Fajara Hotel

... under Gambian law, FGM (female circumcision) is now banned, men and women have legal equality in marriage, and abortion is decriminalised. Other legal advances include prohibition of child marriage, improved access to land rights and the tightening up of violence laws. But a change in legality doesn't automatically translate into a change in practice. FGM for example is a ritual that an estimated 60-90% of Gambian women have experienced yet even now it is technically ...

I'll be the first to admit that this blog has been a bit untended lately, but it has not been for lack of activity. After up country and Chloraquine treatment my body needed a few days to recover, but I was quickly revived by a very strange realization that has been hovering over me ever since: I am actually leaving this place on December 16th. Time is winding down, and when I return to the familiar scenery of middle-class America, the sights and events and attitudes that have become ...

I'll be the first to admit that this blog has been a bit untended lately, but it has not been for lack of activity. After up country and Chloraquine treatment my body needed a few days to recover, but I was quickly revived by a very strange realization that has been hovering over me ever since: I am actually leaving this place on December 16th. Time is winding down, and when I return to the familiar scenery of middle-class America, the sights and events and attitudes that have become ...

... had the same idea as me. They were working for a none profit organisation to directly buy crafts abroad for sale in the UK. We shared a taxi to Serekunda, the transport hub of the Gambia where we parted company. I asked the people on the street for directions to the hotel and was pointed in the right direction. On nearing I was lead directly to the place. I chatted to the owner and he informed me that all rooms were taken. I ...

A recurring fear I had about coming to this country was that I would somehow screw up and find myself rotting in a West African jail. In a whole year of living here, I've thus far managed to evade incarceration, in fact I've managed to avoid going anywhere near the police. Until now. Last week my camera was stolen and my insurance company require a police report within 24 hours. Not overly hopeful on this point, being long accustomed to the speed at which things ...

... Being the culturally sensitive person I am, I completely forgot this last one when I came across an explicit shot of two Z-list celebrities in a magazine. Curious as to whether I was the only one who found such a graphic photo offensive, I turned to my Gambian friend for his opinion. After two weeks of enforced self-control, he clearly did not appreciate having naked pictures thrust into his face and he ran away from me. Very fast ...

... of challenge to my views has created a v**y deep-rooted sense of what is right or even normal. During one class I got into what was a little more passionate of a discussion with my Human Rights professor on the issue of the rights of a minority groups in a culture, especially religious minorities, than I would have liked. As much as I do want to stand up for what I believe in, I do not want to do so simply for that little boost of pride that comes with righteousness, and most ...

... international development NGO that will allow me to work on projects running across The Gambia and parts of Senegal and therefore will be here for another year. I have doubts and concerns about taking it up, same as I would do for any big decision, not least because it means I'll be away from home for that much longer and will no longer have the support network of VSO behind me. But it will be challenge and I always like them. So fingers crossed...

... start the treatment of HIV/Aids patients. His treatment of asthma patients will start on Saturday. Below, we reproduce the full text of the Gambian leader's statement on the cure of the two diseases, delivered at State House at a ceremony attended by the Vice-President, Secretaries of States and many dignitaries. "I call you to this meeting and maybe you will wonder why I called you including the two Ambassadors from Cuba and Taiwan. I called the two Ambassadors and ...

Paradise found! We arrived at Fajara beach at 10 o'clock at night, ten hours after we arrived at the other side of the Gambia River. Ten hours of African waiting time, made all the more galling by other tourists bribing and getting ahead of us, all the more galling with the realisation that our money to Mr Kebbe had not been passed onto him, thanks to dodgy Mr Umar of the impeccably clean teeth who had made the arrangements. To add to the ...