You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile!

Abdou Ba, pre-surgery

Working with Global Smile Foundation in Thies last November was an unforgettable part of my Peace Corps service, but even after the surgeries were finished there was one patient that I just couldn't get out of my mind. Abdou Ba, the 10 year old boy who stayed with us at the training center for the duration of the clinic, absolutely stole my heart. I have been carrying his before and after pictures around with me on my ipod for three months, showing them to everyone I meet like one of those proud grandmas, but I couldn't help but wonder what his smile looked like fully healed. Fortunately I was able to find out the name of his village, and when I passed through the region of Tamba yesterday on my way home from Kedougou I decided to go on a scavenger hunt, photo in hand, to see if I could find him.

Abdou's family with my new friend Xabi

 I started my search in the Tamba garage, wandering from car to car asking if anyone knew how to get to a village called Sinthiaw Malem. I was directed to a large mini car and herded into the back with about 35 other passengers, where I just happened to sit next to a woman going to the same village. Her name was Xabi Ba, and between her limited Wolof and my limited Pulaar we managed to strike up a conversation. Of course I immediately whipped out my photos of Abdou and asked if she knew where he lived, and lo and behold she was good friends with his entire family! She immediately took me under her wing and insisted that I come with her to her house so I could leave my luggage there before she took me to visit him.

Amerik insisted on a karate themed photo-shoot.
How could I say no to a Pulaar Ninja?

When I arrived at Abdou's house, both he and his uncle were gone, so I spent some time getting to know the rest of his family. In addition to his uncle (also named Abdou), he lives with both of his grandparents, some aunts and a whole army of cousins from toddlers to teenagers, including an older boy nicknamed "Amerik" for his love of all things American. Uncle Abdou came home shortly after I arrived with a shirt full of peanuts gleaned from one of their fields, and we all hung out in one of the huts drinking fresh milk and snacking on his peanuts and the mangoes I brought from Kedougou. Since my Pulaar is pretty rudimentary we conducted our conversation in a crazy hybrid of wolof, french, pulaar and seereer with a generous sprinkling of charades.

A million dollar smile

When Abdou finally came back from the fields he was ushered straight into the room, and for a moment I didn't even recognize him. His radiant smile lit up the room, and he literally looked like a completely different kid. It brought tears to my eyes to see just how amazing he looked, and his family was so proud to show off his new smile. They sent him off to get cleaned up, and we had an hour long photo shoot with everyone in the family. I'm going to try and get the photos printed out and try and send them back to his village with someone from Tamba. I'm so happy I got the opportunity to visit his family and follow up on one of the best experiences of my Peace Corps service.

Grandma, me, Abdou, an aunt, and Xabi in front of Abdou's hut