Welcome to my blog.
Starting in three weeks, I will be jetting off to the sun-soaked plains of Africa, where sponsored by the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), I will working as Organisational Development Advisor with the Gambian Association of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (GADHOH). It is here that I hope to help facilitate the empowerment of deaf children and their families. With the UN reporting that 98% of disabled people in some developing countries do not attend school for example, there is plenty for me to do.
This is not all it is about though. It is an opportunity for me to experience a culture as old and rich as civilisation itself. Even as I write, my mind fills with visions of what awaits. In fact over the last week, I have had the pleasure and privilege to have heard the stories and seen the photographs, from those who have gone before me. I am particularly looking forward to having Gambian dress made at the tailors, dinner parties with the neighbours and sampling the local cuisine - I bet gunpowder tea, the Gambian national drink, must be mind-blowing!
If that doesn't wet your appetite, I will have Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, and many other cultures surrounding me. During the course of both my job and my travels, I hope to meet many interesting and diverse people; making a difference to their lives and contributing to the ongoing process of development along the way. That I have been given such professional and effective training by the VSO, further instills me with confidence.
Throughout the two years I will spend living in the Gambia, I will be blogging not only about my personal experiences, but also on the development issues that I will be getting to grips with there. It is important work that the VSO does, and I hope as you read these blog posts, you might click on my just giving page, dig deep into your pockets, and donate a little to this fantastic organisation.
Watch this space - you'll read it here first!
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