Enaija (Senegal)

I would like to start off with a big thank you to both IYLI and the Too Fly Foundation for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. This experience was so impactful and has left an everlasting mark on my life and thought process. It was a blessing to have been able to interact with the Senegalese students, their families and see such a beautiful country and all it had its offer. Senegal is a beautiful country with so much to offer to its people and the world. During the Summer Heritage Program, we spoke with NGOs who partook in solar energy efforts around Senegal. 

They all spoke on how Senegal could basically be run solely on renewable energy. It was fascinating to me because I was in the country and able to see all the things that could have been used to be entirely self - sufficient. The information sparked a new hope in me for a country that was not my own. Simply because each seminar was backed up with facts and experiences it all just fascinated me. I loved to see people who looked like me want to help their country become so much bigger, better, and healthier. Along with this newfound fascination, I gained a good amount of frustration with the hesitation by the government to use the beneficial alternative to their current power system. The NGOs said the government didn’t always like the idea of solar energy because it was more expensive and took a lot of maintenance.

 Though these two things are true, This is an opportunity for more jobs and the price for the solar panels could be paid for by taxes and the taxes could pay for the maintenance causing it to become a stable government job. Another thing that bothered me was while the government didn’t want to pay extra or have the people pay extra for the solar energy they had no problem letting the French come and literally build solar panels on Senegalese soil and use that energy and charge the people for that energy. The government is stopping the country from becoming what I believe a global superpower. By not having to import so many goods and exporting whatever it is they export they’d be able to get so far.

 We also learned about healthcare and one of the other Senegalese fellows and I worked on three seminars together to present to the other students and group leaders. The process of doing these seminars helped me so much as a student when it comes to time management and effort because it shows when you have put effort into what you are presenting and it shows you know what you are talking about. It has made me more confident in presenting my projects at school, and since the Summer Heritage Program, I’ve had a lot of work to do since I am a senior this year and I have wanted to procrastinate because it's something I had practiced a lot back home but I noticed a change in my work when I give myself the proper time to do my work that I’m always more satisfied with my work.