Monday 31 August 2020

 GambiaGOES plods on


Slowly. Our ages total 165years and some days it shows! The pandemic has slowed things down, a lot. We continue to support a small school in a village, and an excellent clinic in Mandinari. We also offer help occaisionally to families, usually for education and health issues. This is really how we started out, all tjose years ago. The big difference is that then we were able to travel out two or three times a year, stay for up to three weeks, and lodge in one of the villages and join in village life. We have no regrets - true, there was always more to be done, more oeople to be helped. We didn't, sadly, have a magic wand.

Nowadays, age is against up, as are the fees demanded by the travel insurance companies, some of which now refuse cover at any price. So, in a way, that's a benefit. For the last two years we have directed the money we would have spent on fares, hotels, and insurance into GOES. Because we cannot travel we no longer seek contributions from outside our family because we can no longer say 'Your money was given to Mrs X for her operation, or to the infant school at Y for a new roof' because we didn't actually see the money handed over. 

If there is any risk it must be our risk, not yours.

Best wishes to all who have helped us, both here and there!