Reflections of the Random Acts Tour

By Harold J. Cook, Tour Coordinator
Henderson Travel Service
3/31/07

Having just returned from a 12 day Senegal and Guinee West Africa tour, I was deeply moved when Juanita "BZB" asked me to coordinate the rapidly approaching Random Acts tour to South Africa, Swaziland and Senegal. I quickly determined that it was a trip I could not afford to miss.
This was a perfect way to continue my celebration of my 40th year of traveling Africa. So, within two (2) weeks, I was again off to Africa.

So we finalized plans, issued tickets, did the necessary conference calls to Africa, and sent the required emails. It’s great working with professionals and experienced travelers. It was also interesting to see the excitement of the participants, many of whom had not traveled to Africa, but they too knew they were embarking on a special journey.

BZB, being the special person she is, generated an excitement that became infectious. It grew throughout the tour.

As each day developed, wonders continued. It was all inspiring to see the reaction of people who thought of where money would come from for the next meal and suddenly, the vehicle door opened, out stepped BZB, and financial blessings flowed. We saw people who usually receive coins for selling their goods and now they got paper money. Many received, in BZB’s gift to them, more than what they would have made in a week. It was all inspiring to see how lives had been enriched, moved, encouraged and changed from this simple act. She always ended her comments with “I love you.” Some were so happy, they were closing their stands for the day and going home. Many of us were also moved to do random acts.

I was particularly moved when BZB purchased four (4) grocery carts of food for a family who had been orphaned with the death of the mother and father, causing them to reside with another sibling and her husband. The pressure on this family to provide food was lifted and other concerns could be addressed. Of course BZB’s aim was to help and she really did.

Now that I have returned home, I have often reflected on the trip and realized how blessed I was to travel with the “Dream Team.” My random acts continue and who knows what’s next.

Random Thoughts

March 5, 2007
By Danielle Koon, dream team assistant producer

Today was wonderful! I am excited for tomorrow, but today was great. We went to the “ Pink Lake ” and I put my feet in the water to feel its blessings. I was happy to find we were eating Yassah at the restaurant, then riding a dune buggy to the ocean. I can’t believe I’m here! I’ve only seen these places in pictures that Busy has shown me. It is wonderful to see the pictures become a reality.
I really didn’t know what to feel about the street vendors. Why are they so persistent? It's like they bug you until you give in.

After seeing Fallou again after a long time, seeing and feeling the pink lake and experiencing Senegal , there was still a surprise awaiting me at the hotel. When I went into my room all of my things that were sprawled out on the floor were neatly folded and put into the closet. My washed underwear was hung up and all of my toiletries were fixed nicely on the shelf. I was so surprised to see that our housekeeper wasn’t afraid to truly clean our rooms.
I didn’t mind her touching my things at all. It was very nice. I really enjoyed myself today. Today’s moments were all mine.

Juanita Britton's Random Acts Receives High Praise and High Fives

March 14, 2007

Reactions to Juanita "Busy Bee" Britton's random acts of kindness during her two-week mission of giving in Africa , intrigued and inspired those who met her as well as those who heard about it. In South Africa she received high praise and high fives from corporate executives, members of the diplomatic community and media and ample kudos from notables in Senegal .

Kim Davis, president of the New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, described Ms. Britton's work as "powerful." She heard about her efforts while she was in Johannesburg to speak at a South African Women’s Leadership Conference.
“Corporations like J.P. Morgan can and will and must make a difference,” said Ms. Davis, an African American woman who manages philanthropy and controls more than $100 million of the corporate giving efforts all over the world.
“But the real change will have to come from people touching, like she is.”

Marcia Morgan who is the wife of Michael Morgan, a diplomat who works at the United Nations Development Program met Ms. Britton several years ago through a mutual friend.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said when she learned of Ms. Britton's project. She contacted Ms. Britton to ask if she would be willing to reach out to the family of her former hairdresser, a Congolese woman who recently died leaving five children behind.
“I wanted them to meet somebody who could make them happy,” she said.

Ms. Britton took the children grocery shopping. Ms. Morgan didn’t divulge how much Ms. Britton spent but one of her assistant producers who accompanied her on the trip, said that she bought so much food that one of the shopping carts collapsed.
“The little ones were over the moon,” said Ms. Morgan who arranged for the children to miss school for the day so they could get involved in picking out the groceries.
“They were allowed to go down the aisle and pick out what they needed.”
She said that they were very conservative when they selected the food and were thrilled when they were allowed to pick more than one of the same item.
“Not in their wildest dreams would they have that amount of foodstuff in a year, let alone a day,” she said.
“It’s not courage but something else must touch you to do something like this,” she said. “That’s the way God touched her, to touch other peoples lives.”

