Experience:
Organisation:
Name: Stef
Hometown: Manchester
Destination: Senegal
Project type: Teaching English
Organisation: Projects Abroad
What were your impressions of your destination?
Landing in Dakar airport in the middle of a night bizarrely surrounded by sheep and goats was possibly the most crazy experience of my life, but I soon came to appreciate the true beauty and generosity of the Senegalese people!! St Louis itself, where my project was based was just beautiful, lively and always enthralling (plus when it got too much the beach was never too far away). I travelled for 5 months after my project and I can honestly say that St Louis and Senegal in general remain my favorite destination and gave me some of my fondest memories.
Was the work interesting and challenging?
During my project I worked in a relatively small secondary school in the north of town and although I can admit to being a fairly rubbish teacher I really enjoyed every second! The teacher who I shadowed was the craziest but most inspirational man I have ever come across and the kids all adored him and because of this they just loved to learn, which for me was the most exciting thing about my placement. That and, after a really tough week, having 40 14 year olds serenade me with love poems on valentines day!! There's just no way of conveying how much fun I had!!
What was your accommodation like? Did you feel comfortable and welcome at all times?
With Projects Abroad nearly all volunteers are housed with local families and I have to say that this was perhaps a distinguishing aspect of my time in Senegal. I lived with the equivalent of a Senegalese Del Boy, always wheeling and dealing, it was always interesting to wake up each day and find out what his new gadget of the day would be, despite this amusing uncertainty my family were loving and caring and the room and food they provided me with were excellent and despite occasional glitches I never felt unsafe or unloved during my time there, and I felt as though I really were a part of their family, an amazing and humbling feeling.
Were you happy with the organisation and the staff that were responsible for you during your stay?
The staff at TAPA were always around and whenever myself or a fellow volunteer had a problem someone would always help us out, in particular Issa a local member of staff was superb, he was like a big brother to us all and I always felt as though he was looking out for us and really cared about all the volunteers.
Do you feel that you got value for money on the project?
This trip was probably, in proportion, the most expensive part of my gap year, however with the support provided and the experience I got from my project I would definitely say that it was worth it, after all it's the experience that counts!
Would you recommend the project to others?
Yes
