Category: Project 365

This is Sera. What with being a group of five quite tall people, we had specific requirements regarding the sort of taxi we could use, and day 1 was a disaster in that respect. Day 2 we asked the hotel taxi organiser to get us one with plenty of headroom, which he did. Sera, the driver, drove us all round the area for the next sx days, with patience, sound advice and – as far as I could tell – faultless driving. He claimed to have never been in an accident, and I’m inclined to believe him.

So if you’re ever in the area and in need of a driver, look him up. Get in touch with me and I’ll give you his phone number, or check with the taxi organiser at the African Village Hotel in Bakau.

Before we went to The Gambia I got in touch with a British charity called the Gambian Schools Trust, because I figured I’d bring some school supplies down and wanted to make sure they were put to good use. We met up with Hillary and Steve from the trust on Thursday to hand over the goods, and they offered to show us one of the schools. So on Sunday (the only day we could make it, unfortunately, it would have been interesting to visit when school was in, but that’s how it goes, also, I suppose, visits like that must be quite disruptive to teaching) they took us first to Nemasu and then decided to pop by Naata as well. Hillary had told me that at Naata they had a school kitchen so the kids could have a solid meal every day. I must admit this is not quite what I imagined when I heard the phrase “school kitchen” (mind you, in my own defense, I wasn’t picturing shining countertops and a fancy cooking island with a brushed steel hood, either). It does the job, though.