Global Navigators making an impact in their new community

There's a saying that people often use to talk about how time seems to move in Senegal. Some say 'The days are long, but the months are short.' Sometimes you wait an hour before your bus arrives. Sometimes, you arrive at your service site and it's 90 minutes before they're ready for you. In these moments, time seems to drag on and on as if weighed down by anchor. But, then again, you blink and the program is nearly over. Nearly three weeks have passed and it's time to start thinking about how to continue your impact from the United States. In Senegal, the days may seem long, but the month always passes so quickly.

In this short time, program participants have had a variety of opportunities to engage in service projects involving Senegalese students, community memebers, and social entrepreneurs. Our first service project was at a center called Colombin. This unique organization provides opportunities to disabled youth (primarily focusing on the deaf/mute community) by training them in the art of pottery. Making pottery allows the youth in the center to express themselves through art and also learn a trade that will, hopefully, allow them to earn a living, which can be especially difficult for the disabled in Senegal.  The students first learned about the process of making clay and then had an opportunity to, with the help of the more experienced potters at the center, make their own pieces at times in collaboration with the youth from the center.

In addition to Colombin, program participants were able to plant trees at a local elementary school. These trees will provide shade for students between classes and during lunch time and will create an overall more positive school environment. Furthermore, the planting was done in collaboration with kids from the school which provided and important opportunity for further interaction and environmental education.

Next, the students themselves noticed the problem of trash management in Dakar and decided they wanted to do their part to help. We went to a nearby beach one morning and spent the morning picking up trash along the beach and in nearby public areas. Several people came up to us and commented on how much they appreciated the students participating in the beautification of the community they are in. We also learned about Senegalese who have similar trash pickup initiatives which shows that, while trash management continues to be a problem all over Senegal, it is a problem that is very much on the minds of community members and local activists.

Finally, Ecole de la Rue is a school that attempts to target youth who have little to no access to formal education and provide them with a basic education and, if possible, steer them in the direction of formal education channels. This is a school that has very little resources and CIEE Global Navigators were tasked with determining what skills, materials, and instructions they could provide during their time there. CIEE participants have already expressed how excited they are to help the students of Ecole de la Rue achieve their educational goals and we are excited to see what they come up with and what they're able to accomplish.

Of course, the program hasn't been all work and no play. Further updates will be coming including student perspectives on the work we've been doing and what we've done to unwind. Jamm ak kheweul!