Fundraising

The HES are holding a fashion show on the 18th May at Gorsey Bank school to raise much needed funds for the animals at the sanctuary. Many are abandoned, ill or neglected and this is their final home. Others are lucky to be at HES on a temporary basis until a forever home can be found.

Their vet bills are high as they neuter, vaccinate, microchip and treat every animal they take in. There will be a raffle and an auction, so if you ladies fancy a good girlie night out get your tickets now before they run out and help us support this worthwhile cause!

The event starts at 7.30pm with the show at 8pm for approximately 1 hour. With the raffle and auction, the event should finish around 10pm.

Tickets are £5 each with a glass of fizz and can be purchased from Gorsey Bank School or the Sanctuary on 01625 520 802. You can also email: emailus@heswilmslow.co.uk

Having spoken with Mikael just before Christmas, he tells us that the tourist season has not been good this year which has resulted in being unable to continue, at present, with his juice bar.  Not only that, the cost of the fruit and food in general has risen substantially and running the juice bar was just proving unprofitable to continue.  However, on a positive note, he is looking into a new business venture, travelling over the border to Senegal.

In Dakar, Senegal –  Secondhand T-shirts, shorts, jeans and dresses are piled high for blocks along the busy streets in Dakar’s Colobane neighborhood, where people buy donated European and American fashions at a fraction of their original price.

Most of the secondhand clothing arrives in gigantic bundles from France, Italy, the U.S. and the U.K. They are sold by the organisations/charities in those countries that receive donations and are sorted before they reach Africa.

Mikael will pick through piles of shorts, t.shirts, trainers etc,  setting aside only those he thinks will bring the most profit when he takes them back over the border to re-sell in his village.

“It will allow me and my family to eat,” he said. “Life is very hard and it’s a new way of making money.”   He’ll l buy cotton shorts for 200 CFA (£0.27) and sell them for 300 CFA (£0.40).

Thank you to everyone for the Christmas donations of food for the Animal Sanctuary.  We had every good intention of dropping it off in Wilmslow prior to Christmas, however, due to the office being extremely busy and the added bout of coughs, colds and flu hitting the office, we were unable to do so.  We’re hoping to get the items over to them before the end of this month.  Judging from the photo from the Animal Sanctuary, the animals didn’t go hungry this Christmas.

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Kujabi on their recent marriage.  Following a three week delay, Mikael finally tied the knot on Sunday 31st July.  In Africa, the bride’s family have the power over the date they will allow their daughters to marry.  The original date of 17th July was postponed as the bride’s family didn’t feel that the day favoured them.  This went on for a further two weeks and only added to the anticipation and nervousness, being only natural, for Mikael.

We are hoping that very soon we will be hearing the news of the patter of tiny feet, so watch this space.

In the meantime, temperatures are slowly starting to climb with an average maximum of 31°C. Humidity remains high with short showers interspersing the sunshine and the sea water is beautifully warm. During the past couple of months, whilst its been the rainy season the villagers have been actively cleaning the streets to ensure the removal of waste that litter the environment, and ensuring that children stay indoors when it is raining. During the rainy period, there are fewer calories around (these are known as the Hungry Months) but, thanks to the rain, there are a lot more leafy green vegetables to eat.

As the dry season is now approaching the Gambia people will have plenty of couscous and rice to eat, and these grains form the major part of their diet.

There are many taboos and superstitions in Gambia, here are a few we’ve picked out:-

• If a person dreams of raw fish or a snake, it is a sure sign of pregnancy
• It is taboo to sell items like soap, needles and charcoal at night and it is also forbidden to whistle after dark as all these things bring bad luck
• Gambians living in rural areas regard owls with superstitious dread, believing they are transformed local wizards and witches.
  Mikael is preparing to leave the village over the course of the next few weeks to go back into the tourist areas and all being well he can start up the juice bar business again.  His wife, Mariama will stay in the village and look after his Mother and Mikael’s younger siblings.  Even though this is the time that Mikael can make some money, it still is not enough to both feed, clothe and keep a roof over his and his family’s heads.  Mikael has to rent a room in the tourist resorts, which don’t come cheap, as well as buying essentials like rice for him and his family.