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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 08:15:13
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To the Gambian boys at the beach of course white tourists look relatively rich. They have money in their pocket and spend it freely!
But they find it very difficult to understand just how expensive living in europe is. A mortgage is a massive life time commitment for alot of people and this is diffcult to get across. Also when you talk about western salaries we seem like millionaires, but mnay western people have no money left at the endof the month, or worse are living beyond their means and are in serious debt.
It is my understanding that whilst many Gambians are struggling loans and debt arent a normal part of this society. I have heard that in South Africa and India many western companies sell goods to people and put them in debt.
I hope this never arrives in Gambia. You can be poor and at peace with yourself, but if debt crosses the door then life is much more difficult.
Is there any money lending in villages in Gambia? How is it organised? How easy is it to borrow from a bank? The use of credit cards in almost none existant as far as I can see.
Can anyone tell me more? Credit unions are a good way of saving and borrowing in a safe way. Perhaps Gambia could have more of these? |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 08:21:41
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Sister Omega, It is a good idea to encourage apprenticeships or sponsorship schemes for education or learning for skills. It seems to me that alot of skilled workers in Gambia are from Senegal. Does their education system operate differently?
If people learn a skill or trade then they can earn a living. A mechanic, electrician, builder and so on will always have work in a developing country.
Is it partly that skilled jobs are traditionally handed down through families? Therefore the skills are guarded and protected rather than willingly shared? Eg silversmiths, weavers and so on.
Many of the boys at the beach may not have been suited to the formal, harsh secondary education system. But may have benefited from learning a skill under the guidance of an older, wiser man. |
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Momodou
Denmark
11833 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 13:06:13
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quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
...Is there any money lending in villages in Gambia? ..
I have seen some village savings banks. I don't remember under which project or NGO but itīs a bank which is managed by village women, where they can borrow a certain amount with some intrest. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 17:47:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
...Is there any money lending in villages in Gambia? ..
I have seen some village savings banks. I don't remember under which project or NGO but itīs a bank which is managed by village women, where they can borrow a certain amount with some intrest.
That is VISACA Bank. Villagers manage their small micro-finance institutions. I tell you, some women treasurers are tough but its a good scheme.
Men at the Bantaba are scared of the new found authority as it gives women independence and authority they never had before. Some of them are taught at night school and many proofed themselves in maths which is key. |
Edited by - kondorong on 08 Nov 2006 17:54:24 |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 17:53:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
...Is there any money lending in villages in Gambia? ..
I have seen some village savings banks. I don't remember under which project or NGO but itīs a bank which is managed by village women, where they can borrow a certain amount with some intrest.
i know Rural finance in the gambia is called VISACA. i cant remember what it stands for but it is a slightly a different credit system and has certain exemptions from the Central Bank. its more like a scheme than banking. i can't remember how much i read is saved up, but think it was in the millions. this year's winner of the Nobel Peace price is a pioneer in rural banking in Bangladesh. Perhaps we can learn from that.
personally i think money sitting is a waste. it has to be invested to multiply.
i was told that there was an Agricultural Development Bank once. if its true then we need it again. i think this could really help the gambian farmers in their current predicament.
A farmer who has 100 cattle at D10,000 each is technically wealthy. but within the market system he is poor as this wealth is not recognised by commercial banks, to guarantee against loans.
but an Agricultural Dev. Bank can appreciate these things as assets. even farmland. it could also be a way of reaching to people in rural farming communities by offering other services.
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dbaldeh
USA
934 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 18:00:42
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Credit is almost non existense in Gambian villages. Some NGOs try to institute such schemes but because of lack of earnings on regular basis it is almost impossible to sustain such programs. It would have been possible if households earn income on a monthly basis. The sad story is that many farmers only have once a year income generation that is when they sell their seasonal produce (groundnuts, rice, corn, millet etc.) Unfortunately, the government have not been able to purchase these goods from the poor farmers.
Credit unions and bank lending schemes may work, but again the average Gambian civil servant earns between 800 -1500 dolasis which is $50-$100 a month. Such low earnings does not have any room for loan repayments as people borrow away from retail stores their entire monthly income even before month end.
In terms of skill learning, it is still seen as a last resort for many young people simply because they don't understand what it means to have your own skills and become your own employer. It is still a belief in the society that when you graduate from high school or college you should be working in an office else you are regarded as a failure. This assumption is hard to believe but it is true to this very day.
The Senegalese figured out long time ago that the skill learning industry is the best way for many of their youths. So it is true that almost all skilled workers - auto, electric, mason, carpenters, etc are from Senegal. The Gambian youth by and large are always looking for a way to get out of the country and that is just the thing to do.
