Easter

On Easter Sunday we spent the morning painting eggs and also making Max an Easter card as he had invited a few of us over for lunch at 1 o’clock. The food as usual was very tasty and was a traditional Philipino Easter fare which included pork. After eating Max handed me some eggs to paint with the children, there was to be a cash prize incentive for the best painted egg. Once painted the children lined up and had to name their egg and go around the group showing them to us. Everyone except parents had to judge them, in the end they all ended up winning a 100 dalasi each as it was too hard to have an outright winner. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking not julbrew but orange juice for me and Paul as we were not in the mood having drank enough this week. Some of Max’s friends who were Cuban’s entertained us by salsa dancing and Lynn was dragged up by Max to have a go which was very funny. We decided to leave just before 5 o’clock however Abigail and Bradley wanted to stay and play so Jenny agreed to drop them off later, this turned out to be very late with them not arriving home until gone 9 o’clock.

On Monday we were off to Lamin yet again unfortunately Paul is working all through the Easter Holidays on a training manuel and doing workshops so he was unable to accompany us. A friend of Jenny’s was holding a day for the children which involved an egg hunt and meal. We were the first to arrive just after 10 o’clock followed by some others thirty minutes later. The children did their first activity which was moulding dough into shapes, Bradley wanted a chicken, Abigail and Teo decided on a plait and Mia wanted a snake complete with a carrot tongue. These were then baked in a solar oven which took about two hours in total. As more children arrived they quickly ran out of dough. The next hour was spent being driven down the lane by horse and cart and I was quite concerned as it was a very hot day so applied more sun cream. When the easter egg hunt was announced the children ran off in all directions looking for them, fifty in total. Once all collected in they were hidden again for another hunt, Abigail didn’t find any of these so was a bit upset. They then grouped around a table were they set about colouring them with felt tip pens the broken ones were given out to eat. By now we were very hungry, Mick had gone off to collect the food which was being cooked by girls from the village. The buffet consisted of rice, cous, salad, roast potatoes, vegetables, fish, chicken, and domada sauce. At 6 o’clock I was given a lift by a couple to the junction where we managed to pick up a gelleh straight away for home.

Royal Wedding

On Thursday evening we were invited to the leaving party of Phil the British High Commissioner which was to be held at his residence at Cape Point. We arrived at 6.30pm and showed our invitation card to the security at the gate. We made our way through the house to the garden area at the rear overlooking the sea and spoke to the commissioner. He told us he was now being sent to Sierra Leone for a couple of months before retiring to Brighton. As usual there was a constant supply of drinks which were handed out by the waiters however the food just kept passing us by eventually we sent Abigail and Bradley off to bring some of the meatballs and beef on sticks back to us. At 9.30 we left for home as Bradley was very tired some of the other volunteers left to go to the Scottish Embassy which is a local pub, restaurant run by Mark and is a meeting place for NGO’s.

On Friday morning we made our way up to Francisco’s to watch the Royal Wedding of William and Kate. We had arranged with David the owner to watch the wedding whilst having an English Breakfast at a discounted price. We arrived just in time having already missed Prince William’s arrival at the church. Tessa, Merrille, Gaynor and Jane were already there so we joined them ordering coffee and juice. Kate one of the Peace Corp volunteers arrived with some other girls and then they produced a variety of hats from their bags to wear for the occasion, very funny. Although not the same atmosphere as back home it was still good to be able to watch it over here. We left just after the kisses on the balcony as we had all made a decision to spend the rest of the afternoon at Safari Garden pool.

