David’s Diary, January 19, 2012
Today is a holiday. The President, who is known in formal contexts as His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen, is being inaugurated for his fourth term as President of The Gambia today. Everything is closed. This meant we could sleep a little longer and not rush in the morning because someone is here to pick us up. So far we have been very busy with full days devoted to the in-country briefing. The briefing consisted of language training, meetings with the staff. We haven’t learned much Mandinka, just enough to say hello. Most we have met so far speak English, so we expect that we will be able to get along. But being able to speak a few words is deeply appreciated and does break the ice and differentiate us from tourists. Here in the Kombos, the area near the coast and the capital, there are quite a few tourists this time of year. When we get up country in Brikama Ba, I expect we will see very few tourists, if any.
Voluntary Service Overseas, Gambia (VSO Gambia) tries to introduce new volunteers to the life in The Gambia gently. The first week we stayed in a hotel, The Safari Garden. It is owned by a British couple who also have an eco tours business. The room and services were basic, but quickly, when we moved to the VSO’s house for volunteers, our perspective changed. This house, where we are staying until we move to the rural area, is used for short stays for volunteers in transition. When we came it was very filthy and poorly equipped. Water and Electricity supplies are erratic. We have to wash and cook using water from jerry cans. We were told that the house they are renting for us in Brikama Ba, does not have any running water or electricity. The kitchen will be set up in the living area (just a two-ring cooker on gas container, and no sink, of course. The “bathroom” is and enclosed outdoor area with a pit latrine and open to the sky. So living conditions will change to a most fundamental level.
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At the hotel we met other guests, a group arriving on a Banjul challenge rally. These are young people from all over Europe who purchase, outfit, and decorate (see photo) an automobile for travel through the Sahara. They recruit sponsors. They enter Africa at Gibraltar. When the autos arrive here, they are auctioned and the money goes to charities. I spoke to a few of the participants, real adventurers. Some continue further into Africa by other means.
The in-country briefing has been quite interesting. Our first meeting was with His Excellency Samuel Chen, the ambassador for the People’s Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan). The first secretary, Mr. Fusheng Huang, participated in the meeting and will be the liaison from the embassy for our project, which is financed by Taiwan. He invited us to dinner in the evening, so we had a chance to get to know him better. Taiwan is deeply involved in efforts to promote enhanced rice cultivation methods in The Gambia. Currently, The Gambia must import rice to meet its needs. Based on what we have read, it would be possible to close this gap and even export rice, if what is currently known were applied throughout the rice growing region of The Gambia. This is why the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at Sapu station is so important. There are extension workers who meet and work with farmers and introduce new, more productive methods. In addition, there are research staff who manage the trials and seed production. The Taiwan Technical Mission has staff at NARI Sapu. How the roles break down is not clear yet. We will learn more as time passes.
Nuha, our program manager, took us to meet the General Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at the headquarters. The manager of the Sapu station where I am setting up an IT training centre and Mustapha Cessay, a scientist who is at the leading edge of worldwide scientific efforts to improve rice cultivation participated in this meeting. I was pleased to meet Dr. Cessay because I had found one of his papers on the internet. He gave me more papers to read that he has published.
We discussed the data that is collected and how it is handled and how having IT capacity at the station will streamline and improved the work that is underway.
Ilana and I have already started on the work. Each evening at the hotel, we set up our computers in order to write a road map for the project. We wanted to make the case for a thorough assessment of the needs, capacity, resources, and aspirations before deciding on actual goals and objectives.
David
Our Trip up Country
1-20-2012 & 1-21-2012
In the last couple of days in Boston there has been a bit of snow and we have been having cool winds from the East bringing a lot of dust, covering everything with a reddish film of fine grain sand. Today, Sunday, I washed two curtain panels from our bedroom. They were black with dirt and when I washed them, they turned into tatters with big holes. Probably they were never taken down before. The major stores are closed; only little mini markets and street vendors are selling their wares. We have hardly had running water all day. The electricity has been on and off; we use the computer when it turns on and then do other things. After a shopping trip it took me a while to make a large pot of vegetable soup with noodles. Not much is left over from the things I cook because one of the two guards, who take turns watching this house (paid for by VSO) eats with us and is used to a very large portion of food, rice, sauce and salad all mixed together on his plate.
