TRAVEL 11/06

Together with our treasurer, the first club trip to Gambia.

10.11.2006 
The treasurer and me are  flew to Gambia to get an insight into the situation that prevails at present in The Gambia. After 6 hours we landed in Yundum International Airport and were picked up by a friend. 

As we have acclimatised a bit, are we going, and have presented us with the ASB and get there, the statement to reconsider our project again, and to revise it, since there are not more likely to be achievable. I was pretty disillusioned then withdrawn once in my own thoughts and trying to digest this setback. Everyone tells us something different and wants are right of course. It is difficult not to let themselves get confused by these statements, but for me it did not work, because I am confused since then and knew the moment was not what I should do. (probably not a very good condition for a 1st board!) 

Mong many other things (meetings with Gambian government officials, it came no more, because we had been actually quite confused and just wanted to rethink the whole situation) 
But it looked like at the moment and I do not know how long this state of affairs will continue. 

Mong all this came so even our limited financial resources and we had our hands full in order to alleviate this situation somewhat, as we tried to get things brought to the man. But even this is not always easy in such a poor country like Gambia. Eventually we then still an SLR camera to a local paper for sale-it took three days to claim and we could pay our bill at the campsite. But as it is always so, and then came on the last day or by someone whose laptop was no longer as it is the owner has presented. So do we have been able to earn a little money as we made sure that the laptop back to what he was doing was. 

And because of all these difficulties, we then fought yet, but that in Africa between Toubabs certainly is not unusual. One is confronted with his own very pretty crass selfishness, and if you are not together, and is concerned only about his own gain, there's usually trouble. Africa is quite different from the rest of the world and you must already be a fairly balanced personality to live there to be fairly sane, otherwise we slip fairly quickly. 

Jow, after I arrived back home, sees the situation, again a little different and I intend to not be dissuaded by all the contradictory statements about my idea. I have begun again to our Home Page to work, changed some terms, for the ladies of the ASB have me show the difference of development assistance and humanitarian aid. We want to make our club with no humanitarian aid, because this refers only to a short specific time and is appropriate for natural disasters, ie, in famines or the like.