American Students Build Schools in Senegal village

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The roar of power drills fills the air in the village of Guedj Martin, a typically quiet community of 2,000 people located some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Senegalese capital of Dakar. It's an unusual sound to behold in a village with no electricity, but the noise is a welcome disruption.

A group of 13 students and five chaperones from Lich-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco has spent the last two weeks building a primary school that will serve Guedj Martin and its neighboring villages. They're covered in dirt, dust and sweat, and blue and yellow paint is splattered on their clothes and shoes.


Jacques Cusin, the group's coordinator and a retired school administrator, has been organizing service trips to Senegal since 2006. He's facilitated the construction of three schools, a health clinic and other development projects such as adding bathrooms and gardens to existing schools. Each year he brings with him a variety of construction materials, including portable batteries for the power tools.

"When you visit these schools in the villages, you see how eager the kids are at learning anything really," he said.

The experience has been positive for the American students, as well. In addition to building the school, Teresa Topete, a rising junior at Lich-Wilmerding, has been helping Cusin's wife, who is a gynecologist, provide basic health care to the villagers.

Seeing how appreciative the villagers are for the few resources they have has made her realize how much she takes for granted, she said. Many of the village women are in pain from years of carrying heavy loads on their heads and children on their backs, along with giving birth to numerous children. Yet many have never taken medication or even seen a pill before.

"They kind of just have to push through all this pain and they're not really supposed to talk about it," she said. "Their ability to stay happy or really joyous and community-oriented through all their struggles has been really eye-opening."

The school is set to open in October, and Cusin plans to bring a new batch of American students next summer to the same school to work on beautification projects.