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Saturday, August 25, 2007
Fast Food Senegal
The first time I saw a 'fast food' sign in Senegal, I thought to myself that western values have crept in here too.
But, after eating in a few restaurants in Senegal, there is nothing fast about service here. And after a few years, i have realized that the word fast has a whole new meaning in Senegal.
This video is kinda cool music video...enjoy.
Senegal Video #1
Jamm Rekk
Peace is everything in Senegal.
Jamm Rekk is the wolof word for peace. As you can see in this video, that the smiles of Senegalese are priceless. But, you can also see the 'no hope' look as well. My involvement in Senegal, we pray , will bring not only the hope of Jesus Christ, but to also meet the physical needs needs of the people.
Jamm Rekk
Senegal - Country Profile
BBC NEWS
Country profile: Senegal
Senegal has been held up as one of Africa's model democracies. It has an established multi-party system and a tradition of civilian rule.
Although poverty is widespread and unemployment is high, the country has one of the region's more stable economies.
For the Senegalese, political participation and peaceful leadership changes are not new. Even as a colony Senegal had representatives in the French parliament. And the promoter of African culture, Leopold Senghor, who became president at independence in 1960, voluntarily handed over power to Abdou Diouf in 1980.
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics: Abdoulaye Wade came to power in 2000, ending four decades of Socialist Party rule; he won a second term in February 2007
Economy: Agriculture drives the economy; tourism is a source of foreign exchange
International: Senegal has mediated between Sudan and Chad over Darfur tensions; many African illegal migrants use Senegal as a departure point for Europe
Security: Despite a peace deal, a low-level separatist rebellion simmers in Casamance, in the south
The 40-year rule of Senegal's Socialist Party came to a peaceful end in elections in 2000, which were hailed as a rare democratic power transfer on a continent plagued by coups, conflict and election fraud.
Senegal is on the western-most part of the bulge of Africa and includes desert in the north and a moist, tropical south. Slaves, ivory and gold were exported from the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries and now the economy is based mainly on agriculture. The money sent home by Senegalese living abroad is a key source of revenue.
A long-running, low-level separatist war in the southern Casamance region has claimed hundreds of lives. The conflict broke out over claims by the region's people that they were being marginalised by the Wolof, Senegal's main ethnic group.
The government and rebels signed a peace pact at the end of 2004, raising hopes for reconciliation.
On the world stage, Senegal has sent peacekeeping troops to DR Congo, Liberia and Kosovo.
* Full name: Republic of Senegal
* Population: 10.6 million (UN, 2005)
* Capital: Dakar
* Area: 196,722 sq km (75,955 sq miles)
* Major language: French (official), Wolof
* Major religion: Islam
* Life expectancy: 54 years (men), 57 years (women) (UN)
* Monetary unit: 1 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc = 100 centimes
* Main exports: Fish, peanuts, petroleum products, phosphates, cotton
* GNI per capita: US $710 (World Bank, 2006)
* Internet domain: .sn
* International dialling code: +221
President: Abdoulaye Wade
BBC NEWS
Abdoulaye Wade, the founder of the Senegalese Democratic Party, won re-election in February 2007, gaining nearly 56% of the votes cast - enough to avoid a second-round ballot.
After election officials confirmed his win, Mr Wade warned that corruption cases involving his opponents would be re-opened. The opposition Socialist Party said it would challenge the result.
Mr Wade came to power in March 2000, winning presidential elections at the fifth attempt and defeating Abdou Diouf's Socialist Party. He was 73 at the time.
He found himself in a political impasse: The presidential poll did not coincide with parliamentary elections and he was left heading a minority coalition.
But elections in April 2001 consolidated his power base. His supporters gained control of the national assembly, with his party winning 89 of the 120 seats.
An advocate of democratisation, Mr Wade helped to launch the New Partnership for Africa's Development, or Nepad. The plan aims to foster economic recovery through African-led reforms and good governance. He has sought to strengthen ties with the US.
His critics say he has failed to deliver on promises to boost living standards.
