(Picture-with some of my Gambian Family)
It has my good fortune to have spent time in The Gambia, first in 2011 when I spent the year there as a United Nations Volunteer working with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs developing a National Economic Plan called the Program for Accelerated Growth and Employment (The PAGE).
The main photo was taken at the house where I stay and shows some of my growing Gambian family.
The second photo is sharing a moment with a woman at a local event
I was able to return in 2013 at the invite of a Dutch Businessman, Hans Noteboom who requested my help with his company GAM-Solar, a solar electric business, to identify and develop other economic development initiatives for The Gambia. My second visit has grown my Gambia family considerable in helping many people in this very poor country.
The third photo is with my “adopted” daughter Nema, whom I have been caring for along with her mother since she was three months old.
Nema in African Dress
Meriam and her two sons
Jattu and her baby doing laundry
This photo shows me in a fish market getting fish to cook for twenty of my Gambian Colleagues who were participating in a week long working session in writing the PAGE document.
This photo was taken at a snake farm where I was visiting with some friends. The snakes are wild and collected by locals for a French scientist who is studying snakes in the Gambia