As most of you know we are currently back in the US of A, but only for 3 weeks. On July 19th we will be leaving for Uganda to serve with a Christian International Development/Disaster Relief Organization by the name of Samaritan's Purse.
During our last few weeks in Basse, I had the opportunity to interview a gentleman by the name of Omar Baldeh. Omar was very soft spoken and juggled each question I asked between a slight pause and his thousand yard stare. You can find Omar sitting under the bantaba on the outskirts of Basse, along the dusty red dirt road cutting through the bush to Senegal. Most likely he will be wearing his olive green haftan and a zebra stripped beanie, which stands as a statement of personal defiance against the 120 degree heat. Omar has spent his entire life here scratching out a living by taking passengers back and forth between Basse (The Gambia) and Velingara (Senegal); a distance of about 15 miles. His vehicle is an old 1970 something Peugot, which seems to be barely clinging on to life. It was no doubt sent over from France as scrap metal but somewhere along the way it was semi-resurrected. The fare for a one-way trip is 65 Dalasis ($3.20) and that includes all the adventures of having to disembark multiple times due to flat tires, a traffic jam behind 20 cows, and a push start each time the vehicle is turned off. The younger boys featured in the slideshow are Omar's apperantis (apprentices). When they aren't ridding on the roof, they act as luggage loaders, vehicle jump starters, and mechanics.
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