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Archive for the ‘Senegal’ Category

laptop withdrawal

Posted in ICTs, mobile and technology, Senegal on June 20, 2008| Leave a Comment »

So the first week is over.  I feel like I spent so much time getting settled, with technical difficulties, and in meetings and conversations that I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked.  The conversation is really important though.  

My laptop is going to be erased and repopulated with the contents of my hard drive — that’s the plan anyway.  Hopefully it will be ready tomorrow morning….  and hopefully it will work!

We got the workshop designed today, so that’s good.  There is still so much to do though.  I leave for Amsterdam late Saturday/early Sunday to meet with Plan Netherlands about the project and ways that it can link with some of the things they are developing on-line to better engage people in ‘Northern’ countries in what is happening in the communities where we are working, the issues people are facing, and how local people want to resolve them.
Really hoping my laptop is back soon!

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crash

Posted in ICTs, mobile and technology, Senegal on June 19, 2008| 2 Comments »

First let me apologize for the 3 posts in one — I had written them but couldn’t get on line to post them.  I will try to caption any photos.  And if you see a photo with an arrow below it, it’s actually a video!

So I decided also to transfer all my emails from when I last backed up my computer to my hard drive so I could work on them even without internet.  They cut the power here most days from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and then the generator kicks in, but it makes the internet go on and off too.

So after doing that, I come in after lunch yesterday, boot up the computer and get the blue sceeen of death — fatal system error…. trying not to think about it.  And feeling really lonely without it — I’ve become quite attached to my laptop!  Not to mention I don’t want to have to deal with getting all my email, files and software back!  My phone hasn’t worked since I got here, so I’m a bit out of touch.  I borrowed a phone from Joa and got a sim card today, so hopefully I will soon be connected. 
I did get a chance to skype with Daniel, and today when I finally got on a computer just now, he’d written to say Mom!  I got straight A’s.  So that’s super good news.  I will call him later if the sim card and phone card combo works.
Things aren’t so great with me given the laptop deal, but Clare’s doing alright at least — settling in super well and made a new friend at camp.  We moved in to Mie’s house night before last and have been eating well ever since. Lots of fruits and bread, cheese, etc.  We ate really good Ethiopian food last night.  And today Julie brought us a hair brush to borrow since Clare forgot hers and we couldn’t find any here.
Rwanda postponed their training, so we’re trying to figure out how we can keep on track.  We had a great meeting with the Plan Senegal team yesterday to plan for their part of the project.I also handed their equipment over to them. Seems like it will be pretty neat.  Today Julie and I have been working the whole day to develop the training workshop that starts on the 30th.  We want to be sure everyone in all the participating countries has a shared vision of the project. People are really liking the Flip Cameras and I have requests to purchase a dozen already!  

OK off to have a small coffee.  Been so exhausted since I got here….

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Ile de Goree

Posted in Senegal, travel on June 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Took a boat to the Isle of Goree yesterday. It has the famous ‘Door of no return’ where slaves were held and then marched onto ships for the Americas. The small colonial town is gorgeous and quite laid back, nice beach. Hard to believe all the sadness that must have happened there along with the other African ports where slaves were traded. (photo of the famous door, and video of Goree below!)

We had some food (our vegetarian meals at restaurants appear to be a consistent rice and french fries) and spent a bit of time on the beach, and then walked around until our ferry back at 4.30.

We had dinner at Mie’s house (she’s a fabulous cook!). Since Villa 1223 has no kitchen service, I think we’re going to move into Mie’s house. She’s got lots of space and is going to be gone for 10 days to Benin and Togo, and we’ll be able to cook and it’s closer to the office.

Clare started camp this morning. She was a bit teary and quite nervous about language and not knowing anyone. She will come to the office around 1 so we’ll see how she did. We had our first big rain of the season here today and it’s really humid.

