3 days to go

Okay, a little more than 3 days to go and I'll be on a plane from Dulles to Dakar. Yes, nonstop, because Dakar is actually further West than all of Europe, it doesn't take too long to fly there. It's a stop for South African Airlines from Dulles, so it's much better than having to fly through Heathrow or wherever else you need to hit to get to East Africa.

I'll be heading straight to my orientation with Tostan International, who I'll be interning for for the next 6 months. They're a non-profit started by Molly Melching in Senegal in the 1970s. Since then, they've worked in 12 countries in Africa (This number varies because of conflict; it is not always possible to work in Somalia and Côte d'Ivoire). Melching and Tostan were featured in a chapter of the women's rights book Half the Sky for their soft approach to excision (French term) or female genital circumcision/cutting (FGC, the English term). This is a pretty graphic issue, so if you're somewhat squeamish then don't research this. If you're interested, here's a wikipedia page on the issue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting

This is a phenomenon that I'll probably talk about more later in this blog, as I'm sure it'll arise in my work there. Otherwise, my work will mainly entail more administrative responsibilities, I think.... I'm still not completely sure what my day-to-day activities will consist of, but I think a lot of it will be translating documents from French to English and writing reports. These reports will essentially allow the bodies funding the various Tostan offices and centers in the Fouta region of Senegal to know what's going on. They'll serve both as educational tools and public relations, I think, for the United Nations offices, American Jewish World Service, and the other people who fund Tostan's activities. I'll also be teaching English and IT skills to the staff, and maybe get involved in some of the grassroots projects in the region.

More to come soon, before or after my arrival in Dakar. Take care,

Jonah