Abdoulaye Wade was born in northern Senegal in 1927. He studied in France and has a French wife.
Senegal has a lively political scene, with parties competing across ethnic, religious and ideological lines.
# Prime minister: Cherif Macky Sall
# Foreign minister: Cheikh Tidiane Gadio
# Finance minister: Abdoulaye Diop
Senegal has traditionally enjoyed one of the most unrestricted media climates in the region. However the Paris-based media rights body Reporters Without Borders noted in 2004 that developments in Senegal had taken a "disturbing turn".
It cited the expulsion from the country of a Radio France Internationale correspondent over her coverage of the Casamance issue. Several other journalists had been physically attacked or threatened, it added.
In 2005 a leading private radio station, Sud FM, was taken off the air temporarily after it aired an interview with a Casamance separatist leader.
The constitution guarantees media freedom. The government does not practise censorship, but self-censorship arises from laws which prohibit reports that discredit the state, incite disorder or disseminate "false news". Nevertheless, the private media frequently criticise the government.
Radio is an influential medium. Commercial and community stations have mushroomed since the 1990s.
There are nearly 20 daily newspapers. Foreign publications circulate freely and multichannel pay-TV is readily available. BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are available on FM in Dakar.
Country profile: Senegal
Senegal has been held up as one of Africa's model democracies. It has an established multi-party system and a tradition of civilian rule.
Although poverty is widespread and unemployment is high, the country has one of the region's more stable economies.
For the Senegalese, political participation and peaceful leadership changes are not new. Even as a colony Senegal had representatives in the French parliament. And the promoter of African culture, Leopold Senghor, who became president at independence in 1960, voluntarily handed over power to Abdou Diouf in 1980.
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics: Abdoulaye Wade came to power in 2000, ending four decades of Socialist Party rule; he won a second term in February 2007
Economy: Agriculture drives the economy; tourism is a source of foreign exchange
International: Senegal has mediated between Sudan and Chad over Darfur tensions; many African illegal migrants use Senegal as a departure point for Europe
Security: Despite a peace deal, a low-level separatist rebellion simmers in Casamance, in the south
The 40-year rule of Senegal's Socialist Party came to a peaceful end in elections in 2000, which were hailed as a rare democratic power transfer on a continent plagued by coups, conflict and election fraud.
Senegal is on the western-most part of the bulge of Africa and includes desert in the north and a moist, tropical south. Slaves, ivory and gold were exported from the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries and now the economy is based mainly on agriculture. The money sent home by Senegalese living abroad is a key source of revenue.
A long-running, low-level separatist war in the southern Casamance region has claimed hundreds of lives. The conflict broke out over claims by the region's people that they were being marginalised by the Wolof, Senegal's main ethnic group.
The government and rebels signed a peace pact at the end of 2004, raising hopes for reconciliation.
On the world stage, Senegal has sent peacekeeping troops to DR Congo, Liberia and Kosovo.
* Full name: Republic of Senegal
* Population: 10.6 million (UN, 2005)
* Capital: Dakar
* Area: 196,722 sq km (75,955 sq miles)
* Major language: French (official), Wolof
* Major religion: Islam
* Life expectancy: 54 years (men), 57 years (women) (UN)
* Monetary unit: 1 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc = 100 centimes
* Main exports: Fish, peanuts, petroleum products, phosphates, cotton
* GNI per capita: US $710 (World Bank, 2006)
* Internet domain: .sn
* International dialling code: +221
President: Abdoulaye Wade
BBC NEWS
Abdoulaye Wade, the founder of the Senegalese Democratic Party, won re-election in February 2007, gaining nearly 56% of the votes cast - enough to avoid a second-round ballot.
After election officials confirmed his win, Mr Wade warned that corruption cases involving his opponents would be re-opened. The opposition Socialist Party said it would challenge the result.
Mr Wade came to power in March 2000, winning presidential elections at the fifth attempt and defeating Abdou Diouf's Socialist Party. He was 73 at the time.
