Gonging Out
The tradition of ‘Gonging Out’ symbolically represents the completion of our Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) life and the beginning of our Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) life. Realistically, there was a very long checklist to complete and get initialed by almost the entire staff, which gave me the opportunity to say goodbye to my PC support system. I spent the previous month in Farafenni preparing to leave the home, family and community I had been part of for two years. There were many people in the community, at school and in my compound that I wanted to thank for helping me on my journey. PC was not putting another volunteer in my house, so I sold or gave away all of my stuff, which made a lot of current PCVs and Gambian friends happy, because I had acquired many nice items.
It takes a whole PC village of great people to support over 100 volunteers throughout the country. The Gambia may be the smallest country on the continent of Africa, but with the river dividing it in half travel is difficult. All of the PC staff, but especially the Gambian staff make it possible for a PCV to survive and hopefully enjoy our service. For a US employee there is a ‘five year rule’ of having a position, which makes the long term Gambian staff the backbone of PCTG.
My Host Family
Fatou Maane was one of my Gambian guardian angel for many reasons – she is a good cook, was always available to help, a loving mother to Fatima and she spoke English making my life easy. It was a big relief to work with English speakers, because I was having a hard time learning a language that I would never use after leaving service.
I was fortunate to live in a happy compound with three big families that had multiple wives, children, grandchildren, and the assortment of visiting relatives always coming and going. It could get very confusing, but Fatou Dibba was my host mother although she was rarely there . She spent most of her time in Kombo with her husband and other children. That made my host sister Fatou Maane (age 20), my primary care taker. She fed me, included me in her daily activities and taught me how to navigate the community. The compound was full of children, and I was happy to play with the babies, read books to kids, play cards or kick the soccer ball around. It was honor to have the opportunity to live with these loving people, and with WhatsApp & Facebook we can stay in connected and I’ll get to watch the babies grow up.
Work Friends
Jatta was my other Gambian guardian angel. He speaks four local languages, and English He was my translator when I worked with the students and visited their family compounds to discuss planting fruit trees. PC tried to teach me Mandinka, but the students at my school spoke Wolof, so I decided my mission would be to teach them English. I encouraged them to continue their educations, so they can create a better future for their communities and country. Jatta was a great teacher, he understood many organic gardening principles, and we had great discussions. Our discussions also included me asking him many cultural questions, and he was always willing to answer even when it was about a sensitive topic. Jatta helped me in so many ways, and I wouldn’t have had a productive service without him.
Agriculture in The Gambia is nothing like gardening the Pacific Northwest, but with the knowledge and assistance of my counterpart Jatta, and program managers Saikou and Bah2 I learned new techniques for the tropical climate. Saikou and Bah2 manage all of the agriculture volunteers, taught us what we would need to know, and how to work successfully in a local community. The workshops at the training center, where we brought a counterpart to learn also, were very effective in educating the local population so they could be mentors in their own communities. I joined PC with years of agriculture experience, but in the beginning I definitely felt like a stranger in a strange land. By the end of my service I had developed the Gambian rhythm of it will happen when it happens, which makes it very sweet when the project finally comes to completion.
Below is my Description of Service: a required document that will be archived.
It is very long, but basically explains what I’ve been doing for the last 2 years.
After a competitive application process stressing applicant skills, adaptability & cross-cultural understanding, I was invited to serve as an Agriculture Extension Specialist in The Gambia, West Africa for two years.
Pre-Service Training
I began an intensive nine-week training program on October 11, 2017 & during that time lived in a Mandinka training village of a small agrarian community located near the market town of Soma in the Lower River Region (LRR). The Peace Corps training program consisted of language, technical skills, cultural & medical trainings. The technical instruction & field experience focused on: food security, agroforestry, deforestation & desertification, horticulture, natural resource assessment & management, environmental education & awareness, small enterprise development, watershed management, NGO & counterpart capacity building, gender & youth development in The Gambia.
