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Back in Basse

Returning to Basse was a little like returning home. We were warmly welcomed with open arms and smiles all around. Yes Basse is hard but it does not have the frenetic and aggressive pressures of the Kombo. We had hoped for a short period of recovery before starting work but no chance. Within hours of our arrival we had schools queuing at our office and compound wanting help with the new software that had been produced by WAEC. (West African Examinations Council) This software had been produced but not tested and when used resulted in so many errors that schools spent hours doing what could have been done in 30 minutes on paper. So Friday Saturday and Sunday produced a total of 30 hours of unwanted work. Who produces software without field testing, only the Gambia. Our arrival on Monday at the office was also a shock when we found that work we had done before Christmas had been undone in our absence. It made me want to weep. What is the point? We spent another two days in schools removing sticks and canes from teachers and staff who were using them as ways of controlling the children. Corporal punishment is illegal but here it was going on in local schools. The Senior Education Officers thought this was funny. What is the point? So once again the frustrations of Basse seem to be getting the better of us. Ah well we will settle into our vegetarian diet and begin breathing dust again. Will things improve because of us? Who knows.