Back In Contact!
on Phil Bradfield (The Gambia), 01/Jun/2010 11:11, 34 days ago
(Written 01/06/2010 10:15, RED5, Janjanbureh)And so, after nearly a week with no internet access, RED5 is back online. Why were we internet-less? Because we exceeded our download limit for May, and so QCell blocked our connection until the end of the month. But today is the start of a new month, and so we’re back in business!While we’ve been cut off, quite a lot’s been happening over at GAMSPAD, the training centre in Janjanbureh. They’ve been donated eight pretty decent PCs by a Danish school, and I’m going to go over there on Thursday morning and help out with getting them installed. Hopefully all that’ll involve will be standing around watching while GAMSPAD’s IT trainer does it himself, and just being ready to assist if he needs it. There is an issue with the donated PCs, but I want to do a separate post on that, so I’ll come back to it in a day or two.There’s also been an increasedtoubabpresence on the island, in the shape of a British man who’s been running business schools in the Kombos for about thirteen years and is considering relocating to JJB. He’s got a couple of tourism-related business ideas that he wants to look at, and he’s also been looking at GAMSPAD to see how the place can be built up. One of JJB’s big failings isthat there is no public internet access anywhere, and if GAMSPAD can be set up to function as an internet cafe then it would be a real benefit to the town: it’s a facility which tourists expect, and so could help to attract more tourists; it allows the general public of JJB web access; and it gives GAMSPAD an extra revenue stream which they can then plough back into their training activities.There’s also a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers staying over the river at Janjanbureh Camp, on a “retreat”, whatever that means. I don’t know how much of their stay there involves Peace Corps work and how much is simply a chance to chill out, but they’ve offered myself, Pete and Liz free food for a night on Wednesday. Score! This is especially good since Pete and Liz’s gas bottle ran out last night, meaning we’re stuck with my cooking until they can get a replacement. And it’s a bit of a mission to get a replacement: our information is that the closest place to get gas is at Bansang,45 minutes motorbike ride away. Seriously, would you fancy riding 45 minutes over horrifically bumpy roads, in 40°C heat, with a big canister of highly explosive gas perched precariously a foot behind your back? Something to be avoided if possible! So, we’ve spread the word around with our Gambian friends that we’re looking for a way to get gas without the dodgy journey; we’ll see whether any of those lines come back with fish on them! Fiona, a VSO who’s lived here for nearly five years now, always says that this country is living proof of the phrase “no man is an island”: you cannot live on your own round here, you need others to help you, and she’s right.I also want to mention the phone call I had last week from the Leeds crew. I could picture the scene: about ten people all gathered round the computer, having a great laugh talking to their friend 3,000 miles away, all thanks to the wonders of Skype. OK, so the microphone could only pick up one person at a time and there was a two second delay on the line, but there is no describing just how awesome it is to hear those you know and love down a phone line for the first time in over four months. Rich, Jon, Ben, Kels, Matt, Vix, Chris, Linz, Mike, Thom and anyone else who was there but I couldn’t hear properly through the chaos at the far end of the line: I love you all and you rule. And just to top it off, I got to speak to Mum, Dad and Granny a couple of days later. Friends and family: what more can you possibly ask for?Anyways, that’ll do for now. I’ve got another couple of posts halfway written (including one with lots of photos, you’ll be happy to know!) but I’ll finish those off later. Watch this space over the next week or so!