Barça ou Barzakh (Barcelone ou la mort, Barcelona or Death) is Idrissa Guiro’s first film and an eye-opener that shows the link between the massive overfishing by the EU fishing fleets in Senegal (and West Africa) and migration to Europe. The strength of this documentary is particularly in the fact that it shows what is behind the faceless figures of immigrants you read from the news; practically everyone for instance in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, where fishing used to be the main source of income, has a brother, father, uncle, or friend who risked their lives in hope of a future for himself and his extended family. Some of them manage to make it to Europe but many die on this trip, and yet new candidates keep trying despite the risks involved, in lack of better alternatives.

Keep an eye on this excellent documentary and go and see it if the opportunity arises!

Here is a short clip from Barça ou Barzakh in You Tube (in French)

More information on the impact of overfishing

The Ndiagamar School Project in Dakar would like to encourage companies and individuals to donate computers and computer equipment so that voluntary-based schools in Senegal can put them to work for a while longer.

Donating computer equipment to the Ndiagamar School Project is a safe way to discard used equipment when you upgrade your computer. Before taken into use in schools, we will send your computer to a refurbisher, who will ensure that the equipment works well and runs legal copies of software, and that any e-waste is disposed of properly. If you can, include the keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, packaged software, or any other accessories you use with the computer. Schools can almost always put them to good use.

If you donate to a non-profit organization, you are eligible for a tax deduction. Business donors can deduct the un-depreciated value of the computer, and individuals can deduct the current market value of a computer. We can provide a tax receipt upon request.

Please forward this information to companies and individuals that may consider upgrading their computer equipment and are looking for possibilities of donating in the following locations: Brussels, Paris, London, or Dakar. If you would like to donate or find out more about this project, please contact us via info@ndiagamar.org or visit our web site.

Avoid e-waste – reuse!

  The Ndiagamar School in Dakar, Senegal is on a summer break right now and the schoolboys and schoolgirls are on a well-earned holiday. Yet the school building is bustling with life as the construction of new lavatories and renovation works are under way. Have a look at our latest photo album on the school’s website and while you are at it, spread the word about our work!

The Ndiagamar School is running entirely on a voluntary basis and help is needed. You can help in many ways: by donating money or schooling materials, by joining our cause in Facebook and inviting all your friends to come along, or by getting involved with some of our ongoing or upcoming projects. You are also warmly welcome to visit  the school in Dakar!

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!

Have you already seen the mysterious and fantastic birds, created from discarded objects and recycled materials by the Senegalese artist Mamadou Diedhiou Tall? He is inspired by his home village Niomoune and its migrating birds of all sorts. I saw some of his work in Dakar and they all look so bird-like! 

I’ve noticed recently that his art is being copied by others too – I suppose there’s nothing wrong with the idea of practising your artistic eye and with creating new beautiful things out of trash, only it would be nice if all those apprentices had their own ideas and let the material decide whether the work at hand turns out as a bird, a fish, or something else.

The Birdmaker, a short documentary on the artist by Cheik Darou Seck, is available online here.

It’s again that time of year to start a new, better, brighter and healthier life. Quit smoking, take up a new hobby, do your homework (or whatever duties) e v e r y  d a y punctually, exercise until all your ligaments are in shock after their dormant state so abruptly disturbed, and so forth.. I have decided only to welcome back certain routines that I am fond of: regular writing – goes without saying in the student business – and the gym. For quite some time now I have wanted to start with something new and I am now very entousiastic about the idea of learning to dance à la Senegalese, though I am not sure if my old bones are up to such a challenge. A while ago I saw some suburb schoolchildren practise a dance performance and was mesmerized by their talent,  there’s so much playfulness in the way the Senegalese do it! Last night I saw a TV show with Coumba Gao Seck and at the end of the show she was invited to dance by an old lady, who despite her age and impressive grand boubou was all hands and legs in the air when the drums beat!

In this part of the world there seems to be no need for an expensive health club membership with the extra service – if you sign up for 10 years – of free towels or eucalyptus-scented saunas… go to the beach instead and be inventive! The atmosphere on the beach is quite unique: Someone is praying or preparing for a prayer close to the wall of the Layene Mausoleum while many others are doing sit-ups or running backwards up and down the slopes of heavy sand; some swim, while others wash their trousers or goats a little further away; stray dogs loll in the sand or compete with the eagles on the leftovers of the fishermen’s catch… a few Toubabs have come for a walk away from the dust and the noise of downtown Dakar; here you have to be on your guards only about sudden horse carriages passing by, or footballs. The place is all sports!