Care & Community Volunteer Stories, Senegal

Care in Senegal - Rachel Behrend I have always romanticised the idea of travelling alone.  When I was getting ready to graduate from my high school in Maryland and all my friends were talking about heading off to university, I could only feel this sense of worry that I would not be able to fully appreciate university life while feeling that there was so much in this vast world that I had never been exposed to, and may never be for years to come since after high school there is college, and after college there is finding a job and keeping it. The responsibilities that would keep me from travelling would only pile up in the years to come.

Care in Senegal - Juliet Raperport Stepping off the plane at Dakar in the dead of night was an extremely daunting experience, and so I was very grateful to see Papis, one of the local staff, standing amongst the throngs of people, holding a Projects Abroad sign. We spent the night in the capital due to my late arrival and embarked on the four hour car journey to St Louis the next morning. The journey passed extremely quickly as I spent the majority of it staring out of the window awestruck by the people, animals and landscape.

Care in Senegal - Georgina Lambton My New Year started somewhere over the Sahara Desert, as in a moment of complete madness I had managed to book my flight to Senegal on New Years Eve…So at 00:05 on 1st January 2009, the Royale Air Maroc tannoy system came into action, and we got a deep voiced “Bonne Année” coming down the microphone.

2 Week Special Care & Community in Senegal - Hannah Keenleyside After endless hanging around in airport waiting rooms, being bored stiff (quite literally) in uncomfortable aeroplane seats and waiting a whole day for a connecting flight in an air-conditioned Lisbon hotel, finally arriving in Dakar, Senegal was like entering another world. Even in the early hours of the morning the streets were hot, humid and noisy, packed full of people, bikes, buses, cars and taxis. Immediately I felt a sense of excitement as I realised that the next two weeks of my life were going to be very special, and I was not disappointed.

Care & Community in Senegal - Kayleigh Buckingham Arriving into Dakar, Senegal at 6pm at night to a bustling crowd of dark smiling faces and a cheery song of simultaneous "'Ey! Toubab! Hello! English?!'" was a daunting yet very exciting start to my 31 days in West Africa.The middle and back seat of an old taxi was to be mine for the rickety journey to the town of St. Louis next morning, where I was greeted by my host father and the most adorable looking child I've ever seen; wearing a long purple dress, colourful hair tresses and a shy grin.what an actress! I was soon to find out that little Maman was a feisty 3 year old with lots of energy, a soulful giggle and curiosity to match. My American roommate, Susannah, and I spent many hilarious hours playing with her and her younger sister Aider, whilst Katerine (our host auntie) prepared a dinner for us, as our host parents were working at their lovely local restaurant La Pirogue.

Care & Community in Senegal - Michelle Krech I am a Canadian university student in Global Development Studies and decided to fulfil my programme requirements for a work-study placement with Projects Abroad in St. Louis, Senegal. My project was Care and I worked at a local talibé (street children) centre, And Taxawu Talibé (ATT). I chose this placement because it offered me the chance to a) travel to Africa, the continent on which most of my academic and personal interest is focused; b) work with children who, despite representing our future, are often a marginalized group; and c) work in a French-speaking country where I could improve my French language skills.

Care & Community in Senegal - Amy Montgomery My day begins at 7.40am - alarm goes and I eat breakfast with the family. Breakfast is baguette and coffee, and we eat on the floor as with every meal. I leave the house at about 8.15am, and am lucky that my school is only a minute's walk away - already it's getting hot. The streets are busy - children on their way to school, adults on the way to work, taxis beeping and caleches (horse and carts) clattering along the road. I meet some of the children from my class on the way, they grab my hands and we walk together.