The Gambia in the recession.

I'm not sure whether we're having a good year or a bad year.
On the one hand, contributions are still coming in at about the same rate as in previous years, but on the other the money is going out much more quickly! We never intended to build up a large balance in the bank, being firmly of the opinion that if there was a need money should go there rather than gather dust in a bank's vault. We tithe our income and many of you have been more than supportive.
Low exchange rates are a great hurdle to small charities, and, linked with rising prices in The Gambia, mean that a GOES pound doesn't go as far as it did.
We hope to be travelling there again - wonder: can we claim Gift Aid on travel expences???
Please don't be discouraged: we are still able to help many people cope with the difficulties of life, and we have no intention at all of quitting.
Best wishes to all of you, and thanks from your Gambian friends.

Joyce & Tom,

Contact at newhutte at dsl dot. pipex dot com

Summer update..

We've reported some really sad news to you recently.

The man and wife who lost their children are slowly coming to terms with their loss. We've spoken to them to convey our sadness and to pass on the condolences of those of you who have been moved by the tragedy. Thank goodness for text messaging, by which we can keep in touch with them.

That is one of the difficulties of this sort of work - very often there is only a poor 'phone signal available in the villages where we work.

Another difficulty is that we keep running out of money! To be honest, we had a very good year last year (2009-2010) and managed to get a lot of things done. This year, unsurprisingly, is being quite hard going. Money everywhere is tight, but we can only do what we can do. We promise you that every single penny you donate goes to The Gambia without deduction.

To help us remember the good days here are some of our Gambian friends who have invited us into their homes - maybe you should come and meet them? Be careful though, it's very hard to go to The Gambia just once - it's habit forming! (Jolly good habit to have, though!)

Time to come round seeking donations!

We took out nearly 60kgs luggage in April (our cases weighed 21kgs on the trip home! So, we're collecting again.

Mobile 'phones, school materials, watches, reading glasses, tin-openers (to save accidents happening when chef attacks a tin with a machete!)

First aid kits are welcome, plasters, crepe bandages, safety pins - you get the idea.

Obviously we don't reject money! £3 saves a life - the cost of a mosquito net.

Everything you give goes to The Gambia. We take nothing from donations for our own expenses.

newhutte@dsl.pipex.com will find us.

Thanks for your interest,

Joyce & Tom.

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.