He found himself in a political impasse: The presidential poll did not coincide with parliamentary elections and he was left heading a minority coalition.
But elections in April 2001 consolidated his power base. His supporters gained control of the national assembly, with his party winning 89 of the 120 seats.
An advocate of democratisation, Mr Wade helped to launch the New Partnership for Africa's Development, or Nepad. The plan aims to foster economic recovery through African-led reforms and good governance. He has sought to strengthen ties with the US.
His critics say he has failed to deliver on promises to boost living standards.
Abdoulaye Wade was born in northern Senegal in 1927. He studied in France and has a French wife.
Senegal has a lively political scene, with parties competing across ethnic, religious and ideological lines.
# Prime minister: Cherif Macky Sall
# Foreign minister: Cheikh Tidiane Gadio
# Finance minister: Abdoulaye Diop
Senegal has traditionally enjoyed one of the most unrestricted media climates in the region. However the Paris-based media rights body Reporters Without Borders noted in 2004 that developments in Senegal had taken a "disturbing turn".
It cited the expulsion from the country of a Radio France Internationale correspondent over her coverage of the Casamance issue. Several other journalists had been physically attacked or threatened, it added.
In 2005 a leading private radio station, Sud FM, was taken off the air temporarily after it aired an interview with a Casamance separatist leader.
The constitution guarantees media freedom. The government does not practise censorship, but self-censorship arises from laws which prohibit reports that discredit the state, incite disorder or disseminate "false news". Nevertheless, the private media frequently criticise the government.
Radio is an influential medium. Commercial and community stations have mushroomed since the 1990s.
There are nearly 20 daily newspapers. Foreign publications circulate freely and multichannel pay-TV is readily available. BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are available on FM in Dakar.
Iran pledges Senegal investment
BBC News
Iran has agreed to build an oil refinery and petrochemicals plant in Senegal, according to a government statement issued in Dakar.
The deal follows a meeting with Iranian officials hosted by Senegal's President, Abdoulaye Wade, last week.
Iran also promised to speed up the development of a car assembly plant for state-owned carmaker Iran Khodro in the west African nation.
Foreign investors have been attracted to Senegal because of its stability.
It is the only country in west Africa not to have experienced a coup since independence. In March, President Abdoulaye Wade was elected for a second term.
His time in office since 2000, when he defeated the previous incumbent at the ballot box, has been marked by an investment in large-scale infrastructure projects.
Middle Eastern and Islamic countries are natural sponsors for the development of predominantly-Muslim Senegal, analysts say.
Last November, Iran pledged to invest $80m in a car plant in Senegal to be 60% owned by Iran Khodro, 20% by the Senegalese government and 20% by Senegalese private investors.
Iran has agreed to build an oil refinery and petrochemicals plant in Senegal, according to a government statement issued in Dakar.
The deal follows a meeting with Iranian officials hosted by Senegal's President, Abdoulaye Wade, last week.
Iran also promised to speed up the development of a car assembly plant for state-owned carmaker Iran Khodro in the west African nation.
Foreign investors have been attracted to Senegal because of its stability.
It is the only country in west Africa not to have experienced a coup since independence. In March, President Abdoulaye Wade was elected for a second term.
His time in office since 2000, when he defeated the previous incumbent at the ballot box, has been marked by an investment in large-scale infrastructure projects.
Middle Eastern and Islamic countries are natural sponsors for the development of predominantly-Muslim Senegal, analysts say.
Last November, Iran pledged to invest $80m in a car plant in Senegal to be 60% owned by Iran Khodro, 20% by the Senegalese government and 20% by Senegalese private investors.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Senegal Agriculture
Most of Senegal lies within the drought-prone Sahel region, with irregular rainfall and generally poor soils. With only about 5% of the land irrigated, the heavy reliance on rainfed cultivation results in large fluctuations in production. About 70% of the working population is involved in farming. Agriculture (including forestry, livestock, and fisheries) accounts for 18% of GDP. Most Senegalese farms are small (1.5–2.4 hectares/3.7–5.9 acres), and about 60% are in the so-called Peanut Basin, east of Dakar. Much of the agricultural land is still tribally owned. Only about 11% of Senegal's total land area is cultivated; millet took up 40% of the cultivated land in 1999; peanuts, 36%.
