Marietta Roach found surprising opportunities to serve in West Africa
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
Somewhere in Senegal, hordes of children are taking to the streets. Armed only with pots and pans and a song, they travel different neighborhoods, looking for anyone who can tell them where they belong.
Marietta Renard Roach encountered these youngsters during her first trip to Senegal, a moment that inspired her continued service to the West African country.
“They go out looking for their families in the evenings,” Roach said of these children, called ‘talibe’ children, which means ‘student’ in Wolof, the primary language spoken by most Senegalese.
“They bang on pots and pans and chant in different neighborhoods, hoping to find someone who recognizes them.”
Senecorps is a project-based learning expedition that takes volunteers to the vibrant coastal city of Dakar. “To go seeking knowledge” is the motto of the organization with which Roach became involved after a chance meeting with its founder, Naieshaakima James-Sarr.
“She’s a Muslim, African-American lady born in the Bronx, and I’m a Midwest, Irish-Catholic, middle-aged white woman,” Roach said.
“It was a God thing. And for the last three summers I’ve spent a couple of months each year in Senegal.”
Ten years ago, after marrying a Senegalese man, James-Sarr began taking groups of volunteers to serve her husband’s country. In the summer they would renovate existing structures. Now the organization has expanded to include service opportunities through internships for youth and adults in both education and medicine and has recently grown to include the arts.
“I was so inspired by their beauty and their ability to celebrate life in the midst of having nothing,” Roach said of the Senegalese people. “It’s just a lot of dignity that they live with.”
After attending a traditional African baby-naming ceremony, or Ngente, Roach wrote Come Bless the Baby in October 2004. The beautifully written and illustrated book has an accompanying CD for children which features a children’s chorus, drumming and instrumentation and readings in Wolof and French.
Roach self-published the book, and all proceeds go to the numerous Senecorps projects, including providing school supplies for the 250 children of the Daara Malika school and building The Adult Learning Center (TALC). Upon completion, the TALC will be the first public library in Senegal that will also serve as a learning lab for adults.
With just a $400 donation from Senecorps, a group of local artists formed a small art school in the city of Thies; in the summer of 2005, 40 children were enrolled. Artists gave the students instruction in the craft and the students created 400 original paintings that are now being sold to help fund the school and other Senecorps projects.
“They truly need a lot of help,” Roach said of the Senegalese.
“To the east, in Sudan, people have been taken advantage of. But nobody wants to do anything in Senegal, because there’s nothing there for them – no oil, no gold.”
Roach said she continues to be amazed by the “respect of the people.”
“They would be willing to give you their last crumb of bread,” she said.
“We help mainly in health and education,” Roach said.
“We’re not Bill Gates. We don’t have that kind of money, but we do look for hands and hearts that can help us. And every little bit counts.”
To contribute to Senecorps, visit www.senecorps.org. Local volunteers are needed and there are opportunities to serve in Senegal. Visit www.aaduna.com or contact Marietta Roach at marietta@aaduna.com.