BeeCause Festival

On Saturday Mick and Jenny were holding a weekend charity festival at their compound in Lamin. An area had been set aside for tents for anyone who wanted to stay over. Luckily our tent was already there, Paul would come along later as he is working delivering a workshop. At 2 o’clock we left for Lamin loaded up with a rucksack of a change of clothes and a couple of blankets and pillows. Once in Lamin we then had the walk to their compound unfortunately I had ran out of credit so couldn’t call Mick to pick us up. When we arrived Abigail and Bradley went off to play with Teo and Mia and a couple of other children who were already there. Mark from the Scottish Embassy, Dean and Pete had stayed over last night to help with preparations. Jenny was trying to have a little sleep as she had been up late last night and then early this morning cooking some of the meals which were to be provided with your entrance ticket. Eventually other VSO and Peace Corp volunteers arrived and started to put up their tents or a makeshift tent made out of Mosquito netting. Jenny gave up on her sleep and came down to join us as others arrived. It was a good turn out much more than they expected. During the day events were being held to beat the Pete the first one was a sack race, all the children joined in including Jenny and Dean. The game started and you could see the determination to win on Pete’s face however after viewing the replay it was decided that Dean just crossed the line first. They then had a bobbing for apples game for the children, Abigail and Bradley didn’t want to join in because it meant getting their hair wet. The apples used were cashew apples which are now in season and are quite sour in taste some people can have a reaction to them, Paul for one ending up with burnt lips. They are so weird to look at as a single cashew nut grows underneath the apple this is used for tanning and tattooing. To release the cashew kernel from the nut they have to be roasted and then usually the cashew kernel is roasted yet again to give them their flavour, no wonder they are so expensive to buy. I was then asked if I would help Chris with face painting the children’s faces. The paints were very oily and I bet will take some getting off. Abigail wanted a star and baubles as she was wearing her Christmas Tree dress for the fancy dress. Bradley wanted a tiger, Mia a butterfly and Teo wanted bee stripes as his fancy dress was a bee costume.

Paul arrived just before 6 o’clock so we went off to find a spot to put up the tent. We then mingled chatting with the other volunteers. Then the food was set out so we ate a selection of rice, tapala, Lebanese flat bread, beans, dhal, bolognaise, roast pork and salad, all of which were very tasty. As it started to get dark a group of drummers turned up to perform for us. The lady’s in the group sang and then started to dance gosh these lady’s can move, some of the volunteers got up to dance with them. We then had a couple of songs from Jane. As the night wore on Bradley was the first to go off to bed just around 10 o’clock. On the other hand Abigail enjoyed having a game of tug of war against her dad and a bit of limbo dancing with some of the other children. By now a fire had been lit so we sat around drinking and enjoying the atmosphere of living in such a pleasant area surrounded by forest. Abigail gave in just after midnight and went off to bed Paul and I left with some others just after 2 o’clock. The tent was only a small one so we just fitted however it was to be a sleepless night for me having to get up once to go to the toilet and move the lamp which someone had left near to our tent so it was shinning right into it. At around 5 o’clock I managed to fall a sleep but was then woken by the children an hour later as they got up with Paul to have a walk around the forest. The forest sounds were amazing as things came to life I laid watching a couple of hornbills in a tree and a squirrel jumping from one to another before giving up on sleep and getting up. We ate a late breakfast of egg tapalapa and then as people left we sat around talking and helping to clear up before leaving ourselves just after 1 o’clock

Just Born Two Baby Goats

On Monday at Diana Mariam we set about making Easter Cards with the children. Most of the teachers were at a workshop all week so Mr Touray would be helping me in year 2. I had picked chickens, rabbits and eggs for our cards which were either painted or coloured using felt tip pens. We split into two tables I was overseeing those who were going to paint so I mixed the colours in yogurt pots. The children really enjoyed themselves and were patient whilst we left things to dry before continuing with the next stage. For the eggs we added a little glitter so as to give the effect of foil paper. I then cut around each figure and pasted them onto some bright Floraessant paper before cutting these out again with wavy scissors. We were pleased with the finished result as we had also stuck some thick card from boxes to the back so they stood proud of the Easter card like a 3D effect.

The next day I had asked the children to bring in some hard boiled eggs to paint. We were also joined by year 3 and 4 children which Madame Senghore would work with. Year 3 and 4 used felt tip pens whilst year 2 started to paint their eggs. These didn’t turn out as good as I had expected as some children broke their eggs straight away others kept on changing their minds and washing the paint back off. Also the paint wouldn’t stay on the eggs I think it was maybe too thin. With patience wearing thin the children gave up and decided to shell and eat their eggs, I think there was only about three eggs which made it home at the end of the day.

