The Gambia is a Third World, developing country and away from the main tourist areas, there is stark poverty.  Whilst tourism brings with it 'contact', there is the danger that it results in an incomplete picture, which is to the detriment of areas away from the tourist routes, ie the poverty remains 'hidden'.
 

Areas within the ‘tourist routes’ benefit from this contact and the resultant help that is given.   Even outside these small tourist areas, many villages have benefited from the kindness of visitors who have sponsored the building of schools and clinics, as well as the work done by some Charities and some of the Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in the Gambia.

 

GLOVE was born out of a recent visit to the village of Sam (small) Mbollet - the home village of a colleague. , on the north bank of the River Gambia, has the effect of both shocking and upsetting. It has no piped water supply only a contaminated well, no electricity or a privately owned generator. There is no school of any kind, nor a clinic. The village ambulance is a Donkey & cart, the nearest medical assistance is over 3 Kms away. 

 

  

There are between 600 - 700 people living in the village of Sam MBOLLET, many of them children.  The villagers here represent four different tribes of the Gambia all living harmoniously together: the Fula, Manjago, Bambara and Sere.  The last three are very rare so this is our chance to help stop them being wiped out of the Gambia completely: an opportunity indeed to preserve this rare culture.  Very little money enters Sam MBOLLET.  A few village members have managed to secure employment in the tourist areas and give the majority of their meagre wages (£15 - £20 per month) to their families in order to purchase rice, oil and other essential commodities needed for survival.  We at GLOVE will work hand in hand with the village community.

 

The vast majority of the villagers are farmers and in a land that is barren and without rain for most of the year that is no mean feat.  Farming, therefore, has to be limited to the time when the rains come – late July through September.  The villagers survive on what food they can grow in their small ‘garden type’ allotments and by bartering for the goods that can’t be grown which is anything from essentials to something as basic as a plastic bucket. 

 

 

HEALTH

 

The nearest health assistance is over 3kms away and consists of a village community nurse.  The nearest Clinic is almost 15kms away.  There are no vehicles, of any kind, in the whole village – the ambulance is a donkey and cart.  Imagine being desperately ill, or in labour with complications necessitating medical intervention and having to travel these distances on a rickety cart pulled by a donkey, possibly in the middle of the night with no lighting along the way.

 

Having survived the journey, should one be so lucky, one then has to worry about how to pay for the medicines needed.

 

The most basic necessities are absent: here is absolute poverty.  Malaria kills hundreds of people in The Gambia every year, especially in the ‘rainy season’ (July – September).  The cost of 1 mosquito net, including the chemical treatment, is just £5.  Think how many lives could be saved for this small amount, an amount that we have and it could be argued, waste on frivolities/luxuries but something many Gambians, certainly the majority of people in this village, cannot hope to earn.  Since initially writing this article, it is good to report that donations made it possible to supply each family with a net prior to the onset of this year's rains.

 

Child mortality is a very real concern and below there are two stories that tear at the heart strings: 

KOKO – Koko was just 3 years old when she died of malnutrition on 27 Sep 2007.  This made GLOVE painfully aware that the village suffers from famine for several months of the year, a fact that had not been brought to our attention until this very sad event.  With the growth of the GLOVE Farm and the plans for irrigation, it is hoped that this type of occurrence will be relegated to the past and cease to be something that will plague them in the future.

HADDY – Haddy was a young pregnant woman, excited by the prospect of giving birth to her first child.  She went into labour in the village for 3 solid days!  There was no pain relief available; no qualified midwife, nurse or doctor: she had to undergo this painful ordeal of 3 days unsuccessful labour in a mud hut with no professional help or pain relief.

Eventually she was taken to the nearest health centre (approx 15 kms), on a cart pulled by a donkey, along tracks that bear no resemblance to roads as we know them.  She laboured a further 2 full days unsuccessfully.  It was decided Haddy should be transferred to the hospital in Banjul: this entailed further travel, including the 1 hour ferry ride across the River Gambia, arriving at the hospital on a Thursday.  Haddy and her family have no money, therefore no doctor was available to see her until the following Tuesday:  By then Haddy would have been in labour for 10 days, still with no pain relief.

When Haddy eventually saw the doctor he said that a caesarean section was necessary.  She had her operation on the following Thursday when a large baby boy was delivered.

Tragically he died the following afternoon.  He was given to Haddy in a sheet and she was told to take him home and bury him.

On the day of discharge GLOVE got to hear about Haddy's plight. The little boy (unnamed) was buried and she was found somewhere to stay, ensuring blood transfusions and antibiotics were available until she was well enough to travel home.

These are just two stories that illustrate why it is so important to get a clinic in the village and to work towards achieving success by using the Millennium Development Goals as our as our objectives

 

EDUCATION

 

If a child is lucky enough to belong to a family that can afford to pay the school fees, the nearest schools are 2kms away.  In the searing heat of the day or during the heavy down pours of the summer months, that is a long walk but it is a walk those few lucky children are happy to make.  It costs from £75 to pay for a child to attend primary school for a whole year: this includes books, pencils and a uniform, exams are extra.

 

THE LONG TERM AIM

 

The long term aim of GLOVE is to see the Village of Sam MBOLLET self sufficient by providing the means to farm all the year through and to teach them new skills with a view to starting up cottage industries or co-operatives.

 

It is also hoped to:

 

• Provide the children with, at the very least, a basic education
• Provide a clinic & medical care
• Provide irrigation; sanitised water; compost plant;  some form of power
• Provide wash & lavatory facilities
• Provide Livestock for food & breeding
• Provide plants that are hardy and can produce fruit, eg trees 

This list will doubtless grow and with the help of volunteers and gap students the work that is so badly needed to see it through will be done. Any skills you may have will be greatly appreciated by GLOVE & the villagers of Sam MBOLLET.