Les derniers jours

(Excuse me for no pictures- I don’t know why, but  I couldn’t upload the photos I wanted to the blog…)

Tuesday was a rough day: the whole group woke up early to leave Saint Louis on time, arrived to Dakar after an exhausting car trip and eventually gave presentations about our work to Mr Diaw, the sponsor of “Saint Louis 350 Ans”. Like almost all of our interactions with the Senegalese, this presentation was conducted fully in French. Who knows whether the solar opportunity will take place in the hospital or not, still – in less than 10 work days Kristin and I have gone a very long way in this project.

First, by introducing the idea in the first place. Since the solar industry has been governmental driven by several western countries for more than a decade, the solar advantages require no explanations in the west. Still, in Africa things are different: some of the decision makers we had met with, were seriously thinking of going solar for the first time during our project. Under this category I would also mention Wahab’s devotion to the solar team. “Recruiting” the right person has proven to be key in this kind of project. Without Wahab, we would probably get nowhere. This one person knows everyone in Saint Louis, and is very well-respected by everyone, including the guard in the entrance of the maintenance building of the hospital.

Second- by computing all the numbers in order to extract the most important bottom lines. The interesting thing, though, is that during the MBA program- all the data are given, and the hardest part is to calculate. In real life (as we have experienced here)- the hardest part is gathering the data. The maintenance guy had to ask from here and there to bring us this and that… Honestly, the computations –even though they were slightly confusing at the beginning, were a piece of cake.

Third part was the negotiation. First, by emails with several companies and organizations in order to understand that the best funding will not be external. Then, with the local Senegalese solar panel distributers, who clearly thought that we will be easily satisfied by general figures. These interactions were done with completely different targets, in different cultural contexts and from different positions of power.

Finally, was the presentation of our project. Doing the previous stuff gave us more confidence to conduct these presentations relatively easily, even if it was done in a completely different way that we are used to in the HEC MBA.

Anyway- going back to Dakar, after Tuesday afternoon presentations, I left the group after we had a drink in town and went to meet Fran, a lovely South-African AFP journalist who hosted me for my last days in Dakar. We met on “CouchSurfing”, an amazing website where I made friends from all over the world, and thanks to her- I got to stay in an amazing flat right in front of the cathedral of Dakar. Funny enough, the building where she lives has, on the entrance- a sign saying HEC-Paris, African headquarters… Though for several years it has been already moved to another building, I found the coincidence to be funny…

Wednesday morning I had lunch with the HEC guys “Chez Lucia”- a restaurant that serves dishes Cape-Verde style: great food, huge portions, and low prices. Afternoon we went to meet Stephen, an American Jewish man whom I have been contacted with by the Israeli Ambassador in Dakar, Mr. Behar. We heard a very well-structured introduction to Senegal, the Senegalese lifestyle, and future challenges of this country (for example- moving the capital from Dakar to Louga, up north). The two Americans among us were asked whether their future plans include the Foreign Service and eventually we were given some leftover books and magazines (Stephen runs a net of American libraries in Senegal).

After a final split from the HEC group, I went for a run with Fran along the petit-courniche of Dakar. Putting aside the stunning view of the ocean and the island f Gorèe, I couldn’t imagine how many Lebanese live here, until this 7 km run. Lebanese teenagers (not more than 14 years old) riding their bikes helmet-less, over-surgered 50 years old ladies driving immense 4X4 cars with loud music, and everything in between: youngsters in cabriolet cars, groups of men 40-something years old discussing on the sideways and looking at us in a suspicious manner, and again- the same ladies and the same 14-years old youngsters. After the run, we went to a Lebanese restaurant (“Farid”) which was recommended by Stephen (and warmly accepted by Fran). We met there with Fran’s German-Swiss friend who works in Dakar as an accountant manager. A very interesting conversation went by, and the food was – as one can expect – amazing. With all the humus, tabule, labane and a glass of Arak- I felt like I am home again…

That’s pretty much it: today I will stroll down the streets to enjoy a little bit more this colorful and smiley city, with all of its’ crowdedness and pollution, but also with its’ hidden magical places and it’s glamorous ocean view.