Prayers For Aja

Wednesday was the last day of school for Diana Mariam children this would normally have meant a party with music however due to the death of Aja they had decided to invite the Iman in and hold prayers. When I arrived there were tented areas with chairs for parents as they were also invited. There was also an area of mats for the Iman to sit on. The children were wearing traditional African dress most of the girls had also brought scarfs which were used to cover their hair during prayers. I found a seat with some of the year 2 girls and we then waited for something to happen. Eventually at 10.30am the Iman and a group of men arrived and seated themselves on the mats. He distributed books amongst the men which I think were verses from the Keran. They then started to read aloud from the back to the front of the book at their own speed. This meant they all finished at different times so the chanting got quieter and quieter it took about forty minutes for everyone to finish. Durring this time some younger children required the toilet or drinks, also mints and bottles of water were handed around to the parents so it was very informal. Prayers were then given for Aja and a couple of teachers spoke on behalf of the school. Two hours later it was all over, the children ate their food whilst waiting to be picked up to go home.

Maimuna, Tida, Fenda, Ishatou, Khadija T, Khadija C

Oumie

John Paul In President Jammeh Pants

L Lydie, Fatou, Binta Jainaba

Daylam, Binta

Fatou Mboge - My Favourite Pupil at the School

Sanyang

On Good Friday we were meeting up with some of the volunteers at Sanyang to stay over for the night. Jenny was also going with the children so she had agreed to take us if we made our way to Lamin. We were there just after 10 o’clock and waited for Mick to pick us up from the junction. Once everything was loaded we set off travelling via Brikama where we stopped to buy some fruit. Once at Rainbow beach we changed and made for the beach. Some volunteers were already there and others arrived during the afternoon. We spent a lovely afternoon chatting and chilling. Having made the most of happy hour we went for a shower to change for dinner. The tables had been set out on the beach for us however we decided to move into the restaurant area as it was quite breezy. We ate as usual our fish and chips and then sat around a bonfire until late into the evening. On the Saturday Jenny headed off back to Lamin early as she had a group of twenty five visiting this evening for dinner. We spent an enjoyable day lounging on the beach before setting off for home at 4 o’clock.

Bijilo Nature Park

On Wednesday we had a school trip to Bijilo Nature Park, we were picked up from school at 10 o’clock by a West African Tours coach. The children were seated three to a seat and some were driven down by staff transport. Once at the park the manager gave us a talk about all the different animals which lived within the park grounds. Whilst he was talking a couple of Red Colubus Monkey’s were sat in a tree picking berries. We grouped the children into their year group lines and then the youngest set off walking with the guide. We soon saw a large group of Vervet Monkey’s sat in the nearby trees and on the ground. Another guide who was with some tourists was busy feeding them nuts he asked if I wanted some I remarked the signs say not to feed them so he quickly moved away. Some of the younger children were quite scared of the monkey’s however the older children decided to give them some bread. As we got further into the park some of the younger children were getting tired no wonder having to also carry their back packs these should have been left on the bus. The decision was made to take them back whilst we carried on with the older children. Our guide took us along a path which ran parallel with the beach and then he took us down a track onto the beach. The children sat and ate some of their food, I was busy telling them to pick up all their rubbish so as not to leave it on the beach they just don’t understand the problems this causes. We set off walking back to the beginning via a different route. The other teachers were sat waiting at the entrance whilst the children had been placed back on the bus which was quite hot. We set off for home arriving back just before 1 o’clock and time for me to leave to pick Abigail and Bradley up from school. I have been picking Abigail up at the same time as since completing their exams they havn’t been doing any work at all whilst the teachers sit writing their reports.

