Tesito

Thank you to EVERYONE who has sent me care packages and letters. I really can't thank you all enough for your love and support. Happy 4th of July- I'm sad not to get to see FIREWORKS, but we had a BBQ this afternoon. Have fun at the community day canoe races in Perkasie :)

After In-Service Training, I returned to site extremely motivated and ready to get dirty working! That week, everyone asked me if I was going to Tesito. I had no idea what tesito was, except that it involved work in the rice fields. So I hopped on my bike on tesito day and rode 8km to the rice fields. I learned that tesito means everyone coming together to work for a common cause. Hundreds of men and women, young and old were busy shoveling dirt into bowls and building a dike with the dirt. It's a looong, tedious process; but a dike kilometers long was built! It's amazing how much work can be accomplished when everyone works together. Many hands makes light work.

The dike construction in my village got me thinking about how this kind of approach could be used in America as well. (No, I'm not a socialist...) If there was a park that needed to be cleaned, or a road that needed repair, what if everyone from that area just cleaned it, fixed it, and been done with it. What if we all planted two trees a year? When everyone can commit to a cause, the work is easy! Now, the women have expanded their rice fields and are planting 120 hectares of rice! With food security being such a big concern in The Gambia, people are trying more than ever to promote OPERATION: FEED YOURSELF. This country has the land to produce enough food to not have to rely on imports, if resources are used correctly!

The community garden is READY and the women are outplanting their vegetable seedlings this weekend! Can't wait to get some pictures to show you all- I know alot of people have been asking about this! The rice and garden initiatives will surely help food security in Jali!