Final words before this blog will be officially done:

I want to thank:

• My HEC-Paris colleagues, and especially Kristin (Le group solaire rocks!) and Malick (for introducing me this project and for all the explanations about Senegal).
• A very special thank you I dedicate to Wahab- not just a local true leader, but also a visioner and a friend.
• To Fran- for welcoming me in your little piece of heaven here in Dakar.
• All of HEC-Paris (and HEC-oriented) administration and friends.
• Eric – for hosting that great party we had before the Senegal project.
• Arieh- for letting me put all my stuff in the apartment a head of time.
• (of course…) My amazing family- Moran that I was always so happy to read her comments over the posts; my parents that were visiting in Alaska at the time, but still kept emailing me and skyping when possible; And all of my Israeli family and friends- I miss you and love you very much!!

Rotem, Senegal

Un jour Saint-Louisien, toujours Saint-Louisien (=”One day a Saint Louisien; Always Saint Louisien”)

That’s pretty much it- tomorrow we will leave for two and a half days in Dakar.

Some last experiences from the last days here (in this round!)

1. Solar decisions- my last solar encounter here in the city was with the PV venders that were slightly surprised by the list of requirements that I posed for them. Thanks to Kristin’s hint- I kept my tone as low as possible, and tried as much as my “chaotic French” allowed me, to remain understandable. The fact that I was demanding on the behalf of the hospital made it easier for me to negotiate. The most interesting part of the encounter today was at the end- when Musa, one of the engineers who was involved in the deal, tried to explain their insecurity in the deal by saying something about “the way business are done in Africa”. I had to explain to him that by taking him to the mayor’s office last week, we showed commitment to them.
2. Solar buzz in Saint Louis– After I thought my 15 minutes of fame were when I was interviewed to Wolof-speaking radio, the Senegalese TV came in… the 5 of us were interviewed to the national television. Yet the most profound PR we got so far was due to our visit in the ISM university, where we presented ourselves. Today afternoon, we were visited by Bobakar, a 34-years old Senegalese who heard about us from his friend and was interested in seeking opportunities in the solar industry. When we talked with him I explained that even though we are volunteering, the experience we gain is worth a lot. That is true, and I think that after 12 days in Saint Louis I feel much more experienced, not only with the actual negotiations and presentations in oral French, but also with computations, research and putting everything into numbers and figures.

Foreign influence–

Senegal is open not only to the western music (as was exemplified with Vivianne Ndur). In other aspects of life it can be easily seen how foreign influence had had an impact on Senegalese way of life. Vietnam has, for example, a strong presence in food and in sports (Saint Louis hosted the last Viet Von Dau national championship). Malick explained that the reason for that is the French war in Vietnam during the 1950’s – 1960’s. This was involved Senegalese troops that came back home with Vietnamese wives and traditions. The other day I was surprised to see also a strong presence of volunteers coming to Senegal from Quebec, Canada. The only Jewish person here is working for the Spanish government that also invests heavily in the city (along with the French, Japanese and Belgians).  

Saint Louis- not only an island

During our stay here, most of the time we stayed in the colonial heart of the city- the island. Don’t get me wrong- even at a very touristic place such as the island- it is possible to make friends, even with the postcards-selling guy:

Still, this is a very touristic part of the city in comparison to the Langue de Barbaries or the shore. Today we went to the northern beach at Langue de Barbarie (named “Salsal”). On our way there we say many pirogues (fishermen boats) such as this:

…and one lovely truck that raised philosophical thoughts :

(are “things to forget” what this track is delivering?).

The beach itself- is wilder and more beautiful than you can imagine.

Here are two images I will remember from my last day in Saint Louis (until the next time- AMEN) – the first is the Mafe meal we had “chez Agnes”:

And the second image is of the beautiful full moon that was lightening the river, the bridge and the spectacular view from “Comptoirs de Fleuve”:

A plus au Dakar !!

Rotem

Together in electric dreams

Our Solar mission here has become more vivid yesterday afternoon: Wahab, Kristin and me conducted a meeting with the directeur d’hôpital; his Chef de Maintenance; Ibrahim “solair” (the PV salesman that Wahab found in the outskirts of Saint Louis); and two engineers that Ibrahim works with (Musa and Bubaker). This meeting, in the hospital managers’ office (with a nice picture of Masjid ElAqsa right above his desk), was about one hour long. I presented the idea in my lousy French (Wahab gently defined it as “chaotic”…).

