Monday, Feb 18, 2002 Kate got us VIP tickets to the 37th anniversary of the Gambia's Independence from Great Britain. We were sitting in the main section of the National Stadium, on individual chairs, under a sun shade (after 10 pm, when the sun was high enough in the sky to be blocked. We got there about 9:30 AM, and left about 2 pm. For Gambia, it started remarkably on time - only about 30 minutes late. For most of those there, however, this was a long time to be in the sun, and many fainted and had to be carried off by the Red Cross To read what the Observer had to say, click here. The President of Senegal visited and participated, along with the President of the Gambia. In the photos below, President Jammeh of the Gambia is in white, and the Senegalese President is dressed in blue. First there was a parade of arriving dignitaries, including the female vice president, all in humongous SUVs. Then the 2 presidents arrived in their motor-cade. Next there was a review of the military units of the Gambia - the army is only 1000 strong, so we saw representatives from the police force, immigration service, prison guards, and fire departments as well. They did several different marches around the stadium while various military bands played. They ended by firing a salute. The review concluded with the Gambia's one jet fighter flying by the stadium - definitely the crowd's favorite! Next representatives from about 70 local schools and voluntary societies marched by. Finally, President Jammeh delivered his annual speech on Independence day. See the Observer (above) for a synopsis (the accoustics were poor).We met the Army PR officer acting as MC during the first half of the event, so we now have a friend in the Gambian Army who's promised to show us around. You can also see how colorful the other VIPs dressed. Back to Main News Page Back to Our Homepage |
| Newsflash: Kate and Ben got engaged! (on Saturday March 2, 2002) Kate tells how it happened... |
| [Editorial note from Ben, the "webmaster": Sorry to have to announce our engagement in this fashion, but there are few other options from over here in the Gambia!). I asked Kate to marry me a few weeks ago when we went away for the weekend to a secluded beach camp, Ginack Island, and we had a wonderful weekend together. Luckily for me, she said yes! We decided to wait to announce our plans until we could tell Kate's parents in person, and they only arrived here in the Gambia last Tuesday evening - so now its official! Apologies about the delay in publishing to the web, but entertaining out of town guests has kept us on our toes, and work is heating up for both of us - poor excuses we know. We've only just begun considering when to get married (difficult from over here!), but one option under consideration is late in the fall of 2002. We'll see. Of course we'll keep you posted! ] |
| Enagement Story - by Kate Sorry I have not written sooner. In addition to having my parents and their friends in town, the African Development Bank, the primary donor of SDF (my employer), is here checking up on the way we have been spending their money for the last four years, so things have been quite hectic. As for the big news, I am so excited I can barely put it into words. It is hard being so far from home. I wish I could be there to tell you the story in person, but since that can not be, I have tried write down a bit about the big event. Here it goes... On Fridays, the workday in The Gambia ends at 12:30pm so the Muslims can get to the Mosque by 2pm to pray. Ben and I usually take advantage of the short day and try to meet up with other VSO volunteers at a beach bar called Labayto. That was the plan for Friday, March 1st, but when I called Ben to ask if he could pick up the beach towel I had accidentally left at home, he said he had a better idea then Labayto. He suggested I come home for lunch and we try out another beach. �Where is it?� I asked. �I�ll show you,� he said. �Is it a secret beach?� I probed. �Just come home, we can have lunch and go from there,� he said coyly. I did not think much about it because we had been talking about our desire to explore new places and Ben works with several other volunteers at Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) who knew lots of places to go. When I got home, we had a very pleasant lunch of egg salad sandwiches. I was babbling on about work when suddenly Ben said, �What if I told you we were going to spend the night at this beach?� and you have 20 mins to pack.� Hmmm, I thought, but did not waste any time. I quickly threw some things in an overnight bag and we were off. We walked down the road from our house to the campus of GTTI where Ben works. Shortly a Jeep pulled up and said, �Ben?� We got in and the driver took us through the city of Banjul to a busy commercial waterfront area. There were many fishermen arriving home with the day�s catch. Then suddenly another traditional long skinny Gambian fishing (sort of an oversized wooden canoe) boat appeared, only this one had an outboard motor. The 45-minute ride took us up the Atlantic coast of The Gambia to the northern most point almost to the boarder of Senegal. I still had no idea where we were going until the boat stopped on a beautiful deserted beach. I was almost expecting a small man named Tatoo to run out and say �De boat, De boat�� followed by other events reminiscent of �Fantasy Island.� The reality was not that different from the old TV show. Our host, Fode, a tall well-spoken Egyptian/Gambian man, came out and said, �Welcome to Paradise Island!� We had arrived at Ginak Island (which the tourists refer to as Paradise Island). There is one �tourist camp� called Madiyana Lodge in the middle of the island�s Numi National Park. The island does not receive many visitors since it is so difficult to reach by land. In addition to the long beautiful beach, there is excellent bird watching due to the wide variety of habitats including lagoons, mud flats, salt marshes and grasslands. We walked the beach, talked to some local Gambian and Senegalese people harvesting a mysterious type of shellfish, watched the birds, swam, read and relaxed. The food was excellent. Apparently the cook at the Madiyana Lodge was the first cook in The Gambia trained in Western style cooking. It was a great day. At dinner, Ben said, �This is so great, why don�t we stay a second night.� I agreed. The next day, while walking on the beach, Ben asked me to marry him. I can�t even remember what he said or what I said. I just know that I was very excited! |