10 April 2012
Days 10 & 11 - Trip to Jarreng!
42 Police stops... 13 hours in the minibus... 1 flat tyre... 16 bottles of water... a LOT of bread... 64 mosquito nets... later, we are now back in Banjul after an excellent trip up country! We were up very early for the first leg of our journey to Jarreng, where we stayed at Tendaba Camp. The camp was extremely busy (note to self – do not go over Easter weekend again!!) so we survived off fizzy drinks and chip butties! However, Yankuba and Rachel still managed a bird watching boat trip where they saw lots of exotic birds, a monkey and a crocodile, and the rest of us played lots of cards and Mouse Trap which proved extremely popular!
The next day we were up at half past 5 (after very little sleep) to complete our journey to Jarreng. We made it in good time to Yankuba's grandmothers compound which proceeded to get busier as word spread! Whilst there we saw all the Jarreng sponsored children, gave out half of the mosquito nets and some clothing and baby blankets, and then were treated to a delicious breakfast. Next, we headed to Jarra to visit Wandifa's home compound. We again handed out another 32 mosquito nets and exercise books for all the primary school children. Tina, Frances and Page entertained the crowd with fabulous renditions of Old MacDonald, Way down in the Jungle, One Little Finger, and Alice the Camel! The children loved the songs and joined in with all the actions. One little girl even cried when we left as she wanted to come with us! We stopped off at Wandifa's sisters compound to visit his identical sister! Then it was off to pick up Mariama and EB (Wandifa's wife and son) from her home compound, where we were surprised with lunch! After loading the roof rack with firewood, we set off for Banjul and managed to make it in record time, arriving back at the hotel before 9pm. After a fight for the shower (won by Page!!) we had a small dinner before hitting the pillows! Ex-haus-ted!!!!!
Apologies for lack of photos. Will try and add them tomorrow as the internet is not playing ball! x x x
The next day we were up at half past 5 (after very little sleep) to complete our journey to Jarreng. We made it in good time to Yankuba's grandmothers compound which proceeded to get busier as word spread! Whilst there we saw all the Jarreng sponsored children, gave out half of the mosquito nets and some clothing and baby blankets, and then were treated to a delicious breakfast. Next, we headed to Jarra to visit Wandifa's home compound. We again handed out another 32 mosquito nets and exercise books for all the primary school children. Tina, Frances and Page entertained the crowd with fabulous renditions of Old MacDonald, Way down in the Jungle, One Little Finger, and Alice the Camel! The children loved the songs and joined in with all the actions. One little girl even cried when we left as she wanted to come with us! We stopped off at Wandifa's sisters compound to visit his identical sister! Then it was off to pick up Mariama and EB (Wandifa's wife and son) from her home compound, where we were surprised with lunch! After loading the roof rack with firewood, we set off for Banjul and managed to make it in record time, arriving back at the hotel before 9pm. After a fight for the shower (won by Page!!) we had a small dinner before hitting the pillows! Ex-haus-ted!!!!!
Apologies for lack of photos. Will try and add them tomorrow as the internet is not playing ball! x x x