Since independence, the Senegalese government has developed a system of generally small cooperatives to rationalize agricultural production and marketing and to free the farmers from chronic indebtedness to private traders; these were replaced in 1984 by a network of "village sections" with financial autonomy. Parastatal agencies guarantee minimum prices of major agricultural crops, including peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, and cotton.
In theory all peanuts are processed locally, and prices of processed peanut oil and other peanut products are set by parastatal agencies. Production of unshelled peanuts varies widely because of periodic drought, and production is frequently underreported because of unauthorized sales to processors in neighboring countries. In 1999, the reported production was 828,000 tons (95% for oil). Cotton, Senegal's other major export crop, is produced and marketed under the direction of the Society for the Development of Textile Fibers (Société de Développement des Fibres Textiles—SODEFITEX). Seed cotton production was 21,000 tons in 1999.
Production of food crops, some of which are grown in rotation with peanuts, does not meet Senegal's needs. Only in years of favorable rainfall does the country approach self-sufficiency in millet and sorghum, the basic staples. Production amounts in 1999 included (in thousands of tons): millet, 506; sorghum, 147; rice, 240; corn, 66; and cassava, 42. Market gardening takes place largely in the Dakar region and to a lesser extent around Thiès. Sugarcane, grown on about 8,000 hectares (19,700 acres), yielded 887,000 tons of sugarcane in 1999.
Since independence, the Senegalese government has developed a system of generally small cooperatives to rationalize agricultural production and marketing and to free the farmers from chronic indebtedness to private traders; these were replaced in 1984 by a network of "village sections" with financial autonomy. Parastatal agencies guarantee minimum prices of major agricultural crops, including peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, and cotton.
In theory all peanuts are processed locally, and prices of processed peanut oil and other peanut products are set by parastatal agencies. Production of unshelled peanuts varies widely because of periodic drought, and production is frequently underreported because of unauthorized sales to processors in neighboring countries. In 1999, the reported production was 828,000 tons (95% for oil). Cotton, Senegal's other major export crop, is produced and marketed under the direction of the Society for the Development of Textile Fibers (Société de Développement des Fibres Textiles—SODEFITEX). Seed cotton production was 21,000 tons in 1999.
Production of food crops, some of which are grown in rotation with peanuts, does not meet Senegal's needs. Only in years of favorable rainfall does the country approach self-sufficiency in millet and sorghum, the basic staples. Production amounts in 1999 included (in thousands of tons): millet, 506; sorghum, 147; rice, 240; corn, 66; and cassava, 42. Market gardening takes place largely in the Dakar region and to a lesser extent around Thiès. Sugarcane, grown on about 8,000 hectares (19,700 acres), yielded 887,000 tons of sugarcane in 1999.
Friday, August 10, 2007
A Morning in the Village
While I have spent many mornings in a village, it still is an amazing opportunity to take in every time I am in Senegal.
Why are you in the village you ask? The local NGO we are working with has an adopt a village program and our family has adopted a small village. My family was the first ones to spend a night in the village. What an amazing snapshot of life that is so different than ours. it really has shaken the foundation of our family.
I still remember my first morning in the village. After not sleeping very well, I was awakened by what almost seemed like a earthquake. The ground was shaking well before sunrise. The sound of loud thumps were all over the area. What was going on?
Well, the women get up way before dawn to start there daily work. Part of their day is to grind millet.
