On the Night of my 25th Birthday...

I write to you from the library of the Tambacounda regional house. There are bugs (very small but present) crawling across the screen because its the beginning of the rainy season and with rain comes life - including the life forms i don't get too excited about. I did come into Tamba to be with other volunteers on my big day and was really glad I got to spend it with them! Tamba is a special place full of people who can take the pressure off sometimes stressful experiences/interactions when you are in a foreign country. In order to celebrate this special day for myself and a special day for many people around the world (no i'm not that into myself, but - Flag day-as if i had to tell you right?) we all sported our favorite flags at an evening with dinner, dessert, and dancing. Of course I supported the motherland Nebraska and drapped myself in a homespun creation rooting on the Big Red! We also had my dad's homemade spaghetti and jello cake. As my sister said to me earlier, "jessica you never sounded more white." And so be it on my 25th year dangit! It feels good to be 25. It feels weird to be 25. Most of all I'm excited for the year to come. I don't know what it will bring, but hope it contains excitement, learning, and and time with friends and family. As far as I know right now Senegal is in my life for another four months. I'm closing out my service, finishing (actually more like starting...woops) some projects and figuring what the heck I want to do after this. Its a little scary, honestly I have no clue what I am going to do, but for now I am choosing not to think about it (maybe thats not the best but its what i can do) and be present, enjoying the moments I have here with people I have grown to love.

With that a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! The school room addition project I have been raising funds for has reached its goal! More importantly YOU have helped achieve this sometimes seemingly impossible goal and taken a load off my back and mind! THANK YOU!! I know there are so many requests out there to help people in worse situations than you and I face but from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for choosing to be a part of this one! Thank you for giving your services through funds. It will make a world of difference in the education these kids receive. I'll keep you updated with photos as we go through the construction process. A shout out to all who helped!!!

Finally big shout outs to others in my life who are celebrating big birthdays on this very monumental flag day. You know who you are (ahem, Amanda, U. Paul, Kevin, am i missing anyone). May you have a wonderful birthday and a enriching year to come! Love you all! More to come later.

Jessica

Three Thoughts from my Week...

St Thomas McPurry Purrkins the 5th

A new and welcome part of my family.

Decreasing the rodent population one day at a time.

All in a good days work Thomas!

Its been a while since my last post. I've been back and forth between Dakar a few times since then, doing pepiniere work in my village, and having other random meetings. Now I am in Tamba ready to welcome an entirely new group of volunteers to the region. There will be five official "newbies" and they'll be placed throughout the entire region some in new sites some replacing volunteers who recently left. Life goes by quickly (even though sometimes it can be painfully slow) and things change, especially throughout the peace corps community.

So this last week lots of things have happened causing me to think about life in general. Not sure how much they correlate with one another or even how well thought out they are but wanted to get them out because they help describe what i am experiencing but also challenge me to become a better person.

1. Greed. Sometimes, don't get me wrong I live in an impovershed country, I get angry and upset at the people i live with because I feel like and (sometimes rightfully so) think they are greedy. Within my interactions I often get the impression I am looked on as the American, the white, the one with the money who is here to give that money (not in the job description of a Peace corps volunteer) and its easy for me to generalize I am being perceived in that way throughout my community and outside of it. Its the little kids going up to you in a crowd of people to collect money for their local koranic school because you are white and obviously you have more money, its people treating you differently than they would any other person, its the day to day being overcharged for something thats half the price for the average Joe, its a lot of things. In my house I get angry/frustrated because i am always being asked to use my phone because i have credit, or to use my soap, or sugar or random small things. And I sit and I think about all the little things like this that cause me to get mad...... Why am i getting pissed? Why is the asking of something i have or maybe even don't have creating anger in me? I wish i could say its anger at the injustice that I do have those things and others struggle to have them as a luxury. But I dont think thats why. I think I get mad because its an inconvenience to me. I guess I am a little ashamed to write that. Its an inconvenience to me to give someone soap. Thats pretty pathetic when you write it on paper. I mean here I am college degreed, (which by the way my four years of college would probably feed my entire Senegalese family their entire lifetime, I'm not kidding), with the whole world in my hands to do with what I please, and a little bit of soap pisses me off. Maybe instead of pitying those in need I should start pitying myself because I often can't see past my own things to the other sitting right in front of me. I guess i am trying to learn "To he whom much has been given, much is required."

