Hello Everyone,
I'm so happy that I've found this forum. I have a few questions and hopefully you can help me out. My husband and I are Muslim, he's a Mouride and really wants to move to Touba city. We're both African Americans who've never traveled abroad. He works for an airline so we do travel quite a bit. We are hoping to relocate and want to know:
Would we be able to find work? I have some teaching experience. I have a BA though not in education. I have taught ESL and currently I teach standardized tests for Kaplan. I also have some agricultural experience. I am head of a small non-profit that runs a fence free organic farm. I do a lot of seed to seed gardening in the community.
My husband has some mechanic experience he graduated from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance. He's not certified but we can solve that. He's also good with cars and has some construction experience as well.
Secondly , I am currently pregnant with our first child. We'll probably be moving with a toddler and expanding our family while there. Does anyone have any experience with giving birth and raising small children in Senegal?
African american needing information
Hello Meemzy,
i created a new thread from your post in our Senegal Forum to increase the visibility of your queries hence finding more interactions.
Good luck in your search,
Gavind
Hello Meemzy:
Thinking of taking the plunge are you? Well good -- it is always good to explore new worlds. As you know Senegal, and Touba explicitly, is the home of Mourides. My husband is also Mouride. We have lived in Senegal for nine years. However, our home is not in Touba. My husband has a home there with his family.
Regarding work -- it is hard to come by and as far as I know even fewer opportunities in Touba. Touba is the religious holy city. You must have run into some Mouride men wherever you live and they all know about Touba. I may be wrong about the work opportunities, but I don't think so. If you would need to work, your best bet will be Dakar. Second, Mbour (which is the region I live in. Your husband may be able to find work at the many airlines that fly into the airport. A new airport is being built outside Dakar -- but I don't know when it will be finished. Hopefully in the next year or so. Auto mechanics is a real good field for possible employment (entrepreneurial work).
Most construction here is of masonry type.
Your experience would come in handy as well. Teaching is always, always welcome. And just about everyone wants to learn English. You may be able to find some private schools where you can teach English (and ESL would be right up the alley).
Next -- language. Having an aptitude to learn Wolof or French would be necessary as few people speak English.
My suggestion is to stay in Senegal for a couple months or longer if possible, and get a feel for how you can build a life here.
Child birth -- There are hospitals in Dakar and most villages have a clinic with mid wives. You can also find private doctors to deliver your baby.
Expenses - Senegal (and Dakar in particular) can be an expensive place to live. Good idea to save money to live on for however long you plan to stay initially.
FYI - Touba is about a 4 hour drive to Dakar -- so a daily commute would be tedious.
Feel free to ask more questions.
Regards,
Regla
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