Government is largely responsible for this lack of awareness in skill building among our youths. It has changed the educational system so young ones can drop out of school at grade 9, but have no opportunity whatsover to learn skills anywhere. Can you imagin a grade 9 graduate securing an administrative or any kind of job?
The goverment should have been building skill centers across the country for training our young stars. Instead they are busy building Villas, empty hospitals, schools, without teachers or nurses, or doctors to man those places. The goverment's priorities are bend upside down and no one seems to be able to see the root cause of our poverty and inability to address our own problems.
It would atleast be helpful if the government will allow experience technocrats to institute policies geared towards developing our youths. Until goverment change its priorities, things are going to get from bad to worst regardless of how many roads they build. A nations development starts with its education and skill building.
"The time is always right to do the Right thing" Dr. M.L. King
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Baldeh,
"Be the change you want to see in the world" Ghandi
Visit http://www.gainako.com for your daily news and politics |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 19:50:44
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| so what was their crime, traunacy being out of school, being on beach just for tourists only what, the article is not clear, but for them to be on television it seems serious |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2006 : 20:04:02
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quote:
Originally posted by jambo
so what was their crime, traunacy being out of school, being on beach just for tourists only what, the article is not clear, but for them to be on television it seems serious
The parade on televison is a trademark of the judicial system. You are tried in public court of opinion even before you go to court with police chiefs sitting with the accused on the TV screen. Thats why SANKOFA said you are guilty until proven guilty. |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2006 : 02:49:26
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| Thats what am talking about Kondorong,Guilty until proven Guilty is Jammeh's law. |
There is no god but Allah |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2006 : 08:14:37
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It is true that credit unions rely on regular savings before you can borrow from the pot. It is empowering for women though, because they can perhaps manage to save a tiny amount and it gives them some freedom. Looking at places where these systems have worked could be a first step.
I know at Brufut there is a skills centre forwomen supported by Beacon school. Some of the women have saved enough to buy a second machine and employ another women. Brilliant!
In Uk there still exists snobbery about white collar and blue collar workers. But the joke is a skilled plumber or electrician who is self employed earns much more than a pen pusher in an office! 
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AbeCham
United Kingdom
19 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2006 : 12:25:09
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| It breaks my hearth to read and see how we treat our own people!I stayed at the Senegambia with my English partner and was appalled how restricted Gambians were around so called tourist areas. My own Gambian family and friends couldn't visit us freely!It's unfortunate that some tourist felt harrassed by Gambians on the beach. But that should't mean Gambians could't enjoy what is rightfully theirs. Poverty needn't mean sacrificing your liberty and dignity. |
Saul |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2006 : 17:58:53
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| I agree 100%!! |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2006 : 18:36:44
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quote:
Originally posted by AbeCham
It breaks my hearth to read and see how we treat our own people!I stayed at the Senegambia with my English partner and was appalled how restricted Gambians were around so called tourist areas. My own Gambian family and friends couldn't visit us freely!It's unfortunate that some tourist felt harrassed by Gambians on the beach. But that should't mean Gambians could't enjoy what is rightfully theirs. Poverty needn't mean sacrificing your liberty and dignity.
Out of support for the so called bumpsters, Kondorong has not been on the beach for 5 years now and i dont intend to. I dont want to be treated as a foreigner in my own country. If independence is to mean anything, its for the citizens to to enjoy that which is theirs and not look behind an invisible barrier as though they are not capable of enjoying life or appreciating the beauty of Nature.
Just like Kalilu Singahteh MP from Baddibu yelled at Jawara in February 1965 in the House, about Gambians being outnumbered 1 to 10 at the Independent Ball, the statistics are only getting worst. Out of the 335 people at the independent party, 300 were Englishmen and only 35 Gambians.
History always repeats itself but with a difference. Until when i can walk the beach without looking over my shoulders and being stopped by tourist police in my own land, i have decided to retire to Yoro Bawol and smoke my pipe under the mango tree, watching the nurses pass by, and hoping, that one day, we will get our independence from ourselves.
"NONE BUT OURSELVES CAN FREE OUR MINDS" BOB MARLEY |
Edited by - kondorong on 09 Nov 2006 19:25:30 |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2006 : 13:48:29
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Kondorong, staying away from the beach means to perpetuate the situation. You are doing exactly what tour operators, hotel owners etc. want! Instead, and if you really like to go to the beach, you should go there alone, with the whole family or with your wife, at any time you like.
Together with the (Gambian and foreign) press, you can bring this shameful sign of neocolonialism into public discussion. I know some German newspapers who also could be interested. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2006 : 17:30:35
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Serenata you hit the nail on the head "you can bring this shameful sign of neocolonialism into public discussion."
The neocolonialism image of Gambia needs to be placed under the spotlight for change to happen.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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