Ms. Britton's Random Acts project also drew praise from the media.
"I wish I had been out there with her so I could have seen it," said National Public Radio Special Correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault who is based in South Africa . Ms. Gault interviewed Ms. Britton about her trip for a segment on NPR's News & Notes radio program.

Ms. Britton was also a guest on Johannesburg ’s most popular radio talk show SA FM’s Morning Talk with Xolani Gwala. She had an overwhelming response from callers that turned the scheduled 5-minute interview into 15 minutes, in prime time!
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"From the reaction I got from the South Africans that I talked to, people have been very appreciative. This is the kind of initiative that is sure to inspire other people to do similar things."
Molly Melching, executive director of the Tostan organization, which empowers African communities to take charge of their own development, was among Ms. Britton's admirers in Senegal.

“I’ve known Busy Bee for many years,” said Ms. Melching, who arranged for Ms. Britton to visit some of the Tostan participating communities during her visit. “She has always been an enthusiastic supporter of movements of social transformation. She’s a model for so many women.“I thought it was so exciting that she changed her plans to have a 50th birthday celebration for herself and do this.”

Visit: http://www.randomactsfoundation.com/story.html

Watch: http://www.ibroadcast.com/randomacts.html

My Trip To Africa

March 10, 2007

Telvin Walker
Grade 6

I am going to Africa and the things I am going to talk about are the plane rides, things I ate, things I saw and Senegal. My plane ride was scary because it was my first time. The things I ate tasted very odd from U.S. food. The things I saw were beautiful, but very different. Senegal is different from South Africa because of the way it looks.

My first time on a plane was scary because I never been on one. When I got on the plane I went to my seat. Since there were less people on the plane I had a row to myself. When the plane got onto the runway, I was frightened. A crew member told me to fasten my seatbelt for take off. After I fastened my seat belt, it was time for take off. The plane started speeding down the runway, then it finally lifted into the air.

When we going through the clouds I was scared, because you could not see anything. Then the plane rose above all the clouds. The flight lasted 15 hours long. The plane ride to Senegal was very different. They had to reroute because of a storm. It was different because I ate a different meal. Instead of beef I ate chicken. They also had new movies to watch. I did not have a row to myself on that flight. I did not have a row to myself because some people were going to New York.

U.S. food taste different from African food. One night, at dinner I had something called prawns. Prawns are whole shrimps with heads still attached. They give you butter and a special hot dressing to dip them in. I liked the prawns. Another night we had oxtail with vinegar inside the soup. It was delicious. Another night I had a chicken salad. It’s a salad with spiced chicken, and a sauce.

In Senegal, I ate many different types of foods. I tried Chicken Yassah. Yassah is a little spicy sauce that goes on the chicken. It also comes with rice. Then I tried something called “Chebigen.” It is stir fried rice with fish, fish balls, and vegetables. It was delicious. The Chicken Yassah was also good. I got a hamburger from “Ali Baba.” “Ali Baba” is a restaurant. The hamburger was fantastic. It had fries, eggs, ketchup and cheese. It was so delicious. For breakfast I had a omelet. I had some orange juice and a croissant. It was tasty.

The things I saw in Senegal were different, but beautiful. I went to the “Pink lake.” The water is pink because of the salt. The salt is prepared for food. You can get in the water and not sink. I can not name the resort, but it was fun. It had a beach, and I got in the water. It was very fun. It was fun because it was hot on that day.

The things I saw in South Africa were animals, art, and people. The animals I saw were antelopes, hogs, deers, elephants, ostriches, zebras and hippos. The art I saw was at Esther Malunguay’s village. Her art is done in chicken feathers. She also was the example for the front of BZB’s Anacostia Art Gallery. Her artwork is beautiful. The people in South Africa are different because they speak different languages. They speak many languages. For example, they speak Zulu, Nkosa. In the Nkosa language they click when they speak. They love soccer and call soccer football.

Senegal is different from South Africa because of the hotel I stayed in. In South Africa I stayed in a hotel called “Rose Bank Hotel.” It was a nice hotel. For breakfast I had many different selections of food. They had a pool and a gym. It was fun staying at this hotel.

The hotel in Senegal is very different. It’s different because the hotel is shaped like a lion. The restaurant is inside of the lion’s mouth. The rooms are in the stomach. They had a gym also. The hotel had 16 rooms and suites. It was fun staying at this hotel.

Giving away crayons and coloring books brings joy to the children when I gave it to them. They became very happy. Sometimes when I didn’t have enough, I told them that they would have to share. They didn’t mind sharing the stuff.

The vendors are very exciting. When we were on the bus, all the vendors were trying to sell us their merchandise. I brought some of it.