I included three main points that made out presentation more effective:

1. First: to go gradually- going solar step by step. If the required number of solar panels is around 20 (depending on the mode of the panel), our suggestion was to begin with 5 panels, and if this proves to be successful, put 5 more and so on. By doing this shift gradually, the hospital will not only learn better how to deal with problems/ challenges that may rise in the solar system, but also it will decrease the usage of the expensive generator. This decrease is key for the hospital balance sheet, as it costs almost 3 times more than the grid electricity (for less than 7% of time it is used!).
2. Second: to fund the project by hospital and not by any “guarding angels”. As the savings thanks to this project are very high, the financing of the solar panels can be easily covered with the current budget: two months costs of the gasoline required to feed the generator are as expensive of the whole solar planned surface.
3. The last thing I said, both in the large forum, and to the directeur in person, is that after I leave next week with all the great memories, the hospital will stay here with a costly generator and endless sunlight. This is their paycheck at the end of each month. Solar solution is the most economically for the hospitals’ bill. This statement, even if it was blunt, was very effective (I hope).

It should be mentioned, that this meeting was conducted after I had had a very important phone conversation the day before with Mr. Lebot, the responsible of Climate change in the UNDP office in Dakar. Mr. Lebot- very familiar with the Senegalese governmental slow-pace (and specifically in the domain of electricity) gave me some “red-alerts”. I got his permission to raise the points he made in our future presentations.

After the meeting at the hospital, Wahab took Kristin and me to a campus of ISM University to meet with students studying there. It was a great opportunity to see these students that have a rare second-chance to experience academic studies, after most of them didn’t reach high school. They pay nothing- all the project is funded by Mr. Diaw. I asked Wahab to find two students that will continue working with us after we leave Saint Louis, and be dedicated to the solar mission here in the hospital of Saint Louis. Inchallah. After that- Wahab took us to meet his friends and family (his sister lives in the island) and we ended another intensive day.

There is a house in Saint Louis…

One of the reasons for being so optimist about Saint Louis is the real estate status. Since UNESCO declared Saint Louis as an international heritage site, the real estate jumped crazily. A location on the island that used to cost 3,000 euro costs now 500,000 euro (!!!), according to what Malick and Sharla found out. These numbers are compelling. Currently, as the change is still so fresh, not so many properties were sold, mainly because of family inheritance issues. Yet, the changes that Saint Louis is about to experience are dramatic. Or as Malick had put it: “in ten years- no more goats will be walking around here”…

Much more than music

Most of you are familiar with Youssou Ndour who became known in the west after the classic 1994 song “7 seconds” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMZ4SBYpeZw). Youssou has become a very famous person in Senegal with influence that is much more than of a music star (for example, he publishes one of the most important daily newspapers here- l’Observatoire). But thanks to the DJ in “Chez Agnes”, we were introduced to his sister in law, Viviane Ndour. Her song “Champion” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VfwfJofUo) is a mélange of Wolof, French and other languages, and she was clearly inspired by Whitney Houston’s song “I have nothing” from the early 1990’s. Viviane has a very strong and colorful voice and her family name definitely did no harm her publication…

Friday in Saint Louis

As a Muslim conservative city, Saint Louis becomes slightly different on Thursday afternoon: the mosques build tents on the street nearby to shade the people that come to pray at Friday morning, the mouazin invites the believers to pray more often, the pace gets even slower. On Friday morning itself all the men in the city, go to work after the morning pray dressed up with a Kaftan, a traditional custom. The Kaftan can be modest (in camel colors) or colorful (I have seen purple, pink, turquoise, green, yellow, gold, rainbow etc…) and from different fabrics (cotton, silk, etc.). In general- it is elegant, modest and is another performance of the gentle manners the Senegalese practice their culture. Wahab, who has become not only our city-guide, but also a close friend of the Solar team (Kristin and your humble servant), has explained to me that the elegance we see in Saint Louis is one of the most significant characteristics that makes this city so different in comparison to other cities in Senegal.

The spoken word culture

As an African culture, the Senegalese prefer the spoken word. A lot has been said (and written) about the reasons why African cultures have been as such. One reason may be because of the late time most African languages became written languages (Wolof became such only after the 17^th century).

