All Things Must Pass
on Lynn Sellwood (The Gambia), 21/May/2012 17:11, 34 days ago
The light on The Gambia is beginning to fade and I am prey to varied feelings. Sometimes I sit and wonder why I ever came to work in Africa; sometimes I wonder why I didn’t do it earlier.If I had come earlier I might have had more energy and resilience to cope with the heat and discomforts of daily living and working; the bucket showers, the two gas ring cooking; I might have believed that I could, single-handedly, influence the infrastructure, the health and education system and the poverty. My youthful self would have been confident in the ability of individuals to effect change. But this older self just knows that“all things must pass” (which is a particularly miserable prediction of the future from Matthew 24:6-8) and things change and we must adapt. I'd like to think I have left a little legacy but I can't be sure. maybe the only things we leave behind is ourselves?The view of Britain and Europe from this distance does not look great. There is little to engender inspiration. The economies are failing, people live in fear of Islamic terrorism, the disabled and vulnerable are further marginalised, Londoners have re-elected Boris. It seems hypocritical to point the finger at Gambian mismanagement when there are three hour queues at Heathrow, widespread tax avoidance from civil servants and patent misuse of power as revealed by the Leveson inquiry.So, I am determined to live these last few weeks in The Gambia in the present and enjoy the company of friends and the kindness of relative strangers. Two quotes come to mind and I shall keep them uppermost from now on. The first;“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”― Henry David ThoreauThe second from a true philosopher...........................................“What day is it?"It's today," squeaked Piglet.My favourite day," said Pooh.”― A.A. MilneSo, that all said, I shall bring you up to date with events. Katie Tiller left The Gambia to go and work in Burma! See what I mean about the confidence of youth? She was presented with a special reminder of The Gambia in the form of her favourite tipple. Ross left a week or so later having collected his evidence for his PhD and contributed to the life of the YMCA.Katie, saying goodbye.My friend, June, another long-standing VSO (see her blog in the blog list) and I were invited by Louisa to learn how to cook Filipino style. We especially wanted to learn how to make spring rolls. Others were invited to taste the dishes as we finished.June, Summer and Luisa...shredding vegetablesfrying tofuFinished spring rolls! And then I had my birthday, a lunch of bbq’d chicken and pork, lots of other dishes and two lovely birthday cakes all organised by Luisa and Oscar  at their apartment. The best treat was the cheese. The day was made more special when David revealed a video he had compiled of all my friends and family saying Happy Birthday. It was fantastic but actually made me more homesick the following day.Muna and Jimmy in the poolOne of my cakes!Lamin, Lily and KebbaMick and DeanI have attended my finalCCM in Mansa Konko and endured the high temperatures. I was gratified to hear from the Minister and the Permanent Secretary that I had been of value. Baboucarr Bouy had been awarded a very special honour by the World Bank for Outstanding Public Service; it made me proud that I have been working for such an honourable man.Baboucarr Bouy and The Minister of Education So now he has“honourable” added to my previous blog description of “handsome, able and charming”. He made a farewell speech to me and in reply tears nearly overwhelmed me. I did my final presentation about PPM and the study tour to Uganda as well as presenting our team findings about a school in the provinces.Me, concentrating.....Me, talking......I have been asked to return in the future..................So, now I am packing up the house, deciding what to bring back to the UK. I have a short week of final events......exit interview with VSO, a meeting with the Permanent Secretary and my colleagues from SQAD, I’ve got to collect some clothes from the tailor and then I have booked myself into Coco Ocean for two days....with treatments at the Spa! I am saying goodbye to various people all week and I can hardly bear it.At least I've remembered the worming tablets, safe in the knowledge that all things must pass!