I bought little bags for my sisters. I got 10 for 5,000 milfrancs. Their money is different from U.S. money. In the U.S. 5,000 milfrancs is only $10.

I learned to give, how to write an outline, and that giving is important. I really enjoy coming to Africa. I am only 12 years old. I don’t think I would have had this chance to go. Therefore, I want to thank Ms. Britton very much. This trip changed my life.

Visit: http://www.randomactsfoundation.com/story.html

Watch: http://www.ibroadcast.com/randomacts.html

Visit To The Villages Of The Tostan Program

Thies region, Senegal

March 1-2, 2007

In the village of Ndiassone there is a party going on.
Teenage boys beat furious rhythms on the drums and villagers are singing, chanting and dancing. Juanita is in the middle of the mix, doing her own fancy footwork and pasting dollar bills on the sweaty foreheads of women who are 50-something. They are dancing in a circle around he and she is beaming like a new bride. Her light seems to brighten with each forehead that she ‘anoints.’

Later, we are in the nearby neighborhood of Medina Fall where a similar scene takes place. Juanita and company are feted by residents whose dancing is so high-spirited that they seem to take flight. The rhythm is hard driving but there are no drums in sight.
At this party it’s the resourceful women who are providing the furious backbeat by slapping flip flops on washtubs and slamming hands on pans. These sisters rock and we roll.

We are in the region of Thies where we will spend two days visiting villages and neighborhoods that are part of an innovative program called Tostan.
Juanita didn’t come here to party; she came to pay respect to the program and its participants.
But a mutual admiration celebration broke out in the process.

The Tostan Program is an international, non-governmental organization that empowers African communities to take charge of their own development. It is most known for its successful implementation of a basic education program that has led to the abolishment of female genital mutilation in nearly 100 villages. What has also been noted is the cooperation of the men once they learned of the harmful effects of the ritual that has led to sterilization and even death.

Juanita is longtime friends with Molly Melchang, the program director and shares her compassion for women’s health and human rights. She visited some of the participating villages more than a decade ago and wanted to return to honor some of the participants and perform a few ‘random acts.’

Molly was out of town when Juanita first arrived but had a program itinerary all laid out for us. She joined us in Thies the day before we left.

Her impressions of Juanita’s Random Acts project:

“I’ve known Busy Bee for many years,” she said. “She has always been an enthusiastic supporter of movements of social transformation. She’s a model for so many women.
“I thought it was so exciting that she changed her plans to have a 50th birthday celebration for herself and do this.”

Ker Simbara was the first village to get involved in the Tostan project. It was supposed to have been the first village for us to visit but our temperamental bus had one of its breakdowns and we had to reschedule for the following day. When we did arrive El Hadj Mame Bou Kounta, the village elder was pointed but diplomatic in sharing how disappointed he and the villagers were over our unintentional no-show. But all ended well.

Juanita gave monetary gifts to coordinators and elders of the participating villages and neighborhoods that we visited. But she didn’t stop there. In the spirit of her birthday Juanita had Telvin pull out toys and school supplies to distribute to the children and she gave gifts to women who were age 50 or at least claimed to be.
Beverly handed out nail polish and emery boards and embraced her 60-something sister friends.

“I couldn’t have a better birthday than to share this part of my life with you,” Juanita told the residents of Medina Fall. But her words were meant for each village of the Tostan program that we visited.

Visit: http://www.randomactsfoundation.com/story.html

Watch: http://www.ibroadcast.com/randomacts.html

Pink Lake and The Sand Dunes

Monday, March 5, 2007

Our hotel for the week is Hotel Keur Gainde (House of the Lion)
It is an imposing three story structure that is actually built like a lion.
The upper level is the lion’s head and the restaurant sits in the opening of its mouth.
The hotel has a gallery, fitness center and Internet café. Beverly and I share a room on the third level. There is no elevator.
Today the random acts will be performed on the road to Pink Lake.

Also called Lake Retba, the Pink Lake is a large lagoon near the ocean that is famous for its natural pink color. A Senegalese who is a friend of Fallou built a restaurant and resort there. This is where Juanita has arranged for us to have lunch.

Passing through Niaga village, Juanita spots a cluster of women seated on a large mat under a shade tree. They are tending to their children, braiding hair and sorting vegetables for the market. Juanita joins them under the tree and after a few moments of conversation she unceremoniously gives each of them money.
Back at the bus she gives Telvin another opportunity to disburse gifts to the village children. When they invite the children over it becomes chaotic. The children are beside themselves with excitement. Dozens of them rush the bus and attempts by us and the village adults to organize them are unsuccessful. There is pushing and shoving, fighting and crying. One little boy who was bathing jumped from his tub and runs naked toward the bus. The children who obeyed and organized themselves in a line a short distance from our bus became angry when they saw others go over and receive gifts ahead of them.
This scene was more unsettling to us than the brief shoving match that we witnessed between the two men at the airport when we first arrived.
Juanita finally instructed us to pack up and move out. We had an emotional on bus debate about whether we waited too long to disburse the gifts and whether our expectations of how the children should have behaved were realistic. We talked about ways to handle things better the next time around.

