Blessings

This week another day at the Kolda house means another blog post, and since the last one was all about me on a personal level, this one is all about work.

I am pleased to report that my second (and last) construction project in SPB was finished on schedule and our middle school now has a well! Once again, I want to thank everyone who donated. In Muslim cultures building a well gets you major points in the heavenly rewards department; it's the ultimate good deed to give someone access to the sacred element of life. I guess this makes sense in a religion that initially spread over some very hot and dry parts of our earth. So, aside from the regular good karma of helping out my neighbors, I feel like I've incurred an extra big blessing by helping to make this happen (and so have you by extension). I didn't really intend to do any big projects of this kind when I first installed, but it was hard to say no when there was really so little I had to do. The teachers and principal organized everything and provided the motivation as well as some of the funds themselves. All I had to do was write a proposal, take some pictures, ask for a little help from back home and then sit back and watch everyone else carry out the work. This is the ideal grant project as far as a Peace Corps volunteer is concerned and I feel very fortunate that it all went so smoothly. You can check out the final report with pictures by clicking here.

The other blessing that came out of this project was a much closer relationship between me and the SPB middle school. I had gotten to know a couple of the teachers before, but since this spring I've had the pleasure of spending time with all of them and am glad to have that many more people who I consider friends. On the whole they are generous and funny and hard-working, and the more time I spend with them the more I want to join in their efforts to make that school the best darn CEM (that's a middle school) in the region! It was this sentiment that encouraged me to join the ranks of PCVs who are participating in the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship Program this year. The program aims to address the issue of girls' education in Senegal. While enrollment at the elementary school level is fairly equal between boys and girls, by middle school girls' enrollment drops incrementally with each year. Early marriage accounts for some of this, but many families simply pull their daughters out of school to help with the housekeeping. When a family's resources are limited they tend to favor boys' education, assuming that inscription fees are wasted on a daughter who will only grow up to be someone's wife. Consequently, many girls have trouble imagining futures for themselves outside of the traditional roles of wives and mothers, and the cycle continues. The Michelle Sylvester Scholarship is awarded to nine girls, three from each of the three middle school grade levels. They are chosen by the faculty based on their academic standing as well as their need. The funds are used to pay for their tuition fees and school supplies for the coming school year. As a woman who was raised to believe she could be anything she wanted (instead of or in addition to becoming a wife and mother), as a Barnard woman, as someone who has been blessed in so many ways, I feel compelled to do what I can to encourage educational equality in this country. I am able to be in the Peace Corps without stressing about student loans waiting for me when I get back home thanks to the generosity of someone who saw value in women's education for its own sake, for its potential to improve our world. I am here, doing for others, proud to be making good on his investment, and an opportunity to pay it forward presents itself. But I am but a poor Peace Corps volunteer, so (get ready, here it comes) I am asking one last time for support from home. Unlike other charities, organizations, initiatives you could give your money to, you know exactly where this is going and who it benefits. I'll even show you a picture of their happy smiling faces if you want! But in order to do that we need to give these girls something to smile about and that's where you come in. If you feel inclined to help out with the MSS program click here. When you donate please write in the comments section “This donation is to support MSS scholarships in Cibyl Delaire’s village of Sare Pathe Bouya.” To give you an idea of how far the dollar goes in the Senegalese school system, a $20 donation would pay for a year's tuition and all the school supplies a girl needs. Let's show these girls that they are worth it!