By James Holden, African Oyster Trust Founder
Written 16th January 2009
The opening of the new clinic at Gunjur was a heartwarming occasion in every possible respect. I saw for the first time a new nursery school developed by two amazing women – Kira Dalton and Ali Calvert – and inspired by the astonishing bravery of a young Gambia girl called Mariama Mae. Mariama is severely disabled, and very unusually for the Gambia she has been able to attend school just like the rest of the children. Sadly many Gambians still regard disability as a kind of judgement for generational sin so they are just left to lie around the compounds, their lives lived in unknowing darkness. Not Mariama – thanks to the efforts of Kira and Ali I saw her sitting in the classroom learning to read, write and work with numbers just like the others.
And then there was the clinic itself, an initiative sparked by the generosity of employees of Greggs of the Midlands. Their managing director Alan Dick retired recently after many years at the helm, and instead of a gold watch he asked for any donations to go towards establishing and stocking the new clinic. The response was amazing, and I was able not only to see two well appointed rooms including a sick bay, by also helped to stock a medicine cabinet brimful with the medicines I referred to earlier.
It being Gambia, there was of course a formal opening ceremony too. Local dignitaries including the Alkalo and the chief were there, resplendent in their bright flowing robes. Your correspondent looked colourful too, having invested a tenner in a Gambian suit. I thought it looked really fine, and certainly all the dinner ladies seemed to approve!
I’d feared long and tedious speeches, but there weren’t any at all. They were short and pertinent. They thanked Kira and Ali for all they’d done, said what a huge difference it would make to the well-being of the children, and asked me to sketch out what the Greggs of the Midlands logo looked like so they could make a sign to hang above the entrance. Kira cut a pink ribbon and that was it. The first first-aid at Gunjur Lower Basic School since the British built the place in 1950. It felt good.
This is the second of three updates from James' recent trip to The Gambia (third part to follow soon, click here or scroll down to read the first part).
By James Holden, African Oyster Trust Founder
Written 12th January 2009
Tomorrow we’ll be opening a clinic near the town of Gunjur – a reasonable sized town deep in the south of The Gambia near to the border with the Casamance region of Senegal. It’s not safe to go across the border into Casamance just now. As any Gambian will tell you, there are murderous rebels at large demanding independence from Dakar control. Travel a bit further south of Gunjur to Kartong and you have to pass through a miliarty checkpoint whiles a teenager waves a rifle in your face while smiling and asking ‘how is de day?’. That’s the Gambia all over – a place of sweet and sour irony that somehow manages to make you smile despite everything.
The clinic will cater from well over 1,500 children and it’s the first one they’ll ever have had. It’ll be stocked with paracetemol, basic malarial and ringworm treatment drugs, disinfectant cream, bandages and plasters. That will be pretty much all the medical care that most of the children will ever get. Even if they are really sick there won’t be that much more help available, not unless they are incredibly lucky and find someone to sponsor them – usually kind-hearted tourist.
They’re happy enough playing in the sun and their dusty school yard, but about half of them won’t make it beyond their teenage years, and every woman loses one or more children to a preventable illness or accident of one kind or another. It’s salutary, and when I first came here I just couldn’t get my head around it all. I still can’t at times.
Note: We will be publishing further extracts from James' trip diary over the coming weeks. For more information on our work in Gunjur, click here.
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