On our trip we had one meal in a market stall. You order a “rice bowl” and you get a huge amount of rice on a plate with sauce of your choice, we chose peanut sauce, of course. The amount on a plate could serve a small family for dinner, but the driver and David cleaned their plate. It was very tasty and we didn’t get sick. The women at the stalls bring in very large containers with rice and various stews. The cost of such a dish was less than a dollar.
Friday and Saturday we were on the road. We were ready at 9:00am on Friday morning but left on the trip at least 2 hours later because of some need for arrangements in the office. No one told us what we should take with us, which turned out to be a problem, because the night was really chilly and we didn’t take a warm cover. It turned out that we stayed overnight at a kind of tourist camp, in a room that had no sheets, blanket, towels, etc.,. so we were cold at night.
Driving to Brikama Ba, where we are supposed to live, and Sapu, the work location, enabled us to see the countryside. It is about 200 miles from the Kombos (the urban area around the Capital of Banjul, where we now live.) It took about 5 and a half hours as part of the way the road is unpaved. There is work on the road now and our driver said it would probably be ready in two years. When the road is paved all the way, the trip will be shorter. There is not much vehicle traffic on the road once you left the urban area. But there are many check points on the way. Our driver is an employee of VSO and he speaks all the local languages so they wave him through with no problem. (Another source of delay was the many, many cows, goats, and other animals who loiter on the roads. (More on them later: One doesn’t know which way they might run so it is important for the driver to be cautious.)
The day was dusty and the vehicles raise clouds of dust from the soil of the roads painting the trees and bushes at the road side in a reddish color. The soil all over is reddish brown, which we call in Israel Hamra. We passed vast areas of flatlands covered in dry grasses and many trees and bushes. The Baobab trees are now without leaves, they are the biggest. In the fields there are many soil structures built by Termites. They look like clay sculptures. Now, I understand what Chinua Achebe meant by “Anthills of the Savannah.”
We passed many little villages where there are both traditional huts with thatched roofs and concrete-bloc building with tin roofs. Every house or compound is surrounded by some sort of a fence, made of a variety of material—sticks, grasses, cane, woven mats, sometimes brick. Around the buildings are fruit trees: orange, avocado, banana, papaya, or palms. I have not seen orchards, though. Aside from rice fields, it seems that any type of cultivation is very small scale.
Many of the fruit trees are not cultivated, just growing there. For example, there is an orange tree in the yard of the house where we are staying. The tree is very tall and the fruit is at the top—impossible to reach without a long stick. Children have been coming into the compound to climb the tree and throw the oranges down. We do have some, but they are small, with many pits inside and signs of pests on their thin skin, obviously not a Shamutti, Jaffa, or Naval orange. Kids and women sell small plastic bags of peeled oranges on the street. They leave on the white pith and the oranges look like eggs in a bag.
Back to the trip’s story: The absence of car traffic is amply made up for by animals. Goats are everywhere, even in the city streets. They are usually white and small but there are ones with other colors too. They seem to be raised for meat. There are cattle on the roads buff colored cattle with long horns—like buffalo. As with the goats, you seldom see milking cows and the cattle are for meat and field work. I liked the little donkeys we saw everywhere. They are grey, with a black line going from head to tail and a black line over the shoulder that looks like a collar, and very small in size. All these creatures wander over the road and the driver weaves among them. On Saturday, going back, we were lucky to encounter a large group of Baboons crossing the road in front of our vehicle. When they heard the car, they ran away very fast to one side and far away giving us little chance to take a good photo.