2. Born in the dirt. So we all know the story of Jesus born in the manger among all the animals. A quiet, simple, dirty, maybe even humiliating birth for the Son of God. Yesterday I heard a friend of mine gave birth so I went to visit her knowing i would be leaving for Tamba today. I visited her in her compound. She was in a hut right next to the kitchen hut. It was about 5pm and the heat from the wood burning in the kitchen was seeping through the mud walls into the room where she and the baby were laying. And I found this woman with her newborn sun; she fanning the baby who was wrapped up in colorful fabric. I sat on one bed, she was on the one right across from me, and i held this little thing that earlier that morning had been safe inside its mom's womb. And here it was in my hands, alive, kicking, moving and breathing. And get this, the floor between us was where she had given birth. She, alone in her hut, gave birth to her son with no medical equipment, no coaching, no one to help her catch the baby or what ever medical people do in delivery rooms. It was simple, natural, probably dirty, and 100% completely normal. And i started thinking wow this is crazy. This little baby is having a completely different (maybe less scary and frightening in my opinion) experience than other little babies being born halfway around the world. Coming from America I appreciate and think we have come so far in medical technology but I guess i have an appreciation for just doing a natural human thing, giving birth, without a bunch of bells and whistles. She gave birth to her son, what women have been doing for centuries. Yeah it was in a hut on a dirt floor but you have to admit some pretty great people have started in places like that. I guess I just realized the potential that exists in the people i live and work with. That some great people come from simple beginnings.

3. Joy from the small things. I was joking with my friend the other day who recently got a job with a local health organization. He was talking about being paid for his work and then going and celebrating in Tamba with his first paycheck. I asked him what he would do to celebrate. He told me he would go to the local "convenient" store (usually for toubabs) and buy himself a pineapple pop (i guess you could compare it to fanta but pineapple flavor) a little cake and a Vicco, another beverage that is sold locally kind of like a root beer. I like that. I like that a celebration here can be simply buying a pop/soda. I like that those things haven't become common place, that someone can find pleasure in them. What a huge descrepency between standards of living throughout the world. That would never count as something special to the average westerner. A pop is a drink the average american has every day (am i right? or maybe a starbucks coffee?). I guess what im saying is i don't want to lose the mindset of finding joy in the simple life. I don't want to miss out on the beauty in the small things. I want to be outside on a hot hot day, walk down to the nearest store with friends, with money saved up from working hard, and buy a pop that is icy cold let it slide down my throat and maybe the throats of those I'm with and think, man life is good.

Childlike

I can't sleep. So many things are running through my mind. I'm tired but its just one of those nights you try as hard as you can but you just don't get past that brink of wakefullness into what you so wish would be sleep. So here i sit. I was thinking while laying in my bed on the roof of the Tambacounda regional house about the kids, my brothers and sisters, in my village. They are wonderful and annoying, precious and dirty, and i love them. How much i love them was evident to me in random moments throughout the week. The time after time my two year old brother dachaba continued his new favorite game of knocking on my door saying "kon kon" (like knock knock), me saying "entre" (enter), him rushing in with a huge smile on his face ready to dance to my clapping hands. Over and over and over again. It didn't get old. Or the many times my little four year old sister Senne would just come into my room and chat about the random things that were on her mind, that might have just occurred, that she saw maybe a year ago, anything really. The concentration and creativity of my little 6 year old brother Issa drawing with my colored pencils in a batman coloring book (not knowing what it is he is coloring but loving that he can) or creating miniature tam tams in the middle of my compound with sheets of plastic, metal wire, and tin cans. The spontaneity of my little sister Haby who says most things on her mind, is a drama queen, loves to sing and dance and probably has less fear than I do. I could go on. So many times I have wished to bottle little moments up so I can keep them and take them out later. I love them.

I think I love them (the kids and the moments themselves) because they show how present they are, how unafraid they are of what others will think of them, how they aren't trying to prove themselves but are simply being. They love certain things; they dont others; and thats ok. They throw it all out there (literally-I have a lil brother who is naked probably 90% of every day) and aren't assuming of what others will do or say. They just are. And its refreshing and frustrating. I love it but just can't seem to get there myself. I dont know if its me "growing up" and taking on those responsibilities of an adult or me being in a culture I'm not from and still learning about. Or maybe even a step in life I have to accept and move past-but lets hope not.

