Girls just want to have fun

We made a fun little video during the week which was a great laugh!

You can watch it via this link:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/cheshireforest/13976584121/in/set-72157644182248342/ 

Our fancy Gambian trousers!

We mentioned the other day that we'd bought some material to have some trousers tailor made. Actually some of us also had tops and skirts made too.

They are all lovely and bright & colourful, we love them!

Sophie, Jemma, Alyson, Katie T, Chris, Katie H, Catherine

Sue, Jemma, Chris 

The Gunjur Lodge

The Gunjur lodge is run by a family of 4 who are originally from Chester. Jo and her husband Butch, their daughter Jenny and her husband Brendan. They have a Gambian man called Alagi as a business partner.

They have been at The Gunjur Project for 8 years now and have built strong relationships with the local community. They have a very ethical approach to their charity work and this is refreshing to see.

The staff team of 18 people are fantastic and cannot do enough for their guests. They are friendly, always smiling and always happy to help.

The compound is very secure and there are security staff on the gate all night so everyone can feel completely safe.

The food is lovely - several different choices each night and it's always freshly cooked and served hot. Compliments to the chef!

We would recommend the Gunjur Project lodge to anyone who wants to go and experience the real Gambia.

Lots more photos

Everyone took lots and lots of photos in The Gambia - have a look at some of them on this album:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheshireforest/sets/72157644182248342/

Women's Garden

There are around 70 women who are part of a group running a community garden.

This afternoon they invited us to help them plant some pepper seedlings and water them.

It's their tradition to return home after working in the garden by singing and dancing all down the path. This is quite something to be part of and the whole group loved it!

Painting at the medical post

Today we have been painting at the medical post. We chose to paint a mural about hand washing.

Brikama Market, African drumming & Dancing

We started today with a walk down to the beach to watch the sunrise. There were lots of fisherman bringing in their morning catch.

This morning we visited the craft market which was filled with wood carvings, jewellery and drums. Everyone bought something to take home!

We also visted a shop selling colourful African fabric (watch this space!).

This afternoon we took part in a dancing and drumming workshop. A fabulous day!

Guide Uniform

We had our final day with the 100 scouts & guides today. They really appreciated all the workshops we did for them. They did a big parade for us with their band marching & playing.

We gave the scout & guide leaders lots of resources from Girlguiding and WAGGGS. They had no resources at all before.

The local guides didn't have any uniform so we paid to have 50 made and they were ready just in time for us to be able to present to them. It was so lovely to see how much they appreciated them, in stark contrast to guides in the UK who all too often don't want to wear uniform as it's 'not cool'. 

The scouts & guides had made each of us a necklace as a thank you gift which  we will all treasure.

Campfire

Last night we had a campfire with the Gunjur Guides and Scouts. There was lots of singing and dancing!

Gunjur Scouts & Guides

Today we have been running sessions with the local guides and scouts on a range of topics including compass skills, backwoods cooking, climate change, water hygiene and sanitation, advocacy and the rights of the child.

We were welcomed with the scouts' marching band!

Tonight we are having a big campfire.

Gunjur Village

This afternoon we were shown around Gunjur village. We saw the main well where the villagers collect their water. Then we visited a blacksmith who showed us how he makes silver jewellery.

We went to visit a compound which is typical of how Gambian people live. Lots of people live in the same building - several generations of the same family. It was really interesting to see.

All along the visit to Gunjur we were surrounded by groups of very cute young children who seemed fascinated by us. They clung onto our hands and loved having their photos taken. 

Environmental Walk

This morning we went on an environmental walk, where we learnt about the project to protect a local nature reserve. A group of mainly volunteers, supported by the Gunjur Project, have been successful in re- establishing many species of Gambian animals and plants.

We saw lots of different birds, learnt about a variety of trees, sampled some strange fruit and saw 3 crocodiles on the far side of the lake.

We also learnt the natural way to clean your teeth, by chewing on a special stock - as demonstrated on the photo by Emma & Beth!

Exploring the local area

This afternoon a group of local teenagers took us for a walk around the local village. It was so interesting - we went through the village and saw people's houses and saw some ladies making soap.

Then we went down to the beach where there are hundreds of fishing boats and racks of fish drying as far as the eye can see. 

The area is clearly very poor and it was humbling to see how people live and how hard they work.

Science & Maths Club

We had a great morning at the science & maths club. We ran 2 peer education sessions - 1 on climate change and 1 on water sanitation and hygiene. We had around 24 young people in each session.

The young people loved it and especially loved playing splat and dancing the hokey cokey!

Spreading the word

Some of our team members went to PZ Cussons in Manchester today (Cussons kindly donated soap and anti bac gel for the trip). We did a display about our trip and publicised Girlguiding to their employees.


Jemma made a fab cake and it won a competition - it looks great!!

Attention to detail - Rainbow red, Brownie yellow, Guide blue!

Yum!!

And we're here!!

We have arrived!! It was a long day but all worth it now we've settled in and had a lovely meal.

What will we be doing during our week in the Gambia?

#1 We'll be running Peer Education Sessions with local teenagers covering the following topics

• Advocacy
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Water Sanitation & Hygiene
• Climate Change

#2 We'll be running activities for up to 100 Gambian Guides and Scouts

• Orienteering
• Backwoods Cooking
• Games

#3 Painting a local nursery with a themed wall

#4 Building a toilet block at a local medical post

4 days to go!

There are only 4 days to go now and everyone is super excited! Bags are starting to be packed, last minute bits being bought. We've even chosen our evening meal for the first night!

The weather forecast is good and we just want to go now!

Sun, sun and more sun!

Sophie is all packed!