One African Village: Food for Everyone, Every Day (FEED)
Sayon called to say that he just finished building the small store to store the rice for the One African Village: Food for Everyone, Every Day (FEED) project. Thank you so much to all of the friends of Sayon and Kouya Sidia. We could not have done this without your generous and consistent support.
In the photo the store is the building to the left of the house, complete with a veranda to keep rice and people dry in the rainy season.
One African Village: Food for Everyone, Every Day (FEED)
We’ve got a place to allow you to make an online gift to One African Village to help people in Sayon’s home village of Kouya Sidia. The project in the photo above was established after a long conversation with the chief of Kouya Sidia who consulted with the heads of families who live there.
We hope to use the funds raised, to create a way for the village to establish a ‘store’ that will provide food for EveryOne, EveryDay. At the same time we are exploring how a cooperative effort among the people of Sidia could support the project successfully.
If you are moved to do so, please make a contribution here. Every amount large or small is a tremendous help as it costs less than $2/day to feed a person in the village.
If you wish to contribute by mail, please make a check or money order out to:
Sayon Camara Drumming with the letters OAV (One African Village) in the subject line and contact us
Ko barika. Thank you so much.
February 1
On January 3, this year, we arrived in Kouya Sidia to the exuberant greetings of the villagers who are absolutely delighted to have been blessed with not just one, but three new wells in December and January. We are so grateful to the hundreds of you who made it possible. I wish we could bring the direct experience we had to you, of the generosity that expressed the very deep and lasting gratitude the villagers of Kouya Sidia demonstrated through their endless outpouring of thanks, kola nuts, prayers, enormous amounts of rice, cows, sheep, chickens, fish, porcupine, oranges, papayas, potatoes, koro tia (a type of groundnut which is boiled, after which the shells are cracked open to eat the nut inside), peanuts and of course, festivals rich in drumming and dancing to celebrate! Countless thanks to all of you. It is such an honor for all of us to be part of a project like this.
These photos show some parts of the process and the celebration!
Light, Water
Beginning in 2014, the village appointed a new chief, Mamady Conde, next younger brother of the former chief, Yosay. We are saddened to hear of Yosay’s passing and fortunate that his successor was every bit as welcoming, loving and wise as his older brother. We have confidence that he will serve the village well. Sayon and I met with Chief Conde (Sotikemo, the respectful Malinke for the chief of a Malinke village) to ask him what the most pressing needs of the village are. He gave us two items.
We were able to address the second item immediately – the need for lighting in the community religious center – with a solar lantern.
The primary need is for a second and if possible, third well and pump for the village. In the five month dry season which runs roughly from February through July, the wait time at the current pump to draw well water is far to long to allow the work of growing food, cooking and washing to be kept up with. The long lines at the existing pump cause women to give up waiting and to look for other sources of water, such as in rivers that may or most often may not, have clean water. Consuming unclean water causes health problems. The villagers know this but water is scarce. We know how important clean drinking water is for good health, not to mention when living under hot conditions near the equator.
We would like to help the people of Kouya Sidia have a second well and pump. The village is now 1,200 people strong so you can see that this second well and pump is needed. The estimated cost at the current exchange rate as of February 2016 is about $12,500 (the village is remote and getting the equipment to drill a well to it is a serious challenge on roads that are unpaved and classify more often by standards in developed countries as ruts and gullies). We are setting the intention to raise $11,000 for the new well and pump in Kouya Sidia by November 30, 2016. Can you help us? Every bit helps whether it’s $1 or $1000. If you would like to be part of Sayon’s effort to help his home village, please do!
Thank you every one! Mission accomplished. The well is in!!!
