The Gambia – Swansea Vision 2020 Eye Link

Hi everyone. Hope you enjoy this first blog. We are on the beach at an internet cafe because there is free wireless internet connection. The hotel charges £3.00 an hour! We started the day with a meeting at the Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre with The Gambian team. We had a guided tour of the centre then discussed the paediatric section of the activity plan . Virtually all of the targets have been met so far! Other new staffing developments included two new Ophthalmologists and seven more nurses. A counsellor has also been appointed to work in the clinic to explain and interpret for patients.

In the pm we went to a national eco park, Makasuto. We got in canoes and our guide paddled up the river. The bird watching was fantastic and then we stopped at an oyster factory which was a little hut where a family shelled oysters and burnt the shells to use the dust to make paint. They then sold them at a market. Stella didn’t realise she was standing in a fire while she was taking a photo – luckily she wasn’t hurt. Then we went for a walk through a forest and sampled some palm wine followed by a demonstration of how to climb a palm tree. Our group were invited to join in so Dave and Lindsay were the only ones brave/stupid enough to have a go. Fortunately they returned safely and we celebrated with a delicious lunch of fish and traditional Gambian groundnut curry. We were entertained by a group of baboons and a band who serenaded us on percussion and the kora drum. Perfect!