On Thursday Lynn had been asked by Pete if she would hold a barbeque at the compound for his two Yorkshire friends and her sister who were here visiting. We were all asked to bring our own food for the barbeque, Lynn and I also made, rice, pasta, coleslaw and salad dishes. It was only supposed to be a small event however throughout the day other volunteers phoned up to see if they could come. The first to arrive was Mick and Jenny with Teo and Mia who quickly went off to play with Abigail and Bradley. For Paul it was his Rhino training night so he would be in late so Mick set about digging holes to put the beer in to keep cool. Pete then arrived and set the barbeque going to start cooking a selection of food, prawns, fish, sausages, burgers and chicken. It soon became apparent that we would possibly run out of accompanying dishes of pasta, rice and salad as most volunteers currently have family visiting so the numbers had suddenly doubled. Once the food was cooked it just disappeared and others had to wait for the next batch to cook. As predicted the other dishes ran out although there were plenty of prawns to keep everyone going. At 10 o’clock Abigail and Bradley were getting tired so I quickly put them to bed, thirty minutes later I decided to join them. I was so glad not to have clearing up to do as Lynn had asked me if I would have the food in my house, which I declined to do. It was 12 o’clock before the party finally ended with Lynn, Paul and her sister left to clear most of the mess up after everyone.

Bradley was back at school this week just in time for his exams which he remarked were very easy. As for myself we have been holding a reading competition with the primary children. Each day they take a book home from the library and the next day we split into mixed year groups, the children then read some of their chosen book and then tell us about the story and answer questions. Then on Thursday the reading was put on hold as we held our annual sports day. I had been asked to record all the scores along with Aisha. The first event was a group relay event with each year running a short distance around the roads outside the school. We then had a 50mtr and 100mtr race before going back into the school to continue with other events. We had events such as lime and spoon, matching words and pictures, potato and bucket race, sorting colours, threading beads, filling water bottles, one legged race and tug of war including a teacher tug of war game. As usual as we neared the end there were some heated debates and questioning over the scores however the overall winners were the yellow house. As last year it was a very enjoyable day with good team spirit from all involved. On Friday I had to take Abigail and Bradley into school with me as they had been given the day off after completing a week of exams. On arrival I was told that Aja the office accountant had died yesterday, apparently she suffered with arthritis. The morning was spent writing a short poem from the children to be placed in the local paper. Aja was a Muslim so the burial was to take place at 2 o’clock that day so the teachers were waiting for the children to be picked up so they could go and pay their respects at the family compound.

On Monday Paul went off up country to do teacher observations in Soma. Bradley was still unwell and didn’t seem to have picked up after his medication so after dropping Abigail off at school I took him back to Africmed. The doctor decided to keep him in for observation over night this was a bit of a problem due to Paul being up country. Eventually I managed to track Lucy down who was staying in the Kombo all week as VSO had a two day workshop which volunteers were attending. She agreed to pick Abigail up from school and stay with her overnight. Abigail enjoyed herself as Lucy took her to Safari Garden on the afternoon for a swim and then she went out for pizza with Sam and Elle on the evening. As for us we were shown into a room where the nurse gave Bradley a quinine injection in his leg and penicillin via an IV line. Most of the day Bradley slept, I managed to get him to eat a little bit of a banana but other than drinking water he didn’t want anything. Every four hours he was given either the penicillin or quinine injections which were very painful for him. I had a very tiring night either sat in a chair with a blanket wrapped around me trying to sleep or laid next to Bradley on the bed. On the Tuesday the doctor gave him the all clear to go home as his temperature had come down and he seemed much better. On arriving home I made Lucy a cup of tea and we chatted for a while before she left for the VSO office. By midday Bradley was again tired and his temperature was high again he spent most of the afternoon sleeping, I even managed to get a couple of hours sleep myself. Lynn offered to cook dinner for us which was a lovely chicken and vegetable stew however Bradley just picked at it he has definitely lost some weight. On the night Bradley slept with me again he had a very restless night with dreams and high temperature. I gave him his medication and he seemed to pick up so we managed to do some of his world jigsaw but just before midday he was tired and fell a sleep again for a couple of hours. I decided to make a soup to see if I could get him to eat he thoroughly enjoyed it as well as a yogurt. By Thursday he was back to normal although weak and a little tired. Paul arrived home from his up country trek at 5 o’clock just in time for a fish and chip dinner followed by donkey plonk (cherry roll).