Those kids and their daily habits and movements are inspirational to me. The everyday turns into something so much more. It helps me to live. It helps me to take a deep breath and relax. It helps me enjoy things like funny faces, little games, random thoughts. And hopefully it continues to change me so I can be more childlike. Funny I spent so much time wanting to grow up to live an independent life. Here it is. And I feel like I tried to live up to what I thought was important because it was important to the culture, the people, the education that I was a part of. Then you see a little kid running around playing with rocks and marbles outside in his birthday suit and you hunger for a little piece of that freedom.

Happy Easter everyone. Take the time to experience a little bit of freedom. Maybe not exactly like my little naked brother but you get the drift.

Peace

Jessica

A Successful Weekend

The First Annual Girls Leadership Weekend is over. It was a huge success and we are tired here in Tamba. We invited 12 middle school girls who previously won scholarships through the Peace Corps for the academic year 2009-2010. These girls came from different villages in the region. We began working on this camp about four months ago, brainstorming ideas for how to best encourage the future academic pursuits of young women in senegal! On a whim we decided to invite the Ambassador of the United States who accepted the invitation and said she wanted to spend the entire weekend with us! We had a peace corps employee who is passionate about furthering girls education come and facilitate the entire weekend. She was fabulous and able to really connect with the girls and their parents.

The weekends events consisted of a film showcasing women throughout Senegal discussing their lives and accomplishments/obstacles. It was made by a previous PC volunteer in Senegal and gives voice to many issues facing women growing up in an ever-changing country. Our facilitator led discussions bridging the topics of sexual education, what it means to be a woman, the role of women in the house and how to balance it at school, setting goals and creating action plans for the future, etc. We also put together a panel of women who are professionals in the community. We tried to line up their profession with the different professions girls were interested in. They described their professional pursuits, how they got there, obstacles they have had to overcome, and advice for the girls attending the camp. PC Volunteers led a small group session with the girls in which they talked about who they are today and who they hope to be ten years from now and how they can go from one to the other. We brought all twelve girls to a cyber cafe to learn about computers, the internet, and to set up an email account. All but one of the girls had never used a computer before. They were amazed and excited about all the information they could access and what it meant to have a personal email account. Finally our facilitator discussed and led action plan activities with the girls and their parents.

The entire weekend went better than we could have ever hoped! It was wonderful seeing the girls excited about their future plans and hopes. It felt great to be able to open their eyes to women throughout the region who have gone through and continue to go through discrimination. The networking that was going on was helpful to the girls and also the women who needed the encouragement for what they do on a daily basis! We felt honored to be a part of this experience and really happy with the outcome. We hope this will become an annual camp encouraging young girls throughout the region to stay in school, further their education, and also encourage their parents to understand the importance of education for women throughout senegal.

I will keep you updated on any news stories that come of this. Local radio stations and the bbc were both present as well as Peace Corps employees in charge of writing best practice guides, creating videos, and posting images for events like this. When these things are available I will attach links to this blog so you can see some of the activities we were a part of.

A Future for Girls inTamba

Well ladies and gents, I just got back from an Ag-fo conference in Kolda (south) where all the PC Agfo Volunteers met up to talk about trees..riveting :). It was important though and fun to see people you only see about once a year. Now I'm in Tamba and today begins our Girls Leadership Camp. The Tamba volunteers have organized a weekend camp for the twelve girls who won scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year. They were selected after a long interview and application process. The scholarships are given to help with the cost of education including books and materials, entrance fees, and fees for exams etc. Without help like this it can often be hard for families to send their children to school, especially girls who do a majority of the household labor.
This camp will include a team of panelists selected to match up with future hopes of the 12 scholarship winners, small group activities, an internet tutorial, and more. We are excited and a little overwhelmed because it has become much bigger than we ever thought it would be. On a whim we thought why not invite people like the ambassador of the US, governor, mayor, local tv an radio stations (you know just to get the word out) not thinking they would actually accept! Yikes!
And it all begins tonight at 5pm. So wish us luck. It will be a fun but full weekend and hopefully a memorable experience that might encourage the future learning and dreams of 12 girls throughout our region!

