Power Up Gambia Blog

I just can’t believe it. I’ll be back in The Gambia tomorrow afternoon! I’m sitting at my cousin’s computer in England (drinking tea, of course!) unable to go to sleep because of my excitement. On one hand the upcoming trip is daunting because of all of the tasks I hope to accomplish, and on the other hand it is just plain exciting. I am looking forward to seeing the panels soaking up the strong Gambian sun! What I am looking forward to the most is sitting in Giya’s family compound and playing with her grandchildren. One of the highlights of this trip will be the Presidential inauguration of the solar panels.

We have a quite a contingent for this trip:

My mother, Carol Cunningham – our PUG cross cultural consultant and now Gambia expert. She will be with us for our first week.

My husband, Michael Hall – moral support and medical volunteer. He will be shadowing hospital staff and volunteering in the Out Patient Department of Sulayman Junkung General Hospital

My cousin, Lucy Bertocci – Rising high school senior and adventurous volunteer. Lucy will be helping with our energy conservation program at the hospital.

My friend, Sesh Sundaraman – fellow medical student and Director of Monitoring and Evaluation for PUG. Sesh will be living at the Somita Clinic to pave the way for a solar installation.

On this trip we will check up on the solar energy system and SJGH and ensure everything is working properly. We’ll also be sure that the maintenance program is running smoothly. Other projects include (a) exploring the idea of introducing solar torches and cell phone chargers into the community and hospital – can we do this in using a micro-finance model? (2) purchasing and assessing the feasibility of solar cooking – reduce the terrible burns children often have from cooking with fire (3) delivering much needed medication to Fanta, an 8 year old with severe eczema, and FoBakary, a man with severe gastric disease. There’s much more... you’ll just have to check back later this month.

The adventure begins in less than 10 hours! We will be in The Gambia until August 16th. I will do my best to post updates when possible. There will certainly be pictures and updates when I return. Off to try to catch some sleep; tomorrow is a big day.