Bakau Lodge

... fun and games ensued as we overlanded all the way down through Koalack and Karang and eventually ended up in Barra, beside the ferry port to take us to Banjul. <br><br>Although Senegal hugs The Gambia and a lot of people regard the two countries as one and the same, seeing the scenes of rural life and the totally tropical terrain of this new country emphasised its unique ...

Gender divisions are strong in The Gambia. As a Muslim country, the Gambia combines both civil and Sharia law in a polygamous society where men can take up to 4 concurrent wives. Over recent years, there have been significant steps towards securing legal equality for Gambian women; for example, women can vote and there are women in high ranking positions within the government. In 2006 the National Assembly dropped exclusions to an international protocol they had signed, meaning ...

... of that proper grown-up stuff. God forbid. This is a mildly alarming reality and not one I'm ready to face just now. So to those of you that were asking "when are you coming back?", the answer is 'not just now'. Soon. It has nothing to do with how much I love and miss you guys back home, so please don't forget about me. I just have a few more sunsets to watch, and Wolof swear words to memorise and bumsters to wind up first...

... sustainable progress in child rights. But I have to acknowledge that this approval comes from my decidedly Western perspective, and that it is attracted to an idea that came from other Westerners and was then transplanted to the Gambia. On top of this, we also observed that it was Western volunteers (one from Canada, another from Britain) who were taking charge of the activities of the group, "training" the Gambian staff (often with a decidedly patronizing tone) who were not as ...

... sustainable progress in child rights. But I have to acknowledge that this approval comes from my decidedly Western perspective, and that it is attracted to an idea that came from other Westerners and was then transplanted to the Gambia. On top of this, we also observed that it was Western volunteers (one from Canada, another from Britain) who were taking charge of the activities of the group, "training" the Gambian staff (often with a decidedly patronizing tone) who were not as ...

... its location means the market is so much bigger than the town that hosts it. Cycled the limits of the town. Navigating the main street is tricky; no street lights, vehicles without lights, goats, people, children running into the road, holes and other obstacles, cyclists, donkeys and carts and trucks. The side at which you pass oncoming traffic is usually negotiated at the last minute.. Everything moves slowly, trailing a ...

... than themselves. In a country where the majority of people live in absolute poverty, I am in awe to see how committed people are to fulfilling this obligation. But it's not just about the diet. Ramadan is also about prayer, charity, self-reflection and spiritual cleansing. The devout are expected to refrain from listening to non-religious music, watching irreverent tv, losing their temper, engaging in gossip or sarcasm, or having impure ...

... tradition in Gambian society, is criticized by int**national organizations, I can't help but choke on a little bit of righteous indignation. Even beyond the issue of women which I feel on a more p**sonal level, I've been exposed to so many new challenges to even my most basic assumptions of what is right- on religion and politics and human rights and so many issues...even animal rights, for that matt**. I would hardly call myself an activist on all these issues, but I think a ...

... leave with admiration for what the organization is trying to accomplish. Incidentally, polite references to my "interesting music" featured in many of their comments. This is not the first time ex-colleagues have had made such comments, and I wonder if I will ever learn to become more thoughtful or at least develop some taste in this regard. My placement as a VSO has finished. But my time in The Gambia has not. I've recently been offered a job at ...

This article appeared in The Daily Observer (Gambian National Newspaper) on Thursday, 18 January 2007 -------- Jammeh starts curing HIV/AIDS patients today As the world's scientists and medical doctors continue to scout for an HIV/AIDS cure, which they have not been able to find for the past 20 years, The Gambian leader President Yahya Jammeh yesterday disclosed that he has the cure for the HIV/Aids pandemic as well as asthma. Today at State House, the Gambian leader ...