Obituary
It is with sadness and a sense of profound loss that ACI announces to friends, supporters and alumni the death of long-time friend and Secretary of the ACI Board of Directors, Abe Waldstein in Boston on the morning of August 3.
Abe was a gentle, caring friend, always easy to be with, always understanding, always supportive and committed to contributing to development. His self-deprecating humor, his vision of life, his thoughtfulness and ability to articulate complex concepts made him more than welcome in the lives of people who knew him.
After a long career as a development anthropologist, already in his late fifties, Abe decided to study law. He was an inspiration to all of us as we watched him study for his bar exams and realized that you can reinvent yourself at any point in your life if only you have the determination to do so.
If you were lucky enough to know Abe over the years, please join us in remembering him. Abe’s brother Joe recently invited friends to: “Please feel free to make contributions in Abe’s name to: Africa Consultants International http://www.acibaobab.org/en/get-involved/donate.html. Abe served on the Board of Directors of this organization for many years and valued its work highly.” Condolences can be sent to the family through Abe’s daughter Arielle at : ariewal at yahoo.com
ACI News June • July • August
Study Abroad and Language Programs
ACI’s last major programs of the academic year 2009-2010 ended in June and July with the departure of students from the US Naval Academy, Willamette University, and Lawrence University.
ACI received students from the Holton Arms High School for a cross-cultural orientation in June and sent two of its staff members, Dr. Tricia Lawrence Savané and Mme. Oumoul Sow to the Kalamazoo’s Resident Director’s Conference in the US. Dr. Savané announced that she will not be renewing her contract as Study Abroad Coordinator in September in order to spend more time with her family. She will be replaced by her current assistant, Rama Sow Niang.
Our old friend L LTC Robert Feldman accompanied another group of 8 ROTC cadets and five accompanying officers for a two week intensive program in June that took them to the four corners of Senegal...
June also saw the departure of ACI friends Professors Joanna Davidson of Emory University and Ellen Foley of Clark University. ACI thanks them for their many contributions to our programs during their extended stay in Senegal. Thanks also go to Phoebe Mayor, David Knox and Stefan Povolny all of whom volunteered at ACI during the months of May and June.
In preparation for the arrival of students for the 2010-2011 academic year, the ACI team met with the new GCY Program Manager, Anta Gueye, for a telcon meeting with Nicole Orillac from GCY offices in San Francisco. They expect to send 16 bridge year students to Senegal in October.
Marion Mapstone, Foreign Language Department Chair at Green Farms Academy in Connecticut and her daughter enjoyed a language and cultural program from July 4th to 9th while scouting the possibility of bringing in students from Green Farms in June 2011
Hakeem Tijani, Associate Professor of African History at Baylor University and Douglas Welch, Assistant General Counsel visited ACI on July 20th –July 21st to prepare a possible program for their students next year.
The months of June and July saw an extraordinary affluence of independent students from all over the world to ACI to study French, beginners and advanced Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka and English.
ACI’s annual three-week closure began on August 2 allowing time for much needed rest and recuperation and for sprucing up the Baobab Center before the arrival of new students in September.
Our first activities following vacation will be two cross-cutlural orientation sessions for 50 students from CIEE in two groups of 25. ACI is then expecting 8 women from Kalamazoo College and one woman from Beloit College who will share courses with the Kalamazoo program starting in September. A new program from Linfield College will be sending 5 women to the center and the University of Wisconsin will be sending three women and two men for a one month orientation at ACI before going up to the University Gaston Berger in Saint Louis for their academic courses.
ACI"s Health Department
Under a sub agreement with Family Health International (FHI) and with support from the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), ACI's health team continued its work of strengthening associations of PLWHA, reducing stigma and discrimination and improving the continuum of care and support for people living with HIV and/or AIDS in ten of Senegal's fourteen Regions. ACI’s health team is also facilitating the work of the task force developing a strategic framework for reducing stigma and discrimination against Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Senegal. In June, with a grant from AJWS, ACI began the process of disseminating information on the Yogyakarta principles on the right to sexual preference.
Also in June, the ACI team assisted the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA/Soros) in preparing and implementing a workshop for members of the Senegalese National Assembly on the proposed new law concerning the media in Senegal.
ACI’s health team has been facilitating a process of collaboration between government, civil society and community organizations to improve living conditions in the chronically flooded areas in the periphery of Dakar.
In August, ACI caseworker Abdoulaye Konate will complete a series of training programs around the country for the teams working on Senegal's national program to fight malnutrition.
ACI is currently negotiating a six-month contract with the Japanese Volunteer Agency JICA to encourage more Japanese NGOs to set up and work in Senegal.
Visits
In addition to the visitors mentioned above, ACI received Nanette Alvey co-Director of the NGO TraDE in Bobo Dioulasso, and Professor of Linguistics Fallou Ngom from Boston University.
