Gus Ruchmansenegal 2011
Are You Ready?
May 16, 2011
I am home! And I have a lot of stories to tell.
If you (or your child, student, friend, etc.) are interested in a Global Citizen Year, you might want to watch the video below, a sort of teaser-trailer for my Senegal experience.
Enjoy!…
A Rosetta Stone From Senegal
May 3, 2011
GCY Fellows in Senegal must learn two languages: Wolof and French. With only days left in the country, I thought I might share some thoughts both fun and serious on the linguistic experience. Please pardon the grammar mistakes!
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Ci Amerik Gus laa tudd, Ruchman laa sant, wante fii am naa turu Olof. Maangi tudd Moustapha Gaye. Man jangkat laa; duma fajkat. Bi ma ñëwee fii, ci sama rew, Sénégal, lakk naa Angale ak Espagnol ndaxte jangoon naa Espagnol ba sonn ci jangukaay, wante lakkaguma Faranse walla Olof. Leggi dama mën a waxtaan ak nit ñi ci dëkk…
Xeex Sibbiru
April 24, 2011
The fight against malaria, as with AIDS and tuberculosis, is a multilateral war of attrition. Education of doctors and patients alike, accessibility of preventative measures, and medicines, tests, and infrastructures that comprise treatment systems are forming a defensive web against a disease with as many social as medical implications.
Though there is a long way to go and many obstacles to overcome before one of the world’s most infamous diseases is eradicated, much progress has been made. Governments across the world, NGOs including Malaria No More, and private citizens such as the dedicated medical workers of the Sangalkam rural community…
Cast of Characters
April 14, 2011
About two months ago I moved to Noflaye and a new family—a wonderful family—that, among a bit of Senegalese dance and other things, has taught me the true meaning of teranga. My living situation is now divided between to places: my family’s home and the Village de Tortues/Kër Mbonat Yi, a small but important sanctuary for tortoises just down the road.
My family’s domestic circumstances, though several steps above the average humble concrete that constitutes most of Noflaye and Sangalkam, and certainly much nicer than the straw huts that house the poorest portion of the local population, includes a few…
Drop By Drop, Child By Child
April 13, 2011
Take a walk through Noflaye and you will find chalk marks on the walls and doors of many homes. At first glance the circled “V7” sign might look like the warning of a plague that has swept through the village. In fact, it is just the opposite: it marks the seventh vaccination campaign against polio.
On April 1 I arrived at the Sangalkam Poste de Santé to find that doctors and nurses were taking supplies and leaving for several corners of Sangalkam and the smaller surrounding villages. I joined forces with the Noflaye team and headed back up the road.…
A Proud American
April 4, 2011
Turn on your favorite news network. Whether you watch CNN, Fox, The Daily Show, or WalfTV, the images are largely the same. The world is falling apart at the seams, and anti-American sentiment seems as high as ever.
Yet here in Senegal I have had an optimistic encounter with my national identity. I am always sure to make known that I am American for two overarching reasons. One motivation is the desire to distinguish myself from the far more prevalent French travelers and ex-patriots in Francophone West Africa. Many Senegalese are willing to assume that even a white person who…
Strangers With Candy
March 28, 2011
It was 1:30 in the afternoon, and the sun was broiling the earth beneath my feet. Sweat ran down my face and began to soak through my shirt. I could smell the swarming heat.
“Why are you laughing?” asked a bewildered co-worker as we walked through the streets of Sangalkam.
“It is difficult to explain,” I replied, smiling to myself and subsequently to her as well, but then continued. (I paraphrase and translate as faithfully as possible in memory):
“In the United States children are told not to talk to strangers. The community is not like the village here, where…