Significant exploration in Gambia
Because you can achieve more together – this was the motto of my trip to Gambia in May. I work voluntarily for the NGO “Technik ohne Grenzen”, an association that aims to improve living conditions in developing countries through technical solutions. We implement projects worldwide in the fields of water, energy, waste management and technical education. It was against this background that the idea of cooperation between Technik ohne Grenzen, Socialis for The Gambia and the Rotary Club Amberg was born to improve the living conditions of the people in The Gambia. I spent two weeks in Gambia, from 18 May to 02 June. I was accompanied by Verena from Rottenburg and Nash from Kumasi, Ghana, who complemented mine with their technical expertise. This time we spent half in Sintet and half in Brufut to visit the school and the Skill Centers with regard to water and energy supply, sanitary facilities and handling garbage. During the first week in Sintet it turned out very quickly that the water supply at the Skill Center, but also in the whole town, is seen as a big problem. During our stay we examined and categorized the different water sources of the district Fulakunda and had water samples from the different boreholes analysed in the water laboratory. In Sintet we also visited the school, the hospital and the kindergarten, the women of the village showed us their community garden. At the Skill Center in Sintet we were welcomed by teachers and students. We were there on several days and discussed with the agricultural teacher Lamin S. Jammeh and the coordinator Samba Sowe the irrigation situation of the fields of the agricultural school as well as the need for better sanitary facilities. On the subject of sustainable toilet systems, we also gave a lecture to the agricultural class. The toilets available there are in poor condition. With regard to the irrigation of the fields, the new, deeper borehole is active and thus enables the agricultural class to cultivate the fields. However, the irrigation system is not yet sufficient to allow irrigation of the entire area under cultivation. I was thrilled to see with what interest and commitment the teachers there were pursuing their work despite these difficulties. The second week in Brufut was different. Brufut is much more urban and touristic. We visited the school and the Skill Center there. During our visit to