Monday, December 17, 2007
Gambia photos
It was an amazing trip, a real eye-opener, but also very hard work. I'm not sure why anyone would visit the Gambia for a holiday - the poverty is extreme and very visible, but I guess most people there don't leave the resorts so they won't see it.
I made some good friends, who will hopefully keep in touch - everyone there is very keen to make foreign friends, partly because there are many stories of foreigners supporting Gambians, inviting them to their countries, and marrying them. I met at least a dozen 50-something women who had younger Gambian husbands - it takes all sorts!
Hopefully my photos will help bring in donations from Rug Aid supporters around the world; if you want to donate you can do it through the Rug Aid website.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
32 And Sunny
Mat: I'm in the Gambia for a week, taking photos for a friend's charity called Rug Aid. Heather who runs it has come out to teach blind Gambian kids to make rag rugs, so that they can play a useful role in their families, as most blind (and other disabled) children are shut away by their families and can never contribute. The poverty here is striking; the average wage is around 50p per day, and even school principals only earn around 40 pounds per month. Despite that Gambia is known as the Smiling Coast of Africa, and although we get hassled constantly as soon as we step out of the hotel, no-one is aggressive and we never feel threatened. I think it must be the weather - like me it's 32 and sunny!I was terribly homesick to begin with (I always am) but have now got over it thanks to Heather, her daughter Chrissie and their friend Hilary, who have been really nice to me - and Kat, who is tucking me into bed every night via text message :) The hotel here is very basic, and I'm not entirely sure why all these tourists chose it for a holiday! I brought out two dSLR cameras, hoping I could store one in the room safe - but of course there isn't one, and the hotel safes in reception are too small to fit a camera! So I'm carrying them both round with me all the time...
Tomorrow is my first day at the blind school (they don't go at weekends), run by GOVI - the Gambian Organisation for the Visually Impaired. I'll have four days at the school, and we're hoping to visit the market and the deaf school as well to get some more publicity photos. I'm really honoured that they chose me to come out, and I hope that my photos come out okay!