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The closing date for the National Volunteer Teacher applications was 31st May and over 50 people applied! It took me less than 2 hours to arrange 50 interviews. I got hold of nearly everyone I called the first time I tried and everyone agreed to come on the day and time I asked - a vastly different experience than I am used to in the UK and evidence of how difficult it is to get a job in The Gambia. If I couldn't get hold of someone I left a message with their mum or texted them to tell them to come. Even people who were upcountry when I called left their villages as soon as possible to get down to the interview on time.
The interview panel was made up of seven interviewers including the Director, Mboge, Taylor, other Senior Education Officers and myself. I was frustrated but not surprised when the interviewers read the newspaper or the bible, played on facebook, took mobile calls or disappeared from the room completely during the interviews. I had a headache at the end of each day after trying to coordinate them but overall I was pleased with how it went. In the end we offered volunteer placements to 35 people, 30 of which are graduates from the University of The Gambia. My colleagues were very impressed by this achievement telling me they could never recruit that many graduates within that space of time usually.
After the interviews, we went upcountry again to check in with the current volunteers and find out if they wanted to extend their contracts for another year. We got good feedback from the volunteers and head teachers and everybody wanted to extend their contract but this time I didn't really enjoy myself because I was sick the whole time and I couldn't wait to get back home to my compound and to Abdou.
Once back in Kombo we had to organise and deliver 3 weeks of teacher training for the 35 new National Volunteers. We invited our colleagues from the Ministry to deliver training on the curriculcum, syllabus, schemes of work, lesson plans etc. I was impressed with the commitment shown by the volunteers who were very eager to learn and did their best to engage in all the activities despite the fact that most of them were fasting for Ramadan and it was too hot as the power kept going off meaning we couldn't use the fans or AC.
I was less impressed with some of the information the trainers gave them. The most frustrating moment for me was during a session on the Teacher Code of Conduct when one of the volunteers asked what the Ministry was doing to help teachers who were subjected to sexual harassment. She was told by the trainer that in order to avoid sexual harassment she should ensure she dressed appropriately at all times so as not to tempt the men. It got worse when another volunteer backed up the trainer, saying "I think you are right because I read a report from England where it was found that 99% of sexual assaults were caused by what the woman was wearing." A few people grunted their approval at this enlightening information at which point I couldn't contain myself any longer and I had a rant in front of everyone about what a load of rubbish they were speaking.
Despite the ups and downs, over the course of the three weeks we all got to know each other and enjoy our time together so that by the time of the closing ceremony we were sad to say goodbye. I spent a lot of time encouraging one of the youngest volunteers in the group, a 20 year old called Alpha. Alpha hopes that if he volunteers for a year he will get some valuable experience which will boost his CV and help him secure a scholarship to study for a degree in America. Mboge teased him incessantly, saying "Alpha, what's your problem? You look like someone with malaria. I'm worried about what to do with you. You are so small. Where can I send you to teach?" I was sad to find out that on the last day of our workshop Alpha's brother passed away so now he wants to drop out to look after his mum. In total, 30 people completed the orientation workshop and now we are working on where to post each volunteer and planning how to transport them to their schools in mid-September.
Outside of work, fishing was a flash in the pan. We had a couple of nice trips to Sanyang and Gunjur. The boys caught and cooked fish while the girls swam and sunbathed. At Sanyang, Helen, Natalie and I treated ourselves to beer and lobster at the Rainbow Bar on the beach which felt a bit indulgent. A planned fishing trip for this weekend was scuppered by the weather. In fact the amount of time I spend on the beach in general has decreased these days due to rainy season. We now have days where it's grey, wet and cool but when the sun does come out it's boiling and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. A couple of times we have had stupendous storms with thunder that shakes the house and the rain has been heavy enough to wash away parts of the road. I got caught out in the rain once on the way home from work. As soon as it started raining everyone ran for shelter whilst I made a dash for the garage preferring to get a van home as quickly as possible but I got soaked. People in the street were shouting at me, "Hey toubab, come and shelter from the rain." Others looked at me like I was insane and no-one wanted to sit next to me on the van on the way home.