I saw many vultures on top of trees and some on the ground (Griffon Vultures, I think.) We also saw Cattle Egrets (Anafot) and larger egrets and herons.
On our visit we found out that the building for the training center is in disarray, no construction has started for the classroom and the equipment has not yet been ordered. Our future accommodation is in the process of being fixed, the walls are being painted blue and the floor red. It is not small, but inadequate, at least in that one cannot do IT work without electricity and access to the internet and this compound has none, of course (not even talking about living conditions with a pit latrine and a hand operated water pump a distance away.) Many little kids in the compound ran to us and were very curious and friendly. Wherever we stop the children run to us; those who go to school greet us in English, and all of them want to shake our hands.) As darkness fell, people were lighting wood fires for cooking outdoors. Night is really totally dark, doted by these little fires in the countryside. David is working on the power/internet issues and has found some providers who do work (solar power and internet) in that area. We are beginning to question whether it is worthwhile to invest all this effort in that rented place for the period of 4 months, assuming we move at end of Feb. VSO wants him to produce a curriculum while the center is not yet built. We wonder why they bring an IT expert from far away for a short period when ground work is still in process, to sit in a place with no tools of the trade. The program has done a lot in education, placing teacher trainers and education administrators to improve the schools. A project such as IT is very complex to plan and implement, especially when infrastructure resources that otherwise one takes for granted are not readily available. We also found that there are here various institutes and organizations that do information technology and computer training and use various curricula which may be suitable or adaptable for this project. It is better to use existing models, or modify them than to reinvent the wheel. We will see how further discussions go.
We have learned new things about rice growing and rice intensification methods that can lead to great increase of yield and profit, if the methods are applied widely. I will leave that for David to write in another post; as you know he likes talking about such things.
It’s probably too long for you anyway, so I will stop now. Hope you are all well and would love to hear from anyone who writes.
Ilana
January 29, 2012
Dani, our son, called on Thursday for my birthday. It was great to hear from him.
The phone call was interesting because it was routed via satellite. It took us a few minutes to figure this out. There is quite a delay between the time you say something and the other person hears it due to the distance that the signal is traveling. Therefore, you have to say a sentence and stop speaking to wait for it to arrive. After the other person hears the sentence, they can say something back which takes the same amount of time to return. It is like radio telephony, which I am familiar with from Ham radio, but most have never experienced. It reminds me of the correspondents reporting from Iraq or Afghanistan with the blotchy picture and the crunched sound.
There is no credit here, only cash. The largest denomination is 100 Delasi which is $US3.45 on a good day. Many of the Delasi bills, especially the small denominations, are in terrible condition. The bills look like…I can't find a word. You don't want to touch it. It is dirty, falling apart. You hope to pass it on before it turns to vapor. Since there is no credit and most are not banked, and paying by check may take an act of Congress, one ends up carrying copious piles of tired looking bills when going shopping.
Our bank that isn't a bank doesn't offer checking accounts. To make a deposit or withdrawal, we present the passbook to the teller. They write the transaction into the book and calculate the new balance. It is like 100 or more years ago when people in the West were just entering the banking system. We will get an account with a real bank so we will have checks when VSO manages to get our TIN (like a SSN), not that we can use them in most shops.
On Friday, we went to the immigration department to get identity cards. I wish I could have taken a photo of the immigration department, but one doesn't dare take a picture of a policemen or a government building. This is a guaranteed way to lose your camera. The building was about 400 sq. ft, divided into two rooms. There was a desk with a computer in the inner office, but no one sat there. The laminating machine was in that space. In the outer office we had five police persons, two men and three women. One person filled the forms by hand, another used a typewriter (a small portable, it was at least 60 years old) to actually type the information on the card while a third was looking over her shoulder. The fourth used scissors to cut the photos to fit the card and the fifth was just arguing with all of them. They used a glue stick to fasten the photo to the card. Now we are legally in the country. This card needs to be replaced annually. We had to wait these three weeks because the new stamp for 2012 hadn't arrived yet.