Permanent Living Situation
I swore-in as a PCV on December 7, 2017 & moved to my permanent site for the next two years in the large town of Farafenni (population 46,000) in the North Bank Region (NBR). MY host family’s compound also included two other families, with approximately 25 men, women & children. Throughout my service I enjoyed integrating into in to my host families compound, mentoring children, offering support to the adults & developing relationships with the trades people of Farafenni.
Work Assignment
MY work assignment site was at the Agricultural Technical College (ATC) / Anglican Mission Institute (AMI), an Upper Basic & Senior Secondary School about 2 kilometers from my home. I collaborated with the administrators, teachers & staff to teach girls & boys in grades 7 through 12 agricultural skills. I was assisted in my duties by an outstanding counterpart – Jatta, who is fluent in English & the local Mandinka, Wolof, Jola languages. He has worked at the school for 10 years & was a counterpart for several previous Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV). The school has a large walled garden space & a clean safe water system piped into the garden area, from a borehole & closed water storage system. The school site has a cashew orchard, apiary with 3 bee hives, fields for growing millet & other crops, and a small herd of cattle. There is also chicken rearing facility of about 20 birds, that was began by a previous PCV.
Primary Projects
Teaching Students Horticulture Skills – Each agriculture student was assigned space in the garden to create a garden plot. My lessons covered hands-on practical techniques about how to grow vegetables, fruits, trees & flowers successfully including:
- Compost making from weeds & food waste, in order to improve soil quality & to generate potting soil for starting plants.
- Making biochar from rice hulls for adding carbon to the soil.
- Double digging & permagarden methods for improving the nutrient poor sandy soil.
- Seed bed preparation for vegetable nursery beds & direct seeding of crops.
- Transplanting & care of seedlings in a tropical climate.
- Mulching of crops for water conservation & weed control.
- On going maintenance of garden beds for optimum plant health & increased production.
- Proper harvesting for nutritious food & soil health.
Tree Planting – My students learned about the importance of trees to sustain the quality of life for people, livestock & wildlife. Trees can control erosion during the rainy season, removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere & produce oxygen to combat climate change & they create shade to protect the soil, people & animals. Lesson taught included:
- Seed harvesting techniques for planting trees.
- Preparation of soil for planting tree seeds
- Tree nursery care & timelines for planting tree seedlings.
- Preparing tree planting sites & out planting of tree seedlings.
- Protection of immature trees from livestock & other pests.
- Tree care & timelines for fruit production or harvesting.
Final Agricultural Project – Agriculture students planted fruit trees in their family compounds.
- With my counterpart, I visited 30 students home compounds & discussed with their families the requirements for selecting appropriate tree varieties for their location, soil preparation, fencing needs & the necessity of continued care techniques.
- Students prepared the planting sites prior to being given tree seedlings from the nursery.
- I monitored & evaluated tree growth after the first rainy season, with a 80% success rate.
Beekeeping – Students learned about the importance of bees for pollination of crops and included:
- Participating in the harvesting of honey in bee protection suits.
- Preparing the harvested honey for use.
- Preparing & locating queen bee catcher boxes to be able increase hives.
- Learning about the various uses for beeswax.
Secondary Projects
Personal Blog – www.peacecorpsvolunteerat70.com
- I started my blog mainly to have a record of my PCV experience, but it has definitely fulfilled the third PC goal of promoting a better understanding of other people to Americans. I published more than 80 posts & have 155 subscribers, and announced each post on her Facebook page, where I received additional traffic.
- I learned that some current PCVs were reading my blog while they were preparing for their service. I think I was able to give them a glimpse of what life as a PCV in The Gambia would be like.
- I also received emails from a couple of worried mothers who requested I contact their son or daughter to see how they were adjusting to life as a PCV. As a mother / grandmother myself, I was happy to do what I could to make the transition smooth for both parent & child.
Roots Tribe Yoga – I attended a RTY training in 2018 with a teacher counterpart from ATC/AMI & we both became RTY Ambassadors, agreeing to teach the RTY program to students at our school. The program included:
- 10 students (both boys & girls) enrolled in the RTY 12-week program.
