My Permanent Site

Today we all found out where our permanent site will be. We will visit the site for a couple days in mid Nov and make the permanent move in mid Dec. My village is in the North Bank about 30K east of Barra, which is a seven mile ferry ride across the river from Banjul. [We’re not supposed to provide more specifics on the name/location of the village.] There are about 300 people in the village, living in 25 extended family compounds. Actually, I’m told the entire village is an extended family! I’ll be replacing a PCV who is finishing up their service next month. They have ongoing projects including a community garden and a poultry co-op, and have also expressed interests in tree nurseries and beekeeping. But no telling what I’ll be helping them with until I get there and talk with them. There isn’t electricity in the village and the nearest Internet cafe and bank are 30k away. I’m only a few K away from a weekly market, and have two small shops in my village. There should be decent cell service, hopefully LTE given my proximity to urban centers. It’s nice to have a little more info to work with. More to come!

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