In April 2014 I went to Dakar, Senegal for five weeks to stay with my friend Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye and his family. I had met him in Gabon in 2008 when I went to work as Deputy Head of a new school near Libreville. Here he is (third from right) with a group of the teachers I worked with. We both had houses on the school campus and so were neighbours, colleagues and friends. I had a school car and often took him and Armel Djagba (far left) out and about. They in turn often cooked for me and helped me in innumerable ways during my first visit to Africa.
After I left, we kept in touch over the years and I finally decided I had to return to Africa to meet up once more. I stayed with his large family in the Parcelles Assainies of Dakar, and all in all it was a wonderfully-rewarding and unforgettable experience, of which these photos constitute a personal record.
I am immensely grateful for the friendship and humanity showed to me by all his family and friends.
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