interacting with locals and staff at your service activity.
From excursions to service projects, you’ll take part in activities that tie into, and allow you to apply, your language learning.
Living
Living
There’s no better way to immerse yourself in another culture than by living with a local family. Not only will your Senegalese host family provide you with daily meals and a place to stay, they’ll introduce you to local customs, and offer support and guidance in an unfamiliar environment.
Ranging from single parents to extended families, all of our homestay families are carefully screened and eager to share their homes and culture with you. In fact, many of these families have hosted CIEE students for over a decade, helping support them during their time abroad.
Cultural Activities
Cultural Activities
You experience a culture not by watching, but by doing.
Get your hands, and feet, moving with African drumming and dancing classes. View the beautiful coast of Western Africa from atop the African Resistance Monument before eating fresh seafood on the beach below. Document your experiences on camera with the help of a professional photographer, and speak with a teacher from a local Koranic School about their students and the role of Koranic study in Senegalese culture.
One weekend you’ll tour the UNESCO World Heritage site, Goree Island once a major transit port for slaves. The next you’ll head a few hours outside the city limits to a natural reserve for turtles and visit the magnificent Pink Lake where you’ll marvel at the crimson-colored water and ride a four-wheeler along the sand dunes. In Dakar, activities and excursions put you into contact with people and places that help you gain real insight into local culture.
week-long tour
week-long tour
Spend your final week in Senegal celebrating the completion of the program while exploring the country with your friends.
You’ll begin by visiting the desert-like Lampoul, where you’ll ride camels across sand dunes, pitch tents, and gather around a bonfire late into the night. Next, admire the colonial architecture while you soak in the urban energy of St. Louis, the former French capital of Senegal.
The remainder of the week is spent at Toubab Dialaw, a beautiful seaside retreat for artists. You’ll enjoy wonderful food, music, and dancing, creating your own performance piece with the artists in residence. From there you can explore the beach and village; visit L’Engouement—an open sky theater and ecological site; and meet with renowned African author Ayi Kwei Armah, a native son of Senegal!
The week-long tour takes you out of Dakar showing you the rest of this beautiful country and giving you an authentic look into its singular culture and history.
Program Leader – HollyAnne Joyner Giffin
Program Leader – HollyAnne Joyner Giffin
HollyAnne is currently a full-time teacher and dorm parent at a school outside Houston, Texas. Previously she has worked as an outdoor adventure guide and a translator. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown University in 2010 and studied abroad three times during her undergraduate career. Dakar with CIEE in the Spring of 2009 was, of course, her favorite stint abroad. When she’s not working, HollyAnne enjoys cooking, singing, and exploring new places. She is delighted to return to beautiful Senegal and share the experience of car rapides (colorful public transport) with motivated high schoolers!
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