At Kadijatou’s invitation I joined
her organization’s work to support training at Albreda /Juffereh on the North
Bank of the River Gambia. Juffureh, an
ex-slave trade port, is situated adjacent to a small island in the middle of a
wide point in the river. In the past, this island made a convenient holding
location for slaves until ships could take them off. Juffureh life is now centred
on agriculture and tourism.
On Thursday we heeded advice to
avoid the Banjul-Barra crossing which had once again been reduced to one ferry,
meaning long, hot and uncertain delays. So we headed off along the indirect
route: eastward along the south road to the mid-country ferry crossing at
Farafenni , and then the north road back westward towards Juffureh.
This meant that our excursion
became a journey down memory lane for me. By memory lane, of course I mean the red sandy
soil landscape and often red sandy road
surface too. The few downpours we have had are not yet sufficient for green to
become the dominant colour but it won’t be long now.
We even stopped to eat lunch in Soma,
where I originally lived for a while. But
the journey in a 4x4 Toyota was a world away from my geli-geli trips. The
Action Aid vehicle was fast, comfortable and spacious with air conditioning and
an excellent driver, Massay. Wonderful!
Later in the evening in the guest
house bantaba, we met with the two cluster monitors, KK and Seho, who had requested
support with the training. Over hot tea we planned the schedule for the next
two days aimed at supporting community
participation in education for 20 delegates: four each from five schools. We set a
task to make clear each school’s score card. This is a new country wide
initiative to encourage greater community involvement in local schools. The A4 size
score cards give a range of information about standards in the school, district
and region.
We stopped work and went to bed
at 10.30 p.m. I had forgotten how much hotter and airless it is up-country –
especially as the guest house generator went off at 11 p.m. This meant a night
with no fan and no light!
Breakfast on Friday was bread
with raw onion and a shrimp (prawn) omlette.
The training, in the bantaba of
another nearby guest house, started only a little late, immediately half the
delegates had arrived. It pays not to be
too pedantic with time in Gambia; people’s lives are fraught with difficulties,
as a result of underlying poverty. On this occasion it meant most people
walking for many miles and well over an hour to get to us. Gradually, with the
training underway, latecomers arrived without embarrassment and greeted each of
us in turn, as is the tradition, before taking a seat. The concrete bench seats
were set within the open circular walls of the bantaba, as four curved arcs.
Automatically women grouped together on one side and men on the other. All the three teachers with us were young men. Their help was invaluable as with only one exception, the others were illiterate. Because of low literacy rates, registration at the training was by thumb print and all the score card information is given pictorially. The intention of our training was to explain these symbols so they could be remembered and used, enabling each delegate to transfer this new knowledge to their own school, understanding strengths and weaknesses. Presentations by delegates on planned action, making changes to improve matters at each school brought the training to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
Automatically women grouped together on one side and men on the other. All the three teachers with us were young men. Their help was invaluable as with only one exception, the others were illiterate. Because of low literacy rates, registration at the training was by thumb print and all the score card information is given pictorially. The intention of our training was to explain these symbols so they could be remembered and used, enabling each delegate to transfer this new knowledge to their own school, understanding strengths and weaknesses. Presentations by delegates on planned action, making changes to improve matters at each school brought the training to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
We had no flipchart stand but
Seho improvised with one plastic table on its side on top of another, using my blutak to hold up sheets of paper. He also
used the roof supports as display spaces when needed.
Increasingly, throughout the two
days, Seho and KK became more skillful in making their training truly participatory,
endorsing the overall purpose. Delegates
also became involved and confident; making contributions and presentations. In
many cases their joy at “reading” symbols was as tangible as the realization that
they had suggestions for solutions to problems too.
This made the training a success
for KK and Seho and a pleasure for Kadijatou and me: a small endorsement of VSO plans for greater integration with other
NGOs in future.
Ensuring everyone was well fed on
both days was important. A breakfast of sardine and raw onion tapalapa sandwiches
was served at 10 30a.m. arriving in the traditional way: a large dish balanced
on the head of the delivery woman. A
bucket of sweet tea came too. This was scooped out in plastic mugs and
distributed.
Both days ended with shared food
bowls of sauce on rice. On Friday Kadijatou and I enjoyed chicken benechin with
everyone but on Saturday , we elected to make a quick exit to give us a better chance
on the Barra to Banjul ferry. We were in luck and our entire trip home, despite
over an hour on the river, took only 3 hours.
An extra and unexpected lovely
memory to bank, just before I leave.
