For quite a long time now I have been trying to get hold of the following novel by Mamadou Samb:

De pulpe et d’orange: Autobiographie d’une prostituée dans une ville ouest-africaine
(Enda-Editions, 1990)

It appears to be too hard even for Amazon.fr to find it. I placed an order months ago and they keep coming back with a mail saying that they are still looking for it. If you happen to have a copy of this book or know where I could find it, please come forward and help the reader in distress!

In the aftermath of Tabaski - or Eid al-Adha - we had a couple of pairs of sheep horns boiled in Dakar so that the stuff from inside the horns would come out. This was the easy part of the process and now the idea is to make some new snappy objects out of them, but preferably without the accompanying smell! Washing the inside of the horn with strong tea or beer are the suggestions we have come up with so far, but somehow I doubt the effectiveness of these methods. We already tried bleach but the horn aroma still triumphs…  How on earth did the cupper get rid of the smell of her cupping horns in the old days? Or did she? If you have any ideas - preferably based on experience - please help!

In a few hours I’m off to Yoff - actually to that very same spot that you can see in my banner. Just a quick note before I go: I’ve been trying to find information about solar energy and what it takes for a charity to install solar electricity to a small school in Senegal. I have contacted a couple of manufacturers in hope of a quote and some basic answers to what would possible be the most useful and of course less expensive solution for the needs of the school. Strangely enough, none of the manufactures cared to answer my questions so far.  Then I also asked help from an NGO in Bamako, Mali, and their local expert immediately wrote back to me. We talked over skype and he was even kind enough to send me a rough estimate on the expenses involved – all this for free. I am delighted to have talked with him and impressed by his friendliness and support. Now, what does all this say about businesses?

The Ndiagamar School Project in Dakar, Senegal 

I just reopened my Amharic notebook after a one-month-break and composed an email to my teacher to say hello and to invite him over for a good coffee and more lessons. As it happens, this is my 50th post and to celebrate the occasion I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that not everyone can go to school or follow any kind of teaching. Do you still remember your very first school day and the excitement of it? I remember I insisted on walking to school all on my own from day one and was so proud of my desk and my new class mates and my teacher, who got our unlimited admiration for quite some time, at least in the beginning.  How was your first school day?

Try and imagine what it means to skip that first school day - and all the days - and go to work or beg on the streets instead.

Tante Astou, one of Cheikh Aliou Ndao’s female characters, got sacked from the Koranic school - daara - because she had an attitude. She wanted to understand the verses written in Arabic in her wooden tablet, instead of only reciting and memorizing them, and she also refused to accept the occasional physical punishments by the Marabout. Way to go Astou!

I wanted to add here a clip of the Arabic version of the children’s ABC song called Alif-Baa-Taa but unfortunately it is missing from my archives.  I may have deleted it in my yesterday’s ardour before formatting my laptop. I never really learnt to sing this song myself but I remember it had a funny, somehow nationalist, echo in it. If you know more about the background of this song I would appreciate if you could share it with us all - many thanks in advance!