Vetericyn Veterinary Mission to The Gambia

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Matt Smith

A guest post from Pat and Laura who are currently engaged on an epic trip to The Gambia with some much needed supplies for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust. You can follow their travels and travails on YouTube and if you can spare any cash please do support them. It’s a brilliant cause and a brilliant charity!

In October this year two Suffolk-based vets, Pat Sells & Laura Heaps, plan to drive 4,000 miles to a veterinary clinic in The Gambia, West Africa (http://www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk/). Pat Sells (of Rossdales, Newmarket) has worked as a volunteer vet in Africa before, and Laura too has a keen interest in the welfare of working animals in the developing world.

The Gambia Horse & Donkey Trust is an independent charity that runs a busy clinic in Sambel Kunda, The Gambia. They carry out essential work, providing free veterinary care to a large population of horses, donkeys and mules that normally wouldn’t have any access to such help.

The trip will be made in a 4×4 which will be donated to the clinic, where it is sorely needed to get help to ill and injured horses and donkeys in the region. The vehicle will also double up as a human ambulance to get local casualties to the distant hospital. During the following months Pat & Laura will stay at the clinic to work as volunteers. Apart from the day-to-day treatment of animals, this will involve taking samples to investigate the myriad of infectious diseases that run riot through the local horse and donkey populations, leaving their owners unable to support their families.

‘The Gambia Experience’ travel company has pledged its support as one of the company sponsors, providing a very generous donation which will directly help in reducing the suffering of the animals (and people!) of the region. Every year horses and donkeys die needlessly from disease and neglect. The scale of the animal welfare problem is staggering. 95% of the world’s veterinary care focuses on just 5% of the world’s animals and livestock! There are over 100 million equines (horses, donkeys, mules) in the developing world, the vast majority without any access to veterinary care, and under the constant threat of fatal infectious diseases. It’s time we tried to balance this inequality and make a difference! With the help of sponsors such as The Gambia Experience, we will be able to do just that.”

There is a website for fundraising which shows the running total raised by the trip: http://www.justgiving.com/gambiaroadtrip. Any donation, no matter how small is greatly appreciated – this vehicle will make an immeasurable difference to the welfare of animals in the region. For any more details please contact Pat at patricksells21@hotmail.com.

Travel agents loose in The Gambia…

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Gill Sealey

I have just returned from a wonderful four days in The Gambia with eleven agents where we laughed, enjoyed the glorious sunshine and ate like kings!

The 5am pick up was a little bit early for my liking but as always I was excited about my trip to The Gambia. Besides, by the afternoon I knew I would be lying by the pool so I couldn’t really grumble. Having met the agents at check in we headed for the VIP no 1 lounge at Gatwick, which offers complimentary light breakfasts, drinks and newspapers and is available to our clients as part of the Airport Gold Package. A great way to start the trip.

In less than 6 hours we had landed in Banjul. Once we were through baggage reclaim and had received our complimentary bottle of water and fan, we were well equipped to deal with the heat that hit us as we stepped off the plane! Our driver Baba welcomed us with his big infectious smile and took us to the Sheraton Hotel, our home for the next 3 nights. The afternoon and evening was spent in the hotel relaxing around the pool, enjoying the evening buffet and making the most of the all-inclusive drinks!

Omakan Hotel

Our first hotel trip was the following day to Omakan Hotel, an intimate oasis in the heart of a village. I’ve stayed here before so was able to tell the agents about the wonderful staff and how beautiful it looks at night when the pool, restaurant and surrounding area is lit with 100 tea lights. Such a beautiful little hotel, perfect for those wishing to immerse themselves in the culture and atmosphere.

Next stop was Ngala Lodge. We were greeted by Peter, the owner, who has a love of eccentric art which is reflected throughout the rooms and grounds of the hotel. No two rooms are the same, some even with private Jacuzzis. My personal favourite being the Rolling Stones room!

