April 6, 1999 -- John Ross and Lyn Buschert, faculty leaders, have spent the past few weeks familiarizing themselves with the culture, people, and movements of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. In a few weeks, a group of 19 Goshen College students will join them for three months of cultural immersion, education, service and fun.

John Ross will be sending periodic updates during the SST term this summer, which runs until late July.

I visited the village of Mangredon with my eight-year-old son Daniel and the local SST director Dibinga Kashale. The village, located about 80 km NNW of Yamousoukro, is very much in the center of the country. It took us about six hours to drive there from Abidjan--at times at speeds of up to 90 mph!

The way of life in this village, populated by the largest ethnic group in Côte d'Ivoire, provided us with a glimpse of a traditional West African culture. We hope to bring our SST group to Mangredon to spend a few nights and learn more about the Baule people.

The summer 1999 SST group has returned. No new material will be added, but we'll keep the site available.

On arrival in Mangredon we were greeted warmly. Our hosts asked for news and we shared a time of conversation, and later a meal. While village members sat by and watched, I cleaned a bowl of rice and a spicy-hot stew made of goat meat and broiled yams.

Dibinga Kashale took this picture. The men eating at the table with us are members of the Mangredon community. The man seated next to Daniel hosted us during our stay, and the other is a youth from the village who lives now in Abidjan. Seated around us are representatives of the seven or so clans in the village, and a number of curious onlookers.