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News
For our service placement, we (Mira Yoder and Olivia Krall) have spent the past few weeks in a village called Fandène. Fandène is located just 7 kilometers east of Thiès. One thing that is unique about Fandène is that the...
After completing 20 days in Tena we got the green light and made a move to Service this past Saturday. Yay! Some students were joking that instead of Study-Service Term SST (which is named for the two significant halves of...
CONAIE is the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador and it is a large organization composed of representatives of various indigenous groups in Ecuador and they advocate for more indigenous rights. They do this most often by shutting down main...
As of today, we have been in Tena for more than a week longer than expected. This is due to the countrywide protests regarding indigenous rights and economic security, led by the organization CONAIE, which stands for the Confederación de...
CONAIE stands for the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador. They represent the rights of indigenous people in Ecuador, specifically including the following communities: Quichua, Shuar, Achuar, Huaorani, Siena, Secoya, Shiwiar, Záparo, Cofán, and many more. Since the 1980s this...
In this post, Birch and Anna reflect on the meaning and practices of teranga in Senegalese culture. Teranga is sometimes translated into English as “good hospitality”. Americans think of hospitality as the efforts we make to help guests feel welcome....
In this post Emma B. and Gabe reflect on our week of music and the arts in Senegal. On Monday, June 6, our group met up with a griot and his drumming group. Griots were part of the traditional caste...
On June 6, our group stopped by Village Artisanal de Thiès, where local artisans make and sell their crafts. The village is in an older part of the city and is surrounded by large, beautiful trees. The village itself consists...
Suzanna My name is Suzanna Yoder, and I’m an upcoming senior, social work major. Coming into SST, I was hoping for a host family with many kids. Looking back, I’m thankful that my host family only has one child, as...
by Samuel Stoner-Eby and Sam Scheele In our fifth week, we visited two development projects to the southeast of Thiès . The Beer Sheba Project is a Christian agricultural education project. Ndem is a community NGO. Ndem has a variety...
In our last week of study several students including Nina and myself came down with covid, so unfortunately we had to navigate some significant adjustments in our final week with Quito host families, which included moving spanish classes to zoom,...
On Friday night we celebrated our host families with a small program and party. Adama opened the meeting and translated when necessary. David gave a small thank you from Goshen College. The heart of the program was statements of gratitude...
We had a wonderful week last week hosting some faculty from Goshen College and making our way North to the city of Otavalo in the province of Imbabura.
In this post, Ryan and Olivia reflect on their experience with food in Senegal. Food and Culture Food and cooking are a central part of culture and over these last four weeks, our group has enjoyed cooking and eating local...
In this post, Emma Zehr and Caleb Gingerich reflect on their experience with language in Senegal. French and Colonialism My host family does not speak any English. I took a semester of elementary French prior to arriving in Senegal, a...
After two busy day trips, we spent Saturday in the village of Ngollar. Adama, our local coordinator, and his extended family invited us to visit their village to get a sense of rural life in Senegal. We knew that there...
Our third week focused on the religious context of Senegal, particularly on the role of Sufi Islam and the different brotherhoods. We had two lectures to start the week. On Monday we heard from Moïse Diémé, who spoke with us...
On Thursday and Friday of our second week of study we visited Saint-Louis. Saint-Louis is located at the mouth of the Senegal River a few kilometers from Mauritania. It is the site of West Africa’s first French settlement and is...
Breeana Wheeler is a biochemistry major and Brandon Jimenez is a peace, justice and conflict studies major. In this post they reflect on the tensions between tourism, being a tourists and remembering the history of the slave trade at this...
Language During our first week in Senegal we connected with host families and figured out the rhythms of study. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings consist of language study. Yacine Diatta teaches an hour of Wolof. Then students have an hour...
One of the texts for our term is Hans Rosling’s Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. I believe one of the great benefits of the book is that it…
After two days of normal class schedule in Quito, we wound our way through the mountains to the northwest region of the Pichincha province where we explored the cloud forest. With historical and indigenous peoples contexts in the back of...
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