The Gambia Project

Ryan and I went to Ginak Island to distribute 100 mosquito nets. What a unique place to say the least. There were so many photo stories there and just want to share some images that I took on the trip. The environment was your typical “up country” feel but most residents spoke exceptional English. Friendly people living a simple life, that’s what its about. More images to come!

From the web about Ginak:
Jinack Island (also spelt Jenack, Ginak & sometimes known as Paradise Island) is located off the north bank of the estuary of The Gambia River, separated from the mainland by the Niji Bolon and is part of the National Park of Niumi which is a marine protected delta area and is aiming to be an eco-tourist holiday destination. The park was established in 1986 and has an area of just over 4,900 hectares (49 sq. km) with (geographical coordinates: 13.30°N 16.30°W) and its boundaries start from Barra Point right up to the Senegalese border at the National Park of Saloum in Senegal then east to the tributary of Masarinko Bolon. The island itself has over 11 kilometres of unspoilt, fairly shallow beaches which are often visited by dolphins.

To get to the island you take a ferry from the port of Banjul to Barra which costs less than 50 pence. From Barra you then take a local taxi heading towards Fass then go left at Kanuma into the park. There are a couple of villages in the area: Jinack Kajata and Niji. It is possible to make a day-trip excursion there from Kololi resort if you set out fairly early in the morning.

A major part of the park encompasses several habitat types such as dry savannahgrasslands, coastal scrub, and woodland which is on an elevated rocky plateau which has the Masarinko . Bolon tributary dividing it. The park itself is riddled with wetlands, thick vegetation, fresh-water marshland, tidal mud flats, mangrove swamps, farmland and lagoons.

My friend Ryan and I stopped by thte Wassu Stone Circles or known as The Gambia “Stonehedge”. Compared to Stonehedge, these are quite small. Interesting to see with my own eyes.
From the net:
The ancient Wassu Stone Circles, in Gambia, are located around Wassu in the Central River Region and are believed to be burial mounds of Kings and chiefs in ancient times over 1,200 years old and has been dated to between 750-1000 AD, and because of this local legend has it that there is a curse on anyone who disturbs those laid to rest there. This may account as to why they have lasted so long with little human interference.

The stones sizes and circular shapes do vary from 10 to 20 stones with sizes from 4 to 6 metres across. Though they were burial sites the stones themselves are of a younger age than the graves. The average height of each stone column is 5 feet 9 inches. The 11 large concentration of circles have puzzled many a traveller over the centuries and have been the subject of dozens of archaeological excavations since the 1800s. Excavations were made on them earlier this century but none came closer to laying bare the whys and wherefores of the site than the one carried out about over 30 years ago which revealed their age. What has been found are iron weapons, arrow and spearheads, knives, pottery vessels and bronze ornaments

The stones were cut out of laterite that occurs in large quarry outcrops in this region and then shaped with iron tools into cylindrical or polygonal shapes. A museum situated at the “Stone Circles” in Wassu Central River Division was opened in 2000. Hundreds of stone circles can be found in The Gambia and Senegambia region. They are part of a geographical grouping of over 1,000 monuments in a wide strip measuring 62 miles wide and along 217 miles of the Gambia River.

This sacred site was declared a National Monument in 1995 and on the 21st July, 2006 93 monuments in the Senegambia region (Sine Ngayène, Wanar) were declared by UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site.

I am still volunteering at M.D.I. Institute working with the Gender and Development class. Just finished up a brochure for a upcoming workshop. This will be a great workshop to improve women’s role in leadership here in The Gambia.

I am working with my friend Ryan here on these projects. I quickly designed the logo’s that will be printed on t-shirts for the events. We will travel to Basse, which is located at the far east of The Gambia. By van, it will take about 10-12 hours which is truly not an easy trip to make. Volunteers will distribute about over a thousand bed nets there to fight malaria.

I am director working with my friend Chinua on a documentary on Gender development. Its based on interviews from students at M.D.I college where I volunteer at. They are all involved with gender development and its so fascinating to hear their views on gender development within The Gambia. We will be having our premiere showing on April 22nd at the college. Here are some shots I took yesterday from the shoot.

I am helping Oushman, a professional bird watching tour guide. He wants to start a website to attract more business here. The Gambia is known for some great bird watching. I personally have no knowledge of birds and usually do not do that much of nature photography. I was pretty inspired of his knowledge and scouting out birds I’ve never seen before. Here are some shots that I took, I need a longer lens!

Peace Corps, The Gambia is sponsoring a week long girls leadership camp. I designed the banner and t-shirts for the participants. I really believe this program will be a huge success and the girls will greatly benefit.

I am helping the first registered model agency in The Gambia with some marketing material. We had a short photo shoot at my friends’s studio yesterday and thought it went pretty smoothly. There is not a lot of demand for professional models here in The Gambia. Most companies will use their employees or family/friends before they will pay models. As we all know, you get what you pay for.