no rest for the wicked

International Literacy Day was on the 8th of September, so on Saturday the 18th our Region hosted a function to celebrate it. We were informed the day before that we should arrive at the host school at 9am, so with our 1 days notice for working over the weekend we had to reschedule our plans to meet other volunteers in Farafenni. We rocked up at 9am as instructed and took our choice of empty seats in the shade under the tents that had been constructed. About once an hour a truck would arrive from various offices in the area carrying sofas and chairs for the not-yet assembled guests. The formation of the rapidly multiplying chairs was rearranged regularly until everyone was satisfied. We passed some time by making the entire alphabet out of twigs, much to the amusement of the gathered children. At least it fitted with the literacy theme. Around 1pm the event started, which was nice. Promoting Women's Literacy in a society where the majority of women from middle age and older, cannot read and write. A policy shift in the last few years means education is now free for girls and there is plenty going on to encourage them to stay on in education. There were some interesting dramas performed by a local school group and a Women's group, although being in local language the jokes were lost on me. Plenty of speeches focused on the links between mother's literacy and child mortality and described initiatives at a community level that were addressing adult literacy issues. A thoroughly thought provoking day. It took a while for the blood to return to my legs.

Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

the wonderings of a restless mind

Pete thinks that the evolution of the middle ear was over-complicated and unnecessary and a third leg would have addressed the balance issue. It puts me in mind of the Top Gear episode where Robin Reliants overturn going round corners. For me, it's self-awareness that bothers me. Continuation of the species is the game, so how have we got to a point where an individual can consider one's contribution to society and feel worthless or inferior? Mental health and physical health are closely linked, therefore if you do not make a significant contribution to the continuation of your species are you less likely to survive and reproduce? Or is it more to do with a positive state of mind being an advantage regardless of whether your perception of your contribution is in line with your actual contribution? How does a species evolve to be so complicated that we're past surviving and procreating? I have a tendency to over-analyse situations – it often makes me miserable. I spend so long trying to determine a person's motivation for their actions, or lack of action, that I often forget to just enjoy myself. Friendships are similar. It appears that my role in many of my social interactions is that of an amateur therapist - through no desire of my own I may add. I merely attribute this to my ability to listen and my genuine concern for the people I consider to be friends. It becomes more interesting when you analyse each social interaction. For a relationship where both individuals feel satisfied, it could be said that on average each person should receive the same amount of attention. I could tell you the career ambitions of a certain friend's ex-boss, whom I have never met, yet I doubt that same friend would be able to tell you what country I currently live in. As I become older I become more dissatisfied with life. As a child I pictured myself in an unknown job, but being bloody good at it. As an adult, I still don't know what I want to do and feel greatly frustrated when I don't reach the levels of perfection that I strive for. In reality, I'm extremely capable, organised and efficient – it's my own unattainable standards that ensure I never feel satisfied with my contribution. Does that state of mind have a positive or negative impact on continuation of the species? Answers on a postcard please.

Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

things I'm not doing today

1. going back to work after a not-quite long enough summer holiday and hearing how we improved again and must get 100% next year
2. cycling from London to Paris - good luck Dave
3. washing-up in Max's zoo-like kitchen

Instead I'm sat in my favourite cafe eating spaghetti and killing time. Term dosen't start for another week or so and I'm delaying my return up-country until Lucy has finished her stint at Brikama college. Last week I succumbed to boredom and booked into a nice hotel so I could at least do nothing in luxury. Good friends, hot water, clean towels, a swimming pool, jaccuzzi and a plentiful supply of alcohol have temporarily restored my good humour. Word reached me today that there will be a change of staff in the office when we return, so with the addition of two new volunteers things may be quite different. I am certainly looking forward to getting back to my own house, however modest a house it may be!
But best of all - when I go to the office tomorrow I'm hoping my new camera will have arrived. Soft focus here I come!


Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

they didn't think I'd come back...

Coming back to the Gambia after a month back in the UK definitely allows you to see things through new eyes. The things people back home are most interested in are the things you get used to very quickly here so they stop standing out.


I returned last night and am staying at Lucy's temporary house in Brikama. Within an hour of being back and fed we lost power and instantly I'm straight back into the difficulties of life in The Gambia. It's pitch black with absolutely no ambient light. Everything is still packed, so somewhere at the bottom of my bag is a torch and new batteries, but I can't find them in the dark. Lucy manages to find a candle with about 1cm of life left in it, but it's enough to unpack the torch. I then proceed to get ready for bed in an unfamiliar house. Being in the spare room there is no mosquito net, so I liberally coat myself in DEET and get into bed. I'd forgotten how hot it can be. With no covers, I find myself assuming a somewhat familiar spread-eagled sleeping position. Under torch-light a few tiny droppings can be seen on the bed, I sweep them away then stop looking. I try to sleep but the insect paranoia kicks in. Not only could there be mosquitoes feasting on me, the bed is by the wall, so who knows what could drop off the wall onto me in the dark. There are plenty of cobwebs in the corner for me to worry about, and the insect noise from outside cannot be ignored. I've also been warned there's a mouse living somewhere in this house, and there's no net to protect me. Eventually the power comes back on. Lucy texts me from the next bedroom asking if I want the fan as she's not using it. I jump at the offer. Not only does the fan cool you enough to be able to use a top sheet, this in turn protects my feet from mosquitoes and the noise of the fan drowns out the insect noise. It's a winner on many levels.



