We spend most of our formal class time at the Centre d’Accueil, de Formation, et d’Études, or simply the C.A.F.E. The C.A.F.E. is a project of the Baptist Church in Thiès and is attached to a private Christian school called John Hoffman. We often hear the raucous bustle of students…
On Friday we traveled from Dakar to Thiès for orientation. On Saturday evening students met their host families. This weekend, Thiès was also hosting the 50th anniversary of the Baptist Mission in Senegal. We got to attend their opening event of choral singing and dancing on Friday night. Several of…
We picked up the students around 10:00 p.m. this Thursday evening. We were a little late because our bus driver had fallen asleep, but the students were all there and so was all their luggage. They had made their way, or it had been made for them, to a holding…
An SST requirement is for each student to prepare a major project that focuses on some aspect of Senegalese culture. We spent one day hearing short presentations from each student. These projects included observations, interviews, creative work, and some research.
Students returned from their service assignments to a conference center (Le Phare de l’Espérance – Beacon of Hope) in Dakar. The center is situated at the foot of Le Phare (lighthouse) near the westernmost point of Africa.
Andrea, Alysha, Katie, and Kristina are working with an organization called “10,000 Girls” which is headquartered in Kaolack. They spent 2 weeks of their time helping with camp activities in Toubacouta which is about 2 hours south of Kaolack, near the border with Gambia. They jointly wrote the following description of their activities.
Noah and Josh are located in Segou, a small village 30 km, on a very poor road, south of Kedougou. It is a beautiful mountainous area near the border with Guinea and also not far from Mali. There are several waterfalls nearby. Excerpts from their early journals describe a bit of their situation.
Rosanna and Lindsay are located in Djilor in the delta region of the River Saloum. It is also the birthplace of Senegal’s first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor. In fact their host family lives next door to the Senghor birthplace. Excerpts from their journals describe some of their experiences.
Mary and Kristen are located at Grand Mbao on the outskirts of Dakar. They work with an organization called "Les Amis de l’Ecole" (Friends of the School) that provides extra opportunities for students after regular school hours and during the vacation months. They describe their activities in the following journal excerpts.
