Greetings from The Gambia!

It’s been a long time since my last blog post – how did that happen? I’ve been in Africa for over six months and already it’s starting to seem like two years is a rather short time. These past two months have been filled with a lot of Peace Corps trainings and programs that took me away from my village. It’s great to be eating more normally and hanging out with other Americans, but it also causes my language skills to decay and leaves me feeling a bit disconnected with my purpose here. I’m heading back to village later today, just before the start of Ramadan which begins the evening of June 5^th. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about that later. And I also expect to have more to say about my water projects soon as well. Both grants (one to bring water taps into the village and one to improve the water supply for the women’s garden) are well along in the administrative process. I’m thinking we’ll be in the construction phase in June, inshallah. If you are interested in reading more about them and/or contributing to the projects you can find them online here: www.peacecorps.gov/donate  Search by my last name (tarnow).

Me with four students and their teacher from the high school near my village. Yassin, Abou, Mousa, Yusupha and Fanna.

I spent last week in Kombo, the urban area near Banjul, with 20 high school students from five different up-country villages, visiting local colleges and universities and hearing talks on topics like family planning, career development, gender equity and scholarship programs. We also heard from a young man about his experience with The Back Way – i.e., travelling illegally overland to the Mediterranean coast with the hope of getting to Europe and “a better life.” He was gone for over a year and had a sad and horrible tale to tell about his experiences. Prison, beatings, extortion, etc. Many people do not return. Some make it to Europe and others do not survive the journey. For many, the motivation to go The Back Way stems from a sense that there are no opportunities for a better life here in The Gambia. The weeklong program in Kombo is designed to counteract that thinking. We’ll be working with the students to bring the message and information back to their fellow students and their parents.

Cashew apple with nut

Spring is cashew season in this region. Have you ever seen a cashew fruit? The cashew nut grows on the outside of the fruit, aka cashew apple. The fruit and nut are ready to harvest when they fall to the ground. Farmers comb the orchards every day to collect the fruits before goats or cows get to them. I really enjoy cashew apples! They are super juicy and fairly tart. There isn’t a market for the fruit and they don’t keep well so they are consumed by the families and/or fed to livestock. The nut is covered by a hard shell that must be carefully burned off because it contains toxic oils/fumes. The farmers sell the nuts to food processors who take care of that step.

The Peace Corps journey is an ever-unfolding story of new experiences. If you are receptive to it, it gives you a chance to feel that childlike sense of wonder all over again. Can you remember the last time you were thrilled to see what the change of seasons would bring, how it would change the environment around you? That's how I feel about rainy season. It starts late June/early July and I'm told it transforms the landscape. I can't wait to see what happens!