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Only one day left in The Gambia

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Time is flying fast in The Gambia. It seems only yesterday that the first recordings for the Global Youth Video Project started and now three weeks later the project’s time in The Gambia is quickly coming to a close.

The weather here has changed slightly since first arriving. We now tend to have one cooler day followed by one burning hot day. There have been a few storms and heavy showers, but I have been assured that by the end of the month they will have stopped and not another drop will be seen until July. Unfortunately, that means that the luscious greens that are everywhere around will also disappear.

This last week has seen the completion of some of the videos made by young people in and around the area of Gunjur. They are all extremely interesting and my thanks go out to all the young people who have taken part and to Sifoe Senior Secondary School and the Gunjur Project for helping me to meet and work with these young people.

Today is my last day in The Gambia and it has been a wonderful experience that I will never forget. If you are wondering about going on holiday to Africa away from the main tourist areas you would be lucky to stay in a place like this. The Gambia has so many things to offer. I have talked to some other people staying here and we all agreed that before we left our home countries we were worried about coming to The Gambia because of safety or because of being hassled. The reality is completely different. I feel safer here than in the UK. Yes, you do get some attention if you are a white female and go out on your own but nothing that you don’t get in England and on the main people will just say hello and ask you how you are. Everyone is friendly and will do their best to help and the children are amazing. I have learned so much from my stay here and the only reason I am leaving is because of the new adventures ahead of me. Although I must say that my trip to Senegal on a dug out canoe will take some beating.

 

One week in…

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2nd October 2011

 

Nearly a week into the project, everything is in full flow. So far we’ve made eleven videos answering your questions. The challenge now is to upload them using dial-up Internet! This can be done but needs a lot of time and a large dose of patience. Rest assured the Global Youth Video Project has both of these and you should see more videos being posted this week.

The Global Youth Video Project is now working with AFNOW an organisation that works with orphaned young people. In The Gambia the term ‘orphan’ applies to children and young people who have lost their father or both parents. These young people have started to make their own video with the Global Youth Video Project to show how they live in The Gunjur and the surrounding areas. They have named themselves the United Family Group and working with them has been fantastic so far.

The work at Sifoe Senior Secondary School is also going well. The school system here is very different to that of the UK. Young people and their families have to pay to go school, if you can’t pay you don’t go. Over the last week I have witnessed the great work that is done by The Gunjur Project and their sponsorship programme. The sponsorship programme receives donations of 90 pounds from people outside of The Gambia and ensures that all of this money is used to get young people, in need, into education. In The Gambia there is a particular problem with young girls not being sent to school. To try and challenge this trend the government has declared that education for girls is now free. As good as this may sound,unfortunately this only applies to the study fee. The uniforms, books, examination fees, transport and food costs, all costing thousands of Dalasi, still need to be funded by the family. This week I heard a case of a young girl who is severely disabled being rejected by the school because she had not yet paid the fee for her uniform and examinations. This girl had to leave her family compound to live with a guardian closer to the school only to be turned away on her first day at school. I went to the school with the Gunjur Project, where Alagi met with the young girls guardian, to sponsor the girl and see that she was allowed to continue her education. Thankfully this story had a happy ending but there are many children here that can’t afford to go to school.

Unfortunately, one event this weekhas had a devastiating impact on all of the people around me at this time. A young man of only 22 years of age died yesterday. He was well known and many people aregrieving his loss. Unlike Englandthe funeral was held the morning after. Funerals here are often held on the day of death and if not the day after. No one knows why he died. However, there is no doubt that poor healthcare played a pivotal role in his death and towards the end of his days a reliance on traditional witchcraft may have denied him any healthcare, which may have prolonged his time on earth. My thoughts lie with his family, may he rest in peace.

After that solemn note I want to try and end on a positive. We are getting more questions on the Ask a Question… page and if you are reading this blog make sure you are encouraging people 5 – 25 years old to ask their questions before we leave The Gambia and head to Nigeria.

 

I hope you are all safe and well. Thank you for reading about the Global Youth Video Project and if you want to help the young people here consider getting together with your friends and sponsoring a child’s education for a year.