LCA The Gambia - Last week, finally to the Field!

      Category: 
      Emergency Response
      15 March 2009
      Written by Roberto Occigano

      This visit deserves further words, it's located 7 kilometres from the main road and the nearest village, which does not seem much, but just after leaving the last village we realized why it is not easy to reach it. The indications given were not easy to follow, going ahead in a dry river bed, driving without streets is not easy, so we had to return to the nearby village and take on board a "local guide". We encountered bushes, small trees, land of damp earth, until we met the last insurmountable barrier, a narrow embankment to cross the river that our car couldn’t get through; as the guide was saying that the distance from there to the village was short, “it’s just by the first hill”, we then decided to move on by foot, after 2 km of road walking under the sun we reached  the village, it was  initially deserted, our visit clearly did not pass unnoticed, I became the local attraction. They do not have electricity and therefore no television or any modern comfort. The appearance of a Taubab (white man) under the big tree of their “square” animated the afternoon of this small community of 6 women, 2 grandmothers, 4 men and 40 children/kids equally divided into 20 males and 20 females between 6 and 18 years.

      At the end we discovered that their food rations are delivered to the nearest village school, and for them is almost normal to go there to retrieve it with a donkey-kart during the dry season, while during the rainy season the hill is isolated from the world due to the river water, the only solution for them is to walk with the water at the knees, 7 km to the nearest school, pick up their food and bring the bags back 7 kilometres on their heads up to their school.
       
      The school ... consists of two buildings, one old and one build in 2004, the last winter a storm wind has taken away the new school roof, only one of the four classes can be used now, if it isn't raining.
       
      At the end of the visit, a woman invited us into her hut for lunch; they shared the little they have with us ..., accompanied by teacher's assistant, a boy at his first work experience, (also in the Gambia the first assignment is usually a big challenge).
       
      Going back to talk about our task here, we found out that the Gambia has enormous logistics potential, huge unused storage capacity, two parallel main streets, north and south, separated by a navigable river full of wharfs, the only thing missing is a complete view of this potential, a structured inventory of storage capacity, we hope to help them to create one with the assessment that we completed today!
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      Comments

      emilie voskens's picture

      Submitted by emilie voskens on 16 March 2009
      Sounds like you've done a great job there! Thanks for updating us on your activities and experiences; I really liked reading your stories.

      Submitted by Jenny on 31 March 2009
      Hi Roberto...I remember Gambia ( Volunteer 2007 ) its so nice to read your story. Sounds you are making a top job. Take c care...wishes from Germany

      Submitted by Martin Sladdin on 17 April 2009
      Hi Roberto, Very interesting posting. I have just returned from a holiday The Gambia. We visited a school that does receive WFP food (at least the road is navigable if a little dusty!) The term for white person is actually "two bob". The British used to hire Gambians for two shillings or "bob", (in modern currency 10 pence) a day. Martin.

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