An Open Mind and Heart

One month ago, CTI volunteer, Andrea Brovold, and Executive Director, Roger Salway traveled to West Africa to share CTI's new thresher and winnower prototypes with farmers in Mali and Senegal. While most of us were preparing food for our yearly Thanksgiving Day feast, Roger and Andrea were helping women in rural Senegal with their daily six hour ritual of threshing, winnowing, and grinding their family's meal by hand. Here, Andrea shares her impressions from the trip that would test her physical and emotional limits, and leave her with unforgettable memories and lifelong friends. 

Upon arrival to the Kuer Ali Guey village in the Kaolack region of Senegal, we were welcomed with open arms. Awa, President of the Women's Association said "Andrea, you look like you are a peaceful volunteer". It was the warm reception of Kuer Ali Guey and the surrounding villages and organizations from the very inception of this project that the rest of the trip would live up to, even surpass. Come to think of it, while there were parameters in which we were expected to work towards, per NCBA/USAID along with objectives and outcomes to strive towards, my expectations--as per the opening title--were "Going in with an open mind and heart"...and little more. 
Quickly, I found that the universal language of love and compassion transcends any boundary or constraint, personal, professional or otherwise. Put simply, the more you are willing to give of yourself, the more response and progress one will find. Many village visits, meetings and relationships were forged due to our determination to serve. And serve we did. The thoughtful technologies of CTI, coupled with the sensitivity to cultural and individual differences, advanced this month long journey to a caliber of unexpected proportions.

Some dialogue that we observed from various sources were "If you could visualize our interest, it would be as tall as a skyscraper!", Ahmed Dame Cisse from Lat Mingue village; "You have a friend here...in me", Dougal Guey in Kayemon village; and "C'est bon C'est bon C'est bon!", a farmer from CARITAS. Most touching for me was a departure from a life-long friend I made despite the language barriers "I have left my heart with you", said Therese, wife of CARITAS Geo-Scientist Renee with whom we dined at a Thanksgiving Feast to help us feel at "home" in their home. Touching is the fact that each of these people are tickled by what our simple technologies can provide--a way and means for a better life--and touching is the fact that I have been blessed to have had the chance to help secure that opportunity. 

Recently, at our December board meeting, I explained my obsession with taking photographs of doors. Each of us have had doors closed, only for others to be opened, and until CTI and pursuing my Masters in Development Policy with a concentration in Africa, it seems that there was a less definable period in my life. Many "doors" and opportunities have been presented to me within this organization that I think so highly of, and I have been keen to act on those opportunities. Beyond that, I feel that it is my job to continue to open similar doors for the people CTI serves, those who are equally deserving, but without the ways or means. It is unconscionable to me to think that what CTI is able to provide will not be visible to most rural communities. 

So I, like each of the equally passionate and eager volunteers at CTI, happily forge an exodus towards a goal of creating and supporting sustainable environments that will provide future generations with tools, education and kindred roots. I had a lot of reflective moments during this trip, and I also blogged our adventures, seemingly because it would have been impossible to re-create most of these experiences after the fact. But what resonates loudest in my mind are the moments that rendered me speechless (something that rarely happens). It is these silent moments, personal exchanges, accepting smiles, joyous laughter and dancing that are impossible to prepare for, which allowed me to reflect most authentically and honestly that I am truly the most fortunate woman in the world. We are called to do certain things in our lives, and it is what we do with that time that matters most. Cliché perhaps, but I enjoy very much a quote I once heard, "In the end, it is not the amount of breaths you take it's the moments that take your breath away." 


Andrea Brovold 
Africa Co-Chair/Volunteer