I want the world to understand….

Joy-

Usually Africa is thought of as one thing, a poor place, but in this village it makes that stereotype sort of true, but it isn’t. It really is a nice place to be. The people live with what they have and enjoy life.         I feel like watching the women cook is therapeutic. I haven’t helped cook, but I washed a few dishes this morning for Fanta.

Charlene-

I was thinking about the lollipops that I brought to the kids. At first it was chaos. Keko came and gave them out equally to the kids. Mr. Schaefer explained how the leaders maintain control and equality through service. It’s better to share gifts with the village through Keku because he is respected and will make sure that it is done equally.

Olivier-

Today was insightful, in the morning we were able to take care of a fellow villager in a kind and effective way. It was interesting to see how grateful the man was for our help and care. It showed me what it really means to be part of a community. The hike up to the ridge was a super cool experience to see the full beauty of the Senegalese landscape. We ate some little brown berries that were growing along the path with Mamaduh, Connor’s little “shooter”.

Flan-Dog

I enjoyed the hike to the ridge with Mr. Schaefer. The lava rocks were really unique- red, bumpy, and heavy. It was cool to see the old structure up there. We were in the forest looking down across the flat expanse of the Gambia drainage basin.

Danielle-

I liked handing out the medical kits

We learned a lot of Mandinka from Keta today. It was fun to break down the language barrier and to communicate more effectively.

Phil-

Even though we have been in the village for only two days, I already feel really connected to the people. The kids know my name now.

Mrs. McCormick-

At first I was searching for my place, but today I realized I was already there.

Ms. Kreider-

Why is Samba so sticky?…

Mr. Schaefer-

Té! Attaya! Trial and error was the method…

Hannah-

Today, while I was walking around taking pictures of our new friends in the village, I met up with Sera at the well and asked if I could take her picture and then I asked if I could help her. At first she just had me follow her back to the compound with an empty bucket, but on the second trip she let me carry a bucket full of water that she drew from the deep well. After this moment, she thanked me for my help and held my hand for a long time. That was really special to me and probably to her too.

…Samba is sticky because of the lollipop that we shared and that he shared with everyone!

Connor

“Hey, Mr. Alter, when we get back to the crib (2^nd Scott) we’ve got to make that (our delicious meal of short vermicelli like noodles, fried potato sticks, goat meat, and some magical oniony sauce)! That and té!”

Latane

The place is awesome. The place is so welcoming, if you do one little thing for someone, they treat you like a brother.

Today we helped out a man in the village, who lives in another compound. Once we helped him out, he said that we were his brothers. He was so grateful that he offered for us to stay in his home, share his goats, and bake us cakes. This just goes to show the lengths that a person goes here to show appreciation and thanks.