At the other end of the spectrum, Lamin and I spent a few hours on Thursday morning sitting in the lobby of my hotel completing the write-up of our strategy – we did this essentially because the power supply at the hotel was more or less guaranteed unlike the supply at the AFOD office in Bundung Borehole, which we lost for most of a day several times in the two weeks I spent working there.
Regular readers of this Blog will know that I am here in The Gambia providing development support for Aid for Orphans and Disabled (AFOD). The vision for the organisation is to support more of their young people to be able to access educational opportunities and consequently improve their quality of life.
Earlier this week I visited some of the local schools where AFOD is sponsoring orphaned and disabled children to attend. This was a most enlightening experience.
One of the schools was Bundung Primary and in talking to the Principal I really had the shock of my life, when she informed us that there were more than 3000 children on the register. I am sure there are no schools of this size in the UK. I myself attended a primary school in Anglesey that was considered to be pretty big, with about 500 children on the books.
Here in the Gambia, many schools operate a split shift system, with half of the children attending the morning session from 8am to 1.45pm and the remainder coming to school from 2pm to 5.45pm. Can you imagine teachers in the UK tolerating a 15 minute lunch break!
Education here is very highly valued by both parents and children alike. At another Upper Secondary School, we were shown around classrooms during the morning break. Many of the young people were still in the classrooms still working, their enthusiasm and commitment to learn is brilliant.
It did make me laugh however when the Principal, Mr Ousman Ndow was challenging some of the boys about not having their shirts tucked into their trousers. My son, Huw, will back me up here I'm sure, as I would be willing to bet that at the same moment, very similar conversations were happening at his school in Wales.
I have written in a previous post that every child has to pay for the school fees, stationery, transport etc. When is a child is disabled or has no parents, they often have no opportunity to get a school place. However, for £20 you could provide a comprehensive support package for a child to go to school.
Why not think about this before you do your Christmas shopping this year and instead of giving an unwanted present for family and friends, why don't you sponsor a child to receive the freedom of education?
For those of you not familiar with the Muslim religion an, Imam is the leader of a mosque - an Islamic preacher or minister.
Over the last few days I have been supporting some of the board members of Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD) to increase the organisation's profile by visiting some of the villages where they have been supporting orphaned and disabled children. But before I went I had to dress like a cultural gentleman!
Lamin Fofanah's family kindly gave me a fantastic traditional outfit made form a brilliantly floral patterned material. It was very comfortable to wear, but I did feel I was out of doors in my pyjamas!
When some the young members of AFOD saw me they immediately said I looked like an Imam. Some of you reading this post will appreciate irony of this!
The first group of people I met were some of women leaders of a community. We sat in a circle in the shade of a mango tree - the women sitting on a range of home-made wooded benches, plastic patio furniture and dining room chairs and I was given the place of honour sitting on a very comfortable armchair brought for me especially from someone's home. No doubt that when you see the pictures, I can expect comments about King Farouk or Idi Amin. I have to admit that when I saw them I felt I should have been given a fly whisk made from an elephant's tail or suchlike!
On a serious note however, it appears that Gambian communities are far more matriarchal than I expected, with the men, very contemplative and devoted to their faith.
At another community the meeting took place at the home of the Alkolos - the local community leader, an inherited role, and the couple I met certainly reminded of many of the old councillors we know and love so much at home.
Protocol demands that notices from outside the community should be given to the to Alkolos to disseminate his people. It reminded me very much of a certain community in South Wales, were I felt I wasn't allowed onto certain wards withou asking for the permission from the local councillor first.
After the AFOD members had brought the people up to date, the Alkolos formally welcomed me and when questions were opened from the floor - the poor old boy was harrassed for not telling the others, especially the women what was going on!
The third community I visited was very different, the majority of people were very young, in the teens or early twenties, and desperately wanted help to improve quality of life. I could have sat with them for hours sharing pearls of wisdom, discussing possible solutions to community issues and ways of achieving them. It was totally brilliant!
It has been a few days since the last post, not necessarily because of poor internet access this time, but because I have been so busy. Honestly, I promise! I even haven't had time for a dip in the hotel pool since Friday morning. I've been on the road at 8.30 and not back at base until well into the evening, I'm having such an adventure, working damn hard and meeting so many fantastic interesting people who desperately want to improve quality of life in their communities.
