Dirk Depoorter
Saturday March 16
Wake up at 5 am local time with hymns and prayers. Ramadan occupies a very important place here. Every morning we wake up around this time with prayers in the distance. Quite monotonous, but above all loud. I'm not going to be completely used to that. So wake up early. Omar and Lamin have breakfast very early, and then don't eat or drink anything for the entire day until 7:30 PM. We have breakfast around 7:30 am, and fast during the day, out of solidarity. In the evening we eat together. What we do do is drink during the day. Today it was 45°C and we drove on dusty dirt roads, which inevitably meant you swallowed dust. Being able to drink some water in between is really welcome. But Omar and Lamin do not drink during the day. Really not obvious. But they do pray in between, very disciplined. Faith: it remains something special.
Today we visit three distant projects and we have another appointment in Fufford. A lot of kilometers to cover.
Sotokoi Village
After breakfast we leave for the first village, Sotokoi Village. When we arrive in Sotokoi we are warmly welcomed by the entire women's committee, led by the local council, Binta Bah, sister of the regional council Ousman Bah. Women in power here! There is no dancing or partying during Ramadan, but here they have found a way to welcome us: they sing from the Koran and wave their hands above their heads. Moreover, part of the village is Christian, who are not bound by the customs linked to Ramadan.
Sotokoi is a village with more than 200 compounds. The water installation we have installed here supplies just over half of the village with clean water, about 120 compounds (estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 people). It would therefore be strange if they did not request an extension of the installation.
We start the meeting, as usual, with a prayer. However, here are 2 prayers: the Muslim and Christian community live here together, in connection with each other, without any form of conflict.
Then we receive words of thanks from the various village 'notables'. Traditional, but it remains so important to them. First comes Binta (council), then KabiroNyassi (representative of the VDC), Seedou Barrow (representative of the Alkalo), Isatou Badjie (representative of the woman community). Omar, Dirk and myself deliver our closing message, after which we all have our picture taken.
The most important messages we receive, in addition to the thousand thanks and a long life full of happiness and success:
- This used to be a region without water, this is a gift from Allah.
- Now they come here from other villages to get water, because there is finally clean water.
- But that is why there is now a need for more water.
- Another problem is that their marketplace is too small. This is the place where they can make (a little bit) money.
- And the school is also too small. Because the population is increasing thanks to clean water.
- In addition, the community garden needs a sturdy fence, because the animals have destroyed everything.
Each of the speakers presents their needs and puts their own emphasis. For example, Kabiro emphasizes that Allah and Gammol brought them water, water that is so essential for the body that consists of 90% water. Seedou who thanks Omar. “He is the rope of the well”, without a rope it is not possible to get water from the ground, without Omar there would be no installation. We are blessed and are now part of their community. He also emphasizes the fact that there are so many women present, because they are now being helped the most. No more dragging jerry cans for miles. Isatou, who speaks for the women, indicates that she first wishes to dance and sing with us to show us their gratitude. She also literally says that she wants to keep it short and won't repeat what the others have already said ߘꮠIsatou explains to us what the water means to them as women, and does not hesitate to explain to us why other communities also ask about this. Finally, she gives us the message that from now on the women in the village will accept us as 'fathers'. Certainly a consequence of being a bit older... ߘ馬t;/p>
Our message is now well known: the importance and responsibility they bear for the maintenance of the installation, the many requests we receive for help or extra help, our options are not unlimited, the importance of our sponsors who make this all possible. and who also expect that the installation will be taken care of. With a clear final word that it is now up to them to demonstrate that an additional investment is appropriate here by taking action(s) themselves: asking for a contribution for the water that will allow them to realize other things, building a fence themselves and create a community garden, draw up and implement an action plan... with the clear message that if they keep their promises in this regard, we will do so too.
From now on we will deliver our message with more strength and conviction, by referring to what happened in the 2 villages we visited yesterday, Gidda Sukuta and Daru Salam. Where the promises made were not kept, as a result of which the projects we planned for an additional water installation and a school will not be realized. We emphasize the mutual trust that must exist.