Dani, our son, called on Thursday for my birthday. It was great to hear from him.
The phone call was interesting because it was routed via satellite. It took us a few minutes to figure this out. There is quite a delay between the time you say something and the other person hears it due to the distance that the signal is traveling. Therefore, you have to say a sentence and stop speaking to wait for it to arrive. After the other person hears the sentence, they can say something back which takes the same amount of time to return. It is like radio telephony, which I am familiar with from Ham radio, but most have never experienced. It reminds me of the correspondents reporting from Iraq or Afghanistan with the blotchy picture and the crunched sound.
There is no credit here, only cash. The largest denomination is 100 Delasi which is $US3.45 on a good day. Many of the Delasi bills, especially the small denominations, are in terrible condition. The bills look like…I can't find a word. You don't want to touch it. It is dirty, falling apart. You hope to pass it on before it turns to vapor. Since there is no credit and most are not banked, and paying by check may take an act of Congress, one ends up carrying copious piles of tired looking bills when going shopping.
Our bank that isn't a bank doesn't offer checking accounts. To make a deposit or withdrawal, we present the passbook to the teller. They write the transaction into the book and calculate the new balance. It is like 100 or more years ago when people in the West were just entering the banking system. We will get an account with a real bank so we will have checks when VSO manages to get our TIN (like a SSN), not that we can use them in most shops.
On Friday, we went to the immigration department to get identity cards. I wish I could have taken a photo of the immigration department, but one doesn't dare take a picture of a policemen or a government building. This is a guaranteed way to lose your camera. The building was about 400 sq. ft, divided into two rooms. There was a desk with a computer in the inner office, but no one sat there. The laminating machine was in that space. In the outer office we had five police persons, two men and three women. One person filled the forms by hand, another used a typewriter (a small portable, it was at least 60 years old) to actually type the information on the card while a third was looking over her shoulder. The fourth used scissors to cut the photos to fit the card and the fifth was just arguing with all of them. They used a glue stick to fasten the photo to the card. Now we are legally in the country. This card needs to be replaced annually. We had to wait these three weeks because the new stamp for 2012 hadn't arrived yet.
I finished my motor bike training. This last lesson was a road trip. We covered at least 70 - 80 km. I didn't look at the odometer before we left so I am not sure. I followed the instructor, Sal. He is a wiring guy. I liked him a lot. He is an expert rider. He was using a quite heavy, two cylinder bike, maybe 350 cc. I was trying to keep up on my 100 cc trail bike. He had errands to do. First we went to the petroleum terminal for the country (GP, yellow and green logo, Gambia Petroleum), which is out in nowhere, probably near the port. It is a bit of the modern world, a tank farm for storing gasoline (petrol), diesel, and propane. He picked up a check. Then we went to a police station near the airport to pick up a helmet. Then we went to his house to drop off the check and the helmet. He didn't explain what it was about. Often, people here don't explain. He didn't offer any hospitality, like something to drink or to meet his family, it wasn't that kind of situation, I guess. We did sit for a few minutes in the main room used for entertaining. It was filled with big, stuffed chairs. The windows were covered with curtains. It was very dark. We also sat in the main room of the landlady’s flat in Brikama Ba. Same arrangement. We see furniture for sale. Same, massive stuffed chairs. Full backs, full arm rests. I will take a photo some time so you will see.
On the way out and the way back of this ride, we passed through the Serrakunda market at Westfield. This was the true acid test for paved road riding, as opposed to the typical laterite, sand filled tracks that serve as roads most commonly. It is a four lane road, though there are many cars standing and parked in the right lane, so effectively it is one lane each way, jammed. On both sides, the road is lined with stalls. People are everywhere, as well as taxis, cars, trucks loaded with heavy cargoes, bicycles, donkey carts, goats, cows, vans. There are many 14 passenger vans. They ply fixed routes. They are the main public transportation in The Gambia. They cost about $US 0.30 to board. They start at car parks located in major intersections and stop to let off and pick up passengers along their routes. They are called Gelli Gellis. (It is like the Sherut in Israel, but in beaten up vans.) There are also shorter taxi routes called seven seven.
