Stichting Humanitaire Hulp Gambia België

A few days later we travel with members of the Dutch SHHG eastward inland, direction Basse.  As we miss the first ferry Banjul-Barra we spend the waiting time observing the comings and goings in the busy ferry terminal.
 
We take the northern road towards Jamjambureh.  There we cross the river, taking two ferries (one we had to hand pull across ourselves) to reach the south bank and continue our journey under the scorching sun.
When we visited in November 2008 the southern road was barely drivable, but at last it is being redeveloped: large stretches of the potholed road surface have been scraped off but not yet resurfaced.  The drive is very uncomfortable as it is dusty and still slow in progress (70 km/hr).  Some parts remain in their old state so with utmost vigilance we sway and lurch between the potholes.  Manon (who is an experienced Amsterdam-Banjul Challenge driver) skillfully drives us to our destination: after ten hours we finally reach the outskirts of Bakadaji. 

A motorcyclist with blue flashlight stops us, but soon we realise this is an escort and not another  police or immigration or security checkpoint (on our journey we were stopped at least 20 times, but usually the words “NGO” work like magic and result in a wave on and a “Have a nice day”).  On previous visits we were always met by the school children at the school gates.  But what befalls us now is almost beyond belief: not only the school children but all the villagers are lining the street awaiting our arrival.  Their  smiling faces, applause and chanted ‘Welcome, Welcome’ will forever be etched on our minds.  We all had to reach for our hankies.
  We gather in the Bakadaji Lower Basic School playground where the director meets us.  His staff, the cooks, and the children and the villagers who followed us in all want to shake our hands.  The habitual, sincerely meant, greetings and words of welcome are followed by music, traditional songs and dancing.
Our visit to the adjacent Saint Vitus Health Centre (sponsored by the Dutch SHHG) is just as chaotic but it is clear that this medical facility is a necessary “must” for this community.
Finally we arrive in Basse, where Ndey serves up one of her delicious meals. Momodou (FHAG Vice-Chairman) has arranged for us to stay in the Gamtel Guest House.  We are honoured: this is where the President stays when he visits the Upper River District (URD).  It is quite luxurious: 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms but no hot water (and it is very very cold water in the early morning).  A cool Julbrew is all we need before we put this remarkable day to rest. 

Momodou has organised several meetings for us.  First of all
 we call on the Governor of the URD and have an interesting chat.  Later SHHG-NL discuss significant concerns with the Ministry of Education (about the schools in Bakadaji and Nafugan) and the Ministry of Health.  We have a very important and instructive meeting with the experts of the local division of the
 Ministry of Agriculture.  They guarantee us that the women of the Nafugan garden project (‘our’ project) will receive a three day training session: about sowing, irrigation, crop diversity and some marketing guidance (selling the surplus produce).  One of the experts later accompanies us when we visit the project.
At last we are going to Nafugan.  First we visit the school where we are entertained by speeches, singing schoolchildren and more     speeches.  It is very drawn out: time seems to be contained in a different dimension in Africa and moreover everything has to be translated to or from Mandinka, English and Fulla.  Sebou, president of the Mothers’ Union of Nafugan, and thus in charge of the women involved in the garden project tells us how
  enthusiastic the women are.  She looks a little solemn but she assures us that the women are very involved and how they realise the importance of the project. Finally we are going to the garden – well what there is of it so far.    We walk through the village and quite a long way through the savannah to arrive at the plot.  It is a very emotional moment!  Progress seems slow but as the project is taking shape  we realise a lot still remains to be brought about and that a lot more funds need to be raised.  We are, however, determined to achieve our goal.  Sebou explains that the men helped with putting up the fencing and with digging up the larger tree stumps.  Once the savannah grass has been cleared the whole area will have to be dug over.  As they do not   have any machinery it will have to be done manually.  The expert of the Ministry of Agriculture advises that two wells should be sufficient.  These will be dug during the driest period (around March) in order to find the true water level.  It is impossible to sow and plant throughout the summer (temperatures of 40° C and more) or during the rainy season (July and August).  Therefore cultivation can only start in November.  Yes well, this is Africa.  Two days later we return with a Belgian flag.  Momodou will buy a Gambian flag and have a 
flag pole erected so that both flags will ‘oversee’ the project.  

During our stay in East-Gambia we also visit another garden project in Kanubeh.  The local Jamba Kankurang 
welcomes us with drums and whistles.
It is time to return to the West Coast.  We decide – on the Governor’s advice – to go back on the south road.  Most of the road is a hard – yet to be surfaced - dust road.  Not surprisingly both cars develop problems: one has a leaking radiator which needs to be topped up every hour, the other has gearbox troubles.  As a result our return journey takes almost 10 hours.  Often we have to slow down for cattle crossing the road. 
Back in Kotu we enjoy a few days of sun and relaxation.  We visit some other projects:  Future in our Hands, which assists with the building of schools in The Gambia and the sewing workshop of Give Gambia a Future.  
The sewing material we brought from Belgium is an immediate hit.
We return to an extremely cold Belgium, but the smiles and warm-heartedness of the Gambians keep us going.
In May we receive this photo: a beaming Sebou with new gardening tools. 

Meanwhile the water wells are under construction.
Our garden still needs a lot of work.  We are determined for the project to be a success.  We cannot achieve this alone and thus we need your help.   We would like to thank all of you who have already sponsored the venture and hope for your continued support. 

Donations to the account below are gladly received. Or you can arrange a monthly standing order with your bank, e.g. € 2 (a cup of coffee) or € 3 (a cappuccino). 

Or more but every cent helps and goes entirely to the project. 
Thank you.                      

The SHHG-België Team

STICHTING HUMANITAIRE HULP GAMBIA-BELGIË
Axa bank : 751-2037600-58
BIC:  AXABBE22
IBAN: BE95751203760058
www.shhg.be
NL4/092010g