La vie en Kedougou

View from the road to Dindefelo, the neighboring village.

This region, the Kedougou region, is beautiful, there is no denying it. Green foothills with red cliffs peeking out, thatched round huts, monkeys crying in the trees (I finally saw my first one today as it crossed the road!), thunderstorms preceded by lightening behind the mountains, and villagers dressed in brightly patterned clothing.

 

The 10,000 Girls compound in Segou, or as we volunteers and the villagers call Chez Mum. I live in one of the huts in the back. You can see one of the foothills behind the compound, which is where our water comes from. There are always men and women from the village helping out and hanging around.

I've been getting into the routine here: mornings, when the weather is cooler, is for working -- cleaning the rooms, doing laundry by hand, planting trees, helping with landscaping. Around noon it gets hot, so we tend to sit in the shade reading, writing, preparing for class with the girls in the afternoon. Lunch is around 2, and always involves everyone sitting on the floor on a mat, shoes off, eating out of communal bowls of rice with fish and sauce with big spoons. If we are teaching, the four of us volunteers sit around, maybe take a nap, and then leave for the 2 local schools where we alternate days for English and art class from 4 to 6. Once we get back home, after very bumpy and dusty roads in the open truck, there is more sitting, maybe helping with dinner, which is made in an open kitchen with one propane burner so it takes a while, and more reading. Dinner is around 8 or 9, and usually eaten in the dark because the only lights we use are from solar power, and continue to be installed. Last night was the first time we ate by a single lightbulb rather than with flashlights, and it felt so civilized!

This is Ndella, the assistant to Viola, the director of 10,000 Girls, who basically manages the volunteers.

Some of our students in Segou, all teenage girls from about 10 years old to 18, all in middle school. Only one girl from Segou has gone to high school; we met her a few days ago and will graduate next year. The village really respects her, and now many girls plan to attend high school.

The watercolor lesson from last week at the Segou school. The girls had never used paints or held a paintbrush, so the explanation of how to paint took longer than the actual painting!



I am glad I am here for several weeks, as it takes time to understand how things work as well as to get the word out on our classes and what the girls want to do with us. We four volunteers planned a great 4th of July party for 50 girls for the holiday, and I think it really broke the ice with the girls who were too shy to talk to us before. I will upload pictures from our party the next time I can ride in the truck, get covered in red dust, and make it to the small internet cafe (with 5 computers, 2 fans, and nothing else).