In the local battlefield between the cell phone and the email, the cell phone wins easily. Business presentation is preferred to be orally presented, rather than with a power-point; a professor at class hardly uses any visual aids; emails are less likely to be answered when you have more than 8 hours electricity shut-down (between 9h30 and 17h30).

This difference between Africa and the west (and Asia as well) is a challenge, especially for a halfway western MBA: Excel sheets are less effective, the body language (including the voice usage, the eye contact, the handshake etc…) becomes 100 times more important. The way one presents his opinion in a hierarchical group influences differently the process of decision making. All in all, this “tiny” difference has a massive effect on almost any aspect of communication in life (and in the business context in particular).

I am running this city!

Today morning, I had the opportunity to take part in a 10 km race in Saint Louis. The race began at Langue des Barbaries and the route went all around the island. One of the most impressive sights of Dakar and Saint Louis is the number of people running, jogging, playing sports all around. Malick explained to me that it is a quite new phenomena (not more than 10 years) that is a result of health reasoning and of western lifestyle influence. The race today began in almost two hours late (!!!) , after Kristin, Malick and me waited from the 8h45 in the morning… The organization was very far from western standards (beginning late, no timing results, completely free of charge), but in many ways- it was the race I liked the most in my 7-years history of running-races: the music was beating with endless children singing and dancing.

The race itself was in an extremely humid weather and during the race I met Ilyan, a 21 year old guy who is a runner, a long-distance jumper, a taillor, a tourist-guide and a musician (he plays the guitar and the drums). He also learns now English, because he understand how important it is with tourists coming here to Saint Louis.

Before the race began I also met with the only Jewish inhabitant of Saint Louis- Simon Henri Goldberg. He is a Belgian, and I heard about him before we met thanks to previous contacts that told me he lives here. It is a small world after all…

After the race ended I was interviewed to the local radio (RTS) and answered in Wolof how was the race (“Neghn”) and presented myself (“Nange tudu Rotem Cohen”). If you are willing to listen to the radio, next Monday on 11h15 Senegal time – I am on air!

😉

Cheers from Saint Louis-

The sun always shines on TV

1. How I learned to stop worrying and love the PV calculations

Yesterday, Kristin and I went for a tour in the island of Saint Louis looking for clinics that potentially need a solar fridge. We visited three of them, and they told us pretty much the same: during the often electricity shortages – they wait until it is over, and no generator is used to keep cold the medicine that is in the fridge. Today, we began our day in meeting with Madam Ndyaye who runs one of those clinics. The clinic is supposed to move and grow to a brand new 14-rooms clinic, currently under construction. As our calculations reveal that the usage of a generator is extremely expensive, and since the new clinic is expected to have 2 generators, there is a clear potential to pave the clinic roof with PV.

Our next step was to the PV vender shop. A small shop in the middle of down-town Saint Louis, we met Ibrahim (presented as “Ibrahim Solaire”) who holds shiny PV panels, made either in Europe or China, transferred to Mauritania from where he imports them to Senegal. We found ourselves in his full-of-flies office sitting and computing how much would it cost to buy 20 solar panels (the converter works in quantities of 20 each) and all the other supplemented equipment that is required. The whole package fit exactly to our estimations that were based mainly on internet research.

Since I decided to get into the solar industry, I read and learned so much about it. I began this project in Senegal with a very high confidence in my knowledge about this area, especially thanks to the fact that I also know what I do not know. Well, after today, there is one item less in that list of “things I do not know”…  I learnt how to translate the computations of the electricity usage in the hospital to actual PV terms, and vice versa. All this, must be said, together with Kristin (we did separately the computations and checked at the end the results which were usually the same). I know that this is not breathtaking mathematics, yet it does require a certain amount of confidence that is gained with experience.

Our next stop was to a tiny village about 30 minutes (and 40 kilometers) away from Saint Louis. It is not really a village, but a complex of three houses with tin roofs where a Senegalese family lives: a man, his mother, his 3 wives, his aunt and about 15 children of various ages (from 18 years old to babies). The man is only 35 years old. All these people were sitting together under the tree, when we arrived. As usual- the children were the sweetest: running around us and enjoying the attention of the foreign visitors. After two minutes I found myself climbing up the roof to see the second-hand PV panel from which electricity is derived to all the three houses (and their numerous mobile phone chargers, 12 light bulbs, 6-channel television and radio). The solar panel, only 3 months installed, has clearly changed the life of this family, proud to be hosting two students that are interested in solar energy usage in rural Senegal.