Coco Ocean took everyone’s breath away. It was white, clean and luxurious with the biggest spa I’ve ever seen! We were all very impressed with the standard of this hotel and the location is perfect, right on the beach. By the end of our visit, we were all dying to be pampered in the spa!

The final hotel visit was the Kairaba Hotel, a 5 grade hotel in the centre of Kololi and very popular with our clients because of its location on the beach and on the ‘strip’ where all the restaurants and bars are.

We spent the rest of the day back at the Sheraton relaxing around the pool before our night out in Kololi. Jojos was our restaurant of choice and as we pulled up outside, the place was illuminated with fairy lights which looked beautiful in the dark. The food was exquisite, lots of fresh fish on the menu which I have to say, is some of the best I’ve ever had. To finish off the night I thought it only fair that I showed the agents one of the places that you can go for a dance so I took them across the road to a bar/nightclub called Aquarius. Admittedly we were the only ones in there but it was low season and it doesn’t really get going until midnight. (In the height of the season you can expect to see more tourists in there). It was probably a good thing that we were the only ones as the dance moves some of us were pulling out of the bag were not the best for public viewing. Still, we had a great night.

Roughing it on the catamaran!

The next day we boarded a catamaran and took a leisurely two hour boat ride down the River Gambia and over to Sitanunku Lodge. The breeze on the boat was like a breath of fresh air compared to the heat on dry land. We enjoyed tea and pastries onboard before arriving at Sitanunku. Having been here before, I am familiar with the breeze that you normally get here, yet when the agents and I visited the temperature was 42 degrees and there was no sign of that breeze. But don’t be put off, this is not usual, it’s only because it’s the end of the rainy season! Give it another couple of weeks and it will be back to more manageable temperatures with a lovely cooling breeze.

Sitanunku is situated on what looks like an island but is in fact a peninsula. There are 5 lodges all with sea views and another 5 being built at present. It’s very remote which makes for a very peaceful and relaxing setting and the boat transfer (usually by speed boat) creates an air of adventure. We had a fabulous lunch here (fresh fish again) and spent a lot of time in the pool soaking up the surroundings whilst trying to stay cool. It’s funny how doing very little can be such hard work. We were all exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel but as cocktails and dinner had been planned in the a la carte restaurant, we didn’t have much time to think about it. The cocktails flowed and the food just kept coming. It was a fantastic evening and the food was exquisite. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t fit it all in, though we gave it a damn good try!

Back to school in The Gambia

Our final day in The Gambia and despite a black cloud looming, we managed to escape the rain. I took the agents to a local school to meet the children and take some gifts. I’ve visited several schools in The Gambia and I always find it quite emotional seeing all the children and how different things are for them in The Gambia compared to the UK. Though one thing is for sure, they look so happy which in many ways makes me even more emotional!<

After a quick stop at a craft market and some serious haggling it was time to go back to the hotel to pack and head off to the airport. Our trip was only 3 nights yet it felt like we were away for a lot longer. Perhaps that had something to do with the GMT, ‘Gambia Maybe Time’ and my body had adjusted to the laid back Gambian pace of life?

Nyodema fundraiser for The Gambia

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

Saturday 19th November 2011
Aldwick Baptist Church
Gossamer Lane, Aldwick, Bognor Regis PO21 3DD
from 7pm
FREE entry but you will be asked to make a donation and your seat must be booked in advance on 07974 472137

I will be singing and drumming with the Nyodema World Community Choir and the Nyodema West African Drummers so if you are in the area please do come along and support us. All proceeds will go towards Nyodema’s health and education projects in The Gambia. Visit Nyodema’s website for more details.

The Nyodema West African Drummers

Photograph copyright The Bognor Regis Observer

Gambian kora player Sura Susso in Hove tonight!

