Djeol Student Choir

This year a choir was established for the students of the College de Djeol. The students sang in English, with one song both in English and in Pulaar. It was a unique extracurricular activity in that both girls and boys were allowed to participate and there was a minimum academic performance requirement to participation. Teachers were enlisted to give the students extra help so that they could meet the academic requirements.

After seven months of weekly rehearsals, the students had sufficiently mastered the repetoire to justify a trip to the regional capital of Kaedi for a performance at the Girls' Mentoring Center there. Initial difficulities due to the unexpected visit of a government minister to the regional high school were quickly overcome and the concert was held on a Saturday morning. The audience included several girls from the Mentoring Center, one mentor, and members of the community of all ages. After their half hour performance, the choir members spent some time talking with the girls of the Mentoring Center and getting acquainted with the high school grounds.

The following weekend, there was a second performance which took place in their own school, the College de Djeol. Among those attending were students of the school, all the English teachers, and other Djeolois, young and old. Though rather nervous, the choir members managed to impress their family and friends with their mastry of the material and their ability to explain the English lyrics of every song.

All of the students showed improvement in their English grades and maintained a passing grade in their other classes, including Math and Arabic.

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