We came back home to enjoy a one-hour electricity run, before another shortage. This is Saint Louis- a 3 hours shortage in the morning, and another 5 hours at night. Even though the guys here laugh at my solar obsession, PV is the best way, today and under current circumstances, to utilize the natural resources here (sunshine), in a relatively cheap alternative to the expensive generators. Even in urban Africa.

2. Jus de Gingembre (Ginger Juice)

Continuing to discover the tastes of Senegal, I had today my first Ginger juice (thanks to Wahab). It was served in a small plastic bag (the guy selling it cut with special scissors the very-most top of it), and its’ color is brown-yellow (seemed to be somewhat slushy). Not the most appealing on earth, must say. Yet- the taste of it, was something definitely to remember: unlike the ginger-ale we all know, this one was very strong, and the taste of it was felt especially in the base of the tongue. It was so strong, that I couldn’t take more than a sip each time. The surprising thing is that the local drink the whole bag in less than a second. This is probably also an explanation for the fact the bissap juice (hibiscus) is so sweet and concentrated.

Another new revelation for my Senegalese appetite was the classic Tiep Bou Dien (on dit “Chebujen”) SaintLouisienne:

This is Senegalese Rice, with cooked vegetables and half-a-fish. It is spicy and has a significant local taste. Again- from our visits “chez Agnes”…

3. Pimp my ride – Senegalese style

One of the coolest things I saw here was the graffiti that was chosen to be depicted on the garbage vehicle:

Yes- all the negativity (war, racism, arrogance, etc.) was written on the vehicle. Whoever thought about it- must be a genius.

In general, Senegalese love to paint their cars and taxis with graffiti and texts such as “AlHamdouLillah” (=”Praise the Lord”) . I decided to finish the 4th post with an optimistic statement – this is the Senegalese effect after everyone blesses me, smiles to me, and welcome me: 

“Profiter du soleil”

Weekend of beauty in Saint Louis

The beauty is everywhere: in the sight of the river. The smiling faces of the children. The piles of mangoes, apples, peanuts. On the other hand- there are always flies and mosquitoes; sometimes the odor of manure and dead animals is too heavy. Drinking only bottled water is annoying. Dependence on anti malaria pills- even more. The weather is hot and sticky- nothing new to a true Tel Avivi guy like me. Anyway I prefer this humidity over the winter in Paris, that’s for sure!

While we are here we already have our usual place: Chez Agnes. A small garden-restaurant with good food (average of 4500 frank CFA = ~7€ for a meal and a drink). Sometimes it can take up to an hour between the order and receiving the meals. The time-perception here is somewhat slower than in Europe (though I have already been in places in Paris with slower service and with much lower food quality).

The highlight of the last weekend was the “Miss Saint Louis” contest that we were lucky enough to attend. This contest was different than what can be imagined for so many reasons… First, it began at 01h00 (yes, AM) and continued until 4h30. Second, because the competition was among 5 (beautiful) girls. Third, because the whole evening was completely run in the Wolof language. Besides of all this, the contest was held very seriously and contained also a red-shirt singer that enflamed the audience, and specifically the first raw. Here sat all “the ladies from the Beauty Salon” (as Malick explained to me). These ladies were using make-up pretty heavily to the point some of them seemed slightly grotesque. Still, when the red-shirt singer gave all he got, the ladies stood up dancing ecstatically giving him money. It was a very feminist, liberated behavior in a very chauvinist context. The whole evening was musically organized by a brilliant DJ that put mainstream pop music (Akon, Rihanna…) with modern classics (Tony Braxton, TLC, Craig David…).

Quite difficult to get back to solar panels after such a night…

What is my value as a halfway MBA in this project?

I didn’t really understand that until this afternoon, when I found myself preparing a presentation in which I used some of the methods we were taught at “Management Accounting and Control” course. I tried to calculate and understand what variables I need in order to evaluate the cost of few alternatives regarding the hospital we are working on.

