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Beverly traveled with Momodou Manneh to Kanifing to rearrange the container contents stored at the BPMRU site. The shipped 20-foot container's contents were off-loaded into a land-based 40-foot container for storage. Beverly and several of the Brikama laborers were at BPMRU early this week to sort and position all the supplies so that pick-up and delivery of the donated items will go much faster. Since many of the laborers were ones we used last year, the task was that much simpler due to their experience. Beverly drew a schematic of the 40-foot container indicating where medical & health, education and Red Cross items were stacked. Books were organized into grade levels and books for YMCA and the Women’s Bureau were divided accordingly.

Preparations are underway for the Handing Over Ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, February 25. The ceremony will be televised and later shown on the Gambia Radio and Television Service (GRTS). Mr. Borro Mboge, Director of GRTS, is sending Momodou Touray over to video the event. We hope that we will receive a video clip of the event for future presentation.

This week we confirmed the handing-over ceremony with Peace Corps, the Gambia Red Cross, the Department of Education, the Department of Medical and Health, and Cherno Gaye and his staff at the Book Production and Materials Research Unit in Kanifing. We also contacted Adelle Sock, Vice Principal of St. Joseph's Senior Secondary School and member of Fajara Rotary to be present at the handing-over ceremony. We purchased beverages for guests and contacted Karamo of Karamo Art, who made signs for us last year, to prepare one for the ceremony. The sign will read, "GambiaHELP, Health and Education Capacity Building Project, February 2003." Sirigereh Baldeh, Country Director, will pick the sign up and have it delivered early Tuesday morning for display.

Getting tasks accomplished here takes more time. We are buying calling cards often to make telephone calls and traveling the Banjul-Brikama-San Cheba route daily to arrange for materials to be sent to the Garden Project at Mbaye Kunda and obtaining bids for projects to be completed in Dankunku.

During my stay in Dankunku we learned that the round hut-like multi-purpose building GambiaHELP built 3 years ago needs repair. The cement that makes up the bench inside the hut needs repair and the window sill is crumbling away. We hope to provide the needed funds to repair the damage. This building is brighter and cooler than the block structures on the school grounds. The round hut has been used for student presentations, including plays and faculty-student meetings.We are obtaining a supplies and labor list for the repairs now. The work has been given to M. Jallow, a local carpenter we have worked with in the past.