Newsletters from Senegal

St Louis is well known because of its international Jazz festival. People travel from all over the world to play, watch and appreciate the music in St Louis. This year the festival lasted for 4 days from Thursday to Sunday. Each evening the local bars were heaving with people, both Senegalese and foreign, and the atmosphere was incredible. This year held special importance for Projects Abroad because one of the volunteers (Heidi Goldsmith) was participating.

Parades! Drums! Canons! On the fourth of April, 2008, Senegal celebrated its 48th year of independence. In the spotlight this year was the promotion and celebration of women and youth, as well as national security. This month, our volunteers were lucky enough to experience the festivities.

On the last Friday in February sixteen volunteers, a driver with a Pokémon hat and Issa (our volunteer coordinator) set off for Dakar. The departure time was 5 o clock however one volunteer decided to arrive, in true Senegalese style, one hour late! So the overall departure was delayed.The following day, after a huge breakfast (including pain au chocolate and fruit juices) we went to the zoo.After the zoo we drove out to see one of Dakar's most famous attractions, Lac Rose.

Although St Louis is Senegal's second largest city, it does not have that "rushing atmosphere" that is often found in big towns. Everywhere and everyone are quite relaxed here in St Louis. So much so that it is considered normal for people to be half an hour late for a meeting.

Marine arrived here in Senegal a couple of weeks ago to do a sport project with some of the local football teams in St Louis. She has been faithfully keeping a blog recording her most memorable experiences so far. She wanted to share certain extracts with all our readers; describing her adventure so far.

As New Year drew near the 9 volunteers, who had decided to stay in St Louis for the festivities, started to get itchy feet. So on the 31st of December everyone decided to pack their bags and go to the town of Thies for a bit of a look round and a change of scenery from the dusty streets of St Louis.

This month some of the volunteers decided to spend the day visiting a well known bird park north of St Louis. In order to see as many birds as possible the volunteers had to leave very early in the morning so as to arrive at the Park before the birds left to feed in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day and there was a lot to see during the drive through the park including a huge lizard known as a Veran.

Several of the volunteers packed their bags last weekend and headed off in a sept place (an oversized taxi with 7 seats) to visit Dakar. The sun was shining and everyone was in a very good mood. After a gruelling 4 hour drive they arrived in Dakar and set off on foot to visit the city. After seeing the "place d'independence" and the government buildings they went to "les Almadies" and had a wonderful lunch of fresh fish in a restaurant right by the sea. The afternoon was spent near Ile N'Gor, swimming in the blue, blue sea and lazing on the beach.

Ramadan: The 9th month in the annual calendar. The aim of this month is to understand what it is like to resist your natural instinct as a human to eat and drink. However, "Sawn", the Arabic word used to describe the fast, signifies a lot more than just denying ones self food and drink. It is imperative that people fast for one whole month from sunrise till sunset. However the most important aspect during the month of Ramadan is to become closer to God.

For some volunteers, having never experienced a national holiday in St Louis, it was a day that was welcomed by all. The whole of the town stopped work for the day, gathered up their swim wear and headed for the beach. It was impressive to see all the hundreds of people gathered together by the seaside to celebrate this Christian holiday. Even though the sun was blazing and the beach was very busy much enjoyment was had by all.

The volunteers really were in a small paradise of their own, surrounded by nothing but white sand dunes and the sea. After a three course meal everyone set out to see the nearby sand dunes and visit a Mauritanian village. Much fun was had rolling down the dunes and running about in the sand. After stopping for a special cup of Mauritanian tea prepared by the women in the village it was time to head back to camp to see the sunset.

Summer in St Louis is the perfect time for children to enjoy various activities. The summer care program will mainly take place at the kindergarden Daraay Goneyi from June 4th to September 28th 2007. It will actually be a day camp with play schemes that run on weekdays.

Five weeks ago, I left my comfortable Swazi routine for a month long holiday in Senegal and Mauritania. We left Swaziland at the first sign of autumn, in late April (remember, I live in the southern hemisphere), on a school bus, to Johannesburg. It was here that I parted from all of my friends but Bram, the other American in my year at Waterford. He and I stayed overnight at a backpackers in Joburg, before taking our evening flight to Dakar, Senegal.

At the beginning of April, 12 volunteers embarked on a journey around both Senegal and the Gambia. Starting in St Louis, the Projects-Abroad home town, we travelled on the first day down to Dakar- a five hour sept-place ride at the best of times, but our trip coincided with the Muslim festival 'Gamou' (the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad) which meant huge delays and arrival into Dakar during the early hours of the morning.

An understanding of Senegal's marabouts and the power of the Islamic brotherhoods are fundamental to an understanding of Sénégal itself. The subject involves religion, politics, economy, God and the State, and is remarkably complex.Whereas orthodox Islam holds that every believer is directly in touch with Allah, the hierarchical societies of North and West Africa found it more natural to have religious leaders ascribed with divine power providing a link between God and the common populace.

This is not as easy as it first seems. These men do not have papers or a residence; therefore they have no chance of finding a job. Without a job there is no way of finding accommodation, and therefore these immigrants then embark on a vicious circle of poverty and exploitation, often working for criminals for small remuneration. The majority of immigrants do not even have enough money to survive; the idea of sending money to families back in Senegal becomes an unfeasible dream. The situation is in fact impossible.

The cuisine of Senegal is similar to other cuisines found in West Africa, but at the same time has its own unique dishes. Distinguishing influences on Senegalese fare include the nations many ethnic groups, the largest being the Wolof; Islam, which first penetrated the region in the 11th century; and various European cultures, especially the French, who held the country as a colony until 1960.

Tabaski, otherwise known as Eid ul-Adha, occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Eid ul- Adha is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah. Others celebrate Eid-ul Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year.

Île de Gorée (i.e. "Gorée Island") (pronounced /goRe) is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i.e. "commune of arrondissement") of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Gorée is famous as a former center of the Atlantic slave trade from where many Black slaves were deported to the Americas.