Faraba Suutu
Our next appointment is with Alieu Sanyang, Faraba Suutu's alkalo. This is not a new project, but a 2022 project. We visited this last year, where we received the classic question for extra support, to which we gave our traditional answer: prefect maintenance installation and taking action ourselves. Alieu had promised us that we would see this next year (now).
This is a very dynamic community. Alieu is a barrel full of energy, a young alkalo, surrounded by other young and intelligent people. Really a very warm reunion with this young, dynamic team.
And they have kept their promises. Last year they told us they needed extra water. An installation that offered the opportunity to supply the marketplace they were going to build. In addition, this additional installation could provide the other half of the village with clean water. After all, the village is torn in two by a large (asphalt) track. What we see today really gives energy: a covered and concrete marketplace. Not yet fully finished, the (financial) resources are not there yet, so savings must first be made, but it is impressive if you consider the fact that there was nothing here last year.
I asked Alieu how they started this project? Cents was the first challenge. To raise money, they organized a festival (don't expect too much, it wasn't Rock Werchter or TML), which, together with the small contributions from the people in the village, was the start of the project. In addition, someone gave them 100 bags of cement and that's how they started. No labor costs, because the men of the village are building it themselves!
Alieu explains to us why the marketplace is so important: today the women sell their fruit and vegetables along the large, busy and dusty road. To be avoided in terms of both safety and hygiene. And it consumes time for the women: the stalls have to be set up and taken down every day. The marketplace is the solution to all these problems.
We also speak to a fellow villager who is an engineer and who shows us the plans he has designed. And they are ambitious. The marketplace is designed in such a way that a floor can be built on it in the long term. Objective: to have a space where they can teach young people a trade. The (almost complete) roof that has now been installed can be demolished quite easily and reused once another floor is added. This is a long-term project, as there is no funding. And they are NOT asking us to sponsor this. To install that additional water installation for the other half of the village and the marketplace. Where they also want to build a toilet for the women who will run the marketplace.
It goes without saying that we will keep the promise we made last year. Without any doubt. They will receive a second water installation, one of 2 x 4,000 liters, which will provide the +- 75 compounds (+- 1,500 children and parents) with clean water and the marketplace will be supplied with water. We go to check our first installation and find that they have built a sturdy fence for protection. However, I also notice that there is a small leak at the top of the water barrel. This apparently has to do with a seal that only leaks when the barrel is completely full. Alieu will repair this himself, since he is a plumber. He also takes us to their nursery school (also visited last year), where they have taken action to lay an extra pipeline from our installation to the school. There is a separate pump in the school, but it is electrically powered, which costs them money. This is only used when there is a need for water in the school and there is not enough sun (our pumps are powered by solar panels). You can't blame them for a lack of initiative here! This is another visit that gives us energy and enthusiasm, because the people here demonstrate that the investment that Gammol has made also pays off and creates new opportunities!
Niggie Village
After warm pats on the back and hugs we leave for Niggie Village, a new realization of 2023. Niggie is located in one of the poorest regions of Gambia. They turn off the taps because they don't want to waste a drop of water. However, they know that the water flows back into the well when the water barrels are full. But this also shows that they take their responsibility for properly maintaining the installation and the taps very seriously.
The alkalo, Alkuri Sanyang, emphasizes that other surrounding villages now also come to Niggie for clean water, and thanks us 10 times on behalf of the entire village. Ebrima Colley, member of the water committee, repeats Alkuri's words and apologizes that more people did not show up, a result of Ramadan. Which is of course no problem for us. Maybe this will shorten the ceremony a bit? Again, we know how important this is for those involved, but hearing the same story over and over again with slightly different accents is not really efficient and takes a lot of time. Knowing that we are only here for 5 days, we want to use our time as efficiently as possible. Ebrima is well aware that Gammol will not continue to support them and that it is their own responsibility to ensure that the installation remains in perfect order. That in the event of a leaking tap, they will have to set aside resources to repair it. This is also the reason that they have set up a water committee to monitor this and raise the necessary resources for any repairs.
