Serekunda - a suburb of the capital Banjul - became our home base for a few days. We were allowed to park Dötnius and our roof tent in the compound of a German-Gambian NGO. Our contact at the NGO also invited us to visit a public school, which they regularly support. It must be said that funding covers only specific projects, and the NGO does not own any of the land nor buildings.  These belong to the school’s director and while we were there, the roofs of two school buildings were being renovated.

We toured all the school’s premises, spoke at length with its director who explained its structure and received information on the students’ syllabus from the teachers.  We met lots of the children who delighted us with their singing and rhythmic talents. We, in turn, shared with them the wonders of our drone: how it worked and how their school and they looked on camera.  

Further to this visit, we had an interesting conversation with the founder of the NGO, who provided us deeper insight into the operational and strategic challenges of cooperation between the school and the NGO. 

For us, it was the first contact of our trip, with an active, locally driven NGO and will certainly not be the last. Development aid is a big and controversial topic in Africa, which we will examine with interest.

When it comes to the beaches, we were definitely not disappointed. The beaches along the Atlantic Ocean in The Gambia are stunningly beautiful. The sandy beaches vary from the brightest white to darkest black.

Hard as it may be to believe, so far on our trip we had not taken a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia was a first for us and it was certainly worth the wait – it was magical!

For a long time, it was not clear to us where we would be during this highest Islamic festival, which lasts four days. We had been able to observe preparations for the festivities for weeks in each of the countries we had travelled through thus far. Arriving in The Gambia, we knew that we would at least be in this country, but not whether we would get the opportunity to celebrate with devout locals.

By chance we met a German woman who had been working regularly in The Gambia for the past 15 years for various aid organizations and had a large network among the local population. She told us about a family and her sponsorship of the second oldest daughter. The family in question had suffered greatly from the effects of the Corona virus and could not afford a sacrificial animal this year, so it appeared that the festivities would have to be cancelled. The three of us decided to help the family and the surrounding community and pay for the expenses of a goat as an offering.

As guests of honor, we were allowed to participate in prayers at the mosque on the most important of the four holidays. Hundreds of believers prayed together. Everyone was informed about our visit and so after prayers, hands were shaken, photos were taken, and many questions were answered. Afterwards, the goat was slaughtered in the family circle, cut up and the meat distributed among several families. The entire goat was used, nothing was wasted. All afternoon and evening, dishes were prepared and eaten together in a large circle and from a single communal pot.

Satiated with food, impressions, and many new thoughts, we regretfully left the family. We were able to give them a festive day, though we could not resolve their everyday problems nor their financial challenges. However, wonderful memories were made for us and for them.  

We spent our last night in The Gambia on the beach. As luck would have it, we met a group of fishermen who went out to sea at night to catch fish to feed their families.

While waiting together for the darkness of night to fall, we experienced another of the breathtaking and memorable Gambian sunsets. We were joined by a herd of cows, which came to rest on the beach for the night.

In the middle of the night, we helped the fishermen pull their nets out of the water and we had a front row seat to watch negotiations between them on the market women, who would go on to resell the fresh fish on market stalls that day.

Late at night we said goodbye to the fishermen, who left us visibly happy - the catch was good that night - and offered us a bag of fresh fish as a thank you for our help.

It was a special night for us, as we were once again able to experience the openness and warmth of the local population. From the first moment, the first laugh, we felt integrated and that we belonged.