In Njawara

Hi everyone,

We have arrived in Njawara.  the facility here is quite impressive, they have a large garden, several apprpriate technology water projects, a chicken nursery for income generation, and guest houses as well.
I'm seeing alot here that I think Sanyang could benefit from.  We'll see how much we can take with us there.

We have a pretty good accomodation here.  There is running water, and occasionaly electricity.  It's a little rustic, but we're dealing well enough.  We've decided to only stay here for 1 week, before we return to Serrekunda and onto Sanyang for the remainder of the trip.

I have no current now, so my battery is about to die.  We also, from solar power, have some limited access to e-mail, so hopefully I can get this message sent out tomorrow.
If not... well good luck.  You'll just have to wait to read how awesome it is.

P.S. Today is the half way mark of our trip.

Cheers,

Justin

Another Week gone, and Monday is the halfway point

Hi Everyone,

Well today is the second of three "Clean the nation" days that we get to experience here, so for the next 3 hours, i'm locked down with practically no where to go or anything to do.

We've had a pretty good week the last few days here. We were back at WACD-TC for another module on Gender and Development. There was a great deal of interesting conversations and discussions that arose from the group, and we were able to learn alot about each other.

Lindsay has now departed to Malawi and will be staying there for the remainder of the summer.

Last weekend we had our Sunday Audience with Alkalo Bojang of Tujering (the alkalo is the village chief, Tujering is a village near Sanyang). In this village they have a system of restorative community justice, where any problems or concerns that the villagers have regarding property or land. Rather than taking their problems to the police and going through the court system, which is both long and expensive, village members can summon the other party to arrive at this meeting, held every sunday, under a Mango tree in the centre of the village, and a panel of 14 village elders (10 men 4 women) will hear and come to a conclusion about what should be done. Each of the involved parties signs a contract, usually with a thumb print and ink, as some will invariably be illiterate, and the decision is binding on the parties.
While we were there, we took in two cases, one over a construction project that was left incomplete well after the agreed upon date for completion, and another property dispute about the boundary between two compounds.
Both the issues were resolved without lawyers or judges, none of the parties had to miss work to travel 2 hours to Banjul, or pay for a lawyer to represent them, and the problems are, in some cases, solved in an ingenuous way... for the incomplete building, the rains are now coming, so construction can't continue until October, but the contractor has already purchased timber for the roof beams that he's going to be out nearly 1500 Dalasis for (about 1/3 of a months pay). One of the committee members agreed to buy the timber, as a means of settling the dispute (both could stand to wait until October, but the contractor didn't want to be sitting on so much lumber without being able to use it or make back his money). As I said, truly interesting.

We also took in a little toursit-type of attraction this week.
Megan and I went to a local distillery, where they make 9 different kinds of their own liqueurs. We tried several, including Gonjo (the juice from a hibiscus plant), Cashew Apple (the fruit on which a cashew nut grows; see the pictures for a better idea), orange-ginger, citrus, banana-pineapple-coconut, and three chocolate ones they make, Bailies, chocolate-mint and chocolate-orange.
Needless to say they were VERY delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed most of them, and am considering buying a few to take home. The best part is the owners, when they bottle the drinks (in recycled wine and beer bottles, so they divert from landfill), don't put either the word distillery or the alcohol content on the bottle, so as far as customs believes, they're just juice :)
If only the glass didn't weigh so much...

This weekend we are just relaxing and getting packed. Tomorrow (Sunday) we head for the North Bank. All that i keep hearing about it is that it's very hot! Joy!

I expect us to be there for 1-2 weeks, depending how organized and relavant the work there is. Both Megan and I are excited to get back to work in Sanyang with GamMol and the garden.
The trip to Jawara will be somewhat interesting... we may have to ferry/bush-taxi with our backpacks. This could be fun! I'm sure i'll have stories to tell from the journey.

I have no idea what to expect while we are there, especially as far as the internet goes. If we have it, i'll post/e-mail as often as I can. If we don't, i'll just have to wait until we return to Serrekunda or Sanyang and will at that time, post all my e-mails that I wrote while away.

As I mentioned in the subject line, the half-way mark of the trip is on Monday. In some ways it has gone by very quickly, in others it seems to have crawled by one hour at a time. I'm excited for the coming 6 weeks, and expect them to fly by, or at least hope they fly by. I do miss home alot, wish there were some way to transport home just for a weekend right about now. Well I'll deal with that, and keep going. This is why you buy a non-transferrable plane ticket. So you're stuck!