It is still in the process, and I understand more and more that cost calculations require also a high amount of human sensitiveness, since unlike in class room, in the real life most of the variables are not simply given, but require the ability to address the right question to the right person.

The right person in Saint Louis

The “right person” is a key issue in every step, everywhere in the world, and especially here in Senegal. In our case, it is definitely Abdul Wahab CESSE, a very smart person who disserted his thesis few years ago about the impacts of the informal sector in Senegal. He is assisting Mr. Diaw in his work here in Saint Louis, and has become a key person in our solar project. He is a translator (whenever my French is getting broken, or when I do not completely understand whatever someone has said), he knows who is the right person to approach, and the most important thing- he never gives up! If I succeed to convince him that this or that is important enough- he will do whatever it takes to get it.

And that is exactly the definition of “the right person”. Especially I like to talk with him about politics (Wahab admires Obama for being black and from a Muslim background), local scandals (the local electricity company president had to defend some of his strange past decisions: http://www.lequotidien.sn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16537&Itemid=10), and the similarities between Israel and Senegal (the weather, the people, the food). Music is another hot topic as well. Apparently, lots of Senegalese music hide political meanings… But then again, you hear everywhere in Senegal familiar voices such as Akon and Rihanna….

So today was a pretty busy day: it began with two meetings with SENELEC (“Senegal Electricité” = the national grid operator) in two different locations here in Saint Louis; after that we went to the hospital to meet with the Director of the hospital in order to get his green light to our project (mission accomplished) and then we went to the outskirts of the city to meet with COMASEL (“Compagnie Marocco-Sénégalaise d’Electricité”) where we finally understood what is their part in the deal: apparently the electricity in Senegal is divided to the Urban (=grid: Senelec) and rural (Comasel). As the hospital is a part of the grid, the right point of contact is Senelec, even if they are slower to work with and are involved in some scandals… For example- when we tried to understand whether they have a Feed-in-Tariff incentive (in which electricity that is generated by solar panels is sold to the grid) we couldn’t get an answer, until one person in Senelec told us that “this is a kind of thing to be negotiated with the headquarters in Dakar”…

After this station we continued to a four-hour event at the “Hotel de ville” (=city hall) where I was already a little exhausted. At the end of the event I succeeded to put my hands on the phone number of the right person in the AFD (Agence Française de Développement), a contact that took me something like three weeks to find by name (still, a phone number is much more useful)…

Tisha BeAv

As for my health condition: Today is Tisha BeAv, which is the memorial-day for the destruction of both temples Jewish had in Jerusalem, and is referred to be, by some, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.  It is the tenth year I am fasting on this day (as many Jewish people do) and even though the heat and the humidity here are high, I decided to do so – in rational limits: if I start getting a headache, or if tomorrow we go meet with someone relevant to our project, I will drink some water and get back to my senses.

Saint-Louis – Les premiers jours

We arrived to this beautiful city yesterday afternoon. Though I read about this city and heard about it, there was still no way to compare it with what it actually felt: the smells, the wind- all made it stronger.

Saint-Louis is built over three parts:

1. One part is on the shore- this is the largest part. On this part there are the university, the airport and the vast majority of the population (above 100,000 people).
2. The second is the island of Saint-Louis, the historical center and the heart of the city. It is connected to the shore with the famous “Pont de Faidherbe” (Faidherbe bridge) which has become the symbol of the city. The Population of the island is about ~10,000 people, and they all know each other by their names and faces (and greet one another). The island was traditionally divided to the northern (Muslim) part and the southern (Christian) part. Today this division no longer exists religiously, and there are mosques and churches on both sides. This is also the part where I will stay during the next couple of weeks.
3. The third part is the “quartier berber”/ “quartier des pecheurs”. This is a part of the port that is populated mainly by fishers (=that what “pecheurs” means in French) and their families. Population of ~ 30,000 people- same as in the island- everyone knows everyone.

When we just arrived we went to do sightseeing (on a carriage) throughout the island and the quartier de pecheurs. The sights are traceable via internet. Yet the smells and the voices are not. Neither are the small children that beg for some money and attention. They are not poor and I haven’t seen starvation (the sea is full of fish for everyone…) but they still keep on begging for some money… Our guide for this trip said that usually the fishers have up to 5 wives- each is a mother for 3-5 children. This is the reason not only ot the big number of children, but also to the sense of being here is a being a part of a big family. The warmth of the people is easily felt.

