Rachel’s Network Legacy Awardees experience rest, reflection,and renewal in Senegal. By Dr. P. Qasimah Boston and Aminata Traore’-Morris.
Movement work requires a lot of giving. Leaders and organizers dedicate time and energy to advancing environmental, climate, and social justice, to help protect communities, and to build a more sustainable future. Yet the pace and responsibility of this work can leave little room for rest.
That is why partnerships that prioritize restoration and sustainability for leaders are so important.
Through the Rachel’s Network Legacy Award, four longtime movement leaders were sponsored to participate in the Teranga Experience, a restorative seven-day journey in Senegal, West Africa. The Teranga Experience is designed to give movement leaders the time and space to rest, reflect, and reconnect with themselves and their work.
Rooted in the Senegalese value of teranga, meaning hospitality and generosity of spirit, the experience invites participants to step away from the pressures of daily responsibilities and embrace a slower pace. In Senegal—often referred to as the home of teranga—participants are welcomed into a culture that values connection, community, and care for one another.
For the awardees supported through the Legacy Award (a project of the Rachel’s Network Catalyst program), the experience created space to pause and reflect on their leadership journeys. Participants explored Senegal’s vibrant culture and history while engaging in conversations about sustainability, legacy, and the long-term health of the movements they serve.
One memorable experience was meeting with a well-known traditional kora player and Jali (pronounced Jah Lee), Alfuseney Koyuate. The kora is a traditional instrument in West Africa and a Jali is the keeper of history whose life works are to collect the stories of people and to share those stories wherever they go. This Jali collected the stories of our Teranga group and sang each of their names that he will always remember.
Reconnecting with history and tradition are important for movement leaders and helps ground our energies. The participants reconnected to an emotional, important, and sometimes unknown piece of history called “The Door of No Return” on the island of Goree. This door is where many Africans were forced to travel through during the era of slavery. The experience touches the heart and the spirit of all who journey with the Teranga Experience and it always invokes conversation and reflection.
The week balanced opportunities for cultural exploration and meaningful dialogue through experiences like these with moments of rest and restoration. Participants returned home not only refreshed, but also inspired to continue their work with clarity and purpose.
One Legacy Awardee, Kolu Zigbi, shared that the experience “renewed my energy and creativity. I am not only excited to continue ongoing work, the award was also a catalyst for a new collaborative project.”
Together, we created The Teranga Experience to support movement leaders who often give so much of themselves to the work of building stronger communities. Having Rachel’s Network sponsor four awardees for this program reflects a powerful recognition: strong movements require supported leaders. Investing in rest and restoration is not simply an act of care—it is a strategy for sustaining the people who drive meaningful change.
Through the Legacy Award, Rachel’s Network is helping ensure that leaders have the opportunity to pause, reflect, and return to their work with renewed energy and vision.
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Dr. P. Qasimah Boston (right), leader of the Teranga Experience, is an artist, human rights activist, and cofounder of the Tallahassee Food Network. She trains and mentors many on environmental justice issues, cultural humility, and leadership. She is a recipient of the Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award and served on the Moving Forward Network Project Advisory Board. She is a mom, grandmom, plays tennis and pickleball, gardens and made her own kayak. For her, legacy is about what we build, who we lift up, and what we leave behind.
Aminata Traore’-Morris (left) is an enthusiastic cultural curator who helps communities to realize their power and appreciate their heritage. In addition to co-leading The Teranga Experience, she launched the Culturally Curious Literacy Initiative and the Gullah Geechee Literacy Forum, and published her first children’s book, Xavier the Prince: Step into Africa. She served on the Live Oak Public Library Board and resides in Coastal Georgia on the Gullah Geechee Corridor with her family.
Photo caption: Movement Leaders Queen Zakia Shabazz, Kolu Zigbi, Konda Mason, Anita Collins along with Dr. P. Qasimah Boston, Director of The Teranga Experience, learn to cook the national dish of Senegal, Chebujin, and get certificates!