Started work about 9 at the office with a quick tour around and some chats with Julie and Stefanie, my main point person at the West Africa Regional Office (WARO). We launched the West Africa child media website today: http://www.plan-childrenmedia.org/, where the project I’m working on will most likely reside.

Julie and I called Plan Rwanda to coordinate a few things. Clare called right after that saying she would stay at Stefanie’s house for the afternoon and go to the Trampoline on the beach where kids go to bounce around. This morning she said she wanted to come into the office, so the fact that she’s staying with Stefanie’s kids is a good sign that she’s feeling more comfortable!

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Pesky Mosquito

Posted in Senegal, travel on June 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Had a good first day in Dakar. Lunch was nice – crepes and veggies on the beach. It’s always a challenge to find vegetarian stuff in certain parts of the world, but the peanuts here are amazingly good, and Mie took us to a quickmart owned by an Indian man and there was tons of Indian quick-to-prepare food, and of course the mangoes and other fruit is perfect, so we’ll be fine.  (Photo is Ben, Mie and Joa)

We spent the afternoon at Mie’s house with her son Ben, and a few other people stopped over including Julie and her baby Noe. He’s adorable, really chubby and just turning 2 months old. Mie’s partner Joaquim who works at UNICEF came home from a meeting in Hungary and they drove us home – and realized why I couldn’t explain where I live now! It took us about 30 minutes driving around the neighborhood to find Villa 1223.

Clare and I took cold showers, goofed around a little and read a couple chapters of On the Shores of Silver Lake (part of the Little House on the Prairie series) and then crashed. She woke up about 4.30 covered in giant mosquito bites (hoping Mie was right that the ones that carry malaria are the ones that buzz in your ears, because these were silent…. And really hard to find so we couldn’t even kill them because they disappeared once the lights were on) and stressing about going to camp here on Monday since she won’t know anyone and will have to go in a taxi by herself with Abdoulaye the Plan driver and she doesn’t speak French.

Today we are going to Goree Island, which was one of the largest ports where slaves were housed before going onto the ships for the Americas.

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Villa 1223

Posted in Senegal, travel on June 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

We’re finally here in Dakar at Villa 1223, our home for the next 3 weeks. I had the week leading into today off for vacation but really only took Thursday and Friday because I had so much work to finish up. I decided on Thursday to paint Clare’s room which left us with one day less to pack, but luckily we got everything done on time. My colleague Kate gave Clare a bed she didn’t need, and I dropped the wood frame on my toe while putting it together. The smashed toe is still pulsing and purple and I’m hoping it’s not too serious.

Visibly limped the whole way, dragging the suitcases from the bus to the subway to the Air train and through the JFK airport, changing band aids in the bathroom…

Aside from the inevitably shady moment upon arriving at the airport, when the men hustle you for a taxi and everyone wants to help you carry your suitcases, we arrived perfectly. Slept the whole way while Clare watched 3 movies. Met a very nice man named Assan who noticed my Plan environmental bag. Turns out he had just come from a meeting in Toronto with one of my very best old friends, Laura del Valle, who worked with me at Plan in El Salvador and now works for WV with him in the same department. Such a small world.

The room at Villa 1223 is very sweet. It’s painted lavender and has a double bed, closet, sofa, dressing table and bathroom with a toilet, shower, sink and pail for collecting water in case it gets shut off and we need some saved up to bathe. The only problem is that we don’t have access to the kitchen so I’m not sure how that’s going to work…. (see video for a quick tour!)It’s in a dusty neighborhood somewhere near the district where the non-profits have their offices – we passed by them on the ride from the airport. The taxi driver said that Mie, another old friend from El Salvador who now works with Plan’s West Africa Regional Office would come to get us at treize heures – which I thought was 3 (Spanish kicking in) but then realized is thirteen, so 1.00. So we unpacked, showered and slept till 12.30. Julie, the project coordinator and I will meet at 6 for a beer and to get acquainted for our work together. We’ve been ‘skyping’ for a few months so it will be nice to finally talk in person.

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