My experience as IT Volunteer and Tourist in Cape Verde

During my leave in 2018 I decided to go to Cape Verde as a volunteer to put my computer skills to help an association called OMCV (http://www.omcv.org.cv/) which is an association which fights for the psychological, social and economic good of the women of the general society. They urgently needed a web developer to design their website. It was a very nice experience and I would like to start by explaining my impressions when I first landed on the Cape Verdean territory. What impressed me most was the fact that the overwhelming majority of the population of Cabo Verde is of mixed (European and African descent and is often referred to as mestiço or Crioulo). There is also an African minority, which includes the Fulani (Fulbe), the Balante, and the Mandyako peoples. A small population of European origin includes those of Portuguese descent (especially from the Algarve, a historical province, and the Azores islands), as well as those of Italian, French, and English descent. There is also a substantial number that traces its roots to Sephardic Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th and 16th centuries during the Inquisition and were among the islands’ early settlers, or to other groups of Jews—mainly tradesmen—who arrived in the 19th century from Morocco. Although Portuguese is the official language and is used in formal situations, Crioulo, one of the oldest of the Portuguese creole languages, is by far the most widely spoken. The different dialects of Crioulo that exist on the islands may be broadly divided into Sotavento and Barlavento groups. There has been a struggle to legitimate and regularize Crioulo orthography in a dictionary and in schools.

To come back to my experience as IT volunteer I had to work on the website of the association with women from the association who are mostly Cape Verdean, a Brazilian volunteer and a Colombian who is also a volunteer. It was an enriching experience because I only speak two languages English and French and in a country where the official language is Portuguese that worried me a little, but I was delighted to know that almost everyone made effort to speak and work in English so I comfortable.

We left the city (Tarrafal) the same day and a few days later I went by plane to another Cape Verdean island called <<Sal island>> in Portuguese <<Ilha do Sal>> a beautiful place. What can best be described as a beach lover’s paradise, Sal is the archipelago’s most popular island for holidaymakers, and it’s no surprise why. With golden sandy beaches sinking into azure waters, windows into the island’s past and some truly spectacular natural phenomena to admire. I had a lot of interesting activities such as: renting a quad and going around the island or also renting a boat, fishing and scuba diving. The last thing I can say is that Sal successfully caters for many kinds of holidaymaker.