Revised ebook

As promised I have revised and, hopefully, corrected the mistakes in the first edition of 'Stories for Gambian Children'. Sorry to all who bought this book - it will be available for free download from 10th to 14th of March. Thanks to all of who who, so nicely, pointed out the errors.
I'm revising the books in the Malinding series about life in an African village and these too will be offered on Kindle in the near future.
Now, near the end of March, Empty Bananas is almost ready to go! Watch this space.

Busy, busy!

GOES has had a busy few days - firstly, we've had money in from the sale of ebooks (the Malinding series on Kindle), income from sales on EBay, donations from friends and family. Don't all rush - it comes into the account and goes (! sorry!) out again almost immediately. This has helped a young man with medical costs associated with a badly damaged leg, repairs to a family house so it will be water tight when the rains come, money to buy rice to feed a very poor family and school fees for several children. 

If you would like to sponsor a very hard working young man's studies we can put you in touch with him. He's bright, very keen to gain qualifications and an income to support his extended family.

We sent some money to The Gambia today and were delighted and surprised to be question by one of the bank staff about our work and what help we would like. Fingers crossed (which will make the editing of the ebooks difficult but may bring good luck to GOES!)

We also heard from HMRC that they are making it easier to claim Gift Aid on donations.

Two months ago we returned from The Gambia to our home feeling very despondent about progress. We then both had health worries. I felt life would be much better if we gave up working with the charity (if you add both our ages together it comes to 149 years) but today we'll carry on. We can't let our African friends down.

I do rant on, don't I? Sorry - back to work. Is that a piece of cake I see?

Reason for delay ...

Well, one of the reasons!  Lots of kind people have bought copies of this book, the sale of which goes straight into the GOES bank account - and usually straight out again to help someone some where in The Gambia. Some of the people who bought a copy pointed out that it could have been better produce - they were right! So, we withdrew it from Kindle and revised the the cover and the contents: hope you like it! As a thank-you we'll be offering it for free download (and as compensation to all the people who bought the first edition). All the 'Malinding' books have been withdrawn for similar reasons, and as soon as the editorial team (Amieo and Joyce, plus me) has completed the re-edit the books will be back on sale again.
 Health has been a bit of a problem for us too since we returned to the UK just before Christmas. We have spent too long in hospital waiting rooms with crossed fingers; worth it in the end because only minor faults emerged and we'll be back on track very soon.
 The matter of the missing money hasn't yet been resolved. Friends in the village concerned are looking into it and until that is resolved the village women will wait for their maize-mill. We hope they won't have to wait much longer because the mill will free them from a very onerous task, and enable a return to education for many of them, we hope.
We'll keep you posted - thanks for your patience - and thanks to Stuart for the push in the right direction ... 

Bad news - the remedy GOES on!

I mentioned, a few posts ago, that there was good news and bad news: well, good news is obvious, I suppose. People we've been able to help with medical problems are improved; people we've helped with their education show us their certificates and diplomas with justifiable pride (they did the work after all!)
We're about to buy the third bicycle to enable another student reach a distant school. We hear the people who asked our help to repair storm damaged houses are, as I write this, taking delivery of sand and cement to repair the damage with more durable building blocks.
 We haven't yet received information about the bank balance of a group of young people in one of the villages who had asked our help with an ambitious project a couple of years ago. The fund raising in both the UK and the village had been going well - at least up to January last year. I December we took enough money with us to complete the project but the bank book failed to present itself for inspection. The money wasn't wasted - the clinic's water bill was paid, repairs funded for some school equipment, bags of cement and loads of sand delivered, as detailed above. I'm just so very sorry for the young people of the village who had hoped to see their project completed. Maybe next year, if ever we find out what happened to that bank account.
Meanwhile, does anyone know of a source of good quality wheelchairs, preferably in The Gambia?

Burning rubbish.

Smoke rises from the rubbish tip at Bakoti. It burns round the clock and the smoke and smell spread for miles. Children scavange the rubbish for items to sell - plastic bottles, re-usable bags, anything that might fetch a few dalasis. Directly across the road from the tip is the S.O.S. Children's Village - a wonderful institution which looks after the welfare of orphans in a manner which puts us in the U.K. to shame - read up about it, or, better still, visit it for yourself when you travel to The Gambia. Just remember to hold your breath if the wind's in the wrong direction ...

At last - clean water for the clinic!

 

 

 

Back in the UK

Another trip over. Good news - and, sadly, some bad news. Hope the good outweighs the bad. Very tired, not much food in the house but sleep is the major need! Tell you more when we wake up!