Dirk Depoorter

Monday May 9, 2022           

Jalambang

Our first stop is the Jalambang Central Community Water Project. In, where else could it be, Jalambang Village. A bit of an atypical project, in the sense that this installation is located in a very busy inhabited village, where the national water company NAWEC is also present. And yet Omar has responded to the village's request because of the complete uncertainty of when water will come out of the NAWEC's pipes. What makes matters worse is that another village down the road is also connected to the national grid. If they take water, there is little left for Jalambang, making the water supply even more uncertain. We are given a tour of the village, where we see how creative some families are not to lose water: from one of the water basins to which an extension has been laid, the excess water is diverted to a neighboring vegetable garden. What strikes us time and again, whether it's the main tap or the extension taps, is the women (often in beautiful costumes) who keep carrying buckets of water.

Gambia Tourism Board

We leave from Jalambang in the direction of Farato along a very busy road, full of activity, so typical of The Gambia. The rest of the day is devoted to our lodge project. We want to build a small-scale lodge on the coast from which the proceeds will be used for the Gammol projects.

First visit is with Ida Jeng Njie, Regional Director West Coast Region of the Gambia Tourism Board (GTB) in Farato. The GTB is the government agency that provides the necessary permits to build something on the coast. The first 500m from the ocean is managed by the state. Ida lived in Great Britain for a long time and received her education there. A pleasant, sensible lady, who has moved back to The Gambia with the mission to make a difference for her compatriots. She is therefore very pleased with our plans and sets us on the road to plodding through a long administrative mill.

From Ida in Farato we leave for Senegambia, where we have an appointment with the Development & Loan Officer (DLO) at the GTB Head Quarter in Senegambia. Totally different reception than at Ida. Apparently the man is very busy: first he makes us wait, and when we are finally “allowed” in his office, he is constantly busy with all sorts of things, without paying too much attention to us. We get the impression that this is wasted time, and that we are being sent away with a clod in the reeds. Or no, we are sent to a Project Manager, Saltech Conglomerate, who develops projects, writes business plans and would be the right person to clear all the administrative hurdles. Our conversation with the person in question was not that good, in the sense that we got the feeling that he was getting his assignments from the DLO. Disappointing, but we don't give up.

Smile For Life

During one of our visits to our installations, we were accompanied by another Omar, Omar Sanyang, responsible for development in the Sanyang region (the same name coincidentally). Turns out Omar is also Executive Director of Smile For Life The Gambia. This is an organization that is responsible for the “Marine Biodiversity Conservation”. The ecological balance on the coast and in particular the sea turtles. Omar had helped us make arrangements with Ida Jeng and the DLO, and was just as disappointed as we were with the latter's visit. However, it turns out that his organization Smile For Life owns a very large piece of land on the coast of Sanyang. A nature preserve, breeding ground for turtles and birds, hectares in size. He would like to develop something there himself, so that he has income to maintain this beautiful piece of nature. He invites us to come and see it. 

So back to Sanyang, where we first pass the Sanyang Fish Market on the beach of Sanyang. We also have a water project here and built a fish market, and we notice that its maintenance leaves something to be desired. We agree with Omar (Saidy) that we only want to invest in the optimization of the project here, only if there are guarantees that the installation will be properly maintained. Asking for a financial contribution from the users could be a lever. 

From the fish market we go to the Eco Lodge Sanyang Beach, How Ba Road, a lodge built by a Spanish NGO, right next to the domain where we had our first plans. It was interesting to see how they handled it there. Together with a local architect we view and discuss the possibilities of the location, recommended to us by the VDC of Sanyang, over a good glass of beer. At least beer for Hedwig, Dirk and myself. Our Gambian friends don't drink alcohol, and stick to lemonade.

