THE ‘ROOTS’ EXCURSION – THE GAMBIA PEOPLE AND LIVELIHOODS
“The project means a lot to me. It enables me to meet my financial obligations to my family and my community. My earnings have improved by 35%. It has enabled me to take better care of my family and my immediate relatives. My community also benefits from the 50 dalasi paid to the village by each visitor. It will change my life in the future because due to this I am now well known in the village. My hope for the future is to have a more responsible position within my community with a view to enabling the young people to be trained as guides. With this project my community will be able to institute more projects which will be beneficial to the entire two villages.” Lamin Trawally, Senior Guide, Juffureh, The Gambia
As a senior guide, Lamin Trawally has witnessed first-hand the positive impact of a project that is enabling local people to benefit from visitor tours to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda in The Gambia. The ‘Roots’ excursion was made popular by Alex Haley’s book of the same name that tells the story of a man sold into slavery in the United States. Today, visitors can sample the region’s rich culture whilst also supporting its people who live in one of the poorest areas of
12
the country. 50 Gambian Dalasi per tourist is now paid into a village fund to support development projects. So far over £17,000 has been raised. 16 local people have been trained to become professional tour guides, who earn a salary by enabling visitors to gain more from their visit. Visitors can also see a new children’s centre which gives local children facilities to learn and play outside of school hours.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32