What they do is take large stalks of millet, put them in a large wooden container and start pounding. And these large pounders are not light. Made from dense wood, these women swing these things like they are toothpicks. And the ground shakes literally. The women get a start on the day before it gets too hot and the rest of their day unfolds. During the day the women will also pound millet , but this appears to be the most popular time. (see video)
When you get up it's usually because you can't sleep anymore because of all the noise. As we sleep in tents , we are in the middle of a barn yard. The roosters, which I have often thought about how well they would taste for breakfast, are obsessed with waking up not only the village, but the whole country of Senegal. and then you have the donkeys and the sheep and the goats and the chickens...I think you get my point.
Well at home, it's normal to got to the restroom when you get up, here in the village there is no latrine in this particular village. That means where ever you feel comfortable relieving yourself will do. The next thing I usually do is go wash up and brush the teeth. Well, with no running water, this is a bit more complicated than turning on the faucet. Next it's to the fridge for some cold juice and a piece of fruit and maybe some cereal. Not so in the village. No fridge here my friends. A normal breakfast in the village is usually some bread. That's it.
Ok...back to a morning in the village. Next the woman are busy taking care of the children and the next big chore is on hand. Getting water. Now in this particular village, in the compound I stay in, the well is about a half mile away. The woman meet at the well and start the long process of drawing water up from this hand dug well. On a pulley they throw down this little pail that, usually has holes in it, down about 50-70 feet and draw up a bucket at a time. Then they pour it into a large bucket that most likely hold about 20 gallons of water. Then they hoist it on a woman's head to carry it back to the compound. then they pour it in a large container for the days use. They can make as many as 2-3 trips in the morning. This is all done before 9 am. Then the woman will start with daily chores. They will sweep the sand to keep things tidy in the compound. The amazing thing is this, this is everyday. No time off...no vacations...you don't get water or pound millet...you don't drink or you don't eat.
Where are the men in this morning? Well, because I have been there only in the dry season, the men don't have much to do. Some will tend to the cattle, some meet under a shade tree to talk about 'important' things. All the while, the women work incredibly hard.
For me, in as little as three hours...my life is changed and I need to adapt to make it the rest of the day.
Senegal - a Muslim World Apart From Others
Daily Champion (Lagos)
OPINION
29 July 2007
Posted to the web 29 July 2007
By Haroon Siddiqui
Lagos
We know Senegal as the westernmost point of Africa, a shipping point of the old slave trade, and, lately, the Dakar Rally and as West Africa's most politically stable country where governments change democratically.
Senegal should also be known as the nation that upends the West's received wisdom on Muslims.
This is not Al Qaeda turf. And the 10 million people (94 per cent Muslim, 6 per cent Christian) here don't fit any cliché.
There are no hijabs in sight. But women are observant. They pray at work and in the mosques, where, unlike in some Muslim lands, they are welcome.
What's most striking about the women - more than their colourful long robes and matching turbans - is their confident bearing. They exhibit neither hostility nor deference to men. They seem their sovereign selves.
They enjoy equality in property and other matters under a law that's a fusion of the sharia and the French civil code.
Singing and dancing are integral parts of life. Youssou N'Dour, the singer, songwriter and band leader whose keening, haunting voice transcends the language barrier to touch audiences the world over, learned to perform with his mother, a griot singer of oral songs dating back to pre-Islamic times.
Music here is infused with the spirituality of the Islamic Sufi sects to which most Senegalese belong. In his Grammy-winning CD, Egypt (2004), N'Dour invokes "Touba, Touba," the headquarters of the Mouridi order of which he is a member.
Touba, 200 kilometres north of Dakar, is where the sect's founder Shaikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke (1850-1927) is buried. In 1891, the mystic claimed to have seen the Prophet Muhammad in a dream. As he amassed a mass following, the French colonials feared he might raise an army of resistance. They exiled him, to Gabon (1895-1902) and Mauritania (1903-1907). That only made him more popular.
The French let him return once they realized he was a pacifist, like Mahatma Gandhi in India against British colonial rule.
Bamba was also apolitical, preaching the Greater Jihad of controlling oneself, a war fought not with weapons but, as per his simplified creed, hard work and fidelity to the spiritual master.
His mausoleum is a popular place of pilgrimage. His descendant, Shaikh Saliou Mbacke, is the current head of the sect.
