We made the long-awaited trip from Ziguinchor to Thionck-Essyl today.
Because David’s car was not yet fixed, he rented a Peugeot station wagon and a
driver, asking him to come by at 8:15. The car and driver showed up at 8:30,
and we loaded our personal belongings and all of the stuff for the workshop in
the back or on top of the vehicle. Then we drive a short distance (1 mile?) to
pick up Ibrahima and his luggage. From there we went by the apartment where Tim
was staying and collected him and his things. And finally, we picked up Clare
and Rebecca at the designated meeting place. So there were six of us plus the
driver plus quite an assortment of suitcases, boxes, and so on, all ready to
travel to Thionck-Essyl.
our taxi
Maybe you’re wondering how to pronounce the name of this town. “Chunk
o’ seal” is pretty close, so I guess that’ll do well enough for you to be able
to read my posts.
We left Ziguinchor around 9:00, and I was expecting a 4- or 5-hour ride
to Thionck-Essyl, but when I asked about the travel time, I was pleasantly
surprised to learn that it would take only a bit more than an hour and a half.
The distance between the two towns is not great, but then neither are some
parts of the road we took, so there were some parts of the trip that were a bit
bumpy. However, they were not much different than some of my experiences in
other parts of this continent, so I didn’t find them bothersome.
We arrived in “Thionck” almost exactly two hours after we left “Zig”.
There our rented ride first stopped by where the ladies would be staying, so
they could put their luggage there before continuing on with us. Next stop was
the house where David and Ibrahima will be staying. (Everything was new to me
as we arrived, so I’m not sure, but I think that may be Ibrahima’s house,
actually, since he is from this village.) We unloaded their things, then
continued on to the Women’s Center, where David and Ibrahima have arranged for
the workshop to be held. Once there, we unloaded the rest of our luggage and
said farewell to the driver who had brought us. We were quite grateful that
David’s Plan B for getting us and our stuff to Thionck (after his personal
vehicle was not yet ready) had worked out so well.
Women's Center
Tim and I are staying in a house across the street from the Women’s
Center. It’s equipped with an electric fridge, a gas stove, a toilet and shower
(but no running water). Eating and cooking utensils are pretty minimal, but the
two bedrooms each have a double bed with a mosquito net, along with a cupboard
for clothing, a small table, and night stands. It’s all very adequate for my
needs.
An modern African home we are renting
A very adequate kitchen
We did hit a little snag when we realized that there were no hooks in
the ceiling to tie the mosquito net to, so someone had to get a few nails. Then
there was no hammer, so we had to improvise with a piece of a brick. It worked,
and we got our nets hung just fine.
Pounding in nails with a rock
Lunch was a bit after 2:00 and consisted of rice, vegetables, and fish.
It was very good, and I ate my fill. After the meal, we were served a fruit
drink that I’d never had before but which I quite enjoyed. One did kind of have
to get past the color, as it was a greenish-brown, so didn’t look very
appetizing. I drained two glasses of the concoction and left there with a very
full stomach after having eaten a large helping of the rice.
Lunch of fish and rice was served in two pans and shared by the group
In the evening, I called a meeting of all those who’ve been working at
organizing the workshop. I took some time to give them an overview of what the
training phase would consist of. I wanted to help them understand what I’d be
doing and in what order, so they’d have some idea what to expect. It also gave
them an opportunity to ask questions, and it gave me a chance to meet all of
the organizers.
Our first crisis for this workshop came to light as David and I talked
after lunch. He mentioned that two of the group leaders would not be able to
attend the first day of training because they needed to make a trip to Zig that
day and wouldn’t be back until the evening. After processing this piece of news
for a bit, I told David that he’d need to begin thinking about who could
replace those group leaders in that role, because I’ve led workshops before
where a group leader missed the first day and then tried to lead a group, but
it didn’t work well. The only other option I could imagine was to postpone the
start of the training phase and reduce it from three days to two.
David thought about this for a bit, then brought Ibrahima into the
conversation, relaying to him what I had just said. They began discussing
several different individuals whom they had planned to have serve in one of the
other roles, wondering who would have the skills necessary to lead a group
instead. As I listened in on their discussion, another idea came to me—train
pools of people for each role, eight group leaders, eight glossers, eight
scribes, instead of just the six that were needed. A number of participants
would then go through the training for multiple roles, so that when the time
came to decide who would do what, we’d have more trained candidates than we
needed for each position. That solution seemed good to both David and Ibrahima,
so it was adopted. Thus, we found a way to work around the first problem that
threatened to sabotage this workshop.
There are still many details to take care of before 9:00 tomorrow
morning, but I did learn from David that his Pajero is now running again. The
engine problem has been fixed, and all that needs to be done yet is an oil
change, then the mechanic will return the vehicle to their family. Thank you to
all who prayed for their car to be fixed. David plans to return to Zig on
Thursday to spend the weekend with Janet and the boys, then bring them all
along back with him to Thionck for the following week.
Tomorrow we begin the training phase of the workshop. Pray that those
who need to be there will be!
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