Working with the Board of Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD) has to be one of the most satisfying assignments I have ever accepted. Everyone is very committed and despite the intense heat and the fact that everyone else is operating on GMT - Gambian Maybe Time - the people I'm working are more than prepared to put the hours in. It is such a buzz!
Over the weekend we completed the charity's strategic plan developing aims, objectives, outcomes and performance indicators. Up until recently AFOD has been trying to be all things to all people - essentially because the needs are so great.
Now they have a very clear realistic and highly relevant plan that will focus essentially on growing the sponsorship to support orphaned and disabled children to go to school - the educational system here is such that each family has to pay school fees and provide pens, pencils and exercise books. There are no free school meals and unlike the UK there is absolutely no support for the additional costs like school uniform and travel. Consequently orphaned children, of which there are many as the average life expectancy is only fifty and families are often large. Traditionally a child with a disability is seen as having limited economic value as they are destined to a life of begging on the street and consequently families have denied them the opportunity of a basic education. Would you believe however that a child could be sponsored for as little as £20 per annum? Before the week is out we will be working on the content of a website for AFOD, which will include a safe facility for making online donations. If you would like to make a donation, please send me an email and I will send you the link when it is available.
The second aim that AFOD has developed is to provide a sponsorship scheme to support orphaned and disabled young people to develop vocational skills so that they can become more economically active when leave school.It has been most enlightening in our discussions that the kind of examples for training that we have used the most have been traditional soap making and web design - two extremes I know, but it reflects the values of the AFOD members and their desire to support disabled or orpnahed to fulfil their potential and contribute as valued members of their communities.
The third aim will build on the last in that it is to set up a micro finance scheme to provide ongoing support for the people who have been trained to purchase the equipment to practice their newly learned trades. The economy in this part of The Gambia at least is very much dominated by the tourist industry - probably the best paying sector and also by petty trading. The towns are full of tiny shops selling alll kinds of cheap goods and fresh fruit and vegetables that respond to what is very much a hand to mouth existence. I belive many will buy a box of goods at wholesaler, sell each item for a small profit and then buy another box of goods.
The term capacity building is used a lot by the people I am working with. They are very keen to provide the highest quality service they can and recognise that this means that they need to develop their own skills. In developing an aim for the capacity building of AFOD, they want ensure that the young people involved have opportunities to develop their own organisational development and management skills.
First of all, can I apologise to everyone who has been waiting for news in the last couple of days. The internet here in The Gambia is a bit hit and miss and over the last two days I haven't been able to get a connection either because of bandwidth speeds or powercuts. If anyone has been trying to email me, I haven't been able to access my account either - and still can't! The best way to contact me will be by sending a comment to the blog.
I am having a great time, working long hours, in stifling heat (Aw, bechod!), but having great job satisfaction.
On Tuesday I led the second of two community workshops based on the Outcomes Approach to Strategic Planning and yesterday I was working directly with the board of Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD) on their Organisational and Strategic Plans at their office at Bundung Borehole.
The board members as you can see from the picture are nearly all young people, their motivations for improving quality of life in their communities and commitment to action is fantastic. It is so refreshing to listen to them talking about their vision, the values they want to project and genuine desire to serve their people in the best possible way they can.
Travelling by bush taxi is quite an adventure and you see some fantastic sites. I have sat next to breast feeding mother a couple at times and the other evening I was in a small 12-seater minibus - and there were 20 of us in it! The level of material poverty here is huge, but everyone is so happy.
The title of today's post means How is it? It is good! I'm trying to learn a new phrase every day, but there is a choice of range of local languages - Wolof, Mandinga, to name just two. many people speak up to five and English.
The Gambian people must be amongst the friendliest in the world. Wherever you go you are warmly greeted with a heavily accented “How are you today?”
Today I was at KMC – not a fast food chain, but Kanifing Municipal Council, the venue for a workshop for local charities or NGOs as they are known in Africa, on the theme of Developing an Organisational Plan for Your Community Project. This is a workshop I have facilitated many times in the UK, but the buzz and dynamic today was something quite different.
