Four Days in Africa
In October 2023, I spent four days in The Gambia, West Africa, living in the family compound of Lamin Drammeh. I was visiting the VGGP, a human-scaled sustainable development project we launched in 2017. Since I’ve asked everyone I know to support the project, I thought I’d better take a first-hand look. Here’s a snapshot of my experience:
Day I – It’s the end of the rainy season. Sweltering heat and stifling humidity goes unnoticed by Moudo, our driver, as he navigates roads pocked with craters that could swallow his car. The central highway is crammed with humanity and commerce. Diesel smoke fills my lungs as we drive to the capital city of Banjul where Kani, a community member, recovers in the maternity ward at the Central Hospital. She lost her first child.
Her mother Nday is the head of the VGGP women farmers. She camped outside the hospital in the shade of an overhang, along with families of other patients, and Lamin visited every day. Families and friends care for hospitalized loved ones, providing meals and reassurance, and advocating for their health needs. After a brief visit, I pressed 4,000 Gambian Dalasi (about $60) into Kani’s hand to pay her hospital fee so she may be released tomorrow.
Day II – “You are family.” says Lamin, “please make yourself at home.” I’m given the best room in the main house within the walled compound where he lives with Awa (left in pink), his wife, and their six children (ages 10 months to 13 years) along with assorted other family. I share a double bed with seven-year-old Binta. Our room has an attached lean-to with a toilet and shower, but the thing I’m most grateful for is the ceiling fan (and electricity, when it's working). Gosh it’s hot.
I’m excited to tour the garden where 14 neighbors grow food in individual plots. In preparation for planting, women have begun clearing the lush growth that sprang up during the annual rains. Lamin drags a hose to the spigot and we water 500 nursery trees - small mango, orange, and coconut seedlings. They’ll be distributed to 42 households to plant within their compounds, creating an edible landscape that enhances food security.
A dozen elders have come to pray for the continued success of the project that provides food, education, and livelihood to their community. May Allah grant peace and prosperity. The prayer room, along with a small classroom and tailor shop facing the street, is in the building (right) built by VGGP in 2021 to serve as a local enterprise center.
Day III - Today is women’s day. Several neighboring women, many with infants swaddled to their backs, gather in their colorful bests for a ribbon cutting celebration. It’s the official opening of the new women’s cooperative tent rental business. VGGP purchased two large tents and we’re raising funds for 20 dozen chairs (@ $50/dozen) for the women’s rental enterprise.
I’ve gifted Shelburne Farms t-shirts to my Gambian family, who wear them with pride. Once remarks are made, Nday (left - in blue) and I cut the ribbon, and someone starts to beat on a plastic container. Spontaneous rhythmic dancing follows. I’m nudged into the center of a pulsating circle of women, moving as fast as my new hip allows. The joy I feel is abundant and real, but I’m silently grateful that my public display is only seen locally.
Day IV - Saving the best for last, today is children’s day. “We’ll go to the beach,” Lamin smiles and he spends the morning making sweet hibiscus tea (left) for the outing. So many kids want to come that we’ve rented a small van. With a grill and supplies strapped to the roof, 30 people cram into the 14-passenger van and we’re off. After a bumpy hour’s drive, with one stop for additional supplies, we unload at a cul de sac between two resort hotels and stumble down a pathway to the Atlantic.
The women immediately set to cleaning and spicing chicken for the grill. While the boys dart straight into the ocean splashing joyfully in the shallow rolling waves. A man on horseback gallops by. The girls, dressed in their best clothes, watch from the shoreline.
But, being a Jersey girl, I’ve come prepared with my swimsuit and shorts under my African dress. To the surprise of my hosts, I peel off my dress and romp straight into the tepid water, encouraging the girls to join me. We splash and play, jumping waves and holding hands until we're called out for supper. Chicken and rice eaten with sandy hands from four shared bowls, as the sun sets on my final day in The Gambia. “For most,” Lamin whispers as we climb back into the van, “this is their first trip to the beach.”
On behalf of my Gambian family and the entire VGGP community benefiting from your kindness and support: Thank you! Our accomplishments are many and the impact significant.
With whole hearted love and gratitude, Sue
Jan-2024
