It's growing and thriving....

Over the past few months, two large coconut palms have been a major nuisance at the elementary school in New Jeshwang. They stood so close to the wall of the building that coconuts would occasionally fall onto the roof, causing both noise and dents in the roof panels. Some roof panels were practically destroyed. So it was time to have them removed, but it was quite a job. A man with a chainsaw was contacted and agreed to cut down the trees, but when it came time to start the job, the chainsaw wouldn’t work. Perhaps not all that surprising to us northerners when we consider the kind of equipment often used in The Gambia, but the job had to be done anyway. So we had to resort to an axe and manual labor—and eventually both trees lay on the ground. They fell exactly in the direction they were supposed to and didn’t damage the building. Eventually, they’ll be cut into suitable lengths, split, and dried, and then they’ll serve as firewood for the school’s cooks, who prepare a hot meal over an open fire every school day for all 1,500 students and 100 other staff members. Impressive!