The day I was there he was available to his followers, not to speak to but to be glimpsed at through an iron grille as he sat in a silent praying repose.
Such veneration - saint worship, in critical theological parlance - is not exclusive to Senegal. But it seemed to me to be pervasive here.
The evening I returned from Touba, I went to listen to a backup singer for Baaba Ma'al, that other great Senegalese performer, and saw the bar crowd swaying to his Sufi chant of "Mouridi, Mouridi."
Religion is not divisive here. Churches stand next to mosques. Muslim-Christian marriages are common. The first post-colonial president, Leopold Senghor (1960-80), was a Christian. An acclaimed poet, he remains an icon for Muslims as well.
"He taught us that before we were Christian or Muslim, we were Negroes," says Boucounta Diallo, a noted lawyer, who served as Senghor's aide. "We have African and Christian and Muslim identities. And our faith, Islam or Christianity, is a moderating force."
Copyright © 2007 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
OPINION
29 July 2007
Posted to the web 29 July 2007
By Haroon Siddiqui
Lagos
We know Senegal as the westernmost point of Africa, a shipping point of the old slave trade, and, lately, the Dakar Rally and as West Africa's most politically stable country where governments change democratically.
Senegal should also be known as the nation that upends the West's received wisdom on Muslims.
This is not Al Qaeda turf. And the 10 million people (94 per cent Muslim, 6 per cent Christian) here don't fit any cliché.
There are no hijabs in sight. But women are observant. They pray at work and in the mosques, where, unlike in some Muslim lands, they are welcome.
What's most striking about the women - more than their colourful long robes and matching turbans - is their confident bearing. They exhibit neither hostility nor deference to men. They seem their sovereign selves.
They enjoy equality in property and other matters under a law that's a fusion of the sharia and the French civil code.
Singing and dancing are integral parts of life. Youssou N'Dour, the singer, songwriter and band leader whose keening, haunting voice transcends the language barrier to touch audiences the world over, learned to perform with his mother, a griot singer of oral songs dating back to pre-Islamic times.
Music here is infused with the spirituality of the Islamic Sufi sects to which most Senegalese belong. In his Grammy-winning CD, Egypt (2004), N'Dour invokes "Touba, Touba," the headquarters of the Mouridi order of which he is a member.
Touba, 200 kilometres north of Dakar, is where the sect's founder Shaikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke (1850-1927) is buried. In 1891, the mystic claimed to have seen the Prophet Muhammad in a dream. As he amassed a mass following, the French colonials feared he might raise an army of resistance. They exiled him, to Gabon (1895-1902) and Mauritania (1903-1907). That only made him more popular.
The French let him return once they realized he was a pacifist, like Mahatma Gandhi in India against British colonial rule.
Bamba was also apolitical, preaching the Greater Jihad of controlling oneself, a war fought not with weapons but, as per his simplified creed, hard work and fidelity to the spiritual master.
His mausoleum is a popular place of pilgrimage. His descendant, Shaikh Saliou Mbacke, is the current head of the sect.
The day I was there he was available to his followers, not to speak to but to be glimpsed at through an iron grille as he sat in a silent praying repose.
Such veneration - saint worship, in critical theological parlance - is not exclusive to Senegal. But it seemed to me to be pervasive here.
The evening I returned from Touba, I went to listen to a backup singer for Baaba Ma'al, that other great Senegalese performer, and saw the bar crowd swaying to his Sufi chant of "Mouridi, Mouridi."
Religion is not divisive here. Churches stand next to mosques. Muslim-Christian marriages are common. The first post-colonial president, Leopold Senghor (1960-80), was a Christian. An acclaimed poet, he remains an icon for Muslims as well.
"He taught us that before we were Christian or Muslim, we were Negroes," says Boucounta Diallo, a noted lawyer, who served as Senghor's aide. "We have African and Christian and Muslim identities. And our faith, Islam or Christianity, is a moderating force."
Copyright © 2007 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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