This strong smell of fish is also caught during visits to the local restaurants, where the local cuisine uses not only these fishes, but also strong spices, local vegetables and plum-oil that all together create a very unique mix. In my case it is acquired taste (and I am still in the process…).

No electricity as from 20h00 forced us to stare at the skies and look for shooting stars- a very exhausting activity that led to me sleeping at 22h00. This is the main reason why I woke up so very early this morning (5h30) two minutes before the Mouazin started calling. I must say, that even if I am not a Muslim, I find it a very calming sound.

So, I was working on my computer and began preparing to the first meeting we had on the island with the mayor of Saint Louis, Cheikh Bamba Diéye. This meeting began slightly later (three hours) than it was planned… but it was still very warm and welcoming. After the mayor heard that there is a member in the group from Israel, he mentioned specifically how much he appreciated the Israeli technology and that he wishes to see more Israeli presence in the city. Sorry for bragging about this point but I must mention that there were also two American students around the table, and still- he was mentioning the Israeli technology… After we left, Malick explained to me that Cheikh Bamba is an alumnus of ENPC and is well known in Senegal as a clean politician that might become, one day, the president of Senegal.

With these high expectations, we continued after the lunch to the local hospital. It is located right behind our location, and is a regional hospital that holds 250 beds. Kristin and me went there looking for the maintenance responsible. We never met him before, and we hoped for good. After few seconds, the guard called him, and a very cheerful man came and took us to his office. The first thing we asked Chef Service Maintenance, M. Diarra, was about the electricity shut-downs. Obviously, while tourists can live without electricity for an hour or two (and sometimes even longer) – it is bearable. This is absolutely not the case in a hospital. M. Diarra showed us the generator and explained to us how costly this generator is. One of the reasons for the dramatic increase in the last two months were obviously an effect of the world cup games that increased the electricity consumption all over the city and is now compensated by steady electricity shut-downs.  Next thing- we all climbed up to the roof of the hospital- where we saw 40 ancient solar panels from the year 1990… With the all the oil that is used to feed the generator (which is needed to support the electricity shut-downs)- this is an essential for the hospital, so it seems. [Juste un autre trés important chose, notamment pour ma prof de français: Sylvie- tout le RV a été en français! Je suis sur que si vous auriez me-vu, vous auriez eu trés conténte!]

It was a very interesting visit and it seems like we can make a change here. It seems feasible and we became much more optimistic regarding our ability to do these changes. I do hope we can make something substantial happen here in the very limited time that we are here…

In my first evening of Shabbat in Senegal – I wish all my family and friends all over the globe: “Shabbat Shalom!”

Rotem,

Saint Louis, Senegal

Bienvenue a Dakar

Dakar welcomed us with a very humid weather… Even though the flights were long and a little exhausting, I was very happy to be here. Two and a half months of preparation have changed into reality.

Our first two days in Dakar were mixed with meetings and sightseeings (Dakar, Gorèe).

The food here is based a lot on fish and seafood. The humidity demands drinking a lot (mainly bottled water, but also other soft drinks, including hibiscus-juice). The best part of Dakar  – no doubt – are the people: always smiling, welcoming (“salam aleykum”) and relaxed. Plenty of telecom-cards sellers working on the roads, and endless people selling shirts, bracelets, watches, sunglasses, fruit.

During our first days we were guided by Kouja, a student from ISM, the leading business school in Senegal. Kouja took us to see Dakar (including the central market, the city center, the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States,  the waterfront). and Gorèe.

Kouja told us about her experience in Beijing (she speaks Chinese fluently, additionally to Wolof, English and French) and her interests (especially in marketing, willing to explore the world- specifically the Americas and Asia). Kouja is an example of the brightest Senegal: intelligent, international, open-minded and friendly.

Numerous education institutions, African headquarters, impressive buildings. True, these are suffering sandy sidewalks and at night the light is poor, but it is much more well-built than other African sities that I have been visited before.

Dakar is not “another” city in Africa. It is a regional hub for educations, commerce and governance. As a hub for numerous expats, there are many facilities (mall, hotels) that stand in one line with the western world standards.

