22 April 2011
Day 11: 21 April – Rounding off the trip
Today we spent a wonderful morning by the pool in a last ditch attempt to achieve a tan... before heading home tomorrow. Perfect weather, lovely sunshine and nice breeze. We then headed to the first of three compounds to see Kumba and her family. Although this is a very sad time for them as one of their family members has recently passed away, they seemed pleased to see us. Ebrima in particular was very pleased to tell us that he is enjoying his course and achieving excellent marks in technical drawing. He proudly showed us a car that he had made out of a model kit – beautifully done!
Next stop was Wandifa's compound where we received a very noisy and enthusiastic welcome! LOTS of very happy children, all eager to see what we had brought for them. Tina and I were delighted to meet Ebrima Ian, Wandifa's youngest son, for the first time. He was not so sure about us!! We gave out some presents, played football with the children, admired Wandifa's crop of pumpkins, and looked at the newly dug toilet pit. We were then treated to a delicious lunch cooked by Mariama, Wandifa's wife.
We had a lovely dinner with Linda before lots of sorting and packing! I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone back at home. Going to miss the smiling people and beautiful sunshine, but definitely NOT the mosquitoes! A huge thank you to Wandifa, Yanbuka and Abdoulie who have worked tirelessly on our behalf, and with such good humour. They are an amazing team and PAGEANT are very lucky to have them.
Finally, we called in at Abdoulie's compound where we were shown round the beautiful vegetable garden and introduced to his mother and other family members. We had a refreshing drink under the shade of an olive tree, while we chatted, before stocking up on peanuts on our way back to the hotel.
We had a lovely dinner with Linda before lots of sorting and packing! I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone back at home. Going to miss the smiling people and beautiful sunshine, but definitely NOT the mosquitoes! A huge thank you to Wandifa, Yanbuka and Abdoulie who have worked tirelessly on our behalf, and with such good humour. They are an amazing team and PAGEANT are very lucky to have them.
Until next time... x x x
