Time with Family and Departure
[Senegal Photo Album 4]
While we stayed in Keur Bangou, we split up in pairs or three and stayed with different families. I stayed, along with two other girls, with the Sall family.
The head of the family, Ibourahima Sall, has three wives, and 40 family members spanning in 3 generations live together in his home. Since it was the summer vacation month, there were kids everywhere! Ibourahima welcomed us into his family and gave each one of us Senegalese names. Mine is Aminata Sall.
Since we were building the school in the morning hours and engaging in various activities during the afternoon, the time with family often fell into the evening hours. We brought Jenga and origami, among other gifts, to the family and we played with the kids every night. The family also engaged in a jumping competition using a long rubber band. Some of the bigger guys were able to jump really high!
One evening, the buildOn translators made the rounds at the houses where we were staying so to help us have conversations with the family. The father repeated “Jërëjëf!” (thank you) and told us “Thank you for bringing the school to our village. The children need a proper set up to study, and thank you for making it happen for us. I believe education is important and I am sending two of my kids to college now. Soon, my daughters will leave for high school, then to college. I want them to have higher education, and when they complete their studies, I hope that they will return to the village and contribute to society by applying what they have gained through education. We will continue with the construction and finish building the school after you leave.”
The mother of Ibourahima, Fatou, held my hands and said “You have changed the negative image a lot of people had about foreigners. I am grateful that you came to build a school for us.”
Closing Ceremony
On the last day at the worksite, the village held a closing ceremony for us. The ladies gathered in the third wife’s room to dress us up in the gorgeous local outfits.
As with all other gatherings we had, the ceremony starts with drum beats. Rhythm and beats are an essential part of village life.
Dance, dance, dance. There are different steps and styles. Apparently, new moves are made every few months.
The village chief and a few other guests gave speeches. The school principal proudly shared that his school has always been in the top 3 schools of the region. The villagers have been longing to get a school that is in a better condition, so they are so excited to participate and complete the school construction.
Goodbye, Keur Bangou
The last day at Keur Bangou, the family helped us carry our stuff to the microbus.
Our microbus pulled away from the village square and took the road that passes by the school construction site. Many villagers were working on the site, and when they spotted our microbus, they waved to see us off. Everyone had a big smile on their faces. Saying goodbye is hard, but it is so nice to know that the construction we started would be carried on by our new family and friends.
The villagers continued to build, and it only took two months for them to finish building the school. The kids of Keur Bangou finally have a school with two fully furnished classrooms and two new latrines. The following pictures were taken by the buildOn Senegal staff. I recognize so many faces — they shared their homes with us, and we worked side by side.
What one can do may be small, but together we can make a difference. Thank you very much to all those whose contributions helped make the new school for Keur Bangou a reality. Jërëjëf! (thank you) for supporting my cause and/or reading through my blogs.
There are a total of 4 photo albums from this trip:
1. Arriving at Keur Bangou and Work Site
2. Food and Cultural Exchange
3. Life in Keur Bangou
4. Time with Family and Departure
All images © 2019 Kay Tsuji, otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
