Life changing experiences in Africa
By Elena Giralt, Ashley O'Brian, Meghan O'Connell
When we arrived in the capital city of Ouagadougou, we knew virtually nothing about the beautiful country and its people. But by the end of our time there, we had become well versed in its culture, history and role on the world's stage.
Sunday markets in Beréba were always the best place to get freshly made beignets and the largest assortment of pagnes (textiles). After living in the villages for about a month, we'd become experts at haggling prices down from the nasara (tourist) rate to something more reasonable.
We'd settled into the relaxed pace of village life, working in the FAVL libraries, visiting the neighboring families and meeting up every weekend for classes where we'd share our experiences, each unique in their own right despite the proximity of our villages. This is just a taste of life during Reading West Africa in the fall of 2009.
Reading West Africa is a study abroad program that gives students an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the culture of Burkina Faso, a small, land-locked country north of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Our group received the increasingly rare opportunity to live in an environment that is markedly different from our Western lifestyle.
The four months that students spend living in Burkina are divided between studying in a city and working in a village library. After several weeks of rigorous classes and adjusting to the new environment, students spend six weeks in various village assignments in southwestern Burkina.
While there, they intern with libraries established by Friends of African Village Libraries, a nonprofit created by two Santa Clara professors that aims to improve literacy in Africa.
The students create photo books with French text that are assembled in the U.S. and then sent to each of the libraries, thus making relatable books available to young readers. The program also includes a week-long trip to the old capital city of Bobo-Dioulasso and hiking through the Dogon Cliffs in Mali.
In our free time, we would explore the city, seek out the best food stands, take djembe dance classes and go out for a cold Brakina beer at night.
Our small group of nine quickly became a family; we spent many free hours in rapt conversation about our experiences, the country's political climate and cultural issues.
During our village assignments, we were afforded many opportunities to become more fully immersed in our local communities.
Elena worked in the maternity ward at her village health care center and traded riddles with the local children in her courtyard. Meghan witnessed an ancient fortune-telling ritual and learned how to make shea butter from a women's collective.
Burkina Faso translates to "the land of honest men," and the Burkinabé people were part of what made our study abroad experience so memorable. Their kindness, openness and hospitality helped us to feel at home in their country.
Our experience with the Reading West Africa program was truly rewarding and life-changing. If you are interested in the program, we encourage you to visit the RWA website at scu.edu/burkinafaso. For more information on FAVL, please visit favl.org
Elena Giralt is a senior political science major. Ashley O'Brian is a senior philosophy major. Meghan O'Connell is a senior economics major.