Issue 29
Spring 2008
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STRAY NEWS
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On Tuesday morning we set off early, (nine of us armed with rollers and brushes) to paint the outside walls of the newly built school at Nemesu; white undercoat and then cream. Luckily there was a verandah so we didn't burn. The doors and window frames were painted red. We had a lunch break of buttered baguettes with sliced jacket potatoes, a staple dish.
By 4 p.m. we had finished and returned, paint spattered, tired, but satisfied. We'd had an audience of mothers with babies attached to their backs with large cotton scarves. We never heard a baby cry, obviously secure close to their mums.
The next day we visited Naata School for children of three to seven. Their volunteer teacher Judith spends six months there and six months in England. She had taught the classes English songs which they performed for us with delightful enthusiasm. We then took a large group to a nearby sports field, or rather rough dusty large area, practising sports ready for a belated Independence Day on Saturday. Children and adults all enjoyed the races.
We returned them for lunch provided by the charity and then went on to Nemesu School to set out desks and books for the official Open Day on Thursday. All our journeys were by taxi, and we used the same one every day. Chris and Rod already knew Boxer, the driver, a huge funny lively young man and a mine of information.
The following day we went again to Nemesu School and fitted out the children with their new red and white uniforms, they looked a picture. Their previous uniform had been brown and black. For every child in school there is another wishing to be there. The parents pay about 70p a month though some cannot or perhaps will not pay.
At 4 p.m. the elders of the village arrived for the official opening ceremony. All the mothers were brightly and beautifully dressed. How they manage to look so fresh and clean is a miracle when you see the shacks without toilet facilities or running water, that they live in.
Lots of speeches, songs from the children and spelling of English words. Again no crying from a single adorable child. At 7 p.m. we left the villagers to carry on celebrating.
On Friday we had a day off visiting a crocodile park where we “held hands” with a very docile crocodile! Then to watch vultures being fed at a nearby luxurious hotel. They ate then bathed in running water (much more fortunate than the village dwellers) and lay with their wings spread to dry.
Saturday was Independence Day. Sixteen schools arrived at a large dusty area to march around in the heat to bands following a pretend President and his entourage. All the pupils in uniform and all delightfully friendly.
I've written at length and told you only half; the ladies who go to find Gambian “toy boys” (putting any woman over fifty at risk of being approached); the heat, the dust, the poverty but lack of crime.
The enduring memory is of smiling faces and people grateful for any small gift.
If you're interested in helping and/or visiting, contact me or visit the web site www.gambianschools.org.
Nora Collinson
A Gambian Adventure (cont’d)