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

Just found out that African Night Fever will be hosting Gambian kora player Sura Susso and his manding trio band.
DATE Friday 28th October
VENUE The View, Kings Way, Hove
DOORS 9pm

As with most kora players Sura, (Surahata), was born into a family of Gambian ‘griots’, the cultural figures in society across West Africa who carry the knowledge and identity of the region’s people. This hereditary legacy stretches back hundreds of years, and traditionally the knowledge and history surrounding the kora are passed on from father to son. Griots are orators, lyricists and musicians who are also respected as a source of advice and spiritual guidance.

Sura started his lifelong study of the African harp, called the kora, and a range of other percussion instruments at the age of four. The family household was constantly filled with music.

Sura came to the UK at the age of seventeen and began to tour with his brother’s band The Seckou Keita Quintet. His thanks and gratitude are expressed on one particular track of his debut album, ‘Jalikunda’.

Project Gambia

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

Back in December 2010, Gambia Experience clients, Eleanor and her husband visited a local nursery school in Brufut and being shocked by the primitive conditions they decided to help.

Eleanor explained ”I realised that the couple of bags of coloured pens and pencils I had brought with me would not go far amongst 120 children, especially as they had no proper desks to work at nor paper to work on.

I asked the headmaster (Lamin) what would be his priority if he could have something done to help his school. He said the floor of the classrooms needed concreting as the dust was getting into the children’s lungs and causing them to cough. We found that it would cost £80 to concrete all three classrooms; some phone calls were made and the workmen started the next day! PROJECT GAMBIA had begun!”

Above from left to right: The Taxi Driver, one of the village elders (who is on the local council and the equivalent of a school governor), Lamin (the school headmaster), Bamba (his friend who introduced us to Lamin), Ismaila (local villager), Andrew Buchan (my husband) and another local who offered to help with painting.

Since their initial visit, Eleanor and her husband have raised the funds to:

paint the walls of the classrooms
renovate the toilets
build new benches and tables for all 120 pupils
build desks and chairs for the staff

Eleanor and her family and many of the pupils at Burgoyne Middle School where she teaches have kindly donated much needed teaching equipment including:

Over 1000 pencil crayons
Felt tip pens
An Oxford Reading Scheme
Pop-up books
42 laminated posters of the alphabet, times table, time etc….
Basic Maths and English teaching books
A large variety of children’s fact and fiction books
6 footballs
Basic atlases
2 space hoppers
A type writer

“Over the Easter holidays in April 2011 we returned to The Gambia and were delighted to see the progress the school was making. The Headmaster and the friends we had started to make were absolutely delighted with our efforts. We were invited to a local ‘naming ceremony’ which is the equivalent of a Christening to us. In the morning a poor old goat gets slaughtered and the whole village celebrate the birth of the child by eating, drinking, singing and dancing-not so different to our own culture in many ways. We were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the Gambian people and found them to have a very similar sense of humour to us Brits!”

Whilst they were there they also completed the following projects:

Rendering and painting the perimeter wall of the compound.
Painting the school gate and flag pole. (The Gambian people want a Union Jack flag to put up next to their Gambian flag)
Supplying play equipment in the form of 3 sets of swings.

Eleanor has talked to many of the pupils in her school about The Gambia and the school in Brufut. “All pupils showed a real interest in the subject and I believe there are great learning opportunities for Burgoyne. Many pupils in Year 7 have written letters to pupils at the nursery school. We spent time considering the nature of our audience, what sort of information to include and what questions would be polite to ask. I found that even pupils who usually do not like writing, responded well to this task. I would like to thank all supporters of ‘PROJECT GAMBIA’, especially the Year 7 and 8 pupils of Burgoyne Middle School, for their continued support and generous donations of books and other learning materials. Many parents have been extremely generous in their donations and I wish to thank them and assure them that all materials have been very gratefully received.”

Project Gambia have also just launched a website for the school which they are still developing but please do visit it if you would like to find out more about the project. I must add that I think they have achieved an amazing amount in less than a year. Congratulations to Eleanor and all Project Gambia supporters!