The next morning after Lucy leaves for work I take the first of 4 more months worth of cold showers, pause for a moment to appreciate my dry towel still smelling of clean England laundry smells, then attempt to amuse myself for the day. It is pouring with rain. As none of the streets are paved, going out to do anything in the rain becomes a mission. Is is like going for a walk across muddy fields in flip flops and no waterproofs – a tad damp and slippery. So I don't bother. Not that there's anywhere to go if I could be bothered. I assess the washing up situation, prepared for it to be a little haphazard as it is Lucy's house I'm staying in. I can't go outside and fill a bowl with water, it's raining too hard and the yard is somewhat flooded., so I can't empty the full bucket of old washing up water either. I wash a cup in the bathroom sink and make tea instead. There's a stockpile of nearly but not quite empty gone-off milk cartons in the fridge. Luckily, one of them smells quite fresh. Sudoku and my new DS amuses me until lunch time, when I feast on instant noodles. Being the stay-at-home with no job house-mate, I feel like I should have dinner prepared for Lucy when she gets home. Having searched the cupboards I've found 2 onions, some squishy tomatoes and pasta. Good job I fattened myself up in the UK.


I will be attending a Leaver's workshop on Friday. Now that's something I like the sound of.Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

and relax

Having a brief holiday in the UK and thoroughly enjoying myself. Missing the other volunteers massively and feel quite guilty everytime I have a shower/eat good food/go shopping/watch the telly.... all those normal life things that you forget to appreciate! There's a wedding coming up on Saturday, Emma and Jamie - congrats guys (officially tie the knot today in Brighton!), so cosmetic preparations have begun in earnest. Fake tan a plenty - everyone at home is still browner than me, exfoliation, dress shopping - a million miles away from The Gambia!

So having an amazing time, but will be returning! x


Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

doing my bit for tourism

We had a little weekend away in Boboi - stunning beach entirely to ourselves, give or take a cow or two.

We actually went with the intention of being able to watch the World Cup final together. Emma phoned ahead to check they had a generator and a telly, essential ingredients for this trip, we were given the go ahead to book. Lucy, Phil and I headed down there on Friday, sunned ourselves, then sank a bottle of red or two, Emma and Carol joined us on Saturday and we gave the white a try, then Paul and Courtney arrived for more fun and games on Sunday. We pre-oredered our dinner to arrive nice and early pre-match and put in an advanve request for the wine to be put in the freezer. The big screen is manhandled from someone's house into the small bar and we settle down to watch. Paul got a sweepstake up and running and I managed to get the 2 Dutch players I fancied the most. I mostly ignored Lucy complaining that she had the goalie who was never going to be the first to score. We invested time and energy into that match. As the rain got heavier the pack of dogs that live there snook into the bar and slept on our feet. By full-time with still no goals, we'd drank all the white wine and had to go back onto red. We lost the signal due to the rain, but it came back on just as extra-time began. 5 mins before the end of extra-time we lost the signal for good. Only thanks to the phone call from Courtney's mum dis we know the final score. Brilliant.

I seem to have failed to write about the time we had a lock-in in Soma......

At the end of a particularly stressful research week for Courtney, after she and Paul suffered a somewhat harrowing cabbage-throwing incident in the market, we headed to the 'bar' for a medicinal Julbrew. The plan was to have one there, then take some back to their hotel garden. Well the rain started. Quite a downpour in fact. Elaine, our local landlady, had to lock the doors the wind had got up that much. There are holes in the walls to help keep the place cool in the sun, but they also let the water in when it rains. We moved the tables into the middle of the room and ordered another round or three.

Fantastic opportunity to watch the kids playing football in the puddles, sans wellies.

Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.

school's out for summer

well technically school is out for summer in another 2 weeks, but as not much will go on due to exams and the annual conference is looming, I've left Soma and returned to the Kombos.
We've been quite busy for the last week helping out with the Valuing Teacher's Research which is being funded by the NUT. Courtney, a VSO colleague, is running this research which looks into the contributions of unqualified teachers to education in The Gambia. We've spent the last week helping out interviewing teachers. It's been really good to get into some pretty rural school and speak to people. One young teacher I spoke to left school with no qualifications at all and is working in a very rural Madrassa school where there are only 2 classrooms and 2 teachers for over two hundred pupils. He was asked by the village elders to take the job as there was no-one else to do it and he will continue teaching until they find someone, although this could be years. He was incredibly motivated in such a situation and being in a Madrassa school doesn't get the same opportunities for training as some of the schools we work with, but spoke very highly of the training he'd had so far. Makes you think.

Last weekend Lucy and I went on a mission to collect a bamboo bed from Faraffeni. Emma and Carol brought the bed from Kerewan and we were to collect it and bring it back to Soma. I braced myself for a hellish day and was pleasantly surprised when the whole experience was actually quite enjoyable! There are definite benefits to living in a country where people are very used to strapping things on the roof of a car. One very helpful taxi driver somehow made a single bed fit into the boot of his car...

It's a dirty business using public transport up-country.

Any views expressed are my own and are not representative of VSO.