We pushed through the darkness under an
illuminating moon and light turbulence. Clouds were lit up, white
over the vast expanse of the Atlantic that I could never see. The
purser announced our landing in a thick Afrikaans accent and that the
plane would be heading on to Johannesburg only departing Dakar
passengers would be allowed off. We dropped toward a great arm of
glistening lights, a constellation of stars in a space of sea. The
new Old World for me. The furthest western point of Africa and
Senegal...
The days have rolled quickly, one into
another. Time is flying by. Every hour is filled with a new surprise.
More smiles, more laughter and more ways I could not have imagined to
break through the language and cultural barriers. Barriers that
seemed to evaporate upon arrival. I did not feel acutely the
“stranger in a strange land” syndrome I have traveling in the
past.
On the roof, five stories up on top of
the community school run by my host Mamadu and his organization
C-A-F-T, primary school kids were laughing, clapping, singing,
smiling... Engaged in play with their teachers who were being trained
by Elisabeth who speaks French coming from Quebec Canada, and Agyat
who comes from India – and like myself does not speak the local
language of French and certainly not Wolof. There were also several
other adults belonging to several other NGOs and even anartist and
poet among those that Elisabeth and Agyat were training to bring Play
For Peace into their communities in the greater Dakar region...
Elisabeth brings with her over 6 years
of experience with Play for Peace - mostly in Guatemala and Agyat for
13 years with Play For Peace in India. To see them work is a powerful
experience. They are relaxed and continually engaged and attuned to
not only the moment but the outcomes and how they are heading there.
To see their process unfold is illuminating - the evening before as
they loosely plan the day together, checking in throughout the day,
tweaking, removing barriers by working to engage all the participants
and help them feel comfortable and focused – working through the
Play For Peace methodology that Everybody is invited and everybody
wins. Mamadu, the host here in
Senegal was very forward thinking and non-competitive by inviting a
number of different NGOs here to participate, not just his
teachers...
My self imposed barrier, my talisman of
protection, I assumed would be my camera. A way to be involved but
safely on the outside looking in, the observer and future sharer but
thankfully that was not to be. In a skype interview to the Executive
Director, Agyat mentioned that, “Bennett is connecting and
communicating with his camera with the children. All he has to do is
have it out and they are all around him.” It was true, there were
some that would run away if it was brought to eye level but it was
always with laughter and a kind of game of tag... Waving at me to
take the picture of them and then running away weaving deftly through
a laughing knot of other children. Some were brave and asked to see
the image on the screen and they would laugh at themselves and their
friends.
The training and the play sessions are
mostly one and the same. Reinforcing the games by playing them again
- the working theory that through repetition and through inclusion,
non-competitiveness and caring the games bring everyone together in a
very positive and joyful way. There is magic that happens when a
large group of children are smiling, laughing, playing...
The French teacher, an older man in
traditional robes of the Muslim faith, came up to the roof and was
all smiles when he saw the kids in two groups, circled up and
actively playing a game. He spoke very few words in English but
needed no words to express how happy he was. He put his arm around
me. “I am French teacher. No understand English.” He pointed to
the children and proceeded to search through his limited English
vocabulary to express himself. “This is wonderful. I very happy you
are here. Peace very good, very important. Thank you.”
Yesterday beneath drizzly skies, as the
call to prayer rang out across Thiaroye and Dakar, the trainers Agyat
and Elisabeth shared some of the philosophy of experiential education
and how to effectively run play sessions with the 17 Senegalize. When
Agyat would speak and Elisabeth would translate and add to the
conversation. They seemed to seamlessly communicated. Sometimes Wolof
was spoken by the trainees as they shared questions or observations
amongst themselfs, occasionally a few words English idioms that they
knew would be shouted in affirmation. At one point Agyat made a point
that, “If you go and play in many different areas with children
this is not Play For Peace – that is just play. The model is based
on consistent continual contact. For any experience to become a
complete learning it has to have frequency.”
The whole idea Agyat later told me is
to empower. “But we keep the power with us if we make all the
decisions. Through experiential education the participants take
responsibility for their actions and the consequences of what
happens. Normally in the classroom this never happens and as a child
you don't have any power in this environment.”
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