Ok, that's all for me now, hope to hear from you soon,
Love all,

Justin

The Allure of Africa

Hi All,

I wrote this about 2 weeks into the trip (3 weeks ago), when I was staying in Sanyang.  I sat down one night and was inspired to write.  This is what came out in about 1 hour.  Since then I have only edited minor grammar.  Other than that, it's exactly as it was written at the time I sat down.  It's a bit long, but I hope you enjoy.

Love and miss you all,
Justin

The allure of Africa

Ok, despite stereotyping all of Africa in the title, I thought I'd reflect a bit today on what calls development workers, individuals and explorers to this place, and try to capture even a fleeting glimpse of what it's like to be here....

Before departing, or shortly after arriving, you will realize that the vast majority of what you do will be utterly insignificant in the day to day lives of most of the people you encounter.

You have no idea what to expect, of the sights, sounds, tastes or smells that await you, and least of all, what your experience will do to change you inwardly and outwardly.

I have already been through a deep longing for home, and come full circle, in only 15 hours, to a strong love for this place. Part of what both drives us to love this place, and repels us in fear is the rawness of this place.... every emotion, every sensation, every interaction and every experience you have will happen without the filters we are so used to at home. In North America we are encouraged to suppress our emotions, to live in a permanent state of ok'ness; where nothing is fantastic or great, and nothing also is ever dismal or terrible. Everyone walks around stating they are "Not bad" rather than good, and any inquisition between anything but the best of friends often only scratch the surface of the human condition to understand the most superficial details about a person. In this place all sensations are raw…. The market in Banjul, where most food is purchased, emanates an odour strong enough to make your stomach turn as raw fresh fish bake in the sun, the kindness of strangers, all of whom will stop you on the street to find out your name, where you came from, and to ask if you are ok. If you happen to have the same namesake, you will be forever bound as brothers despite the obvious outward differences. The joy of people to lend you a helping hand; a culture where willingness to give is inversely proportional to material wealth, and the kindness of someone who has far less wealth than you to insist on feeding you a meal to welcome you to their home, village or country. This is a place where people every day will go out of their way to help a neighbor. After a dangerous fall, resulting in an injury that required medical attention, a flock of pedestrians and several motorists stopped what they were doing to insist on helping in anyway they could, including providing a free drive to the nearest tourist hospital. These same people, everyday we see them continue to ask how the recovery is coming, and remind us that there is far more that binds us to each other when you scratch beyond skin deep, than you will believe if you only accept outward appearances.

Africa is an assault on all of your senses and aspects of your being. It will drive you to curse aloud the lack of modern luxuries you have taken for granted your entire life, like running water or access to reliable communication, but upon searching deeper, you will soon find you are as happy, if not more happy than you were before to have to work to get an e-mail, or jump for joy when you figure out how to have a bucket shower, and manage to use only a few litres of water in the process. The moment you see in the eyes of a complete stranger an understanding that transcends language, that through non-verbal communication has bound you to be forever brethren.

I have found many of the Gambian's I have met do lack a technical knowledge due strictly to insufficient schooling and in no part a reflection of their ability to comprehend, but simply on a tragic lack of opportunity, who, though often seen by Westerners as little more than uneducated heathens, grasp not one or two languages, but 6 independent languages, and communicate fluently in each, in the duration of one evening. I have been amazed again and again that as soon as you underestimate an ability of theirs, they will prove your assumptions to be completely incorrect, and often fed by ignorance.

The indifference and ignorance to the plight here is appalling when seen firsthand. To see children with eyes yellowed by exposure to the Malaria virus, to know a significant portion of the population will be directly affected by the HIV/AIDS virus, and to look into the eyes of children longing for even 1/10 of the opportunities we have taken completely for granted. It sickens me now to think back to my grade school days and recall how indifferent I and many of my classmates were to our own education. Taking the opportunity entirely for granted without realizing that worldwide 1/3 of children will not receive secondary education. At the same time it empowers and re-invigorates each of us who have seen firsthand the tragedy to spread the message, and seek in all we do, small ways to reduce the tragedy.

The range of emotions experienced while here has already, in only two weeks spanned the full spectrum of the human condition. I have at a time grown to loathe that I cannot walk out of the house without being pointed at by a child shouting "Toubab", or walk down the road without someone walking up and talking to me… it took me a few days to comprehend and accept that each of these people are genuinely interested in learning about who I am, where I am from, and individually welcoming me to this beautiful country, on behalf of all of their fellow citizens. Each person feels this to be their own personal duty, and will not allow the opportunity to pass for fear that I should feel uncomfortable or unwelcome here.

