Focus-Gambia: Photographic Workshops in The Gambia, West Africa
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Njongon Village Life
Itineraries
Njongon - Village Life Situated on the North Bank of The Gambia, this is a full day tour
in association with www.pingcharity.co.uk with whom we are delighted to support in this venture.
We leave the hotel for a half hour journey to catch the 9.30
ferry from Banjul to Barra on the North Bank. The journey and
the Ferry is an experience in itself, multitudes of people laden
down with belongings and goods for sell; lorries and cars are
crammed in together with street vendors, shoe shine boys and
water sellers. It is vibrant scene and a wonderful place to people
watch - you might even see dolphins racing the boat.
The ferry takes about an hour to reach the North Bank,
where we leave any semblance of tourism behind. The first
village teems with market traders, children and animals before
we reach real African roads (read hot and dusty). However,
in June 2009 the main road was tarmaced making the journey
easier.
Our destination is Njongon Village where we have unlimited
access to this village and populace. It is a rare privilege to be
allowed to wander through an authentic rural community and
with a bit of tact and patience a family may invite you to spend
time with them in their compound. Either way you will enjoy a
freedom to explore, photograph or set up your easel to capture
village life on your own, or in the company of a guide.
Education is so important to these families where they have to
pay to give their children a chance in life. We aim to visit a school
which has 1,000 pupils and/or the PING educational centre for
young adults. There is a huge demand for pens, pencils,
colouring books and reading material and any gifts bought by
visitors is always gratefully received.
The brick making centre teaches building skills to the boys and
tie dyeing and cooking to the girls to encourage them to remain
in their villages and make a contribution, rather than being lured
into city life. We will take refreshments with us and lots of water,
but if you like, you will be given the opportunity of tasting
food prepared by the girls and buying some of their hand dyed
materials.
Time permitting we will try to include a visit to a developing
agriculture area run entirely by the women; in their colourful
African dress they will be delighted to show you what they have
achieved. Since October 2008 a huge area of land has been
cleared from the jungle, fenced to keep the wild animals out and
cultivated with the support from PING into a market garden!
The women are always keen to show how they work the soil
with basic equipment, they love having their photos taken and will
perform traditional drumming and dancing.
This is a full day and whilst brimming with photo and artistic
opportunities can be quite tiring. It is not a tourist destination.
What you see is real and is happening in villages all over Africa.
Our drive back tracks the African sunset across the ferry in time
for supper at the Ngala.