Sandele Eco-retreat Kartong

... roads!  Vehicles that depart shortly after arriving at the bus park!  One seat is (approximately) one backside!  Luxuries beyond our wildest imagination! (but give us Sierra Leone any time).  Until the next one,  G-L-O-R-I-A and her ...

... it's necessary to drink large quantities of a poison (that damages a person's ability to walk, talk and self-assess singing ability, not to mention the crippling next-day headache) in order to enjoy oneself is rather perplexing. Some of them have told me that this kind of drunkenness has put them going off to Toubab events altogether. So we were determined that this event was going to be a Proper Christmas Party. And it was ...

... a classroom without a teacher. (Hence why we were quickly signed up to fill spots). Those teachers who are there may not even be trained, and those who are might only be teaching to save up some money to pursue a more lucrative career (teachers' salaries are very low), and thus often won't be very committed to their job. What students do in these classrooms can be just as discouraging. The bulk of a student's day is spent sitting silently in their chair copying notes from a blackboard ...

... a classroom without a teacher. (Hence why we were quickly signed up to fill spots). Those teachers who are there may not even be trained, and those who are might only be teaching to save up some money to pursue a more lucrative career (teachers' salaries are very low), and thus often won't be very committed to their job. What students do in these classrooms can be just as discouraging. The bulk of a student's day is spent sitting silently in their chair copying notes from a blackboard ...

... cutting it off from the rest of Senegal. At the time of my visit, the government control the road network. Trucks filled with army personnel carting automatic weapons, jeeps with mounted cannons and rocket launchers were a regular sight. Turning a corner I would occasionally spot a dugout with soldiers sitting and waiting. Out of all the armed checkpoints I was simply waved through with a smile. Not once was I stopped ...

... clearly recognized under this arrangement. Colonial rule under the British brought indirect rule under the governor in Banjul. District commissioners were set up in different regions, and under them the chiefs who were already in existence were brought into the system. The British gave these chiefs the additional role of being arbitrators among their people. Though the British chose this form of government that used systems already in place because it was cost-effective, it was ...

... for ridiculousness. Sure, the thin, ripped sheets on the bed looked questionable, the mattresses were even worse, and the lack of soap in the bathroom worried us a bit about the standards of sanitation, but there was AC, and it was a good size. But Bryan's first encounter with the nurse made up for any lost ridiculousness and kept us laughing nervously for a while. She said almost nothing, thrust five pills in Bryans hands without telling him what they were, and burst his vein ...

... for students, many have entered the workforce and come back to education. They also have a much more definite, often lofty goals for what they will do with their education. Much more is riding on their education, and in a country with only one university, where almost half the students do not pass the exam at the end of secondary school that allows them entrance into higher education, if you are one of the people going to college, you take it seriously, or at least talk ...

In February 2007 a momentous event in world history occurred. Mr and Mrs Hart of Thornborough, England, set forth on the treacherous journey to deepest Africa. Their mission was twofold - to scout out and report back to curious residents of their village, and to check their absent first born child was eating her greens. State visits by roaming Royalty have seen less preparation. The "Harts Do Africa" schedule was planned down to the last minute and printed in ...

... have reached a stage where I feel I am beginning to make a genuine contribution. The only major hiccup was the sudden disappearance of my line manager soon after my arrival (he went to the UK to study) but it hasn't turned out to be such as hiccup after all. My office employs around 9 staff, plus receives occasional short-term interns from Sweden seeking practical social work experience. As is common ...