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Our report this week is somewhat abbreviated due to problems in telecommunications and hectic schedules, but we want to share with you the events in Dankunku and our plans for the future weeks.
The
rice milling machine has been delivered to the Molu group in Dankunku.
The machine was accompanied by Shelby Tarutis and a van of 12 women representing
the Molu group, advisors, technical aides and micro lending experts. All
of the women wore dresses made from the same cloth as a symbol of their
solidarity and support for the project. The small caravan consisted of
a truck with the machine, a special van for the women and several pickup
trucks. Although the group left the Banjul area very early, they experienced
a number of problems along the way. Originally, it was projected that
they machine would arrive in the village around 3:30pm. However the caravan
was unable to deliver the machine to the village until 8:30pm. The delay
was due in large part to problems with the roads and also to three flat
tires en route.
Despite the late hour, as the caravan began to approach the village it was greeted by villagers who had been waiting for over five hours. At first, there were drums announcing their arrival, then the drums were joined by dancers along the road into the village and finally by singing as the caravan journeyed the final 15 kilometers into the village proper. Upon arrival, the drums announced to the surrounding village that Shelby and the rice milling machine had arrived and people from the surrounding villages began the trek to meet Shelby and to attend the ceremonies that were held later that evening.
In
the late evening, the machine was off-loaded and placed into a shed previously
built by GambiaHELP to house the machinery. Afterwards, there was dancing
and celebration in true Gambian style. In the very early morning hours,
the village elders and the village chief met with the Molu to formally
dedicate the machine and to thank GambiaHELP for making a three-year-long
dream become a reality. After a greeting and welcome by the chief, the
village elders expressed their gratitude and appreciation. The Molu also
thanked GambiaHELP for the opportunity that the machine represented. Suma
Jallow, who grew up in the village, acted as the “master of ceremonies”
and was visibly moved by the opportunity to present to the Molu a chance
for development in this small rural village.
To everyone’s surprise the festivities continued until the next day and were followed by sports and games in honor of the self-proclaimed holiday. At the same time, the Molu was selected by the village to act as the regional bank. This selection will allow the beginning of the micro lending project. In the following days, special seminars were held in regard to micro lending and financing.
Although everyone understands that there is much work to be done, the dedication represents a beginning of a project for which GambiaHELP has pledged over three years of financial and technical support. As Shelby Tarutis observed,
| This is just the beginning. It as taken us over three years to reach this point, but we will not stop until our goals are accomplished. The Molu have planned for this day for many years. Today we dedicate our efforts, our financial support and our expertise to them and to their daughters. We hold their daughters’ future in our hands. Let us spend it wisely. |
