Reflections from Gambia – Kathryn Macleod
February 16, 2016
Hiya I’m Kathryn, I’m 15 and I’ve lived in Lewis for most of my life. I’m going to attempt to give you a taste of what a fantastic trip I experienced last Christmas time with The Gambia group 2. The process started in early spring time when I heard Jonathan Maciver speaking at my schools Scripture Union about his recent trip out to Gambia. I hadn’t heard a lot about the charity beforehand but I became interested in finding out more and talked to Jonathan about wanting to help out with any fundraisers or projects that they had.
I hadn’t been planning to go out on the next trip available simply because I didn’t think it was possible for me to go at this age but at the information meeting Jonathan and the rest of the team made it very easy and simple for me to have the opportunity to go which I’m hugely grateful for. I had gotten an interest in going back out to Africa when I got the chance to go in the summer of 2014, I wanted to do some practical work and helping people this time though. Once I felt and decided that it was something God wanted for me to do with my time we found out what our groups were going to be. I only knew 3 people out of the group of 16 which was a bit daunting to think about at first. For the upcoming months before the trip commenced we had a lot of meetings, Bible studies, game nights and dinners which made me feel so much better and comforted that I knew our group worked well together.
The excitement came to a peak on the 18th of November when the group left our winter seasoned, small Island of Lewis, travelled to Glasgow and then flew to London for the night and met the rest of our group. We didn’t get much sleep that night as we had to be at the airport for 5 in the morning but the adrenaline was probably keeping us all awake! I had tried to prepare for the Gambian weather by getting changed on the plane but I didn’t quite expect the extraordinary heat we would experience when stepping of the plane. I had been on trips before by myself so I was thankful that I didn’t have any home sickness and that I managed to settle in quickly. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was going to be with all the Gambian people but on the first night we had a lovely dinner by the beach and then some fantastic music and dancing which I joined in with and immediately got the Gambian vibes!
Our first day in the Kabekel village was overwhelming at first, we had seen pictures and videos of what it would have been like but now we were seeing it in reality. The whole morning was taken up with dancing, welcomes and talks from the chief and some our group. The school build was extremely impressive from what I understood of buildings and constructing things together. I had never worked with buildings, painting or concrete so it was a completely new experience that I had to adapt to which excited me. One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed every day and looked forward to was, the food. The woman of the village would make us a huge delicious lunch every day and by that time we would be exhausted and ready for whatever was put in front of us. I hadn’t tasted food like their local cultural dishes before and I always had to have a second plate or have food coming off the sides it was so good! Everyone got stuck in with the work, either shovelling concrete, sand and water to make bricks, lifting or controlling heavy trusses and plenty more jobs. It was quite tough the first day, I tried to stay determined and not have too many long breaks under the cool shade of the trees and van. After working for the day I felt satisfied with what we would achieve.
My favourite thing about the work was my painting job, most days I would come back to the hotel covered in red paint which everyone thought was blood! I spent hours of my morning and afternoon up on the roof of the school which was burning hot and ended up melting the bottom of my shoes. I got to know a lady called Clarise while I was up on the roof, she was a Christian as well and we talked for hours about our differences and similarities about being a Christian which was a really nice time for me and I learnt a lot from her.
Another thing that I enjoyed about the Kabekel village was getting to spend time with all the beautiful children who lived there. We had quite a lot of time to spend with them so even though there were so many, by the end of the week I had actually made a special connection with just a few of them. I loved getting to know their different personalities, the ones who would run up to you in the morning and want to hold your hand for the rest of the day. It made you feel so happy and appreciated you would be content to just sit and talk or sing with them all day. The language differences weren’t much of a problem, if anything our strong Lewis or Glasgow accents were probably confusing them more! On the last day when we had to say bye to the kids it made me genuinely upset that I wouldn’t know when I’d see some of them again. Even though I couldn’t have proper conversations with the little children, you could understand what they meant when they wanted something or was trying to say something by their actions.
After our long working days at the Kabekel village we would get back to our hotel at about 5pm, take a quick refreshing shower before deciding where to go out for dinner that night. We would go to a different place to eat every night which was exciting as we didn’t know what to expect. You would get opportunities to talk to people on the roads and in the restaurants which challenged you a lot because everyone was so open to you. I found it hard at times to bring myself to talking to people, at home people would usually shut you down if you tried to have a conversation with them about religions. In Gambia they’ll ask you questions and be genuinely interested in what you have to say about your own religion and their religion.
The week itself was so short that when it came to the last day you were left thinking where all the time had gone. So many memories had been made that week, the number of laughs that our group were uncountable. Almost every night, a number of us would stay up late into the hours of the night having fellowship, telling our testimonies, getting to know each other. We made friendships out in the Gambia that we’ll have forever have and can reconnect if we ever go back out. Also social media has helped us to keep in touch with some of the people we met out there which has been great to use as we can see things improving and changing in the village of Kabekel. Overall it was a blessed week to have been involved with and become part of. I have no regrets about going and for anyone thinking about going I’d say to do the research and find out if it’s something you’re definitely passionate about doing and then pray and talk about it. The answer will become clear and then you can pursue whatever it is you’re wanting to do!
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