savagebeasts

Voting for Viola Matters - A CNN Hero

Over a thousand girls in central Senegal call her "Maman."  They attest to how her programs have helped them stay in school or learn how to be entrepreneurs.  Viola Vaughn, an American who's lived off and on for 30 years in Senegal, and who is now nominated as one of 10 finalists for CNN's heroes, is "Maman" to hundreds of girls.

Today, in a ceremony, run by the girls, they announced that 10,000 Girls had received funds from USAID for her program.

Rachel and I were there with other friends.  We left Dakar Sunday afternoon for the 3-hour drive to Kaolack.  We went with friends Shenita, Wendy and her daughter Madeline.  After the long drive, we stayed in Viola's house, were served delicious fried chicken and deviled eggs and slept (barely) because the electricity (and fans) went off, then the insects came, and then the phone kept ringing (apparently people from the U.S. can't understand that we're 4 hours ahead of EST).

The ceremony was today, and we awoke to homemade cinnamon rolls made by Viola's girls.  The ceremonial tent had been set up for the dignitaries -- the U.S. ambassador, Kaolack's governor, the head of Peace Corps for Senegal.  This morning a cadre of tiny three year old boys fought over who would get to carry chairs over their heads to help set up.  Then, the guy with the sound system arrived (and we had a small debate over whether the negotiated price included the price for the fuel for the generator), then the drums, and finally the girls came.  And the dignitaries piled out of the vehicles and sat on the stage.

And here's why a vote for Viola as a CNN hero matters:  because of the power, poise and presence of her girls.  Viola is a charismatic, wise woman who knows how to let people mature in their own skins.   She had told the girls they were in charge of the program, and they described 10,000 girls in English, French and Wolof.  CNN had been filming for a day, so they captured the activity.  The dignitaries spoke.  Then, the girls danced.

We toured the school where the girls are tutored.  And we made the drive back.

The girls were brilliant, high-fiving each other after the ceremony.  They were powerful and beautiful.   

Speechless in Business Ethics

This semester, I'm teaching American business law and business ethics at the Dakar campus of Suffolk University.  This is the fourth year I've been a "visiting lecturer," at Suffolk, and I'm at the stage of the semester when I'm glowing because my students understand how to "distinguish" a case and what "checks and balances" are and who the federalists were.

But yesterday I was dumbstruck in business ethics. 

We were discussing Aristotle's ideas for the modern workplace and then concluded with an article about sexual harassment when a male student from Nigeria piped in, telling me that women in the banking industry in Nigeria were expected to "court" (my word, not his) men to bring their money to the bank (i.e., sexual favors are the lure).  As he spoke, the students in the class -- about 10 of whom are women, from all over West Africa -- nodded their heads knowingly.  "It's normal."  "It happens all the time."  "No, they aren't prostitutes."  "They just have to get business."  They told me that there is even a name for these women -- aristos (like aristocrats).   When I, in my typical American can-do fashion, said that it didn't have to be like this, my students, who come from influential, wealthy African families, told me that it is just, "the way it is; it won't change."

In the discussion, it also emerged that refusing to participate in corruption in Africa would doom you in business:  these students think it is in their future.

I was stunned.  Feeling irrelevant.  Naive.

After class, I emailed some African friends and am trying to get in touch with women leaders in Nigeria who work on gender issues.  Another friend has shown me information from the LEAP foundation that is trying to train African leaders and combat corruption.   My fighting instinct persists, and maybe I can convince some students that they can lead the change.  

But at the moment, their words of resignation ring in my ears.

Cape Verde: Fun in the Atlantic

 Back to  our trip in Cape Verde.  We began each day with a jump in the bay just steps away from our room. The turquoise water was brilliantly clear to the bottom, and the water was refreshingly cool.  Of course, my daring duo did a bit of cliff jumping, maybe 25 feet  (I jumped, too, but from a bit of a lower entry point).  So, we began each morning, cool, exhilarated and primed for diving.