One word about the commercial vehicles here: These vans and the trucks, the taxis, all of these types of vehicles are imported used from Europe. When a vehicle has reached the end of its useful life in European terms, it can receive a second life in The Gambia. Here mechanics will rehab these and get them on the road and keep them on the road, barely. They smoke, they sputter, they break down frequently, but this is the system. There are also many new private vehicles, including large SUVs. Some people here have means.
I had an unfortunate encounter with a Gelli Gelli, trying to keep up with my instructor on the way out of town. The Gelli Gelli passed me and, as I was next to a parked Mercedes, turned right in front of me, to drop off a passenger. I managed to stop and drop the bike. Unfortunately, the bike fell on my foot. At the time I didn't feel too much. It was a confusing scene. The instructor was yelling at the driver in Wollof (a local language). I was trying to right the bike and get into neutral and start it. We did continue, but now I know, if you take a spill, adjust the mirrors before you continue.
On the way out and the way back of this ride, we passed through the Serrakunda market at Westfield. This was the true acid test for paved road riding, as opposed to the typical laterite, sand filled tracks that serve as roads most commonly. It is a four lane road, though there are many cars standing and parked in the right lane, so effectively it is one lane each way, jammed. On both sides, the road is lined with stalls. People are everywhere, as well as taxis, cars, trucks loaded with heavy cargoes, bicycles, donkey carts, goats, cows, vans. There are many 14 passenger vans. They ply fixed routes. They are the main public transportation in The Gambia. They cost about $US 0.30 to board. They start at car parks located in major intersections and stop to let off and pick up passengers along their routes. They are called Gelli Gellis. (It is like the Sherut in Israel, but in beaten up vans.) There are also shorter taxi routes called seven seven.
One word about the commercial vehicles here: These vans and the trucks, the taxis, all of these types of vehicles are imported used from Europe. When a vehicle has reached the end of its useful life in European terms, it can receive a second life in The Gambia. Here mechanics will rehab these and get them on the road and keep them on the road, barely. They smoke, they sputter, they break down frequently, but this is the system. There are also many new private vehicles, including large SUVs. Some people here have means.
I had an unfortunate encounter with a Gelli Gelli, trying to keep up with my instructor on the way out of town. The Gelli Gelli passed me and, as I was next to a parked Mercedes, turned right in front of me, to drop off a passenger. I managed to stop and drop the bike. Unfortunately, the bike fell on my foot. At the time I didn't feel too much. It was a confusing scene. The instructor was yelling at the driver in Wollof (a local language). I was trying to right the bike and get into neutral and start it. We did continue, but now I know, if you take a spill, adjust the mirrors before you continue.
By the end of our trip, my foot was quite painful. I walked home very slowly. Today, it is very swollen, discolored, and there is a blister of blood on the inside of the big toe (subcutaneous hematoma). I will take a photo of it. We have things we need to do, but I really can't, and I believe, shouldn't be walking today.
Yameh, who cleans here at the VSO housetwice a week, took bits of leaves and flowers from outside to spell out on my bed “Speedy Recovery” On Ilana’s bed, she spelled out “Good Day,” the best treatment for us. She is a treasure. She insists on making our beds, hotel style, and remakes the bed even If Ilana had done it herself earlier (not to her satisfaction.) We pay her to do our laundry, which has all to be ironed to kill the eggs of flies that attach themselves to wet laundry. If you don’t iron, the hatched worms get into your skin and you have then to treat the boils. Yameh’s ironed items are like an advertisement for new clothes. Ilana hangs wash inside to avoid ironing (socks and underwear.)
