Two Years in Photos

I completed my Peace Corps service several months ago. But after finally sorting through 2 years of photos, I would like to dedicate a final blog post to the people who invited me into their lives and shared this unforgettable journey with me. To my Peace Corps community, I could not have chosen a more incredible, talented, and supportive family. Thank you for giving me the strength to get through the difficult moments and reminding me to cherish the little things. And to my Gambian family and friends, I am honored to have lived and worked alongside you. Thank you for teaching me the value of patience, the strength of community, and the true meaning of wealth. I am forever indebted to your kindness. Although I cannot begin to put my memories into words, I hope these photos offer a glimpse into the simple beauty of the people and country I hold close to my heart. 

Peace and love, Nichole (Awa/Aja/Aminata) 

My Peace Corps family.

Alhaji, my saving grace in Senegal.

Steve and Matt, my lovely language partners.

Preparing moono (millet porridge) with Ndae.

My first Gambian mom, Fatou, and her daughter, Janneh. Janneh passed away shortly after this picture was taken.

My sweet brother, Ustapha.

Sharing American culture :) Live long and prosper!

Cows are traditionally owned by people from the Fula ethnic group. Although my community was mostly Mandinkas, the Fulas still took care of the cows.

Musa fishing.

Learning to fish! I think I caught 17 that day.

Fatou Darboe preparing the rice field for the rainy season.

The flooded fields from the heavy rains of 2013.

My family assured me this was beautiful.

My grandmother, Tidanding Kanyi.

Women returning from the prayer grounds on Koriteh.

Celebrating the end of Ramadan!

Laying the pipe for the borehole taps.

The solar-powered borehole in its completed form.

Clean drinking water!

At the prayer grounds on Tobaski.

Matching complets for my father and the boys on Tobaski.

Enjoying attaya (very caffeinated, very sweet tea) with my mom.

A konkaron, common at Gambian celebrations.

Bride in traditional attire in the middle.

My brother, Karumba, and my dog, Tiyo.

Fatou Kinteh and her daughter

Joking with the village ladies (Tida Kanyi, Mariama Sanneh, and Mariama Kinteh)

The madrassa (Islamic school) in the village with Lamin Kinteh, the teacher and marabout (traditional healer).

Using dramas to teach health concepts in the Women's Health School.

Makeshift drums played by very talented ladies at a naming ceremony.

These ladies know how to dance and party!

Abubacarr Sonko teaching exclusive breastfeeding at the Women's Health School.

Exclusive breastfeeding drama performed for the women.

Jassong's beautiful (and very loud) mosque.

Burning churrio (incense harvested from the bush).

Isatou Sanneh, a very lovely woman and talented sculptor.

Painting the board. It sure looks like checkers, but don't let that fool you. It has different rules and is impossible to win.

Teaching the women about signs of malnutrition using MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference).

Isatou and Mariama performing a drama about the importance of combining traditional and modern medicine.

Practicing the ABCs with Edrisa, Karumba, Jassong, and Adama.

My family's compound.

Nyama Jobe using her model to teach the female reproductive system.

Bintu Kanyi and Bintu Kinteh performing for the camera.

Completed murals at the Jassong Health Center.

Swear-in for the new health PCVs.

Abubacarr Sonko leading a discussion on malaria prevention with Aja, Muskebba, and Nyara.

Preparing neem cream, a natural insecticide, with Tomarri.

Jarra Kinteh showing off her moves at the closing ceremony of the Women's Health School.

This is how we party, Gambia-style! I love benechin!

Making paper propellers with the kids in my compound.

My brother, Karumba, with our Tobaski ram.

Taking Christmas pictures with Jarra, Fatou, and my moms (BaSainey and BaMagira).

Baboons on the road leading to Jassong.

A spirited game of football.

Tomarri cooking for the opening ceremony of the Men's Health School.

Gossip and peanut-cracking.

BaMagira and Nyama Jobe skeptical of my picture-taking.

My tooma, Aminata (named after my Gambian name).

Teaching the men about hypertension at the Men's Health School.

Teaching the men about balanced nutrition.

Memories from America in my house.

BaMagira sweeping the compound.

My brother, Silla.

Kumba, a sassy market lady and my weekly supplier of veggies.

Kaddy selling the best icees in the LRR.

Jassong laddies selling churrio (incense) and hand-fans at the lumo (weekly market).

Dongoroba Clinic, a private clinic built in the nearby village during my service.

The Jassong Community Garden with no shortage of onions.

Beautiful baobab trees on the outskirts of Jassong.

Karumba walking to the dry flood plain to harvest salt.

Salt harvesting

Returning to the village after a successful salt harvest.

Very captivated audience during the Men's Health School discussion on family planning.

BaMagira preparing fuuto in our kitchen.

Tablets for Koranic recitation.

The road to my house.

The village store.

Metta Sanneh and Lamin, a very fat, exclusively-breastfed baby.

Muskebba pounding stones to make jiibidas (clay pots for water).

She didn't want a photo because she said she wasn't beautiful. I have to disagree.

Alieu, Jassong and Seedy practicing the ABCs with the mural I painted on my house.

Baby weighing at the monthly reproductive and child health clinic in Wellingaraba.

Lamin Marong administering vaccinations at a monthly clinic.

My family's donkey loaded up for the lumo.

Jennaba carrying items to sell at the lumo in the village 6 km away.

The lumo where you can find (almost) everything you need.

Walking into the bush to dig for churrio.

Aja and my tooma, Aminata.

Tida and Musa's daughter, Isatou.

My family's compound

Doing laundry under the shade of the mango trees.

The well with the "sweetest" water as described by the ladies of Jassong.

View of Jassong from the hill overlooking the village.

Enjoying lunch with Aja, Maro, and Aminata.

Bath time with Aminata.

The road to the clinic in Bureng. Baboons and monkeys could be spotted early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

Sunset in the bush.

Monitoring nutrition with Abubacarr Sonko.

Interrupted a village girls' feud at the water pump to take this picture.

His mother calls him "Fii" meaning "throw it" to protect him from the jiins (devils).

Village men enjoying an afternoon. BaSana (in the 70s attire) constantly argued with me about being unmarried.

Fatou separating the grain from the chaff.

Alieu and Jassong weaving fans for their mother to sells at the lumo.

Perhaps the cutest kids I've ever seen. I'm lucky to have had these smiles to brighten many days.

BaMagira pounding coos.

BaMagira, the hardest working woman I have ever met. She is a tailor too!

Playing Scrabble card game with the staff at the Bureng clinic. They may have had a difficult time spelling some words, but they got "damn" right.

Mr. Bah (on the right) selling his sifters at the lumo.

My house

The lovely PCVs of LRR graciously kicking Kathy and me out of the region at the end of our service.

Peter Camara, a nurse at the Bureng Clinic, preparing attaya.

Children pounding rocks to make pottery.

Bureng Clinic staff

Nato and Jennaba making pottery.

My tooma, Aminata, and me. I love this girl!

Best friends

The lovely staff at the Dongoroba Clinic.

Fishermen on the Gambian coast.

Jassong's resident monkey is best friends with the dog.

Aja plaiting my hair for my manobito (marriage ceremony).

My manobito (marriage ceremony) in traditional marriage attire.

My manobito where I became the 4th wife to Jalamang Kinteh. I'm pretty sure we were pretending...

Maano picture with my grandmother.

Thanks for making me a daughter of Jassong. M buka ite niniita!