After surviving unusually high floods this past rainy season, the Baobab Youth Development Association (BYDA) completed paving 55 meters of a 180-meter road in their home village, Nema Kunka, The Gambia. Most of the roads in the village are dirt and rock, and prone to erosion during the rainy season, followed by dry ruts during the dry season.

The road paving project will help mitigate the negative impact of flooding during the next rainy season by allowing cars to use the road sooner after the water resides and leave a concrete path versus leaving a soft. In the dry season, the ruts make travel slow as vehicles attempt to dodge the ruts.

Buba Camara, president of BYDA, says three people died during the raining season because they could not get to the hospital. This is why we chose to concrete this road he explained. “This road goes to the hospital, connects people to the Latrikunda Market, and it floods,” he explained.

The project began to take shape in 2019 after the National Road Authority completed the necessary survey. While the 2020 floods were devastating to many, 2021 is a dream come true for many of the villagers including those who funded the project by donating bags of cements, rocks, and sand. Most of the labor was completed by volunteers, most under the age of 30. Only a small sliver of funds came from expatriates and others in Europe and America.

BYDA also administers the Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership (POHGEP) scholarship program, The group is just beginning the process of creating thank you videos for donors. Demba Bah, chairperson of the scholarship committee, ask donors for their patience since this is the first time they are using the medium to send thank you notes.  BYDA is also renovating a new space for the Phyliss Wheatly Baobab Youth Development Association Library. The space will also serve as their new office. POHGEP funds the library.

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