Senegal: African Development through Drum and Dance (A3D)
Donating Desks to the A.E.D.E.C. School
By: Charles Giuliano - Feb 28, 2009
Recently Astrid and I joined my sister, Pippy Giuliano, and her family, husband Yuri Tuvim and daughter Sarah, and her drum group, led by the musician Mamadou Diop, for a two week visit to Senegal in West Africa. Several years ago, a similar group decided to form the Salem based, non profit African Development through Drum and Dance (A3D) with the purpose of undertaking charitable contributions to schools, and eventually, hospitals in Senegal.
Part of the agenda for the 2009 tour, that included a dozen individuals, was a visit to the A.E.D.E.C. middle and high school which enrolls 1,600 students with a related orphanage which focuses on vocational training. Were it not for this school many of the children would be on the streets.
In scenes that draw comparisons to the Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire" we saw countless children, many with bare feet and runny noses, begging for change to fill their plastic bowls. Many of these children, without the benefit of education, mature to join the hordes of peddlers selling phone cards, fruit, and sundry items thronging the traffic jams on dusty roads in and around Dakar.
Despite squalid and primitive conditions A,E.D.E.C. and its staff of amazingly dedicated teachers, led by the director, Souleymane "Solo" Kani, offer hope to the eager students. Many of the graduates move on to college and eventual professions.
For the past few years, since its founding in 2004, A3D has worked with schools. In a prior cycle of giving the organization provided a room of several computers to A.E.D.E.C. and sewing machines to a school of girls. But the needs of A.E.D.E.C. have proved to be far more basic. The latest cycle of funding was to provide money to build 100 desks, at $60 each, constructed with a welded metal frame, to seat three students on benches.
We visited the school for a dedication and celebration of the new desks. Arriving as a group we encountered a throng of students, and faculty enjoying a holiday from their usual study. The school is designed as a compound with an inner court yard where the new desks were displayed prior to being installed. Providing funding and having the desks fabricated locally proved to be most efficient.
There was a tent set up to house an array of dignitaries including both African officials as well as the primary A3D officers; Mamadou Diop, President, Debra Crosby, a video artist and producer, Director, and Don Goldman, a consultant to the printing industry, Executive Director. The ceremonies were conducted in Wolof, the language of Senegal, as well as French and smatterings of English. The A3D officers presented awards to Solo, Ndeye Mbow, the director of a school for girls to which sewing machines were contributed, and others who had contributed to the ongoing projects. Eventually, A3D hopes to provide desks for all of the students.
Several reporters for Dakar newspapers were present as well as radio and television crews. The event was widely reported in the media. Diop used the occasion to air frustrations of dealing with typical Senegalese bureaucracy in trying to initiate a project to ship surplus hospital equipment through partnering with International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC). For a cost of some $25,000 it is possible to send $500,000 of surplus medical equipment to a hospital or clinic. It would seem to be a no brainer but, as Goldman discussed with me, they had sent endless letters and made numerous attempts to contact appropriate officials with no result. Through taking their case to the media, which was widely reported, they hope to make a breakthrough. Given such obvious need it is difficult for us to understand the African way of doing business with its many layers of payoffs, hijacking, and corruption. Part of the mandate of IMEC is to see that the equipment does indeed reach its intended recipients and not end up on the black market. The organization has an excellent track record of delivering its goods.
There are no such obstacles in dealing with Solo and the A.E.D.E.C school. During our time in Senegal we saw a lot of the charming and dedicated Solo and got to know some of the faculty including the handsome and intriguing English teacher with waist length Rasta dreadlocks, MBaye Sarr. After the award ceremony there was a tour of the facilities and a reception. We returned a few days later for a talent show conducted and video taped by Crosby for later broadcast on public access stations in Salem and throughout New England. On our last night in Senegal the school hosted a wonderful sendoff party. There were many warm embraces with hopes for future collaborations.
Visiting the class room proved to be heart wrenching. The rooms were dense and dark with broken desks which are in the process of being replaced. At one end is a blackboard with perhaps just a single window and overhead a fluorescent fixture. The rooms and halls are dusty and the student latrines are unsanitary. There is no money for textbooks. And yet in this environment real learning occurs. The enthusiasm of the students and faculty is truly infectious.
As Goldman explained to me there is no money for books. The school has asked for a copy machine. Through his contacts in the printing industry Goldman hopes to be able to find an adequate copy system to make sufficient handouts for the students. There are also reproduction and copyright issues to be explored and negotiated. All of which is quite daunting. But Don is dedicated and resourceful.
Because A3D evolved out of Diop's drum group the organization is located and focused on Salem, Mass. As a part of its fundraising activity it organizes a three day Annual Salem CultureFest, scheduled for July, 2009, as well as, an annual Hope for the Holidays. There is a pen pal program connecting Salem students with those in Dakar. Eventually A3D hopes to establish a cultural center in Salem and to extend its teaching mandate.
Following the awards ceremonies we moved on to the orphanage which is nearby. In its courtyard we were treated to a drum ensemble which inspired the students to engage in spontaneous and outrageous dance. This was also the setting, several days later, for the talent show organized by Crosby. But that's another story with an accompanying album of images.