Ebrima's Nursery

Ebrima's nursery

We made a visit to the nursery of a student on the Brikama ECD course. Ebrima's nursery is in Jinoi which is a village close to Soma. Close but hidden away behind lots of vegetation so after stopping in various compounds to ask directions a kind lady finally showed us the way and we emerged from the undergrowth to find a small nursery. I have to say that this was probably the most pleasureable experience we have had yet in a school in The Gambia. Ebrima is doing a brilliant job with the children. We arrived at the nursery to find such a lovely environment which makes the best use of the materials he has. There were books he had made himself on the walls, hanging decorations, numbers, rhymes. There were labelled places for all the children, books and toys which were actually being used. He was using a rice bag as his story and circle time mat. We spend a while there reading with the children who were wonderful and who knew a variety of words in English. They knew the colours, the parts of the body, animals. I read them a storybook in Mandinka and they delighted in correcting my pronunciation. We sang some songs, "If you're happy and you know it", "twinkle, twinkle" and others.
In contrast the week before I had been in a nursery school where adult sized chairs were laid out in rows, theatre style and the ABC was written in capital letters on the board and that was about it. It was really great to see in Ebrima a teacher who recognises what an important job he has and in difficult circumstances works incredibly hard to make sure those children have the chance to fulfill their potential while they are with him. Great stuff!

(Once I caught a fish alive)

Just a few Brikama college photos (six little ducks went swimming one day)

I have returned to Soma to discover that I have actually developed quite a fondness for the place. I'm pleased to get back to the peaceful, easygoing, sedentary kind of life after the hecticness of Brikama. There have been some minor changes in life here. The compound has become very verdant. Groundnuts are growing in abundance and tall green weeds line the path to the tap. It seems a bit strange that in such a short while it will become dry and barren again. Adding to this I have a new neighbour in the form of new VSO Marcus who, being very technically minded is great to have around, as he deals with all things electrical and computer related. Kate is also happy because she has two people to send off to the market for her cooking ingredients and to get cashpower. She has however declared an edict that I have to cook one night a week for everybody and one night a week for myself. She says so that she won’t have to worry that I will waste away to nothing when she goes home.

The stars have been great lately and we have spent many a happy hour on our verranda star gazing or watching the various lightning flashes in the distance. We have seen quite a number of shooting stars and the milky way.

We have fallen very quickly back into the same old patterns of behaviour. My daily trip to the bituk for a coke and half a tapalapa, mayonnaise and maggi has resumed. Although I have forgotten most of the Fula Fatoumata taught me. Kate still has a love/hate relationship, well more of a hate/hate relationship with her bike. First day back and she had to ride pillion with me because she refused to put petrol in it. Since then it has been nothing but temperamental and has had 2 flat tyres!

For me it was time to get serious with the motorbiking. No more of these namby pamby journeys 20 minutes down a paved highway with regular signposting. It was time for hardcore terrain, potholes, hills, scree, puddles, having to navigate by mango trees and distinctive fencing. Of course this wasn’t really the reason why I found myself on the way to Kwinella. It was for the serious purpose of meeting the head teachers in the cluster to discuss the phonics programme.
Cluster monitor Seedy was ably leading me on the South road from Soma carefully guiding me round potholes and showing me the best part of the road on which to ride. First stop Jiroff, then Nema abc nursery, Nema community health centre, Nema Lower basic (where we had the first of the foodbowls, tilapia fish, rice and sauce) and several glasses of attiya. Then lastly to another foodbowl and of course more attiya at Kwinella lower basic. It had been a good day and well fed I started off on the hour’s journey back. This time alone. But alas grey clouds were lurking in the distance and it was a race against time, would I beat the approaching storm. No chance! It was to be a lesson in being prepared.
Suddenly I was under the cloud, the temperature dropped markedly, then came the winds whipping up ribbons of sand into my eyes (of course no visor) and battering against the side of the bike shunting me sideways. Next the stinging rain and the lightning. I was all the time trying to weigh up my options. Since the option of phoning my mum and Dad to come and get me wasn’t really viable I was considering the following. Do I carry on and just pray I reach Soma in one piece? Do I stop and seek shelter with the people of the villages? Do I stop and phone Kate and cry? So I continued leathering it over pot holes and through puddles and mud with my eyes closed hanging on to the handlebars for grim death. It was reminiscent of the gele journey from hell that feeling of tremendous relief at reaching Kaira Konko scout lodge at the edge of Soma still in tact.
I stumbled through the gates of the compound, something like the creature from the blue lagoon greeted by some very worried faces. It ended as motorbike adventures invariably do. Glass of 70 dalasi gin thrust in my hand and all is right with the world.