Dirk Depoorter
Tuesday February 4th
Our last day already, but again well filled. Also the last morning that we are woken up early by the prayers of an Imam that, somewhere nearby, resounds through the loudspeakers. At 5 o'clock. We are not going to miss that. Suitcases packed, because after the last appointment we immediately drive to Banjul, the airport.
Keba and Gibril Babucarr
Following the issues we had last year around our headquarters, where two parties claimed ownership of the land on which the Gammol house was built, we are having another meeting with both parties separately. First with the Babucarr brothers and then with the VDC of Sanyang.
I am not going to rehash the entire story of last year, but the positions of both parties have not changed after a year. Babucarr's ancestors were given a piece of land by the then Alkalo to settle in Sanyang. According to the VDC, the part of the land on which the Gammol house stands has been returned to the village what the Babucarr family denies. This was so long ago that it is not clear whether there are any papers of the agreement that was concluded at the time. So there is a problem of ownership rights, but in Gambia this often means the law of the strongest. In concrete terms, this means that the Babucarr family does not have the money to go to court and successfully defend themselves.
In itself it has never been a problem: our headquarters has been there for years without any issues. The problem that now arises is that we have to invest in keeping the house liveable for Leetulor wound care and for the students who stay here for a few months a year. And we only want to do this if we are certain that we can stay there. In the end, both parties agree that we will stay there, but they both claim that they are the ones who have to give the approval and not the other party. This has gone off the rails, which is why our solution, in which we say that they both have to give their approval, is not accepted. Pfff…
VDC Sanyang
Apart from the discussion about the Gammolhuis, it is necessary to make a number of agreements with the VDC:
- Clarity about the various responsibilities in Sanyang Garden. Gammol will be responsible for the proper functioning of the water installations, the VDC for the rest. In concrete terms, this means that the VDC will ensure proper maintenance of the installations (removing weeds and rust, painting the towers, making the reservoirs waterproof) and the surroundings (such as the fencing). Omar will follow this up.
- Gammol School Community: we will explain again what our objective is, given that there are two of the Gammol schools in Sanyang. It is difficult to know what we can expect from the VDC. What I have noticed is that meetings are always held with a lot of energy, but when push comes to shove, not much happens in practice. That is also why we address people who are directly involved in the schools.
Daru Busumbala
We visit one of the older installations, built in 2012. And old Omar, who has been maintaining the installation for years, is waiting for us. We hug each other, what an enthusiastic reunion. We know that the capacity of our old installation is too small and that there are too few taps to meet the needs that exist. Hence our visit, to see what we can or should do here. On site we find that the roof is worn out, the support beams are broken. And the village is expanding, just like so many other villages where there is clean water. Nawec, the national water and electricity company is partly present here, but a connection costs 30,000 dalasi, in addition to the monthly fee, unaffordable for the people there.
More than 100 compounds and growing, with a water installation that is too small (tank of 1,000 liters at a height of 3 meters), means arguments or even fighting for water, especially during Ramadan. We need to include this installation in the planning to replace it with a new one, to see if we need to provide 10,000 litres or 2 x 10,000 litres? This is a village that is being built up, so unfortunately there is no room for a community garden. This is something that should be looked into, to see what possibilities there are here to do something extra with the water if we place a new installation here. A small contribution is already requested for the water from the compounds here. One problem they are faced with is that thieves from outside the village apparently come and steal taps.
Ismail Jack takes Hedwig and me to an Islamic school near the installation. Sad, but they make do with what they have. Every time they save up some money or receive a donation here or there, they repair something or provide a bench for the students or buy some chalk. There are no toilets, no blackboard, no window covers, ... The latter means that when the wind blows (and that happens sometimes) the children are covered in dust/sand with all the associated health problems. There is no money for an English teacher. In short, not easy. I explain that the schools we place are English schools, based on the knowledge we now have that English is the basis in Gambia. But Ismail doesn't ask us anything, he thanks us because "we give life" with the water we provide. Still, it's a bit of a shock.
Just before we leave, old Omar tells us that we probably won't see him again. Any questions??? Omar took a ‘bush’ taxi today especially to come to Daru Busumbala. He was chased out of the house he built himself, for several years. Chased out by an influential person, against whom he could do nothing. Gulp! Again. The problem of ownership of the land. Fathers of fathers who donated land to their children, who did the same to their children, etc. With the final goal being the great-great-grandchildren who sell the land to have money. And no one knows who owns which piece of land. And when you have some influence, then what happened to the old Omar now happens. The ‘old’ Omar was really someone who maintained the water installation in a very disciplined manner. Conscientious, without receiving any compensation for this. Only the gratitude and respect of the villagers, who realize how valuable Omar’s work is. It is really not obvious to us when you hear such a story, because you feel powerless, knowing that this is not an exception. We ask 'our' Omar to investigate whether and what we can do about this.