The KMC’s Mayor’s Chamber was essentially a multipurpose community building and I had the great pleasure of training twenty or so, essentially young people, totally committed to developing quality of life in their much-needing communities, (Did you know that you could sponsor an orphan through school for about £20?). I don’t think I have ever felt such a thirst for developing new skills and knowledge as I did today, and the feedback given at the end was very positive and thoughtful, very different from the bland comments, I have to admit are often given and received when working with similar groups in the UK.
The Gambia is a small country, half the size of my native Wales and the resort area is only about 5Km of Atlantic coastline. Consequently, the areas around the hotel are swarmed by what are, I think, affectionately known as Bumsters, young men desperately trying to earn a crust by offering their services as tour guides. When you decline their services, they often respond with the plea that they need to buy a bag of rice for their mothers. I have absolutely no problem with anyone trying to earn a living and if you respond politely and with a friendly greeting these men are no problem whatsoever. If ever there was a need for some effective sales and marketing coaching, the Bumsters are in need of it. Could there be an opportunity here for the Enfys Acumen?
Word has got round that I am here in The Gambia to provide organisational development and coaching support to Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD), essentially because I was seen on the 9 O’Clock News yesterday evening and also because it seems that many people know my host and Chief Executive of AFOD, Lamin Fofannah. Reminds of somewhere else… Small countries eh!
Wow! I think I've had the most humbling experience of my life today!
Today has been my first day in The Gambia and what an experience.
The airline managed to overload the plane and a number of bags were randomly taken off before we left Bristol yesterday morning. I was one of the lucky ones in that my main suitcase was left onboard, but a smaller holdall that included my washkit and more importantly my sandals were taken off to follow on Monday. Buying a razor this morning wasn't a problem, but I definitely don't want to be wearing socks for the next couple of days.
I was met at my hotel by Lamin Fofanah, the Chief Executive of Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD) at 9am. After spending some some time changing currency at the bank, we went on to Serrekunda. This is the largest conurbation in The Gambia and what an experience!
We walked through the market, chocablock with tiny stores and stalls selling everything you can possibly imagine, but I have to say I have never seen so many places selling sim cards for mobile phones.
I managed to get a nice pair of sandals at a knock down price negotiated by Lamin. So now have a little freedom for my toes.
Lamin then took me on to meet his family at their compound at Bundung Borehole. We followed what seemed like miles of dusty roads through un-named streets and the further we went the sandier the road became.
We arrived at the compound to be met by hoards of small children with the smiliest faces I have ever seen and was greeted by the Wolof term, Toubab, meaning White Man. It is very much a term of endearment. All the kids wanted to shake my hand, I felt like royalty.
Lamin's sister was sitting outside their home cooking a stew on a small fire, his grandmother immediately rushed indoors to put on her best frock ready for a photo.
I have never been so warmly welcomed anywhere I have visited before and I have to say that I have never met such happy people. The whole experience has been a major culture shock, apart from a portable TV in the home - essentially a collection of bedrooms, living takes place outdoors there was absolutely nothing similar to our homes in the UK.
After spending an hour or so at Lamin's home, a friend came to pick us up in his very old 4X4. The vehicle simply wouldn't start, despite his aggressive pumping of the accelerator pedal. Clearly a flooded engine, we wouldn't be getting a lift anywhere!
While Lamin and his friend tried to get the car started I was again mobbed by all the local children. It was absolutely brilliant, they started singing and dancing and teaching me phrases in Wolof and Mandinga. After a while I sat in the shade under a tree and taught them to count to ten in Welsh.
We eventually arrived at the AFOD office for a mini board meeting, before my official welcoming ceremony. This really was an experience. There were dozens of local people present, representing various local organisations and groups. We had a range of very formal presentations, and just as the agenda was being completed, the national TV arrived to film us for the 9 O'Clock News - so we did it all again!
In this part of The Gambia people still draw water from wells. Just behind where I was a sitting on the Top Table was the local well and thoughout the ceremony local women were coming up and drawing a bucket of water, filling large containers and carrying them off on their heads. This really has been an African experience...
I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I feel most privileged to be here.
