Update on house fire.

We love to bring you good news about how you have helped H gain her degree or helped F qualify as a nurse or N repair his storm damaged house. Sadly, not all news can be good.

In our last post well told you about a house fire which injured two little girls. We told you that the family had to travel to a neighbouring country for treatment. We now have to tell you that both children died as a result of their injuries. We were trying to help their father as he endured the nightmare of bringing home, first one then the other of his children, by taxi, for burial in their village. Finally, he brought his wife home. She too had suffered severe burns but she survived.

Imagine having to haggle the fare home with the body of your child in your arms. Twice.

We cannot do anything, other than count our blessings and our immense good fortune that we, here in England, will never experience this situation. We count our blessings, and thank all of you who have, by your kind donations, slightly eased the burden of the parents. We have their permission to tell you this story.

The picture we show you today is that of a Gambian five dalasi note. It's worth about ten pence. It's the standard fare in a communal taxi for a short journey. A single journey home from the hospital in Dakar cost three thousand dalasi. That was after the price had been haggled down from three thousand five hundred. GOES sent the money. The family - now reduced to husband and wife, send their thanks and are trying to rebuild their lives and home.

Why the title G.O.E.S?

Gambia Occasional Emergency Support - what sort of 'emergency support'?
Let's suppose that your wife has lit a candle to see how your babies - aged 3 years and 18 months - are doing. There's no electricity, and the torch needs new batteries. A gust of wind blows the door curtain across the candle. It bursts into flames and the flames spread to the bedding on which the babies are sleeping. Her hands are very badly burned as she struggles to rescue the children. Sadly, the children are badly injured. Somehow you get them all to hospital. Immediate assistance is given but the children require operations which are just not available in the country. If they travel to the capital of the next country (Dakar in Senegal) the required operation is available. The Gambian government will fund the medical care but it's up to you to provide the cost of transport. You have very little savings; what can you do? Fortunately you've heard of G.O.E.S. and you risk a 'phone call. The money for your travel and subsistence is in your hands the next morning.

Thanks to people you've never met - things that were impossible become possible.

Our bags are packed (nearly!), we're ready to go!

Well, the flight is booked, the hotel knows we're coming - all we have to do is to pack our bags and jump on the plane! We have about three weeks left to search for mobile 'phones, watches, old spectacles, medical supplies, educational materials and anything else that would be treasured out there! Sadly, such things seem to be in short supply this year. People seem to be hanging onto their belongings now, hoping that times will get better. Fingers crossed, though, for something to turn up!

It's very hard even at the best of times. GOES is a very small charity and for everyone we can help there are ten, twenty, a hundred people we have to say, sadly, "No, very sorry, we can't help you." It was easier when I was associated with another charity which confined its activities to the very worthy cause of building and funding nursery schools. This was a very clearly defined remit. GOES's brief is much wider - education, welfare, health, food, building repairs - where there is need we try to help. This little girl plays happily with her friends in her home compound, unaware of the difficulties her family face. We can do our best to ensure she will be educated, medically cared for and that she won't go hungry. Sadly though, there are so many, so very many, children and adults who need our help - your help - we can only try, and learn not to give up even when we have to say - "Sorry, not this time."

Best wishes to all of you for a happy and secure year.

Bedtime Reading

Well, it makes a change from trying to write books! We've had a request to help a village in a very practical way, in particular, the help would go to the women of the village. One of the defining sounds of sub-Saharan Africa is the rhythmic pounding of maize. Women spend hours pounding the grain in a large mortar, using a pestle as tall as themselves. I've tried it, it's hard work. The alternative to this hard labour is to bundle-up your maize crop, take it to the nearest maize mill and pay to have it ground there. You'll also have to pay the taxi fares there and back. In the end you'll save a little time and labour and spend a fair amount on the taxi. Now, what if the village had its own mill? The women would save on time, travel and labour. They would pay a small fee which would go to keeping the mill in good working order but their lives would be a lot easier.

Of course there's a snag. These things cost money. A lot of money - think a couple of thousand pounds for a diesel powered, Chinese built machine. There would be dock charges, transport charges, import duties.You'd need a secure shed to keep it in, regular servicing, fuel; it all adds up. This is where the bedtime reading comes in. Some mills don't have engines to power them. They have people power - a big wheel with a handle on to turn the grinders and produce the meal. They village has strong men and women ... So, we have to find a suitable machine which could cope with the quantities of maize the village produces (some research needed), somewhere to keep it - and some money to buy it! Then we can go shopping!

and a hand powered mill is a lot cheaper than a diesel powered one! Anyone happen to know how to calculate the amount of maize grown on a typical Gambian small-holding? Like to help?

newhutte@dsl.pipex.com

Thanks for reading this.

Jean - please get in touch.

Jean - we spoke at Badala Park about Gift Aid - I'm sorry but I've lost your 'phone number.
Plaese call me again and I'll try to help.
Best Wishes,
Tom.

Rain damage.

This shows the damage a rainy season can inflict on a mud brick house. The owner has made one attempt to repair his family's home but he needs several bags of cement to strengthen the bricks in order to prevent further damage. Really, the long term answer is to re-build completely. GOES, with your help, will offer assistance in this project. The house of another family has been similarly affected, and help has been offered there as well.

Follow-up to previous post.

Strange old world it is. In emails responding to the previous post I received two points of view.
The first, from someone who doesn't know me, berated me for 'making fun of someone's death'.
The next post, from someone who does know me, offered help to the bereaved family.