We reached our goal of raising $3,600 for our 2024 Gambia Fundraising Campaign in 48 days. This good news gets even better. As of today, you have generously donated $3,765, exceeding our goal by $165. Meanwhile, United Airlines announced new direct flights from Washington, D.C. to Dakar, Senegal, as we prepare our next trip to Senegal and Gambia.
Your donations are already helping the 17 children our donors are sponsoring continue their schooling. Your contributions will also allow the Phillis Wheatley-Baobab Youth Development Association library to reopen in November as soon as the June to October rainy season ends.
You are also cordially invited to join Port of Harlem publisher Wayne Young on his 17th trip to Africa's Smiling Coast: The Gambia and visit some students and the library. This trip is not just about visiting Senegal and Gambia (Senegambia) as tourists but also about experiencing Senegambian culture and making a difference.
In Senegal, we will spend time on Goree Island. We also visit Gambia's counterpart, Fort James, on Kunta Kinte Island. In Senegal, we will visit the new Musée des Civilisations noires. In Gambia, we will visit the Juffureh Slavery Museum and our exhibit, "From These Shores." You will see why we proudly say: Two Nations, One People.
We'll spend time with Gambian friends and associates, visit schools and community centers, and learn about the rich history and traditions of these safe and peaceful countries. In Gambia, we will stay in Kololi Beach, a walkable tourist strip with restaurants, massages, shops, nightclubs, casinos, the monkey park, and the Atlantic Ocean.
United Airlines announced new nonstop flights from Washington to Dakar starting May 