I think back to the last time I heard someone exclaim to a recent immigrant or tourist "Learn the language or get out"… and I truly shudder, for today I am the stranger, I have still not mastered any of the 10 different local languages, and though I have given a valiant attempt to learn Mandinka, I am still embarrassingly inadequate in my ability to converse with the local citizens beyond basic greetings and pleasantries. Despite this, I have still found myself welcomed each and every day into this country.

I recall thinking after returning from Tanzania, and again find myself thinking that we in North America are a backwards and thoroughly messed up culture. That we no longer sell food; fruit, produce, bread, meat or cooked food on the street side, to our obsession with moderation, that we neither be too loud, nor too quiet for fear we offend anyone; my day today was punctuated by a singing, music playing and dancing crowd of 50 people who were dancing through the village to raise charity funds to celebrate a circumcision in the family (whether or not you personally agree with the practice, the excitement and passion shown by all these individuals makes you dance in your place.). They were neither quiet nor meek… I believe I heard them 4 compounds over, and they make no apology whatsoever for it. I was drawn out of the house when they arrived to see the spectacle and be part of the excitement and celebration. The fact we have individuals who believe that Canada should force all people to integrate to one of our two languages and abandon their cultural roots and traditions makes me afraid for the future. I have sat out on nights while here and partaken in conversation in 3 different languages (well ok, my English was good… my French … it was ok… my Mandinka, I probably shouldn't count as a language, but more akin to guttural moans only resembling language in the loosest sense of the word), and discuss with a people who have little or no formal education, and for whom opportunities for personal improvement of their social class are nearly non-existent, the problems facing the world, facing their country and facing their own people, to discuss critically what options exist for improving their own social or economic situation. Some of the ideas suggested have made me marvel at their ingenuity and, most importantly their simplicity.

This is a continent of absolute extremes that forces you to re-examine all you deem important and necessary in your life. A people living in abject poverty, who if asked, would give you the shirt off their back to ensure you feel welcome and warm. People who may not have enough food to feed themselves a dinner meal that night, but who spend their last Dalasi, Shilling or dollar to buy food for you, so that you will not be hungry when you leave their home. Individuals who, when asked a direction, will not point out the location, but close up their shop to personally walk you to your destination, so they can be certain you arrived safely. If the trip requires a taxi to arrive at, they will haggle with the driver on your behalf for a fair local price, then exclaim and insist that you pay not a penny more than what they themselves would pay to make the trip.
I will continue to waver between deep love and resentment for this place…though every new time I feel resentment or frustration at this place, I find it is shorter-lived than the last time, and every time I feel love for this place, it is as true and deep as the first time I felt it. There is nothing I wouldn't give to be back safe at home, surrounded by family and friends, a culture I fully understand, and all the modern luxuries, but while I miss my loved ones incredibly, I am having a wonderful time here, and every day feel lucky to be able to experience it.

This, to me, is the essence of Africa.

A good birthday far from home

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to quickly say thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. They made my day. My celebration here wasn't quite the same as I'm sure it would have been with everyone at home, but I made the best of it.
There are pictures, again, see the slideshow at the bottom of the page, and maybe change albums.

We finished off the week pretty quietly, they didn't have work for us on Thursday/Friday, so we had a short work week. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are travelling to Teujering (just before Sanyang) to meet with the Alcalo there (He's the village chief). They have a process here for community justice, and we will be witnessing the 'sentencing'. Unfortunatley, as increidble as it's going to be to share, we've been told we shouldn't take pictures during the process. I'll try to write to describe it instead.

Anyway, miss home alot. Trying to not think about it constantly.

Love,
Justin

Good Week - and New Pictures!

Hey,

We've had a good couple of days this week.  We started our work at GamMol back in Sanyang.  Since it's only for this week, we decided to commute there.  I thought it would be difficult, but we managed it very well.  The whole trip took us on 4 different vehicles, two local taxis and two different bush taxis.  It's still fun trying to get the drivers to give us a reasonable rate.  As soon as they see the Toubab, they think all the local rules for fares go right out the window.  The fare for teh first two trips should cost 5-6 Dalasi each.  Every morning we get an offer to take the two of us there for the low cost of 50 Dalasi!  It's actually mandated by some authority how much each of these trips should cost, and the unwitting Westerner will gladly get into a cab for 50 or 75  Dalasi (heck we did on the first few days too), but it's somewhat disconcerting that they try to screw us at every turn.  It just makes you have to be on your toes at every turn, to make sure you are treated fair. 

our work at GamMol has been really rewarding.  We helped cut down desks at a school in Abuku, so the primary kids could reasonably sit at, write on, and generally see over the desk top.  Today we were tasked with repairing a broken hand water pump in Sanyang.  There is another new album of pictures posted at the bottom of this page, and online at my picasaweb site.  It was hard work, but I really felt we were doing something productive at the end of the day, and had visible, tangible and measurable results to show for our sweat.