The growth that this city has been seen in the last ten years, according to Fatma, who works in the World Bank, is dramatic.

With, or without a link, the last years were also witnessed a debate regarding “The African Renaissance” monument (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Renaissance_Monument). 4 years and 27M$ took before it was inaugurated in the last independence day (50 years of independence from France).  The statue raised debate mainly because of its’ price, and also because of the fact the characters are almost naked. Another reason, was because the statue – which is supposed to symbol the hope of Africa-  is actually seemed to be pointing outside of Africa (to America…).

In my own opinion- it is an amazing monument. And people need symbols (such as monuments) exactly as they need food and sleep. Criticism? Even better. It just proves that this monument is worth something more than money. Worth too-much? Well, not as much as most of European monuments… but such a monument, in my opinion, can be seen also as a future investment.

Our meetings for the projects are with Mr. Amadou Diaw, the patron of the “Saint Louis 350 ans” project and the president of ISM. He is a very impressive and charismatic man, very well-connected and with a smile on his face 100% of the time. He asked us why we decided to do this project, and clarifies his expectations from us. Thanks to his connections- we got to meet very interesting local professionals and actually we push our different projects into motion.

Being an Israeli in Dakar. First of all- as an Israeli, every time I hear this word (“Dakar”), I remember the Israeli submarine tragic story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INS_Dakar). Before arrival- I contacted the local Israeli embassy and clearly I was very happy also to see the Israeli embassy when we passed by. Being welcomed as as an Israeli in a Muslim country with no special “alarms” and feeling completely secured is not taken for granted at all, and I appreciate this very much. The fact that Israel is still the only country in the world that has to prove its’ right to exist is a sad fact-  whatever the reasons may be. As a proud Israeli, I hope that by the end of this project at least few people in Senegal will relate Israel not to what the global media choses to show (again- for whatever reasons they may be), but to technology and solar energy.

Gorée

Visiting Gorée, an island far 15 minutes away from Dakars’ port, is a must-to-be-done here. This island has been a symbol for memorial of the transatlantic slavery trade during the colonial era. Besides of that, Gorée is also famous for its beaches, its colorful houses and being home of the Afrikaner exiled writer Breyten Breytenbach.

Our visit there gave me some flashbacks from previous visits I had in a similar context: it reminded of Roben island (chaining people on islands is a well used practice) and the writings in the museum reminded me of the Jewish motto that is sang over and over again during the Haggada of Pessach: “In every generation, we must remember that God took us out of slavery in Egypt”. This visit also reminded me of my professor from Israel, Ella Keren, who focused on the memory that this slavery époque had on the people that were left in Africa.

One last thing regarding commemoration in general, slavery and colonialism: I think the history of slavery should be discussed about more than it is. Because, not only that this issue still has effects on the following generations, but also because it folds one of the few glory-stories that the colonialism has to offer: the western colonialism did not invent the slavery in Africa, but it was the first system to stop it. On 14 juillet, when 13 African leaders participate in the French jour de Bastille, it is important also to remember that the colonialism was not all bad.

Meetings in Dakar

The most important set of meetings we had during our visit to Dakar were done on the evening of the 14^th. Split to our groups we met several interesting professionals that gave us their inputs to our suggestions. Kristin and me met with a Senelec (=Senegal electricity) named Mr. Ndaraw Sarr. In a fully French-conducted conversation we succeeded to understand where our project can be taken. Before this meeting we didn’t really know whether we are supposed to produce a paper (with a written plan) or an actual solar plant. After this meeting we understood that the plan is more likely to match the time and budget constraints that we are dealing with. Following the meeting we sent Mr. Sarr the initial idea of what technology we want to implement, and with whom; while Mr. Sarr agreed to send to us a list of potential clients for the solar plant we aim to put in place.

The next meeting was with Ms. Fatma, who works for the IFC in the World Bank. Fatma explained to us that it is important to not only initiate a project, but also to make sure it is sustainable and preferably that it can create employment. As for the funding, Fatma clarified that while the World Bank cannot support directly with means, it can support with being a partner when we go to a big company. The reason, so she explained is simply because Senegal is not poor enough… I guess this is the downside of being a regional hub with no history of coup d’etats…