tendays.ca

Why is a small, grassroots society, based out of Victoria, trying to raise $10,000?  To build a school in a small village in West Africa.

This is my story about why this project is important to me, and why I’m working to help finish it.

The purpose of my first trip to Guinea was to study traditional Guinean drum and dance, along with 9 other Canadians.  Guinea is world-renowned for it’s calibre of drummers and dancers, with groups such as Les Ballets Africains and Les Percussion de Guinée having captivated audiences around the world for decades.

We decided that we would like to engage in a service project while in Guinea.  We felt strongly that we didn’t want to just go there and “take”.  We wanted to give something back that would be of use and value to the people there.  Our contact in Guinea, Allya “Gigla” Sylla, suggested we consider raising money to build a school in his birth village of Kubian.

Kubian is situated about two hours north (by car) of the capital city of Conakry, and is bordered by several neighbouring villages, none of which has a school.  The children in these villages contribute to their families by caring for younger children, gathering wood for cooking, and so on.

While we were in Kubian, the men of the village worked on the school daily.  All the work was done “by hand”, without the aid of mechanization.  There were no cement trucks, no nail guns, no drills, and no electricity or running water to speed up the project.

The response by the elders to our presence was truly humbling.  They could not believe that out of all the places in the world we could go, we would choose to come to their village. To them, this signified the connectedness of all humans.

The children of Kubian are bright and capable, as children tend to be.  They immediately befriended us, even though we didn’t speak the same language.  They held our hands while we toured the village, taught us games and songs, and we shared a lot of laughter together.  I believe that this school will give them a new opportunity to learn and grow, and provide opportunities to give back to their communities.  I also believe that supporting education can foster creativity, and encourage peace-building.

From February 1st to 10th, 2010, we hope to raise the remainder of the funds necessary to finish the school, which we estimate to be $10,000.

I hope you will chose to help support our campaign, either by donating, joining a team, or becoming a team captain, and thank you in advance for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Juliana Wigmore, Chair

Matoto Multicultural Arts Society

www.Matoto.org