A change of work: Asedeme centre

After the first two months in Dakar, I decided to lengthen my stay. I hoped to be able to stay up to four months because that was what I had been promised in Belgium. Wep had assured me that I could stay a minimum number of months (two months) and extend the duration of my stay up to four months once there. But I could only extend it to one month. So I was a little disappointed but happy to still be able to stay one more month there.

However, I my idea was to change jobs. As I explained in a previous post, I worked as a volunteer in a primary school but without really being a volunteer because they didn't really need me where I worked. There were already enough teachers and in addition it was a private school where there wasn't a lack of materials etc.

So I asked the Syto team (the host organization in the host country who worked with Wep) to find me another job. They weren't very enthusiastic about having to start a new process for me and I ended up finding a second job on my own via a friend who confirmed to me that they needed volunteers at the centre for disabled children where she worked. This centre is called "Asedeme, Doom doom la" and I spent the most wonderful last month there.

The Asedeme association is a school for children with mental disabilities. It offers them many activities: gardening, sewing workshops, cooking, painting, djembé as well as math classes or French for advanced students. It operates through a sponsorship system. If you want to sponsor them you can do it from the centre's web page www.asedeme.org

In the following photos, you can see the students and some of the activities I mentioned.

When I arrived, I was placed in the group of ants. The group where they needed volunteers because there were many children and some are hyperactive and may require a lot of the instructors' attention.

Discovering the Asedeme School:

The first day, I went to Asedeme with my friend. Upon arrival I heard the children playing and screaming in the yard. They ran to us and we were completely surrounded with children who were jumping into our arms. So I was immediately pleasantly surprised by their affectivity.

Then, after fifteen minutes of free play, the Director, Mr. Sarr came out to blow the whistle that marked the start of classes. Children are lined up behind one another in line in front of their respective teachers. They sing a song in chorus before entering class, it's a nice and catchy ritual to start the day. Then, are separated and class starts. Each group level has a respective class. Groups are named after animals (ants, termites and bees). I personally worked with the ants group, the children with the most mental disabilities.

The day is divided into several stages. The courses first, then the first playtime, again the courses (a workshop this time, on colors, geometric forms, songs, parts of the body, etc. ). Then we shared lunch. The children have their own plates. The teachers eat together. The rice dish is placed between everyone, on a small stool and we all eat in the same dish as it is in the Senegalese tradition. Then there's a nap time that's not really a nap time because some students always come to disturb others. Then again a workshop and a music workshop (djembe).

My role in the school:

So I was, as I just mentioned, a teacher for the ants group. For this group we were three: the main teacher, Aida, my friend and me. I found my place very quickly in the group. I sat next to the students and did the activities with them as the teacher asked. Sometimes I calmed Baye Diope, a hyperactive student who often made me laugh. I ended up becoming a bit of his personal teacher without trying to. He became my favourite but don't tell him that...

We also prepared a show to present at Le Méridien, a luxury hotel in Dakar, where the children's sponsors were invited for dinner on a special day, it was an opportunity to show them the children's progress. It was very funny to see that from one rehearsal to another, the students would forget everything. Then there was always a child running around or doing whatever. But in the end, the performance was great. It was really nice. I played a little bit of djembé.

Sometimes, I would teach the children songs. Very simple ones like "head, shoulder or knees and toes" or even the "little Martian" song. It was also a time to laugh, the children often made gestures but would talk gibberish.

Some anecdotes...

At a painting workshop, Khadim (there are many Muslim first names in Senegal) approached me with a smile on his face. I smiled back at him and then, paf! He slaps me with his hand full of paint XD.

Or Baye Diope, my favorite whom I mentioned. He would often stroke my hand, slowly and suddenly, paf! He would twist your finger and your hand :S You had to be on your guard...

Volunteers, go for it!

If you want to volunteer in Dakar Senegal, and you love teaching, children and you have patience, I urge you to attend the Asedeme centre. You can contact the Director Mr. Sarr. directly. But if I were you, I would him phone instead of sending emails because everything is done very slowly in Senegal and you may have an answer at the end of your stay :p

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