Ramadan has been, and thankfully, gone. It is, without doubt, the most boring time of the year. Muslims can't eat or drink from around 5.30am until around 7.30pm but they also can't swim, listen to music, go out in the evening… People are tired and grumpy a lot of the time. Road rage increases. People at work do even less than usual. Living with Abdou wasn't as much fun. The end of Ramadan was marked by Koriteh, a public holiday where people celebrate by getting together with their family to eat and drink. The children get dressed up in their best clothes and congregate outside on the street to ask passersby for salibo (charity) and then use the money to buy ice cream and sweets. We kept it simple and had a grill in the compound with our Gambian friends which was nice but above all I was just relieved that things could get back to normal.
Mango season is over and I never did eat many mangoes in the end although I had lots of fun making homemade mango-body scrub. Abdou didn't appreciate the mess I made with mashed mango splashed up the walls, blocking up the plughole and staining the curtains. I used it all over my body, and though I felt like I had been slimed, it worked a treat and even helped ease my sunburn. I have now discovered that the tree right next to my front room is an avocado tree and has loads of avocados growing on it so I have already researched body scrub recipes.
Abdou celebrated his 32nd birthday at the end of July. He has never in his life celebrated his birthday or received a birthday gift. He was jumping up and down in excitement when our landlady gave him a cake and a bottle of wine. My Mum and Dad sent him a card and present from England. He opened them whilst we were skyping my parents and he was so touched that he was lost for words for a while. We went to the Sunswing Hotel to have lunch and relax around the pool all day. When the pool closed we moved to one of their luxurious sunbeds on the beach and had a few drinks and watched the sun go down over the sea. At night we went for dinner in Senegambia and I had a tasty lasagne which I wolfed down but Abdou was still so overexcited that he couldn't even eat his dinner. It was a very expensive day by our standards but it was well worth it to see how happy Abdou was.
Life outside of work isn't all sunshine and cocktails. The Gambia is quiet and largely uneventful. There isn't a lot to do and we have no money to do anything with anyway. Sometimes it can be boring and frustrating. Dr Helen's placement recently finished and she has left the Gambia for good whilst Natalie, Helen L and Janneke have been on holiday back to their home countries leaving me with the boys for nearly a month. Helen L returned just in time to rescue me from a meltdown by whisking me away to a coffee shop for a chocolate milkshake, a millefeuille and a moan. You get used to volunteers coming and going but I have really noticed how much more difficult I find it when I don't have my western girlfriends around to support me in times of need. It's all well and good submersing yourself in the local culture but sometimes you just have to indulge yourself in your own culture to keep a healthy balance. I have learnt a lot about myself and I don't think I would have coped if I had accepted a placement upcountry for a year.
And now the end is near. Officially, I have got less than 3 weeks left of my one year placement. The last 5 months have flown by but I have been thinking long and hard what to do. I passed a skype interview with VSO UK and have been assigned an advisor to help find me another VSO placement, I fancy Asia this time, but then there's Abdou to consider… So I have extended my contract here for another year. It'll give Abdou and I time to figure out what to do next plus there are still things I want to do with the NVT Programme and besides it's almost body boarding season!
- comments
Chris Canham So hard to believe its been a year! And so happy it all turned out well for you in the end. Missing you x
Mum I am so proud of you and what you have achieved in the Gambia. When you first told me you had been offered a new job, I told you it had better not be overseas! But it was and we were sad you left and who would have thought that was a year ago. It makes us realise what a strong independent woman are and how well you survive in some difficult situations. We are proud to be your parents. xxx
barbara and neil Great blog as ever Nicola. Sounds like you're really making a difference. We're leaving our placement early, in the middle of next month, precicely because we feel we aren't making much of a difference. However we do love it in this bit of southern Tanzania so we're volunteering for a wonderful educational charity in the village for the last 3 months Details and photos on www.oldboma.wordpress.com Keep writing the blog and good luck with the next contract