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CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR DR. ADAMA CONTEH FULFILS DREAM OF KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE WITH AFRICA

By Nii Okaijah CHICAGO:- Dr. Adama Conteh had a passion to help address the problems of under development in the West African state of Sierra Leone where she was born. Her early efforts were limited due to inadequate resources. After obtaining a doctorate degree in African economic history and academic experience, Conteh is now turning her large network of contacts into a program to enable U.S. students to acquire and exchange knowledge with their African counterparts. Her aim is to utilize theseexchanges to help bring about development and understanding of various cultures.

Recently, Conteh saw the first manifestation of her dream when, as director of the Office of International Programs at the Chicago State University, she led a group of six CSU students on a four-week trip to Senegal and the Gambia in West Africa. “This study abroad program was very successful, uplifting and productive for our students and their counterparts in Senegal and the Gambia,” said Conteh, who organized the trip in collaboration with the University of Texas at Arlington and Howard University, which also sent nine students.

During the trip, the students undertook research on a number of subjects including the Influence of Senegambia Culture in the Diaspora, Pan-Africanism, and the Rise of Christianity in the SeneGambia region. Saidu Momoh, Conteh’s nine-year-old son, accompanied them on the trip and did research about elementary education in the SeneGambia region. Born in the U.S., the fourth grader who attends school at the St. Thomas of the Apostle School said he enjoyed the trip and hoped his mother would take him back to Africa next year.

The area’s top academic centers, include the Universities of St. Louis, Dakar, the Gambia and the West African Research. In addition, the group conducted interviews in family homes of SeneGambian students and professors, including Dr. Boubacar Barry, a top Senegalese historian who is an authority on the Atlantic Slave Trade. “We exposed them to the culture of the area to enable them to determine to what extent it is different from their own and how the can make accommodations,” said Conteh. A highlight of the trip was a visit to Goree Island, the last point of departure to America for many Africans who were sold into slavery. According to the students, the visit was moving experience for them. The team also visited the holy mosque at Touba, considered to be the holiest Islamic spot after the Kabbah in Mecca.

Conteh was the only person allowed to enter the mosque, which had been closed for a year, for worship. “I was very much touched,” she said of the gesture. “On the whole, I was impressed with the outcome of the visit. It enabled the students to enhance the quality of their research. They also established binding friendships with SeneGambiam students who are very open-minded, eager to learn and to exchange what they know with our students,” she said. Equally, Conteh was impressed with the quality of higher education in Senegal. “Within the limits of what they have, the standard of higher education in Senegal is comparable to U.S. institutions,” she said. “Senegalese universities offer advanced courses and their students are very knowledgeable, judging from their expressions during collaborations with our students. It must be pointed our that higher education was introduced in Senegal during the colonial period.”

During their visit to the Gambia, the students also conducted series of interviews for their research, visited Juffre, hometown of the ancestors of Roots author, Alex Haley, and paid a courtesy call on the U.S. ambassador to the Gambia, George Haley. Conteh noted that the Gambians recently embarked on higher education in their country, but they are making serious efforts to succeed. Impressed with their efforts, Conteh plans to establish a program that will enable outstanding CSU graduate students to teach at the University of Gambia while conducting research in the country. While in SeneGambia, CSU and University of Texas students donated hundreds of textbooks, pencils, pens and erasers to the University of Dakar and three secondary schools in Bangul.

The CSU students also took 150 hours of video footage in Senegal and the Gambia, which they plan to edit and market to raise funds to support the study abroad program. In addition, they plan to produce abroad, T-shirts and posters for sale. “They are enthusiastic about the program, and they want to do whatever they can to keep it going,” Conteh said. She expressed her appreciation to CSU president Elnora Daniel and Illinois State Representative Constance Howard for their support for the study abroad program. “I am grateful for their support,” Conteh said. As a result, I am seeing the beginning of the realization of my dream for U.S. students and those from Africa to interact and exchange knowledge.”

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