“The Cosmopolitan Club promotes cultural understanding and internationalism, and believes that we can make the world a better place. According to our motto, ‘Above all Nations is Humanity,’ we bring people from all over the world together in order to establish a strong international community and network here on campus and worldwide. This is why we, the Cosmopolitan Club, want to help. We believe in direct action. We cannot help all of those villages, but we can make a difference in Katiali.”
These were the words we have used in order to promote our big Katiali development project last year. The ideas of world community and of direct action were the driving force for our efforts to help the people in Katiali. It has worked out.
At a place really far away I have experienced that all humans share the same common traits. The feeling to belong, to do something meaningful with one’s life, and to feel happy are very important for my African friends as it is also for me. I could have found no better place to do something purposeful with my life than in the Senoufo village Katiali.
I stayed five weeks in the Senoufo village Katiali and helped, together with my Cosmo housemate Moussa Koné, the villagers to rebuild their elementary school. I was in charge of hiring craftsmen, co-managed the construction site, established sports and nutritional programs for the children and learned first-hand about village life in West Africa. Throughout the year before the trip the Cosmopolitan Club has successfully carried out several fundraising events, and rose in total 2,500 USD solely for the village. We feel grateful to the many people who have supported us and thereby helped the children of Katiali.
When we arrived, the school was in ruins. It had no windows and doors, a leaky roof, and the blackboard gave the students a hard time to read what the teacher was explaining. The school in Katiali as a public building became neglected after so many years of civil war in Côte d’Ivoire. The villagers could not renovate their school by themselves as money was scarce and the government of the country was not able to or willing to pay the teachers of the school.
When we arrived we also met people who were eager to provide their children with a better future. These wonderful people helped us to make the project a success and ensured that every dollar became invested for the good of the school.
So we started renovating the school after only one week in Katiali. We formed bricks, we welded the doors and the roof, and we painted the whole building inside and outside, and finally we paid the teachers with a three month salary. Everyone in the village became in one or the other way involved in the project as we hired exclusively local people. We became integrated in the decision-making processes of the village and Cosmo’s project was considered as the most innovative project for the village.
The school was the new meeting point and everyone wanted to know what was going on around the school. The project brought the people together and during every break one could have some tea and a nice chat under a huge mango tree with people of all ages. The usefulness of the project was obvious for everyone; we created a better learning and working environment for the children and teachers. Many of our construction workers had their own children in school and therefore a personal connection to their work. One can easily see on the many pictures how the people of Katiali loved the school project and that the idea of the Cosmopolitan Club to help the village of Katiali will have an impact for many years to come.
I believe the project was such a success because of four reasons. First, the whole decision-making process was a democratic process. In a school committee we have found consensus about the main priorities, about the timeline and how we can invest the money most efficiently. Moussa and I became integrated as equal members in the village democracy and all important decisions were made as a group.
Second, we could hire for all work processes people from the village and did not have to outsource any labor. This strategy ensured the cost effectiveness and quality of the whole project. Furthermore, all hired personnel showed a high degree of personal commitment and truly believed that the project would help their own children.
Third, the children loved their school and I think this fact stimulated everyone to give his/her best. My time in Katiali was always exciting because of the children. I truly believe that the children have learned a lot through this exchange with the Cosmopolitan Club. For my part I have discovered that my most rewarding work which I have done so far was with the children of Katiali.
Finally I believe that the social African village life made everything much more easy. The boundaries between work and fun very often blurred and from the very first day I have had the feeling that I am part of a very big happening. There was a lot for me to learn and to experience and I really appreciated that the people of Katiali shared so openly their culture with me. This project has resulted for me in many life-long friendships and serves to me as prime example of how I want to carry out future projects.
Through our school renovation project we could provide the people of Katiali with a lot of hope. We could give them the feeling that they are an integral part of a global community. Over the past 100 years, the Cosmopolitan Club has continued to stand for building bridges among persons of various nationalities, races, cultures, and religions. As our success in Katiali shows we can continue that easily for another 100 years.
