Trek to Mali: The place to go if you ever need
to find out who you are
by John Cerda, 11th grade, Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, Chicago, Illinois
April 2008
The fifteen days that I spent traveling to and living in the village of Founfouni, Mali, on buildOn's Trek for Knowledge were perhaps the most educational, enjoyable, strenuous, fulfilling, and overall best fifteen days of my life.
Prior to the trip, I had conducted some research on the modern technology that existed in Mali. I found out that Mali had a mix of both modern and "old" technology. Cars, cell phones, television, etc. all existed in Mali, but only in more urban areas.
The rural areas, such as the village where the Trek team would live, only had simple tools and very limited technology, although some were fortunate enough to have electricity.
Upon arrival in Mali, I noticed that there were indeed many cars around the city. There were also great numbers of mini-scooters, BMWs, and motorcycles. There were streetlights along the edges of the main roads, and there was electricity in every building. From the start, it was quite clear that my research hadn't given enough credit to what Mali actually offered.
When we finally arrived in the village of Founfouni, we were met with an enormous crowd of villagers. We were greeted by the elders, who were flocked by children, and then my roommates and I were taken to our host family's compound.
As I walked through the village, I took in every detail. The mud-brick walls of the houses, the straw-laden ground with occasional livestock crossing our path, the narrow passageways in certain areas, and the unfamiliar quiet of nature.
I also noticed the mix of technologies that my research told me about. I saw the old-fashioned millet-pounding sticks and bowls, stone wells with small water pouches next to them to retrieve the water, and a giant central area with a pool of water in it with thousands of mud bricks lying around it (presumably a brick-making area).
However, I was surprised to see that there were actually two mini-scooters and a motorcycle in the village, which seemed to be shared among different villagers.
After living in the village several more nights, I gathered that the village had at least one radio and that every family had at least one or two flashlights. Other than that, however, the technology in Founfouni was very minimal, yet ample for their lifestyle.
The most shocking difference to me in Mali was the congeniality that seemed to fill every person's personality in the village. Unlike Chicago, where two strangers will pass one another without acknowledgement, two strangers in the village would politely greet each other and even strike up conversation or offer assistance.
In simple terms, society in the U.S. is very cold, and society in the village is very warm. In a place so different from the U.S., so lacking in modern technology, where you live based on necessity, where you have to work hard just in daily life, and where the people around you are so amiable and welcoming, you learn to really appreciate life and what it is that you have right in front of you.