Abuko school
Omar (another Omar, the headmaster) and Pierre are waiting for us. School is already over. We first do a tour of the school and notice several minor defects that need to be addressed:
- The toilet door, the tiles and the toilet bowl need to be repaired.
- The sign and the mission of the school on the outside wall have been painted over.
- During the rainy season, the playground floods, water that comes from the street.
- The few play equipment that was there is broken.
- Omar's teacher's room needs to be upgraded (see Fuffor).
- The roof needs to be repaired.
- Some of the teachers' desks and desks need replacing.
- There is an urgent need for some classroom supplies: crayons, paper, pens (red, black, blue), quality paint.
- The kitchen is not being used because it is being used as a material shed, often with broken equipment. Should be put back into use so that the children can have a meal.
Every time we come to Gambia we want to visit the Gammol schools. Purely in comparison with the most recently built schools, we have neglected Abuko somewhat. This is the oldest school, and we have adjusted a few things here in recent years, but now we have to do this more thoroughly. Another problem is that the school is too small. Omar has to turn away many children due to a lack of space. The rule is “first come, first served”. Given that the school is ‘locked up’ between houses, there is no immediate solution available.
The reason for our visit was to exchange ideas about the Gammol School Community (GSC), but it is clear that the previous one was also necessary. As far as the GSC is concerned, we ask Omar how he experienced the meeting with the different schools. In one word: difficult! For various reasons: difference in age of the students in relation to the school, different levels of experience and education, lack of standardization and approach. These are of course exactly the reasons why we want to set up a GSC, so that schools can learn and share from and with each other. Working on curricula for each academic year, which can be shared. The same goes for the tests, weekly and lesson plans, how to deal with absences, homework, etc.
During the meeting with all schools, Ensa Sanyang, the chairman of the Fuffor school, took the lead in including a few things. And perhaps we can also count on Alieu Sanyang (not related to Ensa) if we decide to build a school in Faraba Sutu. Patience and knowing that we will still have to put a lot of energy into this.
Wellingara
Our last visit before we drive to the airport. Not far from the Abuko school. If you look at the map you will see that this is actually one stretched and built-up region. It is a new water installation and the water tower is well maintained, although they have been very frugal with the paint. This should be redone. Omar has to provide paint for this.
We are warmly welcomed again. In the past they had water (from Nawec) between 4 and 6 in the morning, and even then… Which made the women have to get up to be sure they could get water. Now they have clean water all day long. It has changed their lives, the water has given them comfort. But… there is a need for more. Today, about 200 compounds use the water from our tower. The region consists of about 1,000 compounds. And we are the only ones who provide drinking water. We can understand that there is a need for more pumps and installations here. They also emphasize that they are well organized, which means that their installation is well maintained. If there are broken taps, they repair them themselves, for example. They will certainly do that with the next installation. We explain to them that we receive a lot of requests and can do nothing other than set priorities. We make no promises.
And then the Imam calls through the loudspeakers in the village, which he uses for prayer, that we are in the village. We do not know exactly what he is announcing, but in no time at all, many women, men and children come to the room where we are sitting to show and say how grateful they are for the clean water. The Imam puts it as follows: “In Islamic religion, someone who commits suicide goes to hell, but if you did, even then you would go to heaven”. Wow, we can afford to do something, I think to myself 😊. Our Omar is also put in the spotlight, as “a great, great man of his word”, something we can only agree with. It is clear that he has made a great step forward again in the past year. The self-confidence grows, he makes decisions, takes things up and does something about them, he is listened to when he says something. And he is very much appreciated in all the villages where we are present. They know that this is our last stop before we leave and say that they are going to pray for a safe journey back.
Banjul
It is now 5:30 PM and “the barrel is empty”. Off to the airport, where we finish together with Omar and Lamin. We agree with Omar that we will do a Teams next week to go over the list of ‘to do’s’ and determine the priorities for 2025. An additional point of attention that we note: we have been to 17 places this time. 17 of the 46 projects where we have completed a project. It is necessary to make a multi-year plan so that we can visit everything every 3 to 4 years, knowing that between 6 and 10 new projects are completed each year.
We say goodbye to Omar and Lamin, always quite emotional. “These guys are definitely in our hearts”.
Departure at 10:15 PM local time, we will land at 5 AM Belgian time…
Abaraka Baké: Thank you very much (Baké) (Abaraka). We have heard that a lot in the past few days. But it is mutual. We are realizing a few things in Gambia, but we are also grateful that we can do this, together with the people there and without wanting to play the missionary!
Dirk Depoorter