So one week into the whole Gambian experience! We got here a week ago and since then we have met nearly the entire village and are trying to remember everyone’s name and whose family they belong to. Also, there are several different languages to learn – Serere and Wolof mainly and we can all say hello and see you tomorrow (Bow fet!) in Serere.
We are all obsessed with goats – they are everywhere – scampering around the village and the site. It’s not the most normal site with a cockerel, some chickens, occasional goats, footballs and children who come and watch what we are doing.
So far we have done a lot of digging – in the hot sub-Saharan sunshine. It’s been grubby and sweaty and a bit frustrating getting the levels right. However, the foundations for the three classrooms are almost done and it’s great to see the whole site coming together.
We’ve all been given Gambian names – Isha Sarr (Vicky H), Amie Sarr (Tash, Fatima Jalo (Olivia – she loves it!), Adama Jalo (Vicky C), Isha Njie (Nikki), Omar Njie (Euan) and Owa Njie (Ellie). We’ve just begun giving the Gambian workers English names and we have David (Sutra) Beckham, Freddie (Moosa) Flintoff, Daniel (Sheriffo) Radcliffe, Steve (Babuka) Gerrard, Laurence (Alieu) Oliver and Sean (Ebu) Paul
Architecture
We’ve started the rebar for the upstands. It’s been really interesting getting hands-on with the making of the rebar cages – normally they turn up on site and get put in before you know it. We collected lots of palm leaves and have woven the first section of the ceiling. We didn’t know how to do the weaving but luckily someone in the village did and taught the team.
It’s been interesting to follow a schedule when deliveries are almost always late due to disputes, mechanical problems and a whole host of things that we don’t really understand properly yet!
It’s great being in the village – just walking along suddenly you have people walking with you who know you and want to have a chat. We’re really close to the bush and there’s a crocodile pool! The sea is 6km away and we are desperate to go and cool off!
Bow fet!
Mbolletba 