February was GAD (Gender and Development) month, and PCVs from each region compete to see which region has the most GAD activity points to win a monetary prize. This post will highlight some 2019 activities by PCVs throughout the country, who graciously allowed me to use their photos and commentaries.

Volunteers from all sectors – Education, Health, Agriculture – collaborate to address GAD issues, and create opportunities for all Gambians to advance and prosper. Educated girls and women are essential to healthy and thriving communities; however, globally 62 million girls do not go to school. All volunteers promote gender equality through literacy, addressing cultural norms, and empowering girls to succeed in all aspects of life. PCVs work with local communities to expand access to education, supporting both boys and girls to complete their secondary educations.

‘Bush to Beach’ is a yearly event held during GAD month, where volunteers travel for about 10 days, and put on programs for 4th-5th-6th grade students. The trek begins in the interior of the country (the bush), with volunteers mostly biking to the coast (the beach).

~~ Jerusha Simmons ~~

Agriculture Volunteer Jerusha Simmons organized this years ‘Bush to Beach’ event, and was joined by other PCVs, stopping at Lower Basic schools throughout the country. Jerusha said, “I had the privilege to host a country-wide bike trek around The Gambia called ‘Bush to Beach’. During the trek, I biked (and bused) to 8 volunteer’s sites, and worked with volunteers to promote gender equality within their schools. At each volunteer’s school, we held small programs which included a role model talk, discussions on issues regarding healthy masculinity, gender equity, and working together as equals. Big thanks to all the participants that opened their schools to me, and to all the amazing students and teachers that helped make the event a success!”

 ~~ Casey Peterson ~~

 

Educational Volunteer Casey Peterson created the above rice bag book. Casey said, “My counterpart Fatou and I, held a joint meeting of our Girls and Boys Clubs to talk about the importance of helping each other. Often times in The Gambia, girls have many chores to do at home – in addition to school work – while boys have free time. Thus, it is difficult for girls to focus on their education and become successful. The book we read teaches about how boys can help girls by sharing the work so that everyone can succeed.”

~~ Holly Johnson ~~ 

Educational Volunteer Holly Johnson said, “Study group is something I’ve started with the children in my village since I’ve moved there and it’s my favorite time of the day! I can be sooooo tired at the end of the day, but when the children come and say, ‘Today, study?’ Just to see their smiles and excitement when I say yes is worth finding a little extra energy for them. They bring their friends, sisters, brothers and we all have fun! My goal is to instill the love of learning and the importance of education for all (girls and boys) in them and their parents. When we are done studying homework, reading, and working on basic skills , I love engaging them in educational games that the playing field is equal where girls are just as likely to win as boys! They have now expanded having study groups in many different compounds throughout the village!”

~~ Aalisa Blackwood & Hallie Jane Brown ~~

Health Volunteer Aalisa Blackwood and Educational Volunteer Hallie Jane Brown painted a world map at Aalisa’s school for GAD month. They also enjoyed playing football with the school girls. Football is generally a boys only activity, but many PCVs are starting girls teams also, to promote gender equity and opportunities for girls to participate in sports programs. Aalisa said, “Along with some other PCVs, I was able to start a girl’s football team, teach some five and six grade girls how to make Reusable Menstrual Pads (RUMPS) and paint some cool educational murals as well!” Hallie said, “I’ve spent the last month planning activities aimed at engaging with women and girls in my community because, first, I love spending time getting to know the women and girls in my village and second, there was a little bit of friendly competition among the volunteers in The Gambia to see who could accumulate the most points.” Read more about Hallie’s experiences at her blog – Hallie in The Gambia.

~~ Lizzie Salerno ~~ 

Lizzie Salerno is an Agriculture Volunteer and said, “Who would have ever thought that something so simple, so small, so EQUAL would cause such controversy at my school. It’s amazing how quickly the people in power get offended by the slightest glimpse of equality, but if making every male teacher uncomfortable is what it takes to start the conversation than so be it.”

~~ Samone LaShalle ~~

Health Volunteer Samone LaShalle said, “After a year of playing football with the Grade 6 girls during Physical Education and countless conversations with teachers and administrators, there is finally a girls football team at my Basic Cycle School.  Happy first practice!”

Samone said, “Making Reusable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs) is one of my favorite activities to do with girls because we end up talking about so many different things while sewing. Last week we talked about the importance of good personal hygiene, caring for the RUMPs, barriers to school attendance, small business opportunities and a whole lot more!”

Samone said, “As we near the end of GAD month, I’d like to give a big thank you to all of the volunteers who invited me to come do yoga with the youth in their villages. I had such a wonderful time seeing all of your sites, and sharing something I enjoy with your students and girls clubs. GAD month has been one of the most exciting months of my service, and I hope all volunteers are able to keep this momentum going!”

