Beauty Pageant

Though my official role here in The Gambia is that of 'Primary Cluster Teacher Trainer', I often find that some of the work that I am asked to do falls very loosely (if at all) under that title.

Recently I was asked to organise a 'Miss 22nd July Scholarship and Beauty Pageant' at the regional office where I am based. Apparently this is an annual event and each region (of which there are 6) do 'heats' and then send the contestants that came first and second place to the final competition in Banjul. The event is sponsored by the President and the winning girl is awarded a scholarship. The competition is a way of promoting girls education.

There has been much discussion among people here about the merits of such a pageant however I do not wish to comment on that. I was merely carrying out what appears to be a 'VSO responsibility' in The Gambia, and was able to organise a successful event in a very short space of time.

As a one of the judges I was unable to compete which is a real pity because I even wore African dress for the occasion!!

Me all dressed up and ready to take my place at the judges' table

It's a very serious business this beauty pageant thing!

Obviously when Nathan heard that there would be lots of beautiful young women gathered in one place he decided to come over and see what was going on!

A few pictures

This is Surdas (pronounced Sue-daze). One of Nfamara's nephews. I just think that he is SO cute that's why I have put the picture on my blog!! He's about 2 years old and a little tinker!!

I saw this little 'notice' in a Head Teacher's office at one of the schools I was visiting. It obviously hasn't been spotted by anyone more senior yet otherwise it would have been removed but I think it's hilarious and dare I say - close to the truth?!!

These children are also relatives of Nfamara (nephews). Here they are playing on my bike just outside Nfamara's compound (Sonko Kunda)

Try to wear covered shoes at night

So rainy season has sort of started! It's rained about three times now (since the 15th) but mainly in the evening/night and it hasn't been particularly heavy.

After the first substantial night time rain, the following morning the fields were full of men and boys planting the groundnuts (peanuts – the big cash crop here). From now until the end of rainy season the men (and boys) will be out at the farms and in the fields looking after the groundnuts and the women (and girls) will be attending to the rice crop (as well as cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, maintaining the gardens, looking after the children etc).

Though the rains can make life here more difficult in that everything gets really dirty and rubbish dumps overflow and sand tracks/roads become rivers etc, the rains also bring a relief from the heat. Just before it rains the heat verges on unbearable then there will be a breeze followed by a wind and then rain.
With the rains also come a whole range of interesting and exotic looking insects. You have hundreds of different types of flying insects (all swarming for the light), also bright red spiders, yellow and green ants, transparent beetles and also huge beetles the size of tennis balls!

However this year I have discovered something new, apparently the beginning of rainy season always brings out the black scorpions! There are brown/yellow coloured scorpions which are here all year round and though I’m told their sting is painful it’s not fatal – the black scorpion however is a different story!
If you are bitten by a black scorpion you have to go to the Health Centre immediately and receive a series of injections to counteract its sting. Failure to do so could be fatal!!

So I asked some locals what would be the best way to prevent contact with the black scorpions but I was told that they are everywhere at this time of year. They hide in dark places such as in your shoes, under your bed etc. The advice I was given was use a torchlight when you are doing anything in the dark and try to wear covered shoes at night!


As these creatures hide in dark places I was anxious that I might be stung by one without necessarily realising it so when I asked, ‘will know if I’ve been stung?’ the answer was a definite YES!!!

A (dead) black scorpion at 'Riders' compound. Apparently you kill them by beating them with a stick?

15th June

The 15th June came and went and there was no rain!

Today (on the 25th June) it rained heavily during the day - I think that this is the start of the rainy season!

