1st day on the Job

Today I started working officially with the NSGA ( Nova Scotia Gambia Association) Thats right some friendly Canadians made it all the way to Africa. I guess they were tired of the cold. Well they came to the right place there is no cold here. Well maybe the guy who cells ice on my corner. Anyway my suporvisor's name is Borris. A friendly man from Canada. I will try as hard as I can not to make any Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes while I'm here but I'm not making any promises. Plus he kinda looks like Bob Clarke the GM for the Flyers. So I wanna ask him how his hockey team is doing. Anyway I started my 1st day today. I was the second person to arrive at 8:30 this morning. The 1st person there was one of my fellow workers Modu. He has to come from far away to get to work so he leaves his house as early as possible to get to work on time which normally means he's the 1st one there. He was telling me he gets great joy from his job. He thinks as I do that it is very important to educate people. The two of us cannot talk with everyone who lives in The Gambia but if we talk to 25 people and they in turn talk to 25 more people about HIV/AIDS and Malaria . . . . . .well I think you get where I'm going. It's beautiful to see a man who is that devoted to helping his fellow country men that he travels long distances and works long hours just to educate people. I have a great deal of respect for him. Respect I can't even put into words. There is no justice for the poor so it is up to us the people with power to speak on their behalf. How can you put a price on someone's life. The answer is you cannot. Time can not be bought back either. If you miss an opportunity you may never see it again. That is why it's important to spend that extra minute with someone instead of running off to a meeting, class, sporting event, etc . and saying "sorry I don't have time." Sometimes that extra minute you spend with someone can make all the difference in the world to them!! Today I went to a small school in Youna to do a 3 hour workshop with 25 kids about Malaria. I answered all there questions and told them the facts about Malaria. I also demonstrated how to properly treat a bed net ( which I had some practice at this weekend). Working with people is what is most rewarding in life. PEOPLE are the most valuable thing in this world. All the money you make will never buy back your soul. CIAO

Phil

Morning call

First I would like to wish everyone a happy memorial day. Remember all those who serve in the armed forced in your prayers not just today but everyday. Pray for the families of those who have relatives in the armed forces. And prayer for those service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for there country. They should never be forgotten
Every morning I get up to the sound of the mosk next door making the morning call to prayer at five thirty. Yup I have plenty of time to take a shower in the morning. The mosk calls for prayer 5 times throughout the day. This reminds me to say my morning prayers as well. Only for a different religion. It is strange how even a Muslim call to prayer can remind me as a Catholic to pray. So I go to bed early since pretty much I wake up at five thirty every day. I wouldn't mind it so much if they guy could sing but he couldn't find a note if it were tied to his foot. But at least the humidity and the rains have not come yet. That is what I'm looking forward to least. The women here all dress up when they are out. They take great pride in their appearance. I find that Gambians are a proud people. They are proud of there history and culture and love to share that with you. If you are willing to listen. Tomorrow will be my first real day at work. I will be going into the field to a small town about 45 minutes from where I live. I believe the name is Una. I will be teaching kids in grade school about Malaria. How you contract Malaria, how you prevent Malaria and how you recognize if you have Malaria and what to do if it turns out you have it. I'm looking forward to finally getting out into the field and working with the Gambian people. I just pray that I don't melt. luv eveeryone Ciao

Phil

Taxi's and Kids

Sorry for the clerical errors in my last post. I'm new around here and didn't know they had spell check, D'OH!! Any way I meant to say that people here live on 50 US dollars a month. I was a little off but still imagine only having 50 bucks a month to spend on everything. You have to ask questions like, How many times this week can we afford to eat meat instead of rice? Tough stuff to think about. I love the kids here. Most of them come up to me and touch my skin. They are amazed at the color and how it feels the same. Well except for all the hair on my arms. Most Africans have no hair on there arms so I seem like a hairy animal. The kids would pet my hair the same way you would pet a dog. But I'm having great fun with the kids and I think they enjoy having me around. I took a taxi for the 1st time yesterday and let me tell you it was crazy!! This is how the system works: The taxi which is basically a mini-van pulls up and you yell at the van to see where it is going. If they say they are going to your stop you fight your way on the van. What I mean is there are about 20 people waiting to get on the van that already has 5 people on it. So you push and shove and throw your elbows out to get other people out of the way so you can get on the van. Otherwise you will stand there all day and no one will ever let you on. You gotta be aggressive and fight to get on the van. This is so unusal for people like us who are used to lines and order. Here it is a free for all. Everyone for themselves. You can't be timid or polite to get a taxi. YA GOTTA BE LIKE A NEW YORKER!! Peace and love to all, CIAO

First couple days in Africa

Coming to Africa is something I never thought about doing. But as I flew in over the Sahara dessert I realized it wasn't a dream. The dessert stretches as far as the eye can see from horizon to horizon. Landing in Banjul ( the capital city of The Gambia) was a thrill. I was greeted by many people trying to carry my bags. Driving from the airport to my house I saw extreme poverty. People who lived in houses the size of my garage. Only these houses were made of whatever the local people could find. It is unseasonably cool here right now. But of course I'm still drinking about 50 glasses of water to keep from drying out. As I have a tendency to perspire easily. This is not like being in PA during the winter when I have shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt on!!Thats my fav. time of year. I'm told it could reach 110 degrees with Humidity at 95%. Thank God for water!! I saw many houses that looked like they were only half built. I asked about this and discovered that people in The Gambia build houses as they get the money for them. So if the money runs out you end up with a half built house until you get more money to finish the job. Or in some cases you see houses that are half built and the people can not afford to build anymore. The people here live on roughly 50 Dollars a month. I have decided that I will try to live as simply as possible while I'm here and take this lifestyle back home. I too will try to spend only 50 dollars a month. Watching the people here you see that material possessions do not equal happiness. I'm still going through orientation so I'm not doing much work yet. Mostly I wander the streets and try to learn where everything is located. They have some great food here. My first night here I was treated to Steak and potatoes. The people on the streets call me "Toubob" ( White person) Yea I kinda stick out here. But that's ok the people here are loving and I'm having a wonderful time. CIAO

IS this thing on??

Hello is this thing on??? Testing 1,2,3, . . .. . . I goes it works!!!