Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Fouta Friends


I just returned from spending a week in Fouta, a region located on both sides of the Senegal River between Senegal and Mauritania. I only visited friends on the Mauritania side of the river, although it was just a skip away from the border.


This trip was the summation of a long time dream and remains at the heart of my decision to live in Mauritania.

This story did not begin here in Nouakchott. It started the day I accepted a job in New York City with a humanitarian organization in August 2005. While working in secondary schools throughout the city to raise awareness about global poverty issues in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, I also wanted to volunteer in my neighborhood of Brooklyn. I first tried the local branch of the public library, but after playing phone tag for a long time, I was rudely informed by the program coordinator that the library doesn’t have any volunteer opportunities with their ESL classes. Later, I found out that this person was in fact incorrect, but it was too late to enroll in the library’s mandatory volunteer training, which was only offered twice a year.

To make a long story short, after much hard work and many failed efforts, I was finally put into contact with a community association for West African immigrants located a few blocks from my house. I started volunteering the next night.



I was amazed by the low level of English of my students, who were men between the ages of 20- to 60-years-old. Many had never attended formal school and could not write in any language. Others had been in the U.S. for more than ten years and still could not hold a simple conversation in English. I struggled to get appropriate resources for my students, whose needs were hard to fill. I reached out to many other programs and agencies in the NYC area and it became more and more clear to me that this community was not being effectively reached by any other program in the city.

As my involvement in the community increased, so did my appreciation for the generosity and ingenuity of my students. I soon found myself volunteering nearly every night of the week. There seemed to be no limits of ideas and projects I wanted to implement but there was not enough time in the week. Despite a demanding full-time job, endless fun adventures to be had in the city, and an incredible group of inspiring friends, I rarely missed a class for nearly four years. With a strong sense of purpose, each evening at 8:30 pm I dropped everything to be there with my students.


As most of my students were Mauritanian, Senegalese and Guinean, I became fascinated by their stories of the countries they left behind and all of the reasons that led them to New York. Mauritania’s many coup d’états and Guinea’s on-going political problems were passionately discussed after class each night. My students became my friends and I cherished spending time with them.


Many of my students returned home to their countries every few years to spend time with their families. After being home for three months, they returned back to classes, bringing with them  news and food from home. I also felt transported to another place when eating "mutoode," a small nut found in Fouta's semi-desert landscape, and watching videos of weddings in the village. These stories made me want to follow my friends, to visit their families and gain a deeper understanding of their lives at home. I knew that as long as I was in New York, I would only ever understand half of this remarkable story. 

My volunteer work with the Pulaar Speaking Association is what led me to apply for this program to train teachers in Mauritania. Not only do I have a passion for increasing teachers' skills and capacities, but I also love my friends from Mauritania and know that I have a tremendous amount to learn from them!


After six months of living in the capital city Nouakchott, I finally found the opportunity to visit the families of my NYC friends during my Spring Break from the training college. I was overwhelmed with happiness to able to see their houses, their children, their wives, their mothers, and their fathers. I was so touched to receive an enormous welcome at every door, share meals together, and sleep next to them under the stars.


This visit to Fouta was more wonderful than I could have ever imagined and more meaningful than any words can describe. I am incredibly grateful to everyone in NYC who sent me to greet their families and ensured that I would receive the world’s best hospitality during my stay. I am as certain as always that I have always received much more than I have given throughout my many years of volunteer work.



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