Published: 17 January 2007
Tim & Leo's December 2006 Visit Reports
This was my 11th trip to The Gambia but my first one over the festive New Year period. The weather over the week tended to be hot in the afternoon and windy in the morning.
This time the trip was not so much about the training but future planning and this always makes me nervous as taking steps forward is always a problem. Not this time... the players as ever were enthusiastic to see us. Indeed, both Omars met us at the airport with Jerreh and Abu.
Our first objective was to sort the transport out. Abu has a 17-seater bus that he has refurbished, painted green and which accommodates all. We secured a deal with him to provide professional Logos to the vehicle that advertises our Gambia Badminton Team. He will also provide transport each week for the players and assist Jerreh in his new role.
Jerreh agreed to take on the role of Gambia Team Manager. His responsibilities being to organise training each Saturday, provide the fares to the players and co-ordinate the training on a rota basis and providing feedback to the UK each week on the progress of the training. He is also responsible for ensuring access to the hall is booked in advance with the headmaster at Youna School.
So, we have a three-month training program that will be reviewed in April and if successful will be costed for the rest of 2007 and I have just received feedback from the first training session. This involved 10 players and two UK guests of GTS.
We will be organising our first International Match this summer and will involve 8 players from the UK.
Tim
Well, another 7 days in The Gambia has proved vital, but more importantly successful. Unlike previous Gambia encounters, we now have a real sense of agreement and content. We have the support of Jerreh, our new Team Manager and Abbu, our transport organiser. The hall that the hundreds of UK audience have been raising money for is now being used for training on a weekly basis.
The trip itself was different, my fourth but Tim's umpteenth and Mandy's first. We flew out on the 30th December and spent a rather different new year in Youna with our boys. We held four training sessions through the week, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.
However, the main aspect of the trip were the issues that weren't put into practice on the August trip, as mentioned in Tim's last report, and we are currently undergoing a three month trial period and the funds have been handed over for the Gambia Badminton Team training.
Mandy, a newcomer into the project coped tremendously well and overcame the first stages of apprehension! She was very 'active' throughout the week and formed a bond with many of the team players. Her focus were the player profiles which were carried out successfully and will be uploaded to the website shortly. A large thank you goes out to Dave, Mandy's husband, and family for letting her jet 4000 miles away for a week without them.
We now have an air of togetherness in the Badminton Camp and will all push forward in an attempt to gain government sponsorship and advance the sport further is West Africa. Even the smallest support helps our project. To summarise, the project is reaching a peak and we are still raising funds. We hope to spend them wisely on creating a better future for our project, whether we are in the UK or Africa.
I would like to thank all of the Gambia Team for making it a superb experience again for myself; Jerreh and Abbu for being professional; Mandy for everything; Hotel staff and all the bossmen; And finally, Tim, my 'partner in crime'.
May the African smiles keep on smiling. Happy New Year!
Leo