Senegambiagroup

Travel report of our visit to the projects in the Gambia (click on the pictures to watch the movie)

Monday the 3rd of December 2007
After a 2 hours sleep, we left at 2o'clock in the morning for the airport at Schiphol. It will be a long day today. Everything goes well and about half past two in the afternoon we are reaching our hotel Badala Park. In a hurry we put are luggage in the room and we start looking for mama Woory. Mummy Woory is the mother of Awa Sowe, the small girl that was asking school fees from Gerda and Roger. As it is a long time they didn't hear any news from Awa, they were very curious to get some information from the girl. Mummy Woory is selling panda nuts at the corner of the street, and indeed we recognize her from far. She is still there and she is still living at the same place. Every morning Mama Woory goes to the market at Serekunda, there she buys puts at €2,50 and before night she hope to get it all sold at €3,50 or €4.

Tuesday the 4th of December 2007
After breakfast we are going to visit the Sowe family. Financially things are very difficult to them. They nearly have nothing to live from and they are living in one small room with 10 persons sleeping in 3 beds…in rain season rain in coming in. Last year they got a mattress and chairs from Gerda and Roger. They are still grateful for this gift. Awa wants to go on studying and we decided to go and visit her school next Thursday and to inform about the school fees…

Next to the Sowe family's house we find the Swallow school. Three children of the family are attending this school, sponsored by Gerda and Roger too. The Swallow school is leaded by a Belgian woman Els Salembier , she is showing us her school. At the Swallow school each classroom has it's own colour and there is a Belgian way of teaching with: reading corners, listening corners, handcraft corners etc…Really efficient. The school is in full extension and they are building a new second floor. All work is done with financial support from Belgium.

Only 10km far from the Swallow school there is the Nyodema school, where most of our sponsor children are going to. We are extremely nervous and curious to see all the children's faces. One thing is clear from the beginning: the headmaster Mariama is very punctual and there is a good school administration. We met with a kind reception and afterwards we have been visiting all classrooms while we were looking for all our children, which was not always easy to find them. One small girl was always following us. Here shoes were worn out entirely and her socks as well. Does she already have sponsor parents? Oh no. This is what we have to think over. We want to sponsor this girl. Her name is Amie and next Thursday we'll visit her parents.

After school we go home together with Jainabe Bittaye (our sponsor girl on the picture). It is a nice meeting.

Wednesday the 5th of December 2007
After breakfast just a little bit relaxing at the swimming pool. After lunch, our daily tapalapa,
We go and visit Equigambia. Single mothers wit a basic education as tailors who can not start working because they don't have enough money to open their own shop, are getting help from Equigambia. Equigambia gives them the possibilities to work in an atelier which has been equipped with good materials and tries to create a fixed consuming market.
Afterwards we are visiting Bass, a friend from Serge Roggeman.

Thursday the 6th of December 2007
After breakfast we go to Awa Sowe and we drive to its new school Glory Baptist at Bakau. It takes tthem more than a hour to find out what is the amount of the school fee for Awa. Almost €25 for one year without the school uniform and the school books. It is up to Awa to know whether she wants to visit this school and if she is able to finish it?

Afterwards we drive quickly to Bakoteh school to find Sheik Tijan Ceesay. It is a big school with already 10 classrooms for grade one.. At least we find Sheik in the 4th classroom.

And then in a hurry back to Kotu as we promised Amie to go and see her family after school.
We are right in time and together with Amie we are walking long time and then..suddenly Amie doesn't know where she is living anymore. What to do now? Back to school. There it is clear that we were walking in the wrong way. At least we can see her father coming to pick us up. Amie is living in a miserable situation just as the Sowe family is.They don't have anything at all.Her mummy has left for Senegal and her father is living with his parents who are looking for Amie too. We promise them to come back with new shoes for the girl.

Once we arrived at our hotel I discuss the details of the school from Awa with mummy Woory and after a cool drink we are going to the internet café at Kololi to send an email to Gerda and Roger about the school fees.

Friday the 7th of December 2007
Our week is nearly over and we still have a lot to do. After breakfast we go and look for stamps for Awa; now she will be able to send a letter to Gerda and Roger. Afterwards we walk to Kololi along the beach for 45 minutes. We check our emails at the internet café and afterwards we are visiting our madam at the fruit market and the craft market as well. They are all happy to see us again. At night we are inviting Pa and his wife Kaddy for a dinner at Kololi and it was a fantastic night together with them.

Saturday the 8th of December 2007
Today we have been asleep far to long..it is almost 10 o'clock. Hurry.Hurry.At aboit noon M. Lamin is coming to pick us up.During 6 years Lamin was staying at Edgard Loots' house at Sterrebeek and now he is living back in the Gambia. He really had a big luck he once met Edgard. Since he is back home he has a good job, he is married and he is living in a nice house. His wife Fatou is a young dynamic woman. We spend a nice time together with Lamin and Fatou. Next time when we'll come Martine and Edgard are going to coock for the whole family, although we had a nice dinner this time too.

Sunday the 9th of December 2007
Today we'll go to the market at Serekunda with a bush taxi. We are going to buy shoes for Aimy. We are 18 is a VW mini bus and after half an hour we reach the market. We just payed 6Bfr. Shoes are really cheap here. A lighter is only 0,5€ and nice shoes are €2. Back home we stop at Aimy's compound to offer her the shoes. Once we left she was crying. We promised her to come back soon in January. After noon Martine takes a rest at the swimming pool and Alex makes a long walk to Kololi. At night we have been invited by Pa and have a nice fish yassa together.

Monday the 10th of December 2007
We'd like to forget this morning as soon as possible. There is still a lot to do and our bus is leaving at half past twelve. I made an appointment with Awa at the main road, but when I reached her house she was just taking shower (in open air with a bucket of water) and we leave at about 9.30. It is Monday morning..lot of traffic…we reach her school at 10.15. It takes one hour but finaly all papers are OK and we can leave school again. But after all this I need to go to Awa's parents, to the Nyodema school and Lamin and Ensa are coming to greet.
It's 12o'clock when it's all done. Back to the hotel room in a hurry, packing, taking shower and running to the reception because the bus is already waiting for us…..