Visitors and chickens !

Our week has continued to be very busy and it reinforces that feeling of awe I always have when watching Anita working her magic here in Bansang. Whilst we seem to almost blunder from meeting to meeting, Anita would be simply floating calmly through it all with a serene smile rather than our looks of confusion and bewilderment ! We have managed to distribute the vast majority of the money we brought out for Anita….and quite a bit of our own! But that always happens out here; there are so many things tugging at your heartstrings ( and at your pocket! ) Only the heartless manage  to leave with any money in their wallets.

Dr Theo & Matilde Keller with Sulayman

The pending arrival of a Swiss couple on Monday had been giving us sleepless nights as the Dr and Mrs Keller are huge sponsors of both drugs and equipment to the hospital and we knew how highly and their donations were valued both by Wandifa and Anita. However they had also assumed something of a reputation for being very punctual and somewhat tough to deal with as everything had to run to their timetable like clockwork rather than to the more usual African formula of “it happens when it happens!” but from the very first moment we that we met, all fears were gone; their warmth, humility and passion for Bansang shone through the Swiss precision and was both a joy and an inspiration to behold. After tea and biscuits we spent the afternoon with them wandering gently around the hospital grounds, showing them all the improvements that had been made and also the works that were still awaiting funding.

The new fruit farm within the grounds was very well received by them as was the solar project . we looked into some of the staff accommodation both originals and refurbished, saw the scoots wall as well as the section that has collapsed; the new, although incomplete Audiology department. Popped our heads into the records office and finally as with most tours of the hospital ended up at the Children’s ward, all the while enjoying gentle conversation with our two wonderful and generous guests as if we had been friends for years. Around 4pm we headed off to our respective accommodations to rest and freshen up before heading down to Paradise for a meal at 8pm. Back at Anita’s house or “the bunker” as it is known, Glenis and I wasted no time in resting our injured ankles, Glenis’ broken in 5 places back in March and mine newly sprained which was very swollen and starting to throb somewhat… The meal itself was well received, with Wandifa the acting CEO and head of nursing together with his deputy Abdul Karem joining us. It was fascinating and inspiring, listening to the conversation about the hospital and it’s future between Wandifa and the Kellers. I like to think that Anita would have been quite pleased with the way the first day had gone…

Back once more at “the bunker” Genis and I relaxed with a small but very welcome Scotch which had arrived from Luigi’s courtesy of Sutay the driver, (He had recovered the bag containing it and various other items which I had managed to leave behind on Thursday) whilst we discussed the days events. It wasn’t long however before we were heading for our beds exhausted but satisfied with a day that had vastly exceeded our expectations.

Tuesday morning saw us up bright and early and preparing breakfast for Dr and Mrs Keller as well as ourselves at Anita’s house, as requested, for 8am sharp! However, inspite of the request for “8am sharp” it was quite a leisurely affair and time once more for gentle general conversation as well as of events of the day ahead. We walked over to Wandifa’s office at about 8.45 where we were greeted and then handed over to Abdoul Karem for a tour of the hospital’s facilities and wards; which were once again well received by our guests with many observations and happy comments being made, photographs being taken and a great feeling of optimism in the air. 10.45 saw us back at Wandifa’s office for a final chat before we bid a very fond farewell to Matilde and Theo Keller who were heading back to Banjul for yet more meetings about other projects that they support. Such people as the Keller’s give one hope for the innate goodness of humanity. Their generosity, humility and drive are certainly serve as an inspiration to us all. The afternoon was spent in more meetings, this time with all the heads of departments and covered a lot of ground on the lists from Anita….and so to evening.

Amongst the usual stream of visitors we had a visit from Lamin, the Riders for Health mechanic that has looked after most of the scoots ever since our first visit in 2006. Lamin is a lovely guy, always wearing a huge, beaming smile and ready with a big hug to all he greets. I’d never known his age, not even when we first met him but it transpired that not only is he 32 years old but has a very beautiful wife and 3 children ranging from 12 down 2 ! For reasons know only to Lamin and his wife, he informed me that she wanted to meet me and had a present for me, so it was arranged that they would call round later the evening. Meanwhile we spent an hour or so chatting about the so called charity, Riders for Health; the bikes that they use; the way they operate and the money they pay their mechanics.

It’s always an emotive subject, examining the workings of charities, particularly the large, wealthy ones! It is my long held belief that far too many of them have become huge corporate businesses, with the amount of aid they actually distribute, far too small a proportion of the donations actually given to them. This is exacerbated by legislation requiring a stupidly small percentage (I think 38% but will confirm later) of their revenue to be given to charitable causes. The rest gets swallowed up in administration and expense accounts for the executives. Riders for Health compounds this model by then charging the recipients of its aid for the use of its vehicles and believe me they are not at heavily subsidised rates. In my view, that is not running a charity it is most definitely a business, where the huge amounts of money given to it by bikers the world over is simply not doing what the people giving it so willingly think it is doing !!!!  It may not be illegal, but again in my personal view, it is most certainly unethical.

It is also just one of the many reasons why I continue to work so closely with Anita Smith and the Bansang Hospital Appeal, I know that every possible penny of the money given to it ends up where the sponsors expect it to; helping the patients and people of Bansang. There are no huge salaries or admin expenses taken out, there are no expense account junkets at posh restaurants, no plush city centre offices (in fact no offices at all, Anita runs it all from here home)  Indeed it is run as I strongly believe a charity should be run, first and foremost for the people it is set up to serve NOT for the executives.

Then an hour or so later a knock at the door saw us greeting Lamin and his very stunning wife with their youngest son. His wife was clutching my present, I hope my face didn’t show what I was thinking, as I was wondering how the hell I got out of this one without causing offence!!

Held tightly in her right hand was a tethered but very live and alert white cockerel ! I was as speechless as I have ever been ( something that those of you who know me well know doesn’t happen very often!) ,  my mind racing through a variety of different ideas as to what I could do with a live chicken. I had a strong feeling that Monarch Airline would frown upon it as hand luggage! I didn’t have my axe with me to despatch it quickly and cleanly and besides cleaning up all the blood from Anita’s kitchen floor would have been very time consuming! I could accept it and give it it’s freedom…but I was afraid that the neighbours cockerel would attack it! I even thought (for a split second!) of leaving it in Anita’s bathroom as a gift for her…. In the end I grasped the metaphorical nettle and after thanking them profusely simply said that I would appreciate it if they would keep it for themselves. It seemed to go down OK and after much laughter and a few photos they left still holding the poor Cockerel !

9.30 this morning sees me heading off to the hospital’s physiotherapy department to see if they can improve my sprained ankle. Then it is off to see my nemesis, Dembo, head of maintenance,  to try to get some sense out of him with regards to the new chairs and the items that need attention in the childrens ward; then tonight I’m back to Paradise for a dinner date with my very beautiful Gambian wife number 1, Gansery!!!!