~~ Caitlin Magruder ~~ 

Agriculture Volunteer Caitlin Magruder said, “I’ve been working with the PCVs in my region to build cookstoves (sinkiroo, in Mandinka) with their host families. Cookstoves are great because they help reduce the amount of smoke women inhale while cooking and it lessens firewood consumption, meaning that less trees are cut down in the bush. It’s the perfect mash of health and agriculture work! At this point, I’m a cookstove guru!” This GAD activity took place at Educational Volunteer Leah Rattunde site with Educational Volunteers Leah Grenier and Mark Donahue.

~~ Mariah Theobald ~~

Health Volunteer Mariah Theobald said, “It’s GAD month here in Peace Corps The Gambia, which means my fellow PCVs and I are focusing on work that helps promote gender equality and improve the lives of Gambian girls and women. Today I led a nutrition session about the benefits of Moringa oleifera with the girls and boys in my environmental club. A great way to remind kids that food is for everyone– it’s not just women’s work!”

~~ Mosaic Shrestha ~~

Health Volunteer Mosaic Shrestha painted a world map mural on the side of her village house. She had help from Educational Volunteer Leah Reed, and Agriculture Volunteers Piper Stone and Emily Cain. Geography literacy is usually not emphasized in Gambian schools, and it can be a challenge for a PCV to communicate with villagers your home location before joining PC. Gambians know we are from America, but don’t understand how big and diverse our homeland is, often thinking we are all from New York or another major US city.

~~ Janey Walquist ~~

Educational Volunteer Janey Walquist said, “This was a really cool program I put on at my school that talked about gender equality. We got to hear a male and female from the village share their stories of life and going to school. We talked about how our ideas of gender roles in jobs and chores at home aren’t based on ability, and that females and males can equally do them all. We did an obstacle course blindfolded with and without help to show the importance of genders working together, and ended the day with a co-ed football (soccer) competition. There was a teacher of mine that piped in with a quote he had heard that said ‘the hands that tie the trouser are the same as those that tie the wrap skirt’. This is showing that men and women can and should be seen as equal. I am so happy to be here, and ready for another 19 months of inspiration and happiness from all the amazing people I get to spend time with everyday. Photos by James Dillon III – an amazing friend and photographer!!!” For more great photos from James check out his Instagram page – “the_third_and_only”

~~ Caitlin Nemeth ~~

Tippy-taps are a good way to encourage hand washing prior to eating a meal. A tippy-tap is a container filled with water hanging from a stick, suspended on a framework. This apparatus is easy for children to access – they just tip the container (tap) to pour water on their hands, and having soap available will promote good hygiene. Health Volunteer Caitlin Nemeth said, “Gotta love building tippy taps & immediately watching the kids chase each other to use it first.”

~~ Leah Rattunde ~~ 

Education Volunteer Leah Rattunde said, “Tili kontongo – sun salutation. Doing yoga for the first time was filled with giggles and sore muscles. Doing yoga can teach us to be more in control of our emotions, retain information better, relax our minds, energize our body, and many more. Thanks to Samone LaShalle for coming all this way, Leah Greiner and Alexis Jones for tagging along!” Another successful GAD month activity with a Girls Club at a Basic Cycle School.

~~ Caitlyn Winders ~~

Health Volunteer Caitlyn Winders said, “We had a gender equality creative expression contest at the high school. The students were asked to create something – a drawing, a poem, a story – that revolved around gender equality. These are a few of the submissions. We chose the drawing in the top right as the winner. We will be painting it as a mural at the school later in March.” Read more about Caitlyn’s GAD activities at her blog – Chasing Peace.

~~ Anna Rains ~~

Health Volunteer Anna Rains and one of her counterparts created a mural in the school garden for GAD month. Anna said, “My counterpart does an incredible job working with the kids at the Lower Basic School. ‘Girls and Boys Work Together’ is written above a girl and boy, each carrying a bucket of water. We painted in the garden so the kids would have a reminder that they all have to work together in order to sustain the garden and have something nice to look at while they work. At the end we choose 3 boys and 3 girls who go above and beyond in the garden and had them put their handprints on the wall. We’ve done a few talks about how girls can do anything boys can, encouraged sharing, and explained what equality means.”

Anna Rains with Agriculture Volunteer Harry Dwinell created a video in her village about why educating girls is important. They worked with Gambia Rising, a non-political non-profit focused on supporting Gambian students, especially girls, to stay in school when their families can’t afford to do so. Anna said, “The children interviewed here inspire me every day. Their passion to further their education is astounding, I cannot wait to see all the things they accomplish in spite of the obstacles they face.”

To view their video, click HERE and read about why the video was made and then scroll down to access the 2 minute video.