- Instructed them a variety of yoga poses to help them become aware of their physical body & how to practice a healthy lifestyle.
- Taught lessons about becoming more connected to themselves, their families & communities.
- Completed a community service project of picking up trash on the school campus.
- Awarded certificates of completion & yoga mats to each graduate.
Mentored a Local Farmer – A local young man contacted me after reading my blog posts, requesting instruction in the techniques I was teaching the students at school
- I visited his farm & interviewed him to determine his skill level & commitment to improving his farming techniques.
- He assisted me with several projects at school, and learned new farming techniques.
- I enrolled him in 4-day workshop at the Peace Corps agriculture training center where he learned about small scale chicken farming, orange flesh sweet potato cultivation, tree grafting & other horticulture techniques.
- Upon returning to his community after the workshop, he held a training for 20 women & shared the skills he had recently learned.
- I assisted him with applying for farming grants to improve his production in an environmentally friendly manner. He has since secured funds to increase his bee hives, chicken facilities & improve his water collection capabilities.
- He continues to be an asset to his community & we chat regularly about the progress of his projects.
Promoted Literacy – I feel very strongly that literacy is the foundation for progress in all aspects of a person’s life.
- I constructed a large outdoor blackboard on a wall in my home compound & provided chalk for anyone wanting to use the blackboard. The blackboard was used regularly for studying school lesson, playing games & improving artistic talents.
- I attended several literacy workshops lead by PCVs & took 3 teachers to a one-day workshop at the Banjul American International School.
- I maintained the Peace Corps Regional lending library box, WOW – Words on Wheels at my house, so that PCVs had access to books to use at their sites.
- I enjoyed reading to the children in my home compound.
Media Team – I was a member of the Peace Corps The Gambia (PCTG) media team. This PCV committee was formed to assist Peace Corps staff with media related tasks. The media team provides assistance to any PCV wanting to document events at their site. Additionally, the media team generates content for the official PCTG social media platforms.
- I attended & facilitated media team workshops which included improving journalism, still photography & videography skills.
- I was the Media Team coordinator from June 2019 to the end of her service because the previous PCV had completed his service.
- I posted regularly to the PCTG Facebook and Instagram accounts, improving the viewership on these platforms & interactions between PCVs & the public.
Personal Accomplishments
- I was an older volunteer, completing my two years of service at the age of 73. I believe I was able to bring a different perspective to the agriculture sector, since I had worked in agriculture in various capacities for my entire career prior to entering Peace Corps.
- I supported younger PCVs emotionally & offered tips about practical life skills in The Gambia.
- I developed travel skills by visiting 6 countries during my vacation days & look forward to traveling extensively after completion of my PCV service.
Headed Home
It was an incredible experience being a PCV in my seventies. I learned a lot about myself, got to live in a culture on the other side of the world, and in a completely different climate. In return, I think I shared some pearls of wisdom along the way. After completing my projects, I spent many weeks saying goodbye to some amazing people, and on the last night I enjoyed a sunset on the beach. The Gambia is an unique place and the relationship it has with PC is very positive.
I arrived in Portland Oregon at the height of the autumn color season, with mostly clear sunny skies to enjoy being back in the Pacific Northwest. I have my own room in my son’s new house, with his wife and her mother. Granddaughter Hazel has her own place close by. It’s been a very soft landing and I’m having fun eating foods I haven’t seen in years, driving a car, and ordering stuff online. I can walk for miles without breaking a sweat and I found a couple of yoga studios to visit. Life is Good!
This will be my last blog post, although my site will remain active for awhile. This blog was a great avenue to share and record my experiences, but my PCV journey is now over. I will post my future travel adventures on Facebook in a more spontaneous way.
Thank you for reading my blog and sharing it with friends. I appreciated all the comments, which helped me feel less isolated. I hope to see many of you in the future.
Best Wishes to All – Susan
