We've been here in Senegal, West Africa, for over a week now, with a few more days coming. There is always a lot of activity, and we have been in the village, returned to the city of Dakar, and today will venture back to the bush.
I will attempt to hit a few highlights of the trip so far:
One of our main projects is a feeding program for the many schools and students in the Keur Soce area. When we stopped by the school in Lamarame, the ladies were cooking breakfast for the kids.
The village ladies always manage to look really good, even though many live in grass huts. They have colorful clothing and head wraps. The weather is very hot, and cooking like this is not easy.
We are also working on a renovation of a training center and an old French style colonial house. We are going to convert this into living space and meeting space for future use. The work is grueling, but we are making progress.
The village is remote. Getting tools and materials there is challenging. Working in the heat is an endurance test. Communicating with common language takes a lot of patience. Never had so much fun!
Once back in Dakar, we made a side trip to a nearby lake, known as Lac Rose for it's pinkish color water. It is a mellow peaceful place, where they harvest salt from the shallow waters.
Then yesterday, we went to Goree Island (pronounced Go-Ray) off the coast of Senegal. It's a place with an emotional impact, where slaves were sent off in the old days to the New World.
It's important to preserve this part of our global dark past. We still live with some of the impact many years later. The picture above shows the "Slave House" where countless people were sold and put onto ships.
At the same time, the island is a very pleasant place to visit and escape the heat, with some beautiful views of the ocean and the city of Dakar. We often visit this place on our trips here, especially when we bring a team, like this time.
I will attempt to hit a few highlights of the trip so far:
One of our main projects is a feeding program for the many schools and students in the Keur Soce area. When we stopped by the school in Lamarame, the ladies were cooking breakfast for the kids.
The village ladies always manage to look really good, even though many live in grass huts. They have colorful clothing and head wraps. The weather is very hot, and cooking like this is not easy.
We are also working on a renovation of a training center and an old French style colonial house. We are going to convert this into living space and meeting space for future use. The work is grueling, but we are making progress.
The village is remote. Getting tools and materials there is challenging. Working in the heat is an endurance test. Communicating with common language takes a lot of patience. Never had so much fun!
Once back in Dakar, we made a side trip to a nearby lake, known as Lac Rose for it's pinkish color water. It is a mellow peaceful place, where they harvest salt from the shallow waters.
Then yesterday, we went to Goree Island (pronounced Go-Ray) off the coast of Senegal. It's a place with an emotional impact, where slaves were sent off in the old days to the New World.
It's important to preserve this part of our global dark past. We still live with some of the impact many years later. The picture above shows the "Slave House" where countless people were sold and put onto ships.
At the same time, the island is a very pleasant place to visit and escape the heat, with some beautiful views of the ocean and the city of Dakar. We often visit this place on our trips here, especially when we bring a team, like this time.
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