At Last ...

Salam everyone, I’m Selly Raby Kane, the silent carp with big glasses of YALI Senegal. 

For information, I am fashion designer from Dakar and I was selected by the Mandela Fellowship Program for young african leaders of 2015. Clark Atlanta is my new home and yes, I’m back in School with militarized sunsets and sunrises. But this is another post, let’s jump into the heart of the matter: The departure for the US of A!

You see, the experience we are living is worthy of a thriller movie.

Departure day, Thursday june 18th: After what we can call an afternoon of harassment by Big Daddy Kane who was concerned about my slowness in packing my stuff and getting ready, I gave up to his pressure and finally reached the airport 3 hours too early.

All the YALI from Senegal and Guinea eventually met at LSS Airport. We ganged up, YALI Invasion, then we all left Dakar for Paris our first stop before the US. From that moment on, things went south for me. My phone was stolen , I had a fight with a bipolar steward from Delta but I guess these can be considered as collateral damages of the first part of the story I am about to deliver.

For this adventure, we left our country, forgetting the comfort of our lives, of our current statuses to redefine the goals we have set for ourselves in our careers, prospects, respective ambitions.

How to impact the world?

The billion dollar question.

We came to the US as we believe we have a contribution to make to the answers for our continent’s interrogations.

We left because we were chosen; we came because oh well, the name Obama triggers strange connections in our heads.

A concentration of 500 young Africans left the continent for a program that identified them as an essential part of the solution.

Here we are, facing our responsibilities. “What you gonna do YAALI ?!” (Professor Kimbro’s voice from CAU) 

I have landed at Clark Atlanta, Martin Luther King’s Fief. We live in a residency facing a building in which the resistance to the oppression exerted on the black community was forged. It’s simple, under each stone of Atlanta resides the story of resilient men and women who didn’t just talk about changing the world, they made it happen. They went to coal, strong of their stubbornness and re-shaped the future of countless black and global communities worldwide.

I have even crossed Cheikh Anta Diop’s portrait in a church … Inspiring

To me, these are the people that set the tone decades ago.

It doesn’t take a lot of people to change the world, it’s not a matter of statistic it’s a combination of Faith, Will, Impulsion and T I MI N G.

(*Munya, bright YALI From Zimbabwe)

I, Selly Raby Kane believe this is the time to shake the lines and speak the voice of our continent in our own verbs, through our own narrative.

I want to impact the Creative industries of my continent by contributing to the rise of it’s underground art scenes.

I want to speak the voices of the ‘’OTHERS’’ from the continent and help us, making a living of our alternative creativity.

I am a woman of images. You will see more than you’ll read from me. It is time for me to be Quiet and to show you what my eyes have seen since june 19th!

`

Jun 29, 2015
Selly Raby KANE
Mandela Washington Fellow 2015

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Champions League Meet-Up

Well well well! Only three days to go and I feel like a steamroller has literally passed over my body…and more than one time! Anyway, it’s fine by me, I’m going to survive all the pre-departure preparation,  all the stress, all the excitement, take my plane (by the way I have a plane phobia so If you heard about somebody turning a plane upside-down -not literally of course- because she is scared, that would be me) and have a great journey. I’m so eager to meet new people, to discover the US, to learn some new things! But one thing saddens me so…what about my Senegalese fellows who will not be there with me? 

Because let me tell you something, Senegalese Fellows are a tight team, a fierce one and most of all, a bright and fun one. Luckily, I will have the one and only El Hadji Mamadou Diongue with me in Miami. He doesn’t know it yet, but he will be my sidekick, we will be like Batman and Robin. Of course, I will not be Batman. What kind of crazy dude thinks that he is a bat? Have you ever seen a bat? Those things are ugly and scary as hell…Huh huh, I won’t have it, I prefer to be a male character than a bat.  So Robin it is!

Back to the subject…I don’t know how it happened because on a human history scale, we only know each other since yesterday. But the time I get to know each of them was precious and I’m sure that every single person on this team is going to be a game changer. Look at us, do you feel that energy!