BeeCause Charity Event

Over the course of the night Bradley had developed a bad cough and was feeling under the weather so a trip to Africmed was called for where he was given amoxicillin for a chest infection yet again. On Wednesday Lynn invited me out to dinner as she had a couple of friends over staying at the Sherraton Hotel. Alison had met up with a past Gambian boyfriend and had gone off to meet his family. Lynn, Sally and myself went off to The Blue Kitchen where we had a girly evening chatting over a nice meal whilst Paul and the children watched a DVD and ate pizza and popcorn which I had made them before leaving. Bradley having finished his course of amoxicillin seemed all fit and well however on the Friday I received a phone call from the school to say he was unwell. I left school early to pick him up and as soon as we arrived back home he started to be sick. Over the course of the afternoon he developed a headache and a temperature. On the Saturday morning he seemed okay so we thought it must have been a tummy bug, but by midday he was ill again so we decided another trip to Africmed was required this time he was given coartum for suspected malaria. Today was also the big charity event for Beecause at Mick and Jenny’s. We had planned to stay overnight in the tent and I had been busy baking a selection of cakes for them to sell at the event, carrot cake, lemon cake and flapjacks. Due to Bradley’s illness Paul stayed at home whilst Abigail and I made our way to Lamin. Mick was waiting with Mea to take us the rest of the way to their house. What a difference they have made since we were last there, they have now moved into the house on the top of the hill. They have also been busy all week erecting flags, hung from these were kerosene lamps for lighting. Everything was well organised down to a makeshift bar area, table and chairs, raffle tickets for drink and food purchases, guess how many bees in the jar and a tug of war game. Jenny was also selling her honey, peanut brittle and homemade soap and candles which were made from the bees wax. Abigail quickly went off to play with Teo following behind was Mia you can tell she loves having a big sister to play with. I sat chatting to Lucy, Max and Pete who were the only ones to have arrived. Over the next hour quite a lot of Peace Corp turned up, David who works with Mick and Jenny is a Peace Corp volunteer. Once all the volunteers and friends had arrived there were possibly sixty people in total so quite a good turn out. The beer, soft drinks and food were selling well including my cakes which I was pleased about. At around 8 o’clock we all made our way up to the bantabar area, Max, Jane and Dean were going to entertain us with some music and singing. Dean who is Gambian has lived in the UK for the last thirty years and was in the music industry but never really got that big break. He was singing along with Jane whilst Max played guitar and Brendon a Peace Corp volunteer helped with the drums, he is out here doing a Arts and Culture programme. Jane was an amazing jazz singer and Dean sang a couple of songs by Coldplay, David Bowie and a rap songs. Then we had a jamming session where we all joined in singing songs by the Eagles, Beatles, Animal’s etc. We were all enjoying singing along and it was announced a couple of times that we were to get into teams of four to have a game of tug of war. Reluctantly we made up teams of two boys and two girls. Myself, Lucy, Dean and Tom made up a team, we were the first to have a go with Dean as the back anchor man. We had a good rhythm going so won the first game however the rope was too thin so it was burning as we tried to pull and grip it. We then had to play against the winners from each group. Eventually we were in the final against Bernie’s team and although hard we did manage to come out as overall winners dragging Bernie across the floor which must of hurt Ow! It was getting very late but Abigail was still going strong, we were getting a lift home with Lynn so at 11 o’clock we left leaving the party still in full swing it didn’t end until 2 o’clock in the morning with a few volunteers staying over. Lynn had to drop Sally off first at the Sheraton which was in the wrong direction hence we didn’t arrive home until gone 12 o’clock, Abigail had already fallen a sleep in the car however she was soon settled down in bed. Bradley was settled in bed however Paul said he had been very restless all night.

Dean & Mark

Abigail Enjoying The Music

Jane On Jazz

Alex & Denech