We started off our first full day in Senegal with a wonderful breakfast prepared by Le Kenkeni staff, it was very refreshing especially after our long day of travels the day before. After finishing our lovely breakfast and taking our malaria pills, which is very important we do, we had Sophie, the creator of Les Cajoutiers, come and tell us about herself and the school. She told us how and why she started Les Cajoutiers. She told us about the school and the children and answered any questions we had. After that came what we were all waiting for, our first visit to the school. We gathered our belongings and took a cart pulled by a horse to the school. It was definitely a new experience for everyone, not many people get to say that they've ridden somewhere on a cart pulled by a horse in Africa.
When we got to the school, we were welcomed by all the adorable kids waiting for us singing and clapping. It was an overwhelming feeling as we sat down and watched all the kids chant and sing. After Sophie introduced us to the children and the principal gave his speech, the children began getting up and dancing. They looked so cute and seemed beyond happy. It's quite an incredible feeling seeing all the kids so happy and enjoying life. After the initial gathering, all the kids dispersed and went to their classes. This is when we were introduced to Alpha, who is the head of administration at the school, who would show us around to all the classrooms. We started with the deaf children where we learned how to say bonjour and merci in sign language, I also, as I know some sign, taught everyone how to sign their names. After that, we visited the small children aged 3 to 6. They all greeted us with smiles, and one of the classes even sang for us. We then went on to visiting the older kids but because it was 12 o'clock, they started eating lunch which was very interesting to see how the kids have lunch at school. They all seemed very content with their meals and were clearly happy. Sadly, it was time to go, so we got on the carts and headed back to Le Kenkeni.
After getting back from the school, we all changed into our bathing suits and headed straight to the beach. The ocean was surprisingly warm and we were all just enjoying ourselves and splashing around. We also took a lovely swim in the pool at the hotel, which was nice and refreshing. We returned to Le Kenkeni, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch with some good conversation. We then had one of the mothers of the children from school come and show us some of the Senegalese clothing, jewelry, and baskets that she sells, for us to take back home for ourselves and to sell at winter wonderland to raise money for the school. Buying these items from a parent of a child in the school is more beneficial for helping out the whole school community than if we bought it from a random person at the market. Once we decided on everything, we had some downtime for us to chill and do any homework that we had. We are excited for a brand new day tomorrow where we will be visiting a market and visiting the village of Warang.
Alba Ramos
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