Searching for Schools

     Today was supposed to have been our fishing day.  However, due to the cold weather (70's) and cold wind, we had to cancel the trip.  We were disappointed but Travis came up with another adventure for us.  There is a team coming to do ministry in village schools in January.  He still had several schools in the Fatick region that he needed to find.  So we were off on a road trip in search of village schools.  As we drove down the road we had to wait for the "traffic" to clear (cows).

     We were able to find all of the schools in the villages for which we were looking.  These schools are small and lack many supplies.  The team that is coming in January will be sharing the Gospel message and giving each student a notebook and pen.  Many families will only have one pen so the oldest child is in charge of the pen.  It will be passed around to the younger children as needed.  Below are a few pictures of some of the schools that we found.

     We got out of the car in one village and were followed around by a group of school children.  We found some ladies selling various items.  We were getting a little hungry so we bought beignets (sweet bread) and raw peanuts.

     Life in the villages is quite different from the towns.  There is a village well where they go to draw their water.  Transportation is usually a horsecart.  If they have to travel very far, they will go to the main road and catch a bus.  The people in the villages make their living by growing their crops and selling them by the road or take them to town to sell.  Their homes usually have a thatch roof with only one room.  They cook over a fire outside.

Village water well

Watermelon field

Village transportation - Horse cart

Village house

Waiting to catch the bus

   
     Since our trip took us close to the town of Kaolak, we decided to go there to get some lunch and pick up something in the market.  We ate a traditional Senegalese meal of fish and rice.  I took a few pictures of some interesting sights while we were in the market.

Horse cart loaded with watermelons

Child's toy (a tire)

"Joseph" (man with an outfit of many colors)

   
     On our drive back to Fatick we saw a few more interesting sights.  It's not a long drive but it takes almost an hour due to the bad condition of the road.  It may not have been as much fun as going fishing but it was still a fun day.

Huge baobab tree

Birds at a water hole

Water flowers

Water hole