Now that you have seen this picture, I can make my transition about the topic of this article! Did you see how Barcelona won the Champions League…I feel bad for the Juvies (Koba and Sonko don’t cry…luckily, we had some tissues for them), it was almost painful to see that…Nah…I’m joking, I don’t feel bad at all. 

Well I know, I’m like a diesel car, it takes time to start but when it’s done, it’s like a hurricane. Actually, the real subject is that Team Senegal was invited last week-end by Minaj a.k.a Vicky Victorine at her place.

1) For an informal meet-up

You see that…We were laughing, drinking. Our rap artist, Papa Aly Gueye was entertaining us, specially Minaj.

2) To watch the Champion’s League finale 

Yeah Yeah! Team Barça…

3) To take pictures of us as we are so photogenic

4) To meet fellows from last year and and 5) To have a good time drinking and eating some good Senegalese appetizers. 

So the meet-up…Everybody was not able to come, and those who did not come were really missed. Thanks to Selly Raby Kane, one of our stylist and stylish member, a professional photographer was with us to grasp the energy and it was amazing. We laugh, we smiled, we run, we jumped, we acted like we were stars but…seriously, have you ever seen a bunch of crazy people goofing around in the streets of Dakar followed by a photographer…Let me tell you that instead of stars, we were more perceived by the people in the streets like animals in a zoo.

But we did not care and that’s what’s good with our team! See that!

After the photo-shoot, we gathered around in Minaj’s house and it was really nice. Personally, I had the chance to talk with Koba, a 2014 Mandela Fellow, and it was great to have some useful piece of advice before leaving. As others 2014 Fellows were also there, everybody had the chance to talk about their journey and about ours to come. So this was interesting at different levels, we learned that the program will squeeze the very last drop out of us. Now that I am writing that, I reconsidering what I said about those bats…Maybe we should all be bats to be able to drink the very last drop of the program instead of the other way around. We also learned that we need to be careful with everything we do and say during the program, attitude is everything…And as we were already told by the Embassy, we have a responsibility to represent our country the best way we can. 

That was the serious part, but you know how parties are like, there is always a hidden side…The light and fun one, GOSSIPING…We actually learned that they were YALI weddings and YALI babies…Do you believe that? It’s great but I need to make a statement right now. NEPOTISM is not good, so those beautiful babies should not be Mandela Fellows by birth. If one day they want to follow the steps of their parents, they will have to suffer like us. 

Well I think that’s all, the pictures will speak for themselves…but I must tell you one last thing, Minaj told me that after I left the party, a few people stayed till 3 a.m.! Don’t ask me what happened over there, I was not there. I guess that what happens in Minaj’s house stays in Minaj’s house :) 

Sadly, Aissatou Sene the fourth Musketeer was not there and Minaj, Selly and I missed her. We will take a picture of the four of us very soon!

That did not stop us to feel like stars! Not to worry, It passed as soon as the reality hits us again!

AND NOW…to end with a firework….Drum rolls everybody. I present you the dream team:

From left to right: Maguette Niang a.k.a The Health-carer, Poppa Ali Gueye a.k.a. Packo Pat Ghetto, Aboubacar Sidy Sonko a.k.a the IT Boss. At the bottom right we have Abdou Diaw a.k.a. Mr. Investment. On the second line, we have at the bottom left, the great Koba (2014 Mandela Fellow) a.k.a The Teacher, Ndeye Awa Guèye (2014 Mandela Fellow) a.k.a. Jjiguène Tech Girl, Me a.k.a. The Puppet Master (sorry guys, I was named like that after this picture but I am no Master and you are no Puppets), Karamoko Badiane a.k.a. The African Optimist, Victorine Sarr a.k.a. Minaj The Networking Gal, Selly Raby Kane a.k.a. The Stylish Girl, Boussoura Talla a.k.a The Electronic Cleanser and last but not least, El Hadji Mamadou Diongue a.k.a. Batman! 

N.B.: two people on this pic are not MF but they are supporting us so, big up to  CorneilleTowendo (on the front) who’s an IT entrepreneur and Jean-Jacques Kokuvi (the tall mixed guy behind) who’s also a marketing entrepreneur.