An update on the rains....

Ok, so maybe I should have waited until I stepped out of my room to comment on how the rains clean the entire country....

We ventured into the Serrekunda market today and ... well perhaps the proper term isn't ventured, but waded.... while the rains do help to clean the air and wash away the dust and dirt that has accumulated, they also turn the roads, especially the dirt ones into miniature, treacherous lakes.
While trying to navigate the market; avoiding stalls, wheelbarrows, livestock and other people, we also had to try to avoid stepping into these lakes that have sprung up overnight in the middle of the busy pathways throughout  the market.
We managed fine, but it was just one more of the experiences to mark down as memorable.

We start work with GamMol in Sanyang tomorrow.  If we can figure out how to get there (3 bush taxis later), it should be a great time!

JP

The First Rains

I'm writing this just as the first rains are falling here in Serrekunda.  I was woken up earlier than I had intended by the racket of what seemed like 100 small children jumping around on the tin sheet roof of our lodge, only to realize it was the first fat drops of rain to fall on this roof in nearly 9 months.

The rain has been going on for about 1.5 hrs now and has steadied into something we would expect to have in Canada, a good steady shower, but not a torrential downpour.  From what I've heard talking to locals around here, this is very tame compared to what it's going to be in the next few weeks and months. 

The water running off the roof is already brown in colour as it washes away all the dust and dirt on that has  accumulated on the roof in the last many months.  I've been told that in a few weeks, as the rains become more regular the country will transform from a dusty brown to a clean, vibrant, lively green.

To make me feel completely at home, the power just went out, likely on account of the rain, which has probably knocked out a transformer somewhere.

Hopefully it won't be out too long, so I can post this.

Miss you all,

Justin

Sunday, i've forgotten what it's like

I've forgotten what it's like to live in a culture that actually recognizes a day of rest. (aside of course from clean the nation day).

We had a day with no major plans today so we thought we would head to a bookstore just around the corner from our lodge. We should have realized this by now, having been here for 4 weeks already, but silly us, with our Western perspectives, didn't think about it and ventured out anyway.

Most of the shops and stores still close here on Sundays, and often close daily around 2 pm for the Muslim prayer break. It's interesting being in a culture where that desire is so ingrained in the psyche of the population.

It's refreshing to be in a population that still holds outwardly their religious beliefs and faith. I haven't ever felt while here imposed upon by someone else's beliefs and have generally (within some levels of mutual respect) been free to go about as I normally would. In Canada, faith and religion is a very private matter that is often only expressed once a week by attending church.

It's like being forced to take a slow deep breath in the middle of a quick run. While for us, it's mildly inconvenient, at the same time, it's enjoyable to be forced to take a break at least once a week.

Sometimes I feel as though we are the backwards culture.

Pictures from London

hey everyone,

there are some new pictures from our 1 day mega tour of London. 

In the pictures slideshow at the very bottom of the page, there is a drop down menu that currently says "Pictures from Gambia", drop down and click "London Town" and you'll see all about our crazy day in London.

Hope you enjoy.

Justin

New Pictures

Ok, not too many, but there are some new pictures in my picassa album.

See the preivew at the bottom of this page and click on the pictures to go there.

Miss you all,
Justin

In Serrekunda - Back to School

Hey everyone,

Sorry I've not posted in a few days, despite having access for the next little while to wireless at our lodging, i've neglected my blog in the process.
I've added a few gadgets and fancy features to the blog, you probably noticed them at the side. There is a world clock, which if I've set it up correctly, should display the current time in both Toronto and Banjul, in case you're wondering how late in the day it is for me. There is also a countdown, currently to my birthday (sure i'm zealous, but I'm allowed to be every now and then. There is also a small slide show of pictures I've taken here. They're posted in a larger size on my picassa web album, which you can get to by clicking on any of the pictures.

