The brightly dressed men on horseback caught my attention first, but then I saw
the man leading a camel to the front of the stage.

I was in dusty Ndioum, in northern Senegal, for work-related matters. The sun
was high overhead the Sahel, and there was dust in the air. I've spent a lot of
time here, and I find it fascinating, because it's so different from anything
I've ever experienced, and I wonder how people make their living here. We were
getting ready to break ground on a new bridge.

Few projects are as breathtaking as the construction of a bridge: where once
rural farmers and their families had to struggle to cross a swollen river to
access schools, hospitals, and other services, soon they'll simply walk across
a new bridge. Revolutionary! But the most revolutionary changes are sometimes
the simplest: the Ndioum bridge will not only link one of Senegal's richest
agricultural areas to the mainland, but it will link the people of the area
known as the Ile de Morphile to the rest of their country. It's a riverine
island, with branches of the Senegal river flowing around both sides of the
island's fertile fields. In finally providing the people of Ndioum with a
bridge, MCC is helping fulfill a promise made to the people of Ndioum over
forty years ago.

It's a promise the people have waited patiently to see become a reality. The
horsemen and the camel herder weren't elaborate props for the event; they were
simply residents of Ndioum with their steeds, turned out in their finest
traditional clothing to witness the groundbreaking and express their gratitude
for the work and perseverance that led to overcoming Ndioum's isolation after
so many years.

It's easy to lose perspective in the paperwork of making these projects a
reality: the reports, the collaborative process, the endless email, the
calendars and contracts and the elaborate, technical terms of reference. But
then you look up, and hundreds and hundreds of people have come out under the
hot noonday sun in a swoon of emotion to express their gratitude for the
project. And you realize that it's not just a project and some deadlines. It's
a bit of infrastructure that is going to revolutionize the lives of Senegal's
poorest. In two short years, the people of Ndioum won't need to wait for the
wooden canoe to take them across the river, won't need to worry about flash
floods roiling the river's muddy surface, won't have to worry if they need a
doctor in the middle of the night.

That's revolutionary. And that's why I'm happy to be here.

------ 

Photo credits thanks to MCA and Amadou Ndiaye. A slightly modified version of
this piece appeared at my employer's website as: How to Cross a River with Dry
Feet.