From there we leave for the nature reserve, a few kilometers further on From there we leave for the nature reserve, a few kilometers further on Sanyang Beach. What we get to see is quite spectacular. Hard to describe. Starting from the ocean, the beach, dense vegetation, a mangrove, ... simply beautiful. We leave here with a feeling that this would meet our needs much better. But also with the idea that there are many more questions than answers to really realize this project. Our day is over. After dinner in the evening, we discuss and dream a bit further about the opportunities that the location and country in question does offer. But also the obstacles that you have to overcome if you want to undertake here.. What we get to see is quite spectacular. Hard to describe. Starting from the ocean, the beach, dense vegetation, a mangrove, ... simply beautiful. We leave here with a feeling that this would meet our needs much better. But also with the idea that there are many more questions than answers to really realize this project. Our day is over. After dinner in the evening, we discuss and dream a bit further about the opportunities that the location and country in question does offer. But also the obstacles that you have to overcome if you want to undertake here.   

Tuesday 10 May 2022

Our last day is already approaching! Back a day to visit our new projects.

Mandinary

We start with the Mandinary Project. Strange: next to our water tower they have built a concrete pier to install a second water barrel. Enterprising in any case: instead of asking Gammol for extra water, they took the initiative themselves to increase the capacity. Although we questioned the efficiency. What we noticed during our installation is that the tower on which the water barrel stands is not straight. As a result, the load of the water vessel is not evenly distributed over the 4 legs. Here they "solved" it by not placing the barrel in the center, but moving it to one side. We point out to Omar that he should pay more attention to this, as this could be the weak point of the installation in the longer term.

Makumbaya

In the meantime we know the customs. After the various ceremonies and interventions of the local dignitaries, taking the pictures, handing over a certificate of thanks, we leave for Makumbaya Village, for our next project. And as always, we are received with the necessary “respect” and we experience the gratitude of the local population. In Makumbaya Village there is a very motivated man who has taken it upon himself to maintain the installation almost daily. It is therefore visible! In our speech we do not fail to say this and congratulate the person in question!

Karewan Nursery school

Our next visit is the local Arabic Nursery School in Karewan, where we have been asked to build a new school. When we get there, we see why the demand is there. A dilapidated school, partly built from waste corrugated iron, without any school materials. And yet we decide to answer this question negatively. After all, the problem is that all classes are taught in Arabic, and not in English. While a basic requirement to continue studying is just the knowledge of the English language. We make it very clear that it is not a matter of faith, but that our aim is to give the preschoolers maximum opportunities to go to primary education later on. We are sorry, but if we want to achieve the maximum with the support of our sponsors, we have to adhere to some minimum standards.

Gammol Nursery School Abuko 

From there we leave for our school in Abuko. Also the first school that Gammol has built and where we have made a number of extra investments in recent years to optimize the school. It is a very happy reunion with the director of the school, who is very proud of what Omar and Lamin have achieved. We are welcomed by the Parents' Council, which has come together especially to thank us. And here too, as in almost every place we have visited in recent days, there is a demand for additional support. But they also show a lot of understanding that other villages also need a decent school and clean water (We have also installed a water installation in this school).

It is now 5 pm, our flight is at 9:30 pm, and taking into account the traffic we end our “work” day here. We drop the plan to visit 2 more “older” projects. First we have dinner with Omar and Lamin at Lamin Lodge, a pleasant lodge in the middle of a mangrove, where the monkeys will eat your plate if you are not careful (you get a stick to scare them away, because they can be quite aggressive to be). Ideal time to go over our past days with Omar and Lamin and to make a number of appointments for the sequel.

We leave for Banjul International Airport after dinner, 8 km further (about half an hour drive 😉), and say goodbye to our two friends. Quite emotional. These have been intense days, where we have seen how seriously both Omar and the quiet Lamin take their responsibility, and how they have grown in this over the years: Omar, who used to be so shy and now spoke up on every visit, and there had no trouble knocking pickets to the many Alkalos we met, if necessary. And Lamin, silent force, who has seen it all and is more technically skilled.

A successful trip for us, which has confirmed that what we do there, with the donations of our sponsors, is really well spent! And that we are not going to wait two years to return. It would be nice to get together with a few sponsors, so that they can see with their own eyes what Gammol achieves with their donations.

Will no doubt be continued with a lot of energy!