Fate has a strange knack of intervening in your live when you least
expect it. 1999 had been the worst year of my life ending with the death
of my father after a long drawn out illness. I just wanted to get away
from everything. I didn’t care where it was so long as it was hot
and I could sit on the beach, relax and recover. So I found myself in
The Gambia for the first time in late December 1999. I loved The Gambia
immediately. Although not scenic, I was captivated by the warmth and friendliness
of the people. I had travelled extensively in Africa before but there
was something indefinable about this place that drew me like a magnet.
All I wanted to do was relax so I would rise early and lay on the beach
for a couple of hours to set me up for the day. I enjoyed being on the
beach early, most tourists were still in bed and the peace and the early
morning sun revitalised me. I did not want to be sociable so I read or
feigned sleep. However, I could not help but be fascinated by one lady
who also at on the beach every morning. She was always surrounded by Gambians.
They encircled her, sat on the bottom of her sunbed, chatting away. They
called her Mama Africa. As the days passed my self-imposed exile began
to waver and my curiosity surfaced. Who was she? Why were The Gambians
always flocking around her? Why did they call her Mama Africa? In the
end I could stand it no longer and I approached her and asked her my questions.
That long conversation was to alter the course of my life. Mama Africa
and her dynamic daughter Debbie worked tirelessly to collect medical equipment
which they shipped to The Gambia in a container every year. They were
also involved in collecting items for the schools and the emergency services.
She gave me her address and I promised to try and help. Over the next
ten months I collected items towards their next shipment. The more I came
to know them both, the greater the respect and admiration I had for both
of them. They worked tirelessly for The Gambia. The project was by this
time expanding so rapidly that Debbie took the decision to amalgamate
the medical, educational and emergency services under one umbrella to
become an official charity. Thus GO GAMBIA was born. I was asked to become
a Trustee and took on the responsibility of Sponsorship Program Administrator.
We now run an educational sponsorship programme for 200 children as well
as providing desperately needed equipment for the schools, hospitals and
the emergency services. GO GAMBIA continues to expand and has become one
of the great passions in my life. I could go on forever about it but it
would be easier to log on to our website where our work is explained in
detail. Go Gambia website Fate led
me to that beach in The Gambia in 1999. I often look back and think how
strange it was that a conversation on Banjul beach turned my life upside
down when I least expected it. Any Globetrotters members interested in
sponsoring a child’s education or who can assist the project in
any way can contact us through the GO GAMBIA website. Alternatively, you
may contact Rosemary by e-mail on: rahamblin@hotmail.coms