Giving Sight to the Blind

The hot season is here. You know how I know? When I drink a glass of water i immediately start sweating. Your body sweats continuously so that you don't know you are dehydrated until you drink something and water immediately comes out of your pores. How else do I know? While sitting in a room around 10 am I can feel beads of sweat drip down my back, even my legs...thats gross. How about at 10 pm its still topping 95 degrees Farenheidt. Thats hott my friends. But with the hot season, the bugs die, the mosquitos disappear, you sleep under the stars at night, and enjoy the breeze produced from your plastic woven flag you continuously beat against your face hoping for a miraculous breath of cool air instead of just pushing around the already hot o2 molecules. But I'm in Africa (where most people think its pretty hot) and thats the way it is.

This last week I went down to Kedougou (SE corner of Senegal about 230km from Tambacounda) to help with an Eye Clinic. A team of doctors from the Jersey Shore (no not in the TV show I hear so much about over here) have come the past three years to do cataract surgeries, (giving back people their site after taking out the cataract and replacing the spot with a lens) other random procedures like turning eyelashes righside out, and giving out prescription glasses. I helped last year, absolutely loved it, and wanted to return again. The reason PC volunteers are needed is because the team of doctors speak english, a wee bit of french, but no local village language. On the flip side, villagers speak only their local language and maybe un peu de francais quoi. So we PC Volunteers come, get thrown into the chaos of it all, and try to make ourselves understood. It is a bit stressful (stress induced cold sore on mouth for proof) but its so rewarding and really wonderful when you meet a person go through their history, walk with them through a pre-operating talk, go into surgery and watch the doctor perform the procedure, talk with them and their family post-operation, and see that they have gone from being blind to seeing.

Now thats a best case scenario and there were times it didn't turn out as happily. Many people came with diseases or trauma to the eye the doctor couldn't help and we had to relay that to them in a language where you have to be creative trying to explain complicated medical terms. It's scary going in telling someone they will never see again. The people here, however, readily accept reality and move on with their lives. If that is what God has willed for them so be it, they have lived with it for many years and can live with it for many more. They have this ability to be ok despite the hope they might have had for sight.

A huge thanks to the doctors who paid to come over here and are giving their time and their work for no cost for these people. Its a wonderful thing to be a part of and a highly stressful environment they willingly inflict upon themselves! I am really glad i had the opportunity to be a part of it. It is something that has made a lasting impact on the peoples lives as well as the PC volunteers who have helped.

Finally please please keep your sights set on building this school for my family and friends in maleme Niani. We have raised $2,000 so far with about $8,500 left to go!!! Its quite a bit but with your help we can do it. Please tell your church, friends, family, business, work associates, people you meet on the street, club members, work out partners, everyone you can think of about this! A big shout out to the students and faculty who are at the school my mom works in! They have decided to take on this effort with a fundraising adtivity - selling bracelets made in Senegal! Thank you guys so much and please keep up the good work! I appreciate your time and efforts but more importantly this school will exist inchallah (God Willing) only if the money comes in! Let me know if you have any ideas or questions to get these funds here!

Happy Spring!!

Peace,

Escates

Maleme Niani Needs Your Help

Have you gone to class in a room made of bamboo? How about a dirt floor? Sounds far away from the typical American classroom right? Well the students of the local college (middle school) in my village work and learn in that environment. Building Schools Building Futures is a project created to help the students in Maleme Niani. There are currently 8 classes, each class containing over 50+ students. Only four permanent concrete classrooms exist, therefore an additional four temporary bamboo/cornstalk classrooms (walls and ceiling) with dirt floors are constructed yearly to account for the overflow. This learning environment is not suitable for the future growth and education of the students in Maleme Niani. Can you please help? My friends and fellow peace corps volunteers in Tambacounda helped me make this video to raise funds for this project. Although in part it is fun and silly, we hope its a meaningful way to spur you and others on to be aware of the inequalities that exist in this world and the needs needing to be filled. A huge thanks to them and also a huge thanks to you for your time and donations! Please follow the links for more information regarding the project and how to donate!

www.peacecorps.gov
click: donate now (left side of page)
search: scates (my last name)
project number: 685-133
additional search: country: senegal
project name: building schools, building futures