The senior boys left the night prior to our arrival to set up camp. We were fortunate to be staying in a compound that facilitated a relatively comfortable stay. This is the dining tent/boys sleeping quarters. Large mats were laid out for everyone to sit on at mealtimes, but later this was also where the boys slept.
These are the girls sleeping quarters. The tent I shared with three other teachers is on the far right. We chose not to put the fly on our tent which created an open concept. It was often comical when people walking around the compound happened to glance in and greet us as we woke up in the morning or lounged in the late afternoon after a hard days work. The girls facilities were just behind the tent city. There were two toilet stalls and two shower stalls for approx 30 girls/women. It was my first experience using the squatty potty AND my first experience taking bucket baths. The first time I 'showered' using a bag with a hose designed to pour water like a traditional shower. This didn't work out very well. I ended up quite sudsy, but learned from the experience and was much more successful the next day.
One of the vital crews was the 'camp crew'. These guys spent their days hauling water for bucket baths (aka showers), and pumping water for drinking and cooking.
This was the "line-up" for the medical team. They served hundreds of people who came for medical care. Each patient received the attention they needed and were prayed for by a DA staff or student.
Another team constructed benches for one of the two churches being built by the outreach teams.
My team dug the foundation for a church and made bricks. It was hard work and the days were hot. I was grateful that this was the "cool season". We had a tent for shade where we all took turns resting. We made good progress and finished ahead of schedule both days. Three of us female teachers worked alongside over a dozen guys, but we held our own. They busted their butts, but had a blast doing it.
The brick making is like preparing cookies with shovels. You mix the cement, and then fill a mold, pat it in, and flip it over. Technically the brick crew was separate from the foundation crew, but there was a lot of back and forth on the second day as the number of people needed to help with the foundation lessened. I spent a good portion of day two carrying water for the cement.
We gathered quite the audience as our work progressed. The group included the village chief and other leaders.
This is the a nearby family compound where we were supplied with water. There is one pump for the four houses. After we asked permission from the adults, the kids were eager to help. They found a hose to attach to the pump and though it had a few holes, the youngest kids (who were maybe 3 or 4) helped by holding those parts of the hose into a bucket. The older kids helped by making a line with out buckets and moving them as the buckets were filled. They wanted to help carry the water as well. There was a teenager who showed us all up carrying a full laundry tub on her head. She did the work of four of us from DA in one trip. While we waited our turn to have our buckets filled we joked with the kids and were entertained by the chickens and goats that wandered freely around the compound. Later, when we had an hour of down time, we played soccer with the kids. I even scored a goal!
The local pastor's wives prepared our evening meals. We ate traditional senegalese food around the common bowl. The first evening we enjoyed mafe, a peanut sauce with meat and vegetables served on rice. The second night we ate cheb o yep, a red sauce with meat and vegetables served on rice.
The evening presentations we hosted for the villages were extremely well attended. At least a thousand people each night. The first night the crowd was so enthusiastic about the drama and singing that the 'choir' (most of the DA staff and students not involved in other components of the presentation) had to leave the stage area because the people were not respecting the boundary lines. A local pastor gave a talk about God's immense love, and His willingness to sacrifice His son Jesus to cover the debt of our sinfulness. Over a hundred people raised their hands to show that they want to learn more about God's love and Jesus' sacrifice for them.
The drama team, in addition to performing at the evening presentations, also traveled from village to village during the day presenting their dramas. They were one of the most hard-working teams, and a huge crowd pleaser for both children and adults. They visited close to 20 villages over the two days.
The second night's presentation was also very well attended. The crowd was still enthusiastic, but more respectful of the stage boundaries. The presentation was exactly the same though it was in a different location, for different people. A huge baobab tree created an artistic backdrop for the stage. Similarly to the first night, there were more than a thousand people who came out to enjoy the presentation and more than a hundred who raised their hands to show that they wanted to know more about God's love for them.