We had a good last week in Sanyang, learning the language a bit more, trying to master my abilities at making Attaya (the green tea that is shared all over the place here, but requires a great deal of skill to make properly), and getting ourselves dirty with projects at the garden. If you look at the pictures linked on the right side of the blog, you can see me making attaya, and mixing concrete to form a new base around one of the water reservoirs. It was very arduous work, but one of the mornings Megan and I were both in a bad mood/missing home, and somehow, mixing concrete by hand in a wheelbarrow under the African noon sun lifted both our spirits. I also got to test out my driving skills.... Megan and I hired a taxi to take us to the beach one day after work. We happened to get a tourist taxi, which are generally more expenisive and somewhat nicer than the local taxi's. We were commenting how nice the taxi was, when the driver asked if we knew how to drive. I said "Sure, yea I do" at which point he put the car in netural, jumped out when it was still moving and told me to show him. So i jumped out of the back seat, into the drivers seat and off we went. When he returned to pick us up 2 hours later, he drove up, jumped out of the drivers seat and hopped into the passenger seat again. I paid 100 Dalasis to drive myself to the beach and back!

We also met with an organization called GamMol, which is an NGO out of Belgium that has a staff of local Gambians working on health, education and primarily water projects around Sanyang. The program works to dig boreholes, install handpumps and maintain the machinery for villages that are not on the municipal water supply and otherwise are relying on non-secured water sources (shallow dug holes, open wells, and open streams/rivers/trenches). We just met with the organization to determine some of the projects we can work on when we return to Sanyang again, and I'm incredibly excited about the opportunities.

We're back in Serrekunda now, and on Monday we started a course at WACD-TC; the West African Community Development Training Centre. the course is a certificate course issued by the Ministry of Education in The Gambia leading to a full diploma from the centre. We are being taught the second of four modules, ours on Human Behaviour and Development. It's an interesting opportunity to learn about the experiences and mode of problem solving used by our Gambian counterparts.

The course material is important and relevant to the Gambian classmates we have, although I feel I've been taught most of the material before. It is however interesting to see the decision making process and problem solving used by our classmates. It's a far cry from what I had expected, or how we would necessairly troubleshoot or solve a problem at home. I'm not enjoying the course material, but the interactions we are having are very beneficial for both us and the class.

I'll try to keep more posts coming, and thanks to everyone for following along and leaving comments. I smile every time I get one.

Petting a Croc

hey everyone,

here is the much promised picture from 2 weeks ago of me petting the crocodile.

2009-05-31 - National Clean The Air Day?

2009-05-31

We have had a very relaxing weekend here in Sanyang. We wanted to
start our beach day relatively early after a good sleep in, so we set
off at around 11:30. We walked out to the taxi-stand and asked there
about going down to the beach. We were told since it's the last
Saturday of the month, it's "Clean the Nation Day", when all work
other than cleaning, including any driving is completely forbidden
from 9 am to 1 pm.
So.. we went back to our compound and waited for 1 pm to come.
While we were waiting for a cab, we ordered Baobab juice at a local
restaurant. We've had it served a few times already here in a sealed
plastic bag, which you bite off the end, and squeeze out. We instead
were served our baobab juice in an old ketchup bottle and a
squeez-able relish container. For only 5 dalasis (about 20 cents),
what do you really expect.
We finally got to the beach and had a great time, our host-father,
just as we were leaving, shoved a JulBrew into each of our hands. So
we sat down to have a drink. We ended up drinking on the beach until
past 10 pm, getting pretty well tipsy with my host father, and
laughing long into the night, Megan and I, my host father and a Peace
Corps volunteer from the US we met at the garden.

I have to say it's a pretty awesome way to spend an evening, at home or here.

I have also discovered the precise moment in time when man decided
that Chicken would be a suitable candidate for food... I think it was
about 6:18 AM, the morning after God created the rooster.. Man
thought.... Yea, that'd go well on my dinner plate....

2009-05-28 - French ... Que?

Well who would have thought that I'd actually be using the French i
learned while in school. The Gambia is an old British colony, hence
the English as the national language, but Senegal, completely
surrounding The Gambia is a former French colony, and there has been a
great deal of migration between the two over the decades. As a
result, in the compound we are staying in, there are a number of
French speaking Senegalese nationals here, so I've had a few really
good conversations in French during our stay. It's actually a
sufficient buffer language, as I don't speak Mandinka/Fula/Wolof/Jola
very well, and they don't speak English too well, we've found French
to be a happy medium. Who would have thought.