Digging the Neighbour’s Garden
“It’s like digging your neighbour’s garden while he sits and watches television.”
Quote of the week came from Lynn after one very frustrating day when again she had worked her socks off in the office and watched eight or more members of staff sit, chat and find reasons not to work. We are still trying to find our niche and purpose here for whilst the job descriptions are clear nobody told the locals. A long time ago a help the aged volunteer called at my 94 year old Grandmothers care home telling her that she there to help senior citizens with their shopping or doing other chores. My Grandmother was delighted and pointed to the few 70 year old people who were elderly and would be grateful for her help. So it is here. Everyone knows we are there to help and enjoys pointing us to the people who need it. It is, of course, never them, unless they think we can access money for them to rebuild their school or finance their studies in UK.
The week began brightly with Lynn finding a source of breakfast in the village beside our bread shop, a bean and onion sandwich. A rare delight and very tasty despite the description! So our weekly events calendar was;
Monday Work around the office.
Tuesday Lynn stayed in office while I visit some local schools which turned out to be around 30 km away.
Wednesday Lynn and I rode out to visit two schools travelling south from Basse towards the Senegalese border
Thursday Lynn and I rode off to Numyell to visit schools to the west and got a puncture on the way back. We met a Gambian author who also happened to be a head teacher of the school and whose lesson was about gender equality. Very interesting.
Friday We were both walking like John Wayne from our hours sitting on the motor bike so decided to stay in and around the office
Now here is a thought; Tom and Lynn Wilson, nearly 60 years old and tootling around Africa on a motorbike – who would have imagined it. Lynn is still waiting for her papers to the scooter so she has been riding pillion. Of the several schools we visited this week we got to each without incident except the last one. As we rode on a thick sandy track between corn fields our bike decided to throw us off into the corn. We were both lying on our backs with the bike on our legs when we looked up and saw several children peering at us over the bike. For some unknown reason and for want of anything else to say I smiled and said to them, ’Salaam Alekem’ and they stared at us like we were mad!!!! We do wonder what they told mum and dad when they got home, Yes honestly mum we saw some toubabs….” Anyway apart from a bit of dented pride, a swollen ankle and an aching side I got away lightly. Lynn got away with a grazed ankle. I wonder if it was more embarrassing to be overtaken by a man in a wheelchair earlier in the week as I drove carefully through Basse, perhaps not!
We want to continue to thank you for your support. We appreciate all of your comments and message they inspire us and make us feel that somebody is interested and cares. Thank you.
Esta semana nosotros hemos estado visitando escuelas y tratando de calcular las necesidades de formación de personas que tratamos de apoyar. Hemos pasado mucho tiempo montando nuestra motocicleta liviana viajando distancias largas y andamos ahora como vaqueros. La semana comenzó alegremente con Lynn que encuentra una fuente de desayuno en el pueblo al lado de nuestra tienda de pan, alubia y bocadillo de cebolla. Esto era un placer raro y muy sabroso. Hemos visitado ahora doce escuelas viajando casi 100 kilómetros en la moto de motor. ¿Puede usted imaginar a Lynn y yo montando a caballo alrededor de África en una moto de motor? Wow. Lynn todavía espera sus papeles al scooter entonces ella ha estado montando a caballo detrás de mí. Nos pusimos a cada destino sin problemas hasta que nos pusiéramos al último. Cuando montamos a caballo en una pista arenosa gruesa entre campos de maíz nuestra moto decidió tirarnos en el campo. Tom sufrió mucho orgullo roto, un tobillo aumentado y un lado magullado pero me
llevé un tobillo pastado. También encontramos a dos voluntario español que trabaja en Basse. Ahora tenemos alguien para charlar con cada día y podemos practicar hasta nuestro español. Grande.
4 Comments to “Digging the Neighbour’s Garden”
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Leaving everything we love to work in the developing world is going to be very challenging. Share our journey here where we will place photos and comment as often as events permit.
Voy a tratar de escribir un poco de información para nuestro blog en español. Si usted puede leer esto y ve algunos errores que haya cometido por favor perdóneme y luego dígame cuales son. Pondremos fotos e información sobre nuestro trabajo aquí.
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By Paul & Di, November 7, 2009 @ 12:12
Good to see you’re in good spirits inspite of the difficulties! Tom, you should have told them your real name was “Jonah” it would have been more appropriate! I’m sure you will become a competant Trials Bike rider soon – I must admit your stories conjure up amazing pictures of life out there, however on reflection I think I’ll stick to Andalucia!
By Gary, November 9, 2009 @ 15:53
There’s was series on TV about a couple of very experienced bikers travelling through Africa on big trail bikes, and even they kept falling off all the time on ‘roads’ made of soft sand. It’s just what happens. The thing to do is keep practicing till you perfect the art of falling off safely without damaging the machines. I hope this tip is useful. Also – wear proper biker’s gear with lots of armour in all the right places. Even my crazy son does that! If none available, get the locals to knock up an improvised suit for you using empty beans containers and assorted bits of leather. If necessary I can send you some. Let’s hope you don’t get to be the man in the wheelchair overtaking the novice bikers . . .
As for the neighbour’s garden syndrome – it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. Simply by coming into contact with people like yourselves the people you work with are bound to find inspiration in your energy, your positive attitudes and your determination to keep on doing the ‘right thing’ for no personal gain whatsoever. The pay-off, so to speak, may be much longer term, and possibly nothing to do with immediate practical or material gains. At least that’s what I kept telling myself when I was going through my missionary phase as a headteacher in South London. I know – you’ve also been there and done that.
Never had a beans and onion sandwich? Surely you both used to be students? Before turning to teaching and going all upmarket with your beans on toast?
PS I’m still chuckling at what you said previously about being sent to the hospital to show them how to eliminate viruses. You even had me wondering how doing all that stuff to the computers could possibly cure a single patient.
PPS Loving the photos and drawings.
By Pam, November 11, 2009 @ 20:08
My friend (VSO veteran) told me a great story about being so angry that she had not been given any work to do after 2 months in Uganda – she gave her employer an ultimatum – he replied they would sit down after he had had his breakfast and go over what he wanted her to do. He came back from breakfast 2 days later!
I think you need to think about what you can achieve over the course of a year rather than daily goals! As they say…..Rome wasn’t built in a day!
By bobby, November 12, 2009 @ 13:09
hello you two ,i can really sympathise with your feelings of frustration. believe it or not, i face those same feelings every day. your problem, i think ,is you care too much. so here is the answer, stop caring – as if ! not to worry, it could be worse , you could be experiencing those same feelings here in balmy scotia, or freezing may be a better adjective ! i do worry about these motorbike accidents, having been in one or two myself, i know just how it feels- not nice at all. so please do take care. i will say ta ta now, please look after yourselves. all our love. pen & bobby.