Malang Saidy, VDC member, explains that the children of the village have to walk 4 km every day to the nursery school (i.e. toddlers). The logical consequence is that they ask us if it is not possible to build a nursery school. And the gardens are also discussed.
Finally, Isatou Jammeh, member of the woman's committee, speaks. And, as is usually the case when women take the floor, she keeps it short: “the alkalo has already said it all, for us women this is instant happiness.” She emphasizes the consequences for their children, explains the difference between an "open well" and the pure water they now have, and also asks us if we can help them with a nursery school. The toddlers are tired from the distance they have to travel each time, and there is the safety aspect of the toddlers.
We give our normal explanation, where we also emphasize to them that it is now up to them to take the initiative, draw up an action plan and actually take action. Only then can we discuss possible further help.
We do ask them to show us their community garden and existing nursery school. What we see is indeed not wonderful, not to say sad. The women have saved up for a pump in their community garden, but the capacity is too small to irrigate the entire garden. They had to close the school (two classrooms and a teacher's room) due to poor quality and a lack of teachers. The stones are made of water and sand! The teacher's room has become home to a colony of bats... The result of limited resources (dalasi), for both the garden and the school.
And yet we repeat that we first expect concrete action from them before we can promise anything. We also make it clear to them, using the examples of Gidda Sukuta and Mandinaba, that action must follow promises, otherwise no additional investments will be made. There is sufficient manpower available, so that is not a problem. They promise us that a fence will be in place within three months, so that the communal garden can be put into use.
As far as the school is concerned, in addition to the problem of classrooms, there is also the problem of finding teachers. They all leave because of lack of… dalasi. Here the alkalo says that he will guarantee the payment of the teachers if a new school were to be built. The teacher's salary is between 8,000 and 10,000 dalasi per month (106 euros - 133 euros). And then this is the salary for a better and motivated teacher. We have already heard wagering of 3,500 dalasi per month. No wonder that those teachers also have to have another job to make ends meet.
Back to Fuffor
We conclude our visits today with another visit to Fufor, where we bring the “good news” that we will build a primary school (6–12 years) for them. We choose Fufford instead of Mandinaba because they had not fulfilled the agreements there. Needless to say, they are very happy in the village. The reason we decided this so quickly has only to do with the fact that they have already started it themselves, with inferior material, due to their limited resources. Self-made stones of inferior quality, foundations only on the corners of the building... In our opinion, the best possible decision, given the demonstrable initiative they take, without asking us anything. Example: yesterday we came by, today the men had completely weeded an entire strip next to their youth center under construction. Koyo Kandeh and Dawda Jatla will ensure that a financial, educational and organizational plan is drawn up, with our support. Here we also impose the condition that they will follow the Gammol curricula and that they must be part of our Gammol school community with the aim of exchanging experiences and learning from each other. The objective is to increase the quality of education, which can only benefit the students. This is the theory. To actually put this into practice, we realize that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Sanyang
Our last stop today is Sanyang. We saw on a website that there is land for sale in Sanyang. We have been unsure about the use of our Gammol House for a number of years now. This is our headquarters in Sanyang, where we have our offices, a warehouse (also for Leetulor's medicines) and where our intern students and nurses stay when they are in Gambia. The objective of today's search is initially to get an idea of how much the land here costs. In the street where the land is for sale we meet the (large land) owner, who shows us a number of plots of land that he wants to sell. There is a piece of land that might interest us, a piece of 25 m x 45 m, for 1.7 million dalasi (23,000 euros). No negotiation. But then a house still has to be built. Now, the visit has made us a little wiser, but we have another meeting planned for Sunday with the new VDC of Sanyang, where we hope to get more clarity about our current Gammol House. It is now 6 p.m. We drive to our lodge, freshen up, eat with Omar and Lamin (who almost falls asleep on his plate) and say goodbye. It is once again clear that Ramadan is not in their cold clothes! Hedwig, Dirk and I continue to discuss the Gammol House, without the need to come to a decision. We agree that this should not be at the expense of our projects.