Friday, 7 April 2017
Cultural morning
We spent the morning at Tanje cultural museum. We saw lots of displays about Gambian flora, fauna, weaving, early life, crafts and music.
Thursday, 6 April 2017
Resources!
We've unpacked and sorted the 9 large suitcases of resources that we brought with us - some for the sessions we'll be running & some donations.
There are too many things to list, but it includes over 100 pairs of sunglasses to help with eye conditions, 32 first aid kits, lots of first aid supplies, toothpaste and over 500 toothbrushes!
Our Gambian guide Alagi was like a child on Christmas morning when he walked up and down the tables looking at what we'd brought!
We can't wait to get started tomorrow, which will be with 100 girl guides from all over the west coast of Gambia.
There are too many things to list, but it includes over 100 pairs of sunglasses to help with eye conditions, 32 first aid kits, lots of first aid supplies, toothpaste and over 500 toothbrushes!
Our Gambian guide Alagi was like a child on Christmas morning when he walked up and down the tables looking at what we'd brought!
We can't wait to get started tomorrow, which will be with 100 girl guides from all over the west coast of Gambia.
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| Toothbrushes & toothpaste |
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| First aid kits |
Cultural day
We had a lovely morning wandering around 'Wide Open Walls' which is a group of villages that various artists have visited and painted murals on the houses. We were joined / followed by a throng of local children, all keen to hold our hands and be our friends.
We then went on to see a beautiful lake, where there were hundreds of tiny crabs running around on the shore. We saw local people preparing and cooking oysters.
Our next stop was Lamin Lodge, a restaurant/ bar in a more touristy area. It's frequented by a number of very cheeky monkeys who entertained us leaping around and hoping to steal our drinks!
The final stop was Brikama, a bustling and busy town around 1/2 hour from where we are living. We went to the craft market where everyone enjoyed practicing their bartering skills to buy souvenirs. Some of us also bought material which the tailor has taken away this evening to make into Gambi-pants.
We're just settling down to listen to a local band now for the rest of the evening.
We then went on to see a beautiful lake, where there were hundreds of tiny crabs running around on the shore. We saw local people preparing and cooking oysters.
Our next stop was Lamin Lodge, a restaurant/ bar in a more touristy area. It's frequented by a number of very cheeky monkeys who entertained us leaping around and hoping to steal our drinks!
The final stop was Brikama, a bustling and busy town around 1/2 hour from where we are living. We went to the craft market where everyone enjoyed practicing their bartering skills to buy souvenirs. Some of us also bought material which the tailor has taken away this evening to make into Gambi-pants.
We're just settling down to listen to a local band now for the rest of the evening.
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| Wide open walls project |
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| Wide open walls project |
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| Wide open walls project |
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| Wide open walls project |
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| Wide open walls project |
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| Peaceful and beautiful river |
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| Hundreds of tiny crabs running arond |
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| Beautiful river |
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| Piles of oyster shells |
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| Lamin Lodge |
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| Lamin Lodge |
Acclimatising
After we'd unpacked and settled in a little, we went for a walk through the local fishing village & along the beach. We saw all the brightly coloured fishing boats, as well as thousands of fish drying in the sun. We went into a smoke house and saw the various stages of the smoking process.
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Thursday, 30 March 2017
Sunglasses!
We'd like to give a shout out to Chic Sunglasses who gave us a nice discount so that we could buy 100 pairs of sunglasses with UV protection to take to The Gambia with us.
On our 2015 trip we ran an eye clinic and we identified lots of conditions which could be helped by, or prevented by, the wearing of sunglasses. The African sun is fierce!
We hope that we can find some people who these sunglasses will really help.
On our 2015 trip we ran an eye clinic and we identified lots of conditions which could be helped by, or prevented by, the wearing of sunglasses. The African sun is fierce!
We hope that we can find some people who these sunglasses will really help.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Fabulous donation for burns
We're very grateful to WaterJel for their generous donation of a whole pallet of burn dressings and treatments to go to clinics in The Gambia.
We will carry a small amount of it with us then the rest will go on a container which is being sent by our friends at Project Gambia in Sunderland.
We will carry a small amount of it with us then the rest will go on a container which is being sent by our friends at Project Gambia in Sunderland.
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