Jun 15, 2015
Elsa Dansokho
Mandela Washington Fellow 2015

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Homère, vous avez dit Homer ?

First blog, first article! So here we go…or rather…here I am because…to be precise, I am just sitting by myself in front of my screen…Actually, in the French version of this article, I was adding a little English here and there to point out that I have arrived. As far as this article is in English I will add a little French because after all, a little posh have never hurt a fly…so…J’aime Paris et Le Fric C’est Chic. So back to my first article. I talk about those languages issues because when you have the pretention to write a blog which claims to be a travel book of my American Odyssey…you better be on point with your English. So I’ll do my best. Well, about the word “Odyssey”, I am may be exaggerating a tiny bit because, unlike Ulysses, I will be only be gone for six weeks…The other little differences I see with Ulysses’ Odyssey, is that I might not be meeting a Cyclopes, several see monsters, nor a single Mermaid. But, I will definitely be able to say to everybody that I stayed in the country of Homer. Ok…I’m talking about the Simpson one, but a Homer is a Homer!

Now, let’s be serious. I won’t explain everything because we did it in our share article but my fellows and I are not going to the US to chill, we are not tourists. Our experience is special; we are going there to meet President Obama!  The one and only! How cool is that?

I also won’t talk about our Pre Departure Orientation, it has already been covered but I will talk about the very moment I received this letter from the Senegal US Embassy the 23th March 2015, it was a Monday…Normally, you say, “Thank God it’s Friday”…but let me assure you, THAT Monday was worth a lot of Fridays. It was the day I was announced that I will be a Mandela Fellow. I made through the selection and I am now part of the 500 young African leaders selected for this 2015 promotion. I have six weeks to “discover” America thanks to this initiative launched by President Obama himself in 2010. Detect and train the future leaders of Africa…What a brilliant example of soft diplomacy. Olivia Pope and Frank Underwood would applaud.

Back to the subject…After having screamed and jumped into the air, danced, toasted, scoffed my friends and family (yes…I am a little bit ashamed of myself but a girl can only be human, right), I realized that I was privileged to be part of such an adventure: a six-week intensive training in Public Management in an American University? Really, Que demande le people? And it was at this very moment that it hits me, a terrible feeling.

RESPONSIBILITY. Beyond my insignificant person, the fact that I will benefit from a unique professional, cultural and personal experience, I feel that I have a responsibility to represent my country with dignity.  And beyond that, I have the obligation to come back in Senegal to serve, armed with new skills, concepts, process etc., to better contribute to the development of my country. And beyond my country, there is this continent: Africa. This continent WHO (it’s not a grammar error) deserves to have a say in this world, who deserves to speak, this continent who needs a change of image and finally, this continent who MUST show to the world what she (yeah…I did it, I decided just like that, that for me Africa is a women. Sorry guys, it’s nothing personal) is capable of. 

A few weeks ago, I was reading an article about how “Africa is starving”. Of course Africa is starving, but she is starving for development, for social progress, for success, for recognition, but more importantly, Africa is starving for RESPECT. Everybody knows RESPECT from the great Aretha Franklin. It’s the same for Africa: “What you want, Baby, Africa got it. What you need, do you know we got it? All we’re asking is for a little R.E.S.P.E.C.T.”! Those who have ears should hear! 

So…after this lyrical and patriotic musings, it is now time to come back to earth…I will continue to scream and jump into the air, dance, toast , scoff my friends and family because…there is another great thing about this program… I am going to the Florida International University of MIAMI…Say whaaaaaaaaaaaat? MIAMI…As a French poet, Joachim du Bellay, wrote “Happy, the man who finds sweet journey’s end”…For me it will be “Happy, the Elsa who will have a sweet journey”!

N.B.: we were told during our PDO that we were privileged but not special. It’s important to keep that in mind. This adventure will definitely help all fellows in their activities but there are more people out there, way better than all of us…So we must keep it humble! 

May, 21 2015
Elsa Dansokho
Mandela Washington Fellow 2015

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