Day 12

January 14, 2008

Your eyes are not deceiving you. This entry is indeed being written several days after the last. Why? It seems that the mother of African illness cast her dark shadow upon Kathryn and I. And so, for the past two days, we have been down and out. Fever, and vomiting were the major symptoms, and being sick in Africa is every bit as awful as it sounds. I slept for 24 hours straight on Saturday and I am still tired (that was 2 days ago). Kathryn slept a fair amount too, but somehow she managed to drag herself out of bed at 4 PM that afternoon. I guess there’s certain things you can’t be immunized against.

The day after the plague struck was a fairly low key day. We didn't really want to test ourselves so we took it fairly easy. We spent most of the day around the hospital finishing up our energy profiles for GamSolar. Later in the afternoon, we were invited by two of Kathryn's friends, Sainey and Sanna to enjoy some homemade baobab juice. Sainey and Sanna are twins and they were so nice to us. They spent a solid 40 minutes just making this juice for us. It's made of the juice of, you guessed it, the baobab fruit from the tree of the same name. It's a milky juice, and the boys added lots of different things to make the most delicious concoction I had consumed in...well... over a week! I know the boys must have spent a lot of money on all of the ingredients (shredded coconut, mango flavoring, vanilla extract, among other things!) and so we were so appreciative of their kindness and hard work!

After indulging in the juice, we walked over to the soccer field to watch the hospital team take on the travel team from the local soccer club. I was approached by a ton of people asking me where I was the day before, and I jokingly told them I spent the whole day scrubbing off the dirt from the last game I played in (while of course, I spent the whole day sleeping). It was a fun game to watch. The atmosphere was totally electric- everyone in the village came out to watch the game! At one point in the game, a goat seemed to think he was better than the guys playing and he ran out onto the field. There were loud cheers when someone on the sidelines ran out onto the field, grabbed the goat, and triumphantly raised it above his head. It was nothing like an American soccer game, but it was very exciting nevertheless!

I write this entry as I comfortably lounge by the pool back at the Safari Gardens hotel in Banjul. Our mission was accomplished in Bwiam. The solar-powered water pump was installed and is functioning, we were able to capture some great footage and pictures. Perhaps most importantly, I learned how to speak minute amounts of Mandinka which will serve me very well when applying for jobs in the United States.

Our time in The Gambia is not yet over, however. Today we also met with a woman named Isatou Ceesay. Isatou started a women’s cooperative called the Njau Recycling Cooperative back in 1997 and the co-op now has grown to 69 members. They make all kinds of products, but in my humble opinion, their most impressive products are bags they weave out of recycled plastic bags. Looking at them, you’d NEVER guess that’s what they’re made out of. They also have a very advanced business model, coming from a developing country. They teach the women of the co-op the importance of environmental friendliness. They also have safety deposit boxes at the co-op that encourage saving money. Amazingly enough, she’s accomplished all of this without formal education. Some of her items will be sold in Minnesota through an organization called A Hand in Health, a non-profit organization supporting projects in The Gambia, but we're looking for other outlets throughout the States.

Mr. Badgie also gave the three of us gifts tonight. He showered us in traditional African women’s clothing. I now have a mumu! As you can see, it looks absolutely ridiculous on white people but I will wear it with pride around these stomping grounds.

I can’t believe we head back to England tomorrow. I’m dreading this return. Life in The Gambia is simple and I know when I get back, I’ll have a massive list of emails and errands waiting for me. Nevertheless, I will with open arms greet the foods, smells and people of the U.S. of A.

with african love,

jz