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Day
1
I
was due to start work at 10 am and wanted to be on time. When it got
to 9.55 I was rushing because I might be late. My mum was with me on
this trip and told me not to worry because Kabs won't even be there yet,
remember … GMT (Gambia Maybe Time). I didn't listen as I live by my
watch! Sure enough, I arrived at GTS to be one of the only ones there
apart from the restaurant staff. The GTS staff told me not to look at
my watch as no Gambian will be on time! About half an hour later, Kabs
casually arrived.
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In the GTS office |
I
went with Kabs to Bakoteh Nursery School to check the progress of the
new block of toilets. While the building work was being sorted out I
had the opportunity to sit in with the classes to join in with the children.
I was asked to go back to the school for a whole day and teach the children,
which I agreed to. I thought it would be a new experience for me, but
wondered how I was going to make the children listen to me, as they
were so excited to have a visitor to the school!
After
visiting the school, we then went to check the progress of building
the windows, which would soon be fitted in the new library at Bakoteh
Community School. We then drove to Dumbarton Nursery School at London
Corner, Serrekunda to arrange the end of year meetings for the teachers.
While we were there, I again joined in with the children's lessons.
This was followed by us going to Bakoteh Community School where we could
check on the development of the new library.
In
the evening I was in the office with Kabs typing up some reports. Here
I got to know some of the other GTS members of staff at the restaurant.
Day
2
Still
wearing my watch, I was due at GTS to be working in the office with
Jerreh. Again, arriving on time I waited for him to arrive. Everybody
kept telling me 'remember, Gambia Maybe Time' but I could not get my
head around it that easily!
I
eventually met Jerreh and spent this day in the office typing information
about children who are sponsored, children who need sponsoring, information
about different villages and updating family details for the website.
This
day helped with my understanding of the Gambia and helped my colleague
with his writing skills as we were working together.
Day
3
In
the morning I was with Gambia Experience shadowing one of the representatives
for the welcome meeting for the new tourists, which actually started
on time! I was glad I could do this type of work early on in the placement
as I learnt a lot about Gambian tribes, languages, places to go, bumsters
etc.
In
the afternoon I was back at GTS in the office with Jerreh doing the
same as yesterday. We also did the accounts on MS Excel, which caused
some laughs as we both got stressed trying to making them balance!
Day
4
I
spent my fourth day of my placement in the office with Jerreh doing
the day-to-day tasks regarding the organisation, I also found someone
to sponsor. We continued with the updating of the sponsorship details,
as this is an ongoing task. We also wrote up a contract for those involved
in the development of the sports centre at Youna which involved what
the sports centre would be used for, who would be using it and when,
who was in charge, who would be coaching etc. It was great to be involved
with the day-to-day tasks and seeing projects slowly coming together.
Day
5
I
went back at Bakoteh Nursery School to do some teaching. I taught the
children numbers, days of the week and the months of the year, which
was a massive task as they were far too excited to learn! We ended the
day by singing as the children were tired and started to fall asleep
in class, I think I tried to make them learn too much.
In
the afternoon I went to Youna with Kabs to see how the sports centre
was developing. I felt involved, as I had written the contract for it
when it is completed and I already knew most of the details about it.
I had a digital camera with me so it was my job to take photos which
I would send over to the UK office for the website.
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Building the sports hall
at Youna
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Day
6
This
was another interesting day for me as I went into Glory Baptist School
with 'Snakeman' and a python to educate the children about snakes and
how they are endangered and why not to kill them. They are also taught
how to deal with snakebites, not to provoke them and be aware of them.
I had to hide the fact that I had never held a snake that big and was
slightly nervous myself! It was funny to take the snake back to GTS
and see the look on some of the staff faces when they saw the snake!
By this time I had warmed to 'Pete' the Python.
Day
7
On
day 7 I spent most of the day in the office with Jerreh typing profiles
for new sponsor children. This was something I spent a lot of time doing
over the two weeks and I enjoyed doing it, especially as I met some
of the people I had been writing about.
Day
8
I
went back to Youna with Kabs and Yanks as the roof was almost completed;
again I was needed to take photos and to see that the building was being
done to a good standard.
In
the afternoon, it was quiet at the GTS restaurant so I was able to meet
the boy I sponsored at GTS, and then to go with my mum and Jerreh to
meet the girl we sponsored at, Bakoteh Annex School.
Day
9
I
was with Gambia Experience doing the airport run on day 9. I was shadowing
the same representative on the bus as I had during the welcome meeting.
Day
10
I
spent what I thought was not going to be my last day in the office again
with Jerreh, updating student information. We did not have all of the
details so we drove to the Paper Mill, where I met May Rooney and her
husband. It was brilliant to see the work they do and the roles they
take with GTS. They made sure they gave us all information we needed
for the website and we spent the afternoon typing the information up.
This
turned out to be my last full day of work as Gambia won the African
Football league and the president declared it a national holiday! By
this time, I realised that you cannot predict anything when it comes
to the Gambian culture, and I was not shocked by the national holiday.
I accepted that something like this could only be typical of the Gambia.
It was also typical that just as I got used to 'GMT' it is time to go
home.
By
the end of my placement I had shockingly stopped wearing my watch, arriving
back in England to have to readjust to the hectic schedule. I thoroughly
enjoyed my time at GTS and I hope to go back and help next time I visit
the Gambia. This organisation does so much and has such a huge impact
on the Gambian society and I was pleased to be a part of this for those
two weeks.
Social
life in Gambia
For
anybody looking to do a work placement in Gambia or just thinking about
taking a holiday there, do not be put off making the most of your evenings.
When I wasn't at GTS working, I was either at the beach or in a bar
somewhere. There was never a time where I felt uncomfortable, especially
on the Senegambia strip. A group of us went to a club, 'Jokors' where
I met up with GTS staff and had a brilliant night. It is completely
different from life in England, in comparison to an English club, you
don't look around and see beer bottles; almost everybody was drinking
soft drinks and there was no trouble whatsoever. Below is a photo of
some GTS staff, who we saw at the club. Serif was also there and we
went along with Aida one night. I made a lot of friends both in and
out of work, which made my experience all the more enjoyable.
Jennie
Waddington
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