The Chateau of Salamata

Not only is my new site different than my old in Guinea, the program entirely in Senegal is different as well. I have to say that the volunteers of the region of Kedougou work hard. There are a variety of projects we have planned for the future that will be tackled together as a team. Therefore, as a whole, work actually gets done in Kedougou. In Guinea, the goals were the same, but there was less team-based projects and more individual work-focused at sites.
This past weekend was our regional retreat. For a change of scenery we traveled south to a village, Salemata, nestled in the mountains of palm trees near the border of Guinea. Basically we discussed the upcoming eye care clinic to be held in Kedougou. American doctors with the organization Right to Site and Health are coming to give free consultations and eye surgeries to communities of Kedougou and surrounding villages. I'm very excited about being a part of this, especially since I am at a frusterating point with my individual work in my village. That is what I think is so great about team-based projects. I can work outside of my village as well, and succes is basically guaranteed (of course I will blog about this later). We also discussed some of our upcoming projects with mosquito net distributions and a leadership camp. The retreat also helped me tackle some issues with my work in my village. By having suggestions from other volunteers and even innovative projects ideas boosted my personal confidence in my work.

I definitely think I am going to look more into work in the small Sussu village I mentioned before. Tomorrow, I have a rendez-vous set up with a Belgium non-governmental organization based here in Kedougou to see if they can possibly help with the water problem. Also, World Vision (another NGO) is quite active in my village, so I am going to see if they could use my help. Afterwards, I have to go to the market and pick up a soccer ball that my dear brothers have requested on many occasions. They will be so excited.
All work and no play is NO fun.
So..........
On a more humurous note, the village Salamata has charm....or eccentricity, I'll let you decide. There is a castle in Salamata...yes, a real castle. A Frenchman moved to Salamata eight years ago and constructed this castle because, well, I don't really know why. It is terribly out of place and is missing a roof. Can you imagine what the villagers think of this establishment. We are all familiar with what castles look like, but the Senegalese?? NEVER. They probably think it houses the witches, sorcerors and spirits they believe to roam the land. Oh, silly Africans.

Any who, this bizarro Frenchman has been in jail in Senegal because of petafilia. He claims he used to be with the French Army and is close friends with Ronald Reagan (he speaks NO English). Interesting or what? Now we all know what the French do with their money, build random castles in small villages in Africa! Ha!

Well, we decided to spend the night in the castle and have a dance party. We strapped our mattresses to our backs and climbed the spiral staircase of this roofless chateau to party in style. I really wanted to play dress up, but everyone as usual thought I was nuts. What ridiculous fun!

Headed to site in the evening tomorrow. Will return in a couple of days for the two week eye clinic.

Wish me luck and pray for success....at least that is what I'm doing.

Until next time......

Party at the Castle!

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On our way out to Salamata