Travel reports

My trip to The Gambia with Jörg W. was something special.

I'm glad I got to see it on site.

Here I am again, in a country that feels like home and yet is changing a lot.

Here I am. In Gambia, without a plan, but with a lot of time because we are waiting for our container.

Our spontaneous holiday alphabet

After a long time back and forth, we decided to go on vacation to Gambia. The idea of spending 10 days in a hotel complex made us think and we decided to find out something about the country and its people.

We wanted to deliver our medical material to the village of Sutukoba, over 400 km away. The people there live in a remote and minimalist way. There is no electricity there, only unpaved roads that become raging rivers in rainy seasons and areas of land are cut off. The water has to be drawn by hand from the few wells. Basic medical care is not guaranteed.

Yesterday I wrote that it hasn't rained for 2 weeks and now all the streets are flooded within a short time. It is incomprehensible to me that so much rain can fall from the sky at once.

Traveling to The Gambia was an incredible experience for me. 
I now know what poverty means after traveling there.

I'm often asked why I don't relax and do something good for myself during my vacation. My answer to that is very simple: There is nothing more relaxing than a good gut feeling  and nothing is like that
good as doing the right thing.

When I arrived in Gambia I had a bit of a culture shock. I was aware of what everything would look like there, but when you see it in front of you, it's completely different.

I was in Gambia for the first time and accompanied my wife, who is a member of the club and always talked so much about the projects.

Unfortunately, two weeks of the Gambia project trip are now over and we are preparing to say goodbye with tears in our eyes. Being with the people, being able to walk part of the way with them and their culture, enriched our lives a lot.

I showed my children the life of Gambia and visited the projects hand in hand.

Yes, I enjoyed the Gambian sun. I lay under palm trees and drank cool water. Today I see the sun with different eyes and drink water knowing how precious it is.

It doesn't take long to feel at home here again.

There were elections in Gambia at the beginning of the year and everyone was curious to see what the mood was among the people and whether there were noticeable changes. Since the new President Adama Barrow came into government, people are full of hope that there will now be change and that living conditions will change positively. We would really like it for them.

Our manager from Gambia, Pa Malang Saidy, also known as Grandpa, is visiting Germany!