In Praise of Taxi drivers

The Gambian tourist season here is now largely over: the most popular time for visiting The Gambia is between mid November and the end of April. Then the temperatures and humidity levels are kinder and it is outside the rainy season.

This is the time of year when taxi drivers prepare for the leaner income months ahead.

Their services will still be needed but at the more usually modest seven-seven rate.  The difference between a seven-seven and a taxi is generally how much of a tourist the customer appears or chooses to behave.

The main artery from Fajara down to Westfield is the Kairaba Avenue. Here are the main larger shops and junctions off to Senegambia and Serrakunda. This road is always busy, teeming with traffic, much of which is coloured yellow and green: the taxis.

The drivers have a system of beeps to communicate with others. They beep to let pedestrians know they have space aboard; they beep when approaching a small junction to warn other vehicles, they beep to admonish and to greet. In short they beep almost continuously, adding to the cacophony of the traffic. (Perhaps this should be called car-cophony.)

Taxi drivers eyes light up when “toubabs” (fair skinned folk) hail them and they are hugely disappointed, sometimes even quite bad tempered, when we demand a seven-seven fare like the locals. This fare of 7 Dalasis will take one person any distance along a set route, rather like a bus journey. After an evening out, though, especially when coming home alone I always get taken all the way to my door, and I am happy to pay taxi rate which is negotiated before we set off. This is called a town trip and gives the passenger exclusive use of the taxi whereas a seven-seven ride allows 3 other fares to be picked up too. It is a very effective system for all.

But the taxis do so much more than simply carry people around town.

They are also the removal men and quite small taxis with roof bars can often be seen dwarfed by a three piece suite on the roof, or the boot hatch wedged open by a fridge in transit.

The other day on my way back from St Therese’s Upper Basic School, a taxi drove by with a dozen lengths of drainage pipe twice as long as the car itself balanced precariously on the roof. Cars in all directions stopped as the taxi with its cumbersome load turned, across the traffic at a busy junction. The arc of turn was impressive.

With very little notice taxis will take people on long distance runs up country or even for a few days away in neighbouring Senegal. The taxi driver becomes guide for the short holiday and many even manage without accommodation. Such long distance journeys are challenging because of the condition of many of the roads. The south bank road is still sand along a third of its length and will deteriorate rapidly in the fast approaching rains.

The taxis also serve as breakdown vehicles and most carry tow ropes in the boot for this inevitability.

But recently I have found another taxi function. As a consequence of becoming an unofficial guest house proprietor, thereby producing more waste than was expected, my landlord has given over the task of rubbish removal back to me. A waste collection system has not been fully established here so this presented me with quite a problem. I did not want to add to the growing abuse (or existing vulture colony) of the large area of undeveloped land at the rear of the Pink Palace and so had to find a solution. As you would have guessed by now this solution was a taxi driver – in fact he is the messenger at the office who operates a taxi as a second job in the evenings.

So once a week I get a lift home and my rubbish cleared away to the official site in nearby Bakau. Of course it gets a “town trip”.

Rights In Schools

The week after Easter was shortened by the holiday to just three days with only the Wednesday available for usual office work, due to the three day workshop that was booked to run from Thursday to Saturday.

The Wednesday brought to the office a young head teacher, Alieu Boye who I had got to know when I was based in Mansa Konko. He is impressively dedicated to the pupils at his school, Medina Sancha Lower Basic which lies far south of The River Gambia, almost at the Senegalese border.  I enjoy his good humoured enthusiastic professionalism and so it was a pleasure to see him again. We talked about his school which has grown to 130 pupils. The children come from extremely poor families in the district and their diet causes him concern. He is hopeful that soon paperwork will be processed by the authorities to include his school in the World Feeding Programme. A hot rice meal every day will make a huge difference to his pupils’ health and concentration abilities.

It can also be expected to drive up enrolment and attendance statistics. Alieu would also like to initiate a school garden, as fresh produce would improve the diet even further.

Education here is notionally free but there is a small charge for incidentals. In this case it is 15 Dalasis per year, per child. This brings in an annual school income of just under 2000 Dalasis, about £45 in total. This meagre sum is to cover all other costs apart from salaries which are paid by central government. The salaries are not high; this is not surprising of course but what is, is just how much of his own small income Alieu uses for the good of the children. In addition he gives freely of additional effort and time to improve the facilities. For example he transported, by donkey and wheelbarrow, essential second hand items obtained from other schools. This is how, he said with a triumphant grin, he managed to obtain his blackboards and some reading books.

Alieu came to the office with a specific request but I’ll tell you more of that later.

First I want to tell you about the 3 day workshop. It was so collaborative and such fun that although we achieved a lot it did not feel like work at all. Headed by Action Aid, our group comprised numerous other organisations centred on a promotional campaign for three of the ten “Rights in Schools”.

These are:

Non-discrimination, i.e. access for the poor, those with Special Needs and both genders.

A safe and non-violent environment i.e. journeys and a school day free from bullying, harassment (of all types) and corporal punishment.

 The right to participate i.e. opportunities to contribute ideas and to the decision making process as a whole

 Throughout the three days our group of 10 worked; reviewing documentation, drafting action plans and agreements and devising questionnaires.  We are now ready to roll out a programme aimed at raising awareness about Children’s Rights with everyone associated with schools, not least the students themselves.

All 10 Rights are unquestionably an entitlement that every child world wide should expect. It will be a wonderful day when they can

Now what of  Alieu Boye’s request?

 It is for water. His school has no supply.

The village well lies a considerable distance away, outside the school gates and is too dangerous because it is completely open. Providing school drinking and washing water is almost impossible, and his dreams of a garden are completely out of the question.

Costs for a bore hole or well inside the school grounds are prohibitively high (about £11,000 without guarantees) so this has to be ruled out unless sponsored by a knowledgeable corporation.  He is unable to find one that is interested.

The only feasible solution is for the authorities to agree an extension to a new piped supply going into the village, providing a stand pipe and tap. If permission is granted to extend pipe work the 200 metres to the school, the costs involved will not be.

Alieu is seeking additional funding for the work as well as the installation of a large overhead tank within the school site.

Over the last few months friends back home have sometimes emailed me to express interest in helping or sponsoring education here in some way. This one off project would be a worthy cause and Alieu Boye is sufficiently robust, honest and dedicated to see it through.

Let me know if you are interested and I’ll find out what has to be done.

After all water is such a basic right, it isn’t even on Action Aid’s list!