Nearing the End (for now)

It´s been nearly six months in the Gambia now. It´s well into rainy season here and I can REALLY see why the tourists stay away at this time of the year. Some insects have decided to make nice little homes for themselves in both my legs. GROSS! Quite painful, but the Jammeh´s knew what they were and just pushed them out!! They´re little centipedes (I think). There´s been a few nights of very heavy rainfall transforming Makumbaya and the surrounding villages from dry and dusty to green and lush. The heat and humidity here is so energy sapping but the place is much prettier. Every family has now started farming, planting their crops of maize, cous, sweet potato and peanuts.

I think the heat would make it to difficult to live here long term. Along with the hopeless transport. Last month, I went to a marriage ceremony in central Gambia with the Jammeh´s and other Makumbaya people. One of the girls from the village was marrying so she was moving out of her parents compound to live with her husband. Marriage ceremonies in the Jola tradition last a whole weekend so we left Makumbaya around 2am on the Friday in a Gelly-gelly (the Gambian public buses). We travelled for two and a half hours, singing and drumming until we reached our destination. We were housed by the husband´s family that night and slept on the hard floor. I knew it would be impossible so decided just forget about sleeping and listen to my ipod.

The following day, the wife-to-be was escorted to her husbands compound wrapped in cloth from head to toe, with everybody singing and dancing around her. She cannot see another person man until she is introduced to her husband near the end of the ceremony. Throughout the day we sat and chatted while we waited for food to arrive and for drumming and dancing to start. This was worth the wait, even though I was knackered! I was also forced to dance, there was no escaping! There was a more western celebration of a disco in the evening and we spent the night on the floor again.

I hoped to be able to get away in the morning. I had no sleep for two days and I felt that I´d seen enough. If I´d known how far and deserted the place was I would have given the whole thing a miss. It was so remote that no transport ran throughout the day. One bus came in the early hours and one at night. It was much more basic than Makumbaya and very sparse. There was one shop with very few supplies and there was no easy way of getting out fast. I waited around all day with everyone else until we left for Makumbaya in the evening.

I´ve had many transport problems on my travels. I took the ferry across the 5km stretch of the River Gambia from Banjul to Basse to visit James´ Island, home to the millions of slaves that were kept by our evil ancestors. How hopeless! One of the engines had blown so it took an hour and a half to cross. The ferry appeared to move from side to side most of the time and on reaching the other side, turned round so it could reverse into the dock. We also had to wait two hours for them to just refuel the damn thing. Too incompetent and disorganised, it would make living here extremely tiresome.

But it was well worth it. James´ Island is situated in Juffereh, about an hour´s drive from Basse. When we got there, we took a boat across to the island with a tourist guide and a djembe player! The place was very tranquil, such a contrast to the atrocities that happened there centuries before. One the rooms of the ruined building had been home to 160 slaves. It was so small that all of them would have had to stand upright, pressed together like sardines. It was horrific to see. On the way back from the island I played the djembe alongside the other player. A white and black man playing the same drum, a fitting end now that all is forgiven.

I´m amazed that Gambians don´t resent us for what our ancestors did. Everyone is so incredibly kind to me that I´ve never once wanted to go back home. Making do without electricity is a bit of a challenge at times, especially when I´m poking around my dark room for a torch! But life is so much more simpler, sociable, and LESS STRESSFUL! The teaching is very tough, especially as I´ve hardly any past experience. With the little nursery kids especially, teaching the teachers is the only way to make any progress. I feel they have made big steps forward. It will never be the same standards as in the UK but the kids are now working together in groups, learning to share and taking part in more fun activities (they all love colouring and it keeps them occupied for ages!) The teachers can now focus on teaching small groups whilst the rest of the class do other things. The resources are so important and fortunately the nursery have plenty.

I´ve taken over a side project from the last volunteer at the HIV centre in Brikama, to go along with my teaching and bits of personal tuition. It seems on it´s knees to be honest. The four staff have been waiting around for funding from the UN, expecting for the money to just fall out of the sky. They are supposed to have batik and soap making for the 75 members that are effected by HIV/AIDS. I´ve been mainly helping the secretary with I.T., transfering past figures to Excel and writing follow-up proposals for funding. They have such a tough life but are always smiling when I go to see them. It´s a joy to work with them, even though it often seems hopeless. The change I´ve made is very small and sometimes seems insignificant. I always wish that I could do more. Not only to change teaching standards but to change the way women are treated and the corrupt way that some people deal with money. The AP class kids´ money is in the trust of 4 Gambians. One of those is their superb teacher who passionately wants the money to go on the children´s education and nothing else. I just hope that the others think the same and will use the money in the right way once it is sent.

After this last week, its all over. In just 8 days, I´ll be off back to ´Toubabadou´ to see my family and friends and live in all the comfort that I took for granted before. But this won´t be my last time in the Gambia here. I´ve enjoyed every minute (almost). I´ll miss being treated like a celebrity and having every single kid for 12 miles around shout out my name when I passing in the street. I´ll miss eating out of the same bowl as my family, the continuous hot weather, as well as being able relax and just do things later! I´ve definetely got the bug and one day soon, I´ll hope to come back.