Baby Sarjo

Baby Sarjo is doing just fine. She is so small and cute! Sometimes Isatou (her mother) will feed her and then leave her at my house for a couple of hours to sleep. I have a mosquito net permanently fixed in my bedroom so I place little Sarjo underneath it (mosquito nets are readily available here and most people have them but just don’t use them. It's quite frustrating as malaria is a big killer especially amongst children! Somebody here once told me that he thinks people don’t utilise the nets because they are given them for free and therefore never really appreciate their value, he believes that if people were sold them for a small price or were told to go and collect them, rather than just distributing them, then people would be more inclined to use them as they have put an effort into their acquisition. I don't know if that is true or not but I have seen mosquito nets in many Gambian houses and yet most of the people who have them admit to not sleeping underneath them).

Anyway little Sarjo often spends a few hours a day in my house lying on my bed under the security of my mosquito net. It's also an opportunity for Sarjo to get some undisturbed sleep as one of her big sisters (Bakaddy who is about 3) keeps prodding her and squeezing her face and fingers. It often begins under the guise of affection but if you watch Bakaddy carefully you can see that the 'gentle' stroke quickly turns into a jealous pinch!!

So I’ve decided to post a few more pictures of beautiful (bald) Sarjo!

Bless her!

Sarjo on my bed

What a cutie!!

Safe on the bed but not asleep!! Sarjo prefers to be held!

Mangoes and Rain

Mango season is coming to an end. There are lots of mango trees in The Gambia and people here like the trees as they provide excellent shade. Many hours are spent talking, chatting, chilling and drinking green tea under a mango tree.

During mango season (which seems to have been the last three months or so) you often hear the thud of mangoes falling to the floor (you have to take care to dodge them if you were relaxing under the mango tree) and you will see lots of children and adults throwing stones into the trees in an attempt to knock the mangoes to the floor or prodding the trees with exceptionally long sticks (sold specifically for this purpose!)

I have eaten a lot of mangoes during the last couple of months and I think that now I have eaten so many that I am going 'off' them! When I hear the 'thud' of a mango falling to the ground I no longer run to locate the fruit! The novelty has worn off. However all is not lost as I am told that there are different varieties of mangoes and there is one particular type that I still really like and enjoy eating (I also want to note as a side that the way people eat mangos here is very interesting to observe)!

Very soon mango season will be over and perhaps if there are no mangoes for 8 months or so when they return I might be keen to eat them again? We will have to see.

Now rainy season is fast approaching. It rained in the evening in the 1st June and again in the evening the following day. Since then it rained once during the morning. When rainy season starts properly then it will rain heavily (on and off) for about 3 and half months. Everything here goes green, rivers fill up again and the sand 'roads' become streams! There are things about rainy season that I love and things about it that I hate! What I can tell you though, is that it gets HOT, really hot and humid and when it actually rains it's not like a shower, it's like somebody is pouring a swimming pool of water over your head!!

People here tell me that the rainy season starts on the 15th June. I have no idea why this date has been selected (the say the same day every year - 15th June). Originally when I heard this date it made me smile as I was sure that there could not possibly be an exact date when the rains start properly every year? HOWEVER as this date approaches I'm becoming more and more intrigued.

Today is the 14th and the sky has changed colour. It is still exceptionally hot but the sky is grey. My neighbour Isatou told me, 'Kaddy, the rain is coming'. There is definitely a difference in the atmosphere. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow it will rain and then the rain will continue for three months. Maybe the rains do start on the 15th June every year? How exciting! Watch this space!

A night at the pier

A couple of nights ago Nathan, Nfamara (my friend) and I decided to go down to the pier in the evening and hang out together. When we were down at the pier we met some sailors who transport the ground-nuts (peanuts) from Kerewan to Banjul via the river. We all chatted and had a good evening.

However though it was quite cool in the evening by the river, one of our group wasn't feeling the cold - a bout of Dutch courage I suspect!

Now I don't want to get anyone into trouble by naming names (especially as his lovely mother sometimes reads this blog) but if you have a look at the pictures from that night you might be able to guess WHO had one too many!

Lopiz (one of the sailors)

Me and Nfamara (note the jumpers, jackets and long sleeve tops because it's cold!)

Nathan (Hmmmmmmm)