huntermurray.com

In the army now

Our second week in January produced some very frustrating and also some of the funniest moments in our placement. Having just about come to terms with the problems of the previous week we expected continued frustrations and were not disappointed. One SEOs (Senior Education Officer) pedantic application of guidance given by the Director meant that we could not do any work. We were unable to access computers or even other rooms because he was not present and took the keys with him. When he returned he decided that Lynn could not be trusted and so followed her from room to room to check on what she was doing. This was both new and unacceptable which led us to a, “if we cannot be trusted meeting…?” We initiated the meeting at which the three SEO’s stated that yes they needed us there and yes they trusted us. During this meeting, which was early on very tense, the Records clerk decided for the first time in six months to do some work. Ears open she decided to drift into the room in which we were speaking and begin opening cupboards. She was also pretending to have a telephone conversation and so ignored us when we asked her to leave the room while we had a meeting. Lynn got up walked over to her and asked her to leave explaining the situation. The RC was suddenly struck blind and deaf causing Lynn to become almost apoplectic with rage. However we waited until she left and finished the meeting. As it ended I asked if there were any questions. The new SEO said, “Yes, I have a question for Mr Tom. Was Mrs Lynn in the Army?” “No,” I said, “why?” “Oh I thought she was going to kill Fatou, the records clerk, when she went over to her!” We laughed until it hurt. But none of the SEOs understood.
We also completed the inspection of a failing school in Basse and have now been asked to help turn it round. Just like London eh? The meeting we held with the staff, however, was shocking. Gambian teachers are very proud of being Gambian which I have no problem with being a proud Scot, but when they blame poor standards on interfering western countries who demand that the cane is withdrawn or they will withhold aid to the Gambia it makes us see red. Everyone was the blame the children, the villages, the government, the Directorate but especially western countries. I am ashamed to say that in defending policies insisted on by the west I told one young man that he was either ignorant or stupid. As 90% of the Gambia’s income comes from foreign aid without it bankruptcy would be inevitable. These teachers believe that without the cane children will never learn. Boy have we got work to do. Today was the region’s sports day. Three legged races, sack races and carrying the water bucket on your head were just a few of the races disorganised over the course of four hours. Pupils were not competing in age groups but according to height. A man with a stick determined if children were able to enter the race or not, leaving a tall seven year old to compete with a small thirteen year old. Hmmm, ah well they did not seem to care.
So Monday is Lynn’s 60th birthday. I had spoken to our compound about throwing a secret party for her but the idea of secret is a problem here and today everyone wished her happy birthday. If you would like to do that Lynn’s email address is plw8848@gmail.com.