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