My Leave for Change

Follow me on my journey to Senegal...

[sahraoali]

It’s time to go home.

Honestly, I’m pretty sad this month went by so quickly - it was amazing. I’ve learned so much when it comes to the people, culture, and about myself. Here are some of my highlights (in no specific order):

1. Successfully conducting two training sessions

2. Being able to walk to work

3. Weather!

4. Going to l’lie de Gorée, specifically the House of Slaves

5. Looking at the African Renaissance Monument (it’s very big)

6. Receiving a gift from a member of the first training; It was very beautiful and meaningful

7. Lounging by the Atlantic Ocean and the Lac Rose

8. Bonding with a dromedary!

9. Confronting my fear of boats

10. Seeing people from different background, religion, culture, race and sexe walking side by side rather than stomping each other. Here, everyone is your neighbour rather than your enemy, which brings warmth to your heart, especially with what’s going on in the world. 

This past few weeks will forever be imprinted in my mind. This was an amazing experience. I got to teach something I love to a group of people who are very eager to learn and appreciative. I volunteered in a different way for the first time in my life; instead of sending money to an organization and hoping the full amount gets sent to the group affected, I got to transfer my knowledge and be present. I gave advice to young women about how to be successful in their lives, and I was able to use my experience as an example. Even though I was the one teaching, I got to learn so much from this amazing country - and I am so grateful.

I would like to thank Universities Canada, World University Service of Canada as well as the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation for this amazing opportunity. 

Thank you all for following me on my journey to Senegal! :)

[sahraoali]

For my final weekend in Senegal, we went to l'Ile de Ngor, ate delicious fish, explored the island, and lounged by the ocean. Time went by too fast... #senegal #dakar #leaveforchange #liledengor

[sahraoali]

Initially, I was suppose to train a group of six members of the management committee about financial management and accounting. As I was set up the meeting room, people started coming in, but there were nine members who showed up with different education backgrounds rather than the 6 I expected. The manager mentioned that most were not aware of any accounting concepts, and that I will have to adjust the training.

So there I am, ready with all my information, but I was not able to use any of it. I quickly thought of different content and examples. To start off the meeting, I did a round table where everyone introduced themselves and their roles within the organization. This way, I was able to quickly make myself a plan and present while engaging the group to contribute. After around 20 minutes, I was full of ideas and I was able to connect with everyone in the room.

This was a challenging, different, and stressful experience. I was never asked to redo everything on the spot, and present like it was something I worked on for more than 5 minutes. I had to think as I presented, and not show that I was a bit nervous at times. It was an amazing learning experience - not just for the audience, but for me as well. I remained optimistic and answered as many questions as I could have.

After two hours, the training was over, and I was proud of the outcome of the presentation. It was overall a good training session.

[sahraoali]

There were 23 people who showed up for the training, all eager and ready to learn. Most of them did not speak French. So, I asked my colleague Annick to assist me in my training session. She translated while I presented.

As stated previously, the purpose of this training was to educate the women of the “Associations Villageoises d’Épargne et de Crédit” on the importance of financial management. The problems were that the members were borrowing money they did not need, which they were not able to pay it back on time, or were finding different ways to borrow money elsewhere to settle their debt.

The training started by stating the importance of having a project in place before borrowing money. This group was created to help them start their own small businesses. Therefore, if there is no idea or if they didn’t know whether they are able to generate enough money, is to simply not borrow. I continued by explaining the importance of having a list of priorities; making a monthly payment can be more important than buying a game, but not as important than feeding a family.

Afterwards, I advised the women to make a list of all the spending they have done with the borrowed money. This way, they can keep track if they went over what they have spent. This led to different methods of payments they can adopt when they settle a debt. Finally, I gave personal examples of small investment project that generated money.

To finish the session, there was a group activity where a member of each team had to present an investment opportunity, how much they borrowed and what is the payment method (photo below). Everyone participated, asked many questions and they thanked me at the end. I really enjoyed this experience, and I’m glad I was able to help. On to the next session...

[sahraoali]

What a weekend!! It was filled with activities, adventures, other volunteers, and I enjoyed every single minute of it!

My roommate mentioned early this week that if we wanted to go sightseeing sometime this weekend, there would be a car available to us. Finding transportation outside of Dakar is very difficult, so having a chauffeur with us was a great advantage. We spoke about this plan to two other volunteers, and we all decided to explore the outskirts of Dakar together. 

On Saturday, we went to the Lake Retba, also known as Lac Rose, which was breathtaking. We rode the boat, dipped our hands and toes in the pink water, got a tour of the extracted salt, and interacted with the workers. Civilians fought extremely hard to keep ownership away from the government. They are hard workers, honest and respectful amongst each other, which was amazing to see. We then drove around the dunes, interacted with the dromedaries and got stuck in the sand. To finish off the day, we went to “Le villages des tortues”, a very educational and informative nature reserve filled with young and old turtles (photo below). 

On Sunday, we took the day to go to the Bandia Reserve, where we saw several African animals including ostriches and giraffes. We were fortunate to have a truck and the reserve allowed us to drive it around with an experienced guide. We finished off the weekend by dining at the Balafon Cafe Bar Resto, beside the beautiful blue waters and the beach.

Definitely a weekend I will never forget. 

[sahraoali]

Réserve de Bandia #leaveforchange #senegal

[sahraoali]

The Lake Retba (lac rose) was truly beautiful. Separated from the Atlantic Ocean by dunes, the lake is filled with salt. Salt collectors were found everywhere, working peacefully and independently. I simply put my hands in the water and managed to grab a handful of salt! Nature, why are you so amazing 🙏🏾#leaveforchange #senegal

[sahraoali]

I'm kinda loving life right now 🐪❤ #senegal #leaveforchange

[sahraoali]

I will be conducting two training sessions as the Financial Management Advisor. 

The first session will be for the “Associations Villageoises d’Épargne et de Crédit”. These groups are composed of women who manage themselves when it comes to lending money. Each group has its own cash register, rules and penalties. The purpose of this training will be to educate the women the importance of financial management, how to repay their debt by the due date and provide examples of small investment opportunities so they may realize a profit. There are currently 13 groups composed of approximately 25 members. The training sessions will be given to the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer of each group.

The second session will be for the six members of the management committee of the  “Centre de développement intégré de la petite enfance”. They expressed the need to better their financial management and accounting within their organization. The purpose of this training will be to present accounting and financial principles, as well as methods to better their abilities.

In my upcoming blog posts, I plan to further discuss the overview of each training.

[sahraoali]

Le quartier Ouakam, où le travail terrain va se faire. 💪🏾 #leaveforchange #senegal

[sahraoali]

Lagon 1 à Dakar 😌

[sahraoali]

A Day to Remember

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit l’île de Gorée, which was mind-blowing. The air and atmosphere of the island was refreshing, while the history was heartbreaking.

In order to get the full experience, my colleague and I decided to get an official tour guide. It was very worth it. We started by taking the ferry to the island. Once we arrived, we walked along the trail, where the tour guide explained each landmark in detail and its significance to the island. The most memorable part was my visit to the House of Slaves. There are really no words to describe the way I felt when I walked in those very small chambers, which were previously overfilled with slaves. I also was staring at the famous “Door of No Return”: The door the slaved walked through to never return to Africa. The island is filled with information and history, and I am glad to walk through history on January 14th, 2017.

[sahraoali]

The Atlantic Ocean in Dakar, Senegal.

[sahraoali]

L'île de Gorée • Le 14 janvier 2017

[sahraoali]

On Wednesday, January 11th, what I thought would be the worse thing to happen happened - my laptop broke (this is me being dramatic). Out of all the days in the year, it decides to shut off and stay off right when I start my mandate in Senegal. I felt like the unluckiest person in the world.

In order to work here, to write my reports, to create my presentation and to prepare for training, I need a laptop. Unfortunately, there aren’t many resources available here, so I was required to bring my own technology, pens and notepads.

I searched online using my cellphone and followed every rule to reboot my Mac recommended by the Apple website and still nothing worked. I did not know what else to do. I couldn’t just get up and go to an Apple store like I would in Canada. I finally called my friend in Ottawa, and she informed me that there was a licensed Apple distributor in Dakar who may help.

The next day, my colleague and I went to the distributor (in the middle of downtown), but we were out of luck because they were not available, nor would they be willing to help since my laptop was not bought from their store.

Instead, we went all over the city, getting referrals from anyone who is able to fix my computer. After hours of walking, riding public transportation, catching a cab, looking at the view and talking to locals, we met up with another contact who has guaranteed he would be able to fix my laptop. Now, I did not feel at ease leaving my precious computer with someone whom I didn’t know, but my colleague assured me that theft would not happen. I took my hard drive, and prayed for the best.

A day later, I went back to the technician, and he rebooted my laptop (thank goodness). It was back to its regular old self. 

Even though the past 24 hours were stressful, this gave me the chance to look around Dakar, see adults socializing, young children playing soccer (or should I say football), and to witness what real sense of community feels like. We are so caught up in a world of laptops, phones, tablets, etc. that we forget sometimes to pause and to simply look up.

I looked, and I saw Dakar.

[sahraoali]

"Jeune d'Afrique et de la Diaspora, si un jour tes pas te portent au pied de ce monument, pense à tous ceux qui ont sacrifié leur liberté ou leur vie pour la Renaissance de l'Afrique" - Abdoulaye Wade

[sahraoali]

African Renaissance Monument on my left, the Atlantic Ocean on my right, and surrounded by the skyline of the city, this was my favourite moment of the day. #leaveforchange #senegal