By Kaden O’Brien-James

When you were in fifth grade, if you had to do a poster board presentation on a country for your cultural heritage project, what country would you choose? I actually chose Senegal with some of my ancestors being from here. As part of my presentation, I even played a song on a djembe which my mom’s friend Khalid brought to her from Senegal he is a Master African Drummer  and led his own drum circle. I learned how Senegalese people send messages, connecting with each other  through their drums. Never since fifth grade would I have ever thought that I would make it to Senegal, yet now here I am I’m 18 and writing this post from Senegal! A full circle moment indeed!

I have been wanting to find more peace with myself recently and I knew that coming to Senegal would be a great opportunity to do just that, but the day of the trip I was worried because I did not know many of my classmates who were fellow travelers. But in the airport, it wasn’t long before I started making connections. I talked with two really cool people from Dakar, and then on the airplane ride across the Atlantic, the man I happened to sit next to, skipped all the small talk and went right to dropping wisdom that stuck with me. He said, “In life, there are two types of people the ones helping you, and the ones holding you down and those are the ones you have to let go.” It was as if he was speaking to my soul before we had barely gotten acquainted. We also proceeded to play some game on his phone that I had never seen before that was really fun. I have been on quite a few long flights in the US but never had an experience like that, because most people you sit next to on an airplane won’t even look your way. But with the Senegalese people, it is as if you never knew a stranger. 

As soon as we stepped out of the Dakar airport, despite it being a totally unfamiliar place, it was weird how I just felt a tremendous sense of peace. When we first arrived at Hakuna Lodge, it was without any of the usual questions and concerns typical of arriving to a new place of travel lodging, like how nice is the room or what amenities are provided. Instead, I instantly felt at home with no worries. 

When we were given a choice between fishing or going to the village, although 75% of our group went fishing, in my opinion you can do that anywhere, so I chose the village, with a few others.  Here I continued to find joy and peace in being part of the fabric of the community here and seeing how everyone worked together and really loved each other. I have my own clothing brand called Solace Outfitters, so when some pants I bought from the village had ripped, I had the opportunity to watch a guy hand stitch my pants back together using a stitching machine with a foot pedal. As opposed to a manufacturer shipping me an order, I got to see firsthand how clothing is made, another full circle moment that strengthened my connection to a process from which I am usually one step removed. (I was also able to document this on my brand’s account, you can follow us at solace.outfitters)   

The connections continued at Hakuna Lodge, as we rode a donkey cart ride to the village. On the way there I used my meta glasses to talk with the driver and was able to really learn his story.  These glasses were able to translate his speech in real time even though we spoke different langurs. He was 21 and had been doing this work for years. Again, moving right past small talk to important life lessons, he shared that he’s Catholic but his best friends are Muslim, and with pride he shared that this difference doesn’t affect anything between them, and it is the only village where they have both religions. 

On the way back, I was able to use the glasses to talk with another donkey cart driver. This driver was a bit older than the first. He was in his mid 40tys and his story touched my heart. He had 2 brothers and 3 sisters, but one had passed away just a few months ago.  As if grieving one sibling was not enough, he also had 2 sons and 2 daughters but one of his daughters had passed away, and his father too, in the same incident. Despite all he was carrying,  you could’ve never guessed what this man was going through, with this smile on his face and how he carried himself.  Continuing to collect wisdom along the way, this man even told me that life and death are the same, and he has no worries about his family members who have passed. Finding peace.

As we left Hakuna,  and got to the “home of plenty” village, it was a very long and hot 10 hour drive, but it was so worth it. Arriving here, that’s when I knew I was truly at home. As soon as we arrived, we had a swarm of kids coming up and welcoming us! As we tried to exit the van, we had little boys and girls both, trying to take our bags from many different ages from 3-15. This overwhelming welcome extended to new people begs the question if roles were reversed would most Americans do the same? 

Telling people you are going to Africa, the first thing many people ask is if you will go on a safari and see animals, and I am an animal lover to the point of choosing to volunteer at the Humane Society rather than with people. But my favorite part of going to the safari was actually the human connections made along the way. Riding on top of the vans and teaching a few Senegalese people how to play Uno was so fun!  And  then there I was, sitting there playing the djembe with a guy from Senegal who makes them, so that was such a cool full circle moment that I would have never imagined happening. 

Going back to the village after that is really where it all started to click. There I made friends with a little boy named Mbappe and he never leaves my side now! Seeing how quickly we connected, even without us even speaking the same language was so fun! We played many different games, and I threw him up and across beds countless times until we were both tired! Before we left I even gave him a bracket, and with Ms. Emily’s  translation help I was able to tell him that it was a gift from me. But it wasn’t even about that  he was grateful, but what mattered to him was the hours we spent together laughing and playing and creating the memories that will last a life time.

That night, my mind was restless, churning with ideas of  ways I could help the village, because of how welcoming they are to the christchurch students, and how the feeling of home is so strong. As I brainstormed ideas  with Ms. Emily, I came up with a plan. About 5 years from now, before the kids grow too old, if I am financially able to support the village, I plan on returning here on the last day of Ramadan, and creating what I know as the feeling of Christmas bringing gifts for all of the kids in the village but that’s not what it’s about, it is about showing them that these connections are real and that the family will always be in my heart. to really show my thanks to them for being so welcoming to basically complete strangers. I feel such a compelling urge to give back because the feeling of family is so big here! Despite being a senior, I plan to come back to Senegal next year to try and learn more people’s stories and build a bigger connection with the people we meet.