After a lovely breakfast at our hotel, we went diving, first in the morning, then in the afternoon.  We started with a refresher dive in the bay and then went out a bit in a boat to a reef that went maybe 100 feet below (we couldn't go that deep because Rachel, as a 12-year-old, has limits of 18 meters).  We saw purple starfish, moray eels, schools of angel fish, and a beautiful coral reef covered with yellow coral that reached out to the sea.  Michael even saw a sea turtle.  When we went in the boat, a tiny puppy from Portugal joined us, as he was getting his sea legs.   The diving was spectacular.  Michael and Rachel went twice a day every day and even did a night dive on evening.  (I skipped on day dive and the night dive.)  In the evenings, we ate at a small beach-side restaurant on a deck, where we watched the Tarrafal teenagers play different sports each night:  basketball, volleyball and soccer.

We got a great taxi driver for the ride back, a man who lived many years in the U.S. and even drove commercially there:  Edgar Marques, whose phone number for our friends is 982-9599.  

We spent the final night in Praia prior to leaving where we had dinner with a Peace Corps volunteer who had spent a few weeks with us when she was sick.  Our flight was delayed many hours, but still it was a great adventure.

Vote for Viola - CNN Heroes

It's voting season.  I'm writing to ask my friends to make a vote that will help girls in Senegal by voting for Viola Vaughn as a CNN Hero.  (http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/cnn.heroes)

For years, Viola Vaughn has been working with girls to help them stay in school and succeed in Kaolack, Senegal.  (I've written about her many times during my years here -- about the girls staying at our house while they learned to build a website, about the tutoring center and many other projects.)  Last spring, her work was recognized by CNN who nominated her as one of their "heroes."  Now, she is one of ten finalists to win the CNN hero of the year award.

But Viola has to be voted the Hero.  So, please take one minute and go to http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/cnn.heroes.  Or you can search go to cnn.heroes, and it will direct you to the site.

Just yesterday, Viola sat in my living room, talking about selling bissap tea (hibiscus) in the U.S., which is tea grown in the village (once she gets enough money to have the soil tested, we'll be able to show that it is organic).  Her girls sew dolls and other hand-crafts, which they sell on the web.  Viola is a whirlwind of energy.  Her first question is how something will benefit "the girls."  Her website is http://10000girls.org. In fact, in our lengthy meeting yesterday, we were discussing how many plane tickets CNN would buy so that some of Viola's girls can go with her to LA for the announcement of the winner -- as well as whether those girls can get a visa.

If she wins,  $100,000 will come to 10,000 Girls.  So much is being done here:  not just tutoring and entrepreneurial training, but also democracy camps and lessons in advocacy.

Please take a minute and vote for Viola.  You'll help some of the most worthy girls have a better chance.

A Long Week-end in Cape Verde

Ramadan ended 10 days ago, and for the 4-day school vacation, we took the hour-and-a-half flight to Cape Verde for a diving trip.  Cape Verde is one of Michael's countries, and Rachel and I had been there four years ago, but not since we had scuba certification, and the trip was a great success.

The flight is only a hop from Dakar, and Cape Verde has a beautiful new airport that welcomes you.  We were immediately going to the other side of the island of Santiago, to Tarrafal, and we'd decided simply to hire a taxi to drive us over.  The drive was at night, on curvy roads, but the hotel had reassured us that all was safe.  Our driver took the roads fast, with his tires squealing.  We even drove through clouds, where he did slow down as he could see only feet in front of us.

We stayed at a German-owned resort called Kingfisher, where we had a huge set of rooms with a balcony (where Rachel is pictured reading).  The Kingfisher caters to tourists who are hiking or diving.  There are kitchens in the rooms, grills outdoors.  Situated on the edge of a turquoise-clear bay, you walked down a hill and jump into the sea.  In the distance are dramatic volcanic mountains, and as we were there just after the rainy season, all was green.  

These exquisite views greeted us Thursday morning, and we jumped into the sea and then went diving!