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Zakari was amazed to see such a green landscape
Zakari was amazed to see such a green landscape
Zakari explaining about the Dogon culture
Zakari explaining about the Dogon culture
Zakari is a Medical Student – Pam,a local doctor, giving much needed equipment
Zakari is a Medical Student – Pam,a local doctor, giving much needed equipment

When Zakari visited Burley he had just finished his first year at Medical School in Bamako, Mali. This article was written by a local doctor who met Zakari.

“I was privileged to meet Zakari when he came to visit in summer 2001. We were able to discuss medicine as it is applied in two very different countries with such varying climates and levels of need, at one level the problems of health inequalities evident in both countries, and the efforts made to reduce that. The experience of infectious disease in Mali, and how fortunate we are that we have a tried and tested vaccination regime here. The problems of chronic disease in this country related to our western diet. We visited Thackray’s medical museum in Leeds and also the Minor Injuries Unit and my practice in Otley, an example of the types of community medicine practised in Leeds over the last 150 yrs compared with today! I hope Zakari enjoyed it as much as I did.

We found many points of interest at the museum and were able to converse in my broken French about Pasteur, Koch and the diagnosis of infectious disease. I was able with the kind help of friends to send Zakari on his way with some medical items which will be of use to him and his colleagues back in Bamako.”

Pam

Zakari Saye visited Burley in August 2001

Zakari is the boy who started the link by sending photographs. (See Introduction) After Zakari finished school in Tereli he went first to the Catholic Mission School in Pel and then onto Segou. Here he passed his Baccalaureate examinations and gained a place at Medical School in Bamako. He has just finished his first year. Zakari’s father, Dogolou. is Village Chief so he came with letters and gifts from Tereli. As well as speaking four African languages, Zakari also speaks French. The following article was written by Dorothy who translated for Zakari on many occasions. (Zakari stayed with Mary and John who visited Tereli in February 2000)

“The alarm clock did not go off, the phone did not ring, but something woke me up! I lent over to look at the clock 5.09 and then I was fully awake. Today we were saying goodbye to Zakari and the careful plotting and planning made by Mary were almost completed. At 5.30am John drove Zakari, Mary and me to Leeds/Bradford Airport, where the last minutes flew by and the dream came to an end. How can such an experience be easily put into words? I've been struggling to find a way of sharing the excitement, the high points, the low points and the benefits to my life of having met this charming young man, who shares a vision of the future for his village with his father, a man of great heart.

The visit started on a high wonderful weather warm sunshine and seventeen days ahead of us. We met at the airport, and began chatting straight away. He was not tired; he was impressed by all the trees and how green England is, and wanted to know why we drive on the left hand side of the road. We had a very busy day, followed by more busy days, and I grew used to the idea of walking around with my diary and a dictionary and of going to bed and dreaming in French, not only that but waking up and still having conversations flying through my brain in French! I asked him many questions about life in Tereli, about the life of his family and about the significance of the wonderful walking sticks he had brought as gifts. The history of the Dogon people is fascinating. In our turn, Mary and John showed Zakari the Cow and Calf Rocks and I explained about Giant Rombald; we drove up the Moor Road and I explained and sang yes, sang! - part of “On Ilkla Moor Baht at”. We laughed a lot especially when I stumbled around the vocabulary - now what is the French for a lathe?

Visiting Peter and Maggie to see the skill of wood turning was quite taxing, but Zakari helped me out. We went to many places, met numerous people, and although I was not with him every day, someone, somewhere managed to speak French with him. When we met the Community Council and were introduced to the chairman, he was very impressed by this, and by meeting in the Round House something he could relate to easily because of the similarity with the meetings of the leaders and elders of Tereli. The links between the villages of Burley and Tereli are deemed important by all concerned to increase understanding between places on the Meridian –and the “On the Line” project has certainly sparked a great deal of interest in both of our villages. The days flew past always busy always exciting, and then came the last of our long times together a visit to Haworth more photos as we examined the steam engine, saw the coal and water and had a ride on the train; and as we walked from our journey up into the old village, we joked about racing up-hill. Zakari, we said, would win the race and he agreed, as age was definitely on his side!! Learning, sharing and understanding, these are some of the ways in which my life has been enriched by this visit. What was that about the highs and the lows? There were no lows in this experience only good things resulted from this marvellous time of my life.”

Dorothy

Chairman of the Community Council, Bruce Speed, exchanges gifts with Zakari
Chairman of the Community Council, Bruce Speed, exchanges gifts with Zakari
Dorothy translating for Zakari
Dorothy translating for Zakari
Meeting Revd. Peter Sutcliffe at St. Mary’s Parish Church
Meeting Revd. Peter Sutcliffe at St. Mary’s Parish Church
Whitby – Zakari’s first glimpse of the sea
Whitby – Zakari’s first glimpse of the sea
Visit to Haworth
Visit to Haworth
A book about the Dogon being presented to the library by Revd. Mirella Moxon
A book about the Dogon being presented to the library by Revd. Mirella Moxon