The Diapalante Centre’s first course for 60 talibés is approaching the end of a successful year. The boys have been learning to read and write in Wolof, their mother tongue, along with some basic maths and fun science activities.
The early teething problems are giving way to the relief of a job well done. Thank you and congratulations to the Centre staff and the large team of volunteers who have supported the boys and made learning fun. Last but not least we also send thanks to our funders.
The next gardening club Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday 19th May at 7:30pm. We’ll have a review of progress so far and discuss productivity and controlling pests. If anyone has any plants ready to sell, please let me know. The photo is of Jacob’s garden fully planted last week. The link is below.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457186220?pwd=ZWpsZHE3TEtkM1VhSjV6Zml1K3AvZz09
🙂
The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré.
Abi Daré’s debut novel The Girl With the Louding Voice is a story about a teenage Nigerian girl called Adunni who becomes a maid and struggles with many things growing up, including her limited education, poverty as well as her ability to speak up for herself. (Wikipedia)
Our next book club meeting on Sunday May 16th at 3pm. If you would enjoy reading African literature, you are welcome to joing us as we explore these books together. To get the meeting link add your contact details here.
The next Zoom session will be on Thursday 22nd April at 7:30pm. The link is…
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457186220?pwd=ZWpsZHE3TEtkM1VhSjV6Zml1K3AvZz09
A simple challenge that proved great fun! Each team had to design a popcorn holder to hold as much popcorn as possible. They were allowed one sheet of A4 paper and access to scissors, glue, sellotape and a stapler. When they had finished their container was filled with popcorn!
At our last meeting, we discussed planting seeds in our garden in March and April.
Our next book club meeting takes place on Sunday 11th April at 3pm. If you would enjoy reading African literature, you are welcome to joing us as we explore these books together. To get the meeting link add your contact details here.
Ethiopia. 1935. With the threat of Mussolini’s army looming, recently orphaned Hirut struggles to adapt to her new life as a maid. Her new employer, Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie’s army, rushes to mobilise his strongest men before the Italians invade.
Hirut and the other women long to do more than care for the wounded and bury the dead. When Emperor Haile Selassie goes into exile and Ethiopia quickly loses hope, it is Hirut who offers a plan to maintain morale. She helps disguise a gentle peasant as the emperor and soon becomes his guard, inspiring other women to take up arms. But how could she have predicted her own personal war, still to come, as a prisoner of one of Italy’s most vicious officers?
The Shadow King casts light on the women soldiers written out of African and European history. It is a captivating exploration of female power, and what it means to be a woman at war.
New year, new lockdown… new #Diapalantebookclub !We found ourselves with a bit of time on our hands and thought it would be great to kick off 2021 by getting acquainted with some different authors from across Africa. Sign up to take part here:
bit.ly/Diapalantebookclub1
We’ll be starting with a Senegalese classic, God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene on 7th March 2021. Join our online chat to discuss the book on Sunday 7th March at 3pm:Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/7640020682…Meeting ID: 764 002 0682
Passcode: L6ZzLcTo buy the book and support independent booksellers try the following links:https://www.hive.co.uk/…/Semb…/Gods-Bits-of-Wood/1015233https://uk.bookshop.org/…/god-s-bits-of-wood/9780435909598
Don’t miss out on Master P’s cookery demonstration. If you missed the live event then join Master P above as he talks us through the video footage.
During this summer of coronavirus lockdown there has been a very active partnership between volunteers in the UK and our teenage Young Leaders in Senegal. They have all been working to address the lack of reading books for children in Senegal. The Centre’s library works hard to provide African and Senegalese storybooks but the majority of books available in Senegal are about life in the West and don’t relate to the children’s own experiences.
Initially the Young Leaders in Senegal translated online books published on the African Storybooks website. Encouraged by a few sample storybooks from the UK the Young Leaders gained confidence. It wasn’t long before the project took shape and they were writing stories of Senegalese life while volunteeers in the UK have been busy illustrating them. The back and forth between the UK and Senegal of stories and photos is producing some lovely books and soon they will be online and in the Centre’s library when the Centre opens after the rainy season. Click here to read a book.
A huge thank you to everyone who dedicated their coronavirus lockdown to this project, And especially to those UK illustrators trying to finish their illustrations around their day jobs. We appreciate all this work so much and so will the lucky children who will read and enjoy the books.