Telvin, who is the child ambassador of Juanita’s Random Acts project and with her help has formed a nonprofit called Kids In Africa Want to Color Too, shared how he was affected by the mini melee.
“I felt happy about doing this until all the commotion started,” Telvin said.
He said that he got upset about what happened when he gave a small child one of the school supplies.
“A boy who was about my age started taking it from him and started knocking him down. That’s when I had to stop.”
N’Dieye who attempted to film Telvin handing out coloring books, received an elbow to her jaw during the confusion.
But her painful experience was soon replaced by spiritual moment she had when we arrived at Pink Lake. This is where N’Dieye gets her wish to bathe in the waters of her ancestral homeland. Not long after we arrived N’Dieye rested her camera on one of the restaurant tables, walked over to the water where she waded for a few seconds before immersing herself fully clothed.

Several of our team joins her, but our immersion was only ankle-deep.

Before we leave the lake Juanita hires a truck to take us on a ride through the sand dunes.
We felt like kids on a hayride. But even in the midst of our adventure Juanita has the driver stop several times so she can perform random acts. She spots a woman balancing a bucket of cow’s milk on her head. When she gives her a gift of money, Fallou, our guide interprets her response. The woman thanks Juanita and asks God to give her good health. “You made her day,” Fallou said.
Fallou explains to Juanita how significant her gift was. “That full bucket of milk could not get $10,” he told her. Juanita’s gift was equivalent to sales of several buckets of milk.
A short distance ahead we are off the truck again when Juanita sees two women riding a cart pulled by a donkey.
Fallou goes ahead of us to ask them to stop for a moment.
They are Fulani women and “co-spouses,” married to the same man. Absa Fall, the senior wife or awo, has seven children. Magatte Njie, the niarel or second wife has six. They live in the nearby village of Keur Balla.
The cart they are riding is piled high with bags of carrots. They insist on giving Juanita a few bags in appreciation of her gift. Juanita later gives the carrots to Fallou.
The donkey is getting restless. The women wave goodbye and roll away.

Visit: http://www.randomactsfoundation.com/story.html

Watch: http://www.ibroadcast.com/randomacts.html

Goree Island

Tuesday, March 6

A handicapped woman is selling produce at the marketplace in the terminal for the ferry that will take us to historic Goree Island. Her name is Louise. She has only one arm and uses her teeth to aide her with tasks that require two hands. Louise is the person that Juanita has chosen to give an offering. Juanita engages Louise in conversation and learns that she is Catholic. She asks why she isn’t wearing a Crucifix around her neck. Speaking through Fallou who interprets, Louise says that she could never afford to buy one. Juanita gives her some money and a hug and moves on.

For Africans the history of Goree Island is a tragic one. Senegal’s most famous tourist attraction was the center of the West Africa slave trade. Juanita is set on having us visit the island.
She feels that it is something that we must as African Americans if we have the opportunity. She relaxes our schedule so we can spend ample time.
Being on Goree is also an opportunity for Juanita to reconnect with old friends that she made when she lived there briefly several years ago.

We have an hour to wait before taking the 11 o’clock ferry over to the island. Meanwhile Juanita is enjoying the activity at the marketplace. She is at ease and could easily blend in with the women who are working there.
“This is me,” she said standing in the midst of it all. “This is what I am. I’ve been doing something like this for 15 years. It’s just like the marketplace I have in the U.S.”
What Juanita says is more than a slight exaggeration. The annual gift shows that she holds back in the states are done in the spirit of an African marketplace but are decidedly more upscale. At Juanita’s “marketplace,” fine art and high-end products, not produce, are the order of the day. But we get her point.


We had lunch on the island and spent most of the day shopping for souvenirs, interacting with the islanders, and visiting the historic points of interest. We spend a significant amount of time in the slave house. Joseph N’Diaye the curator of more than 30 years led us on a private tour. He ended by bringing out a set of chains, iron cuff and the heavy ball that the men were shackled to keep them from fleeing. It should come as no surprise that the tour, particularly the ball and chain caused mixed and emotional reactions.
Mika, a young man who assisted Fallou on this day, was flattered that we were moved by the experience. He offered words of comfort to one of us.
He said, “Its okay to feel.”

Visit: http://www.randomactsfoundation.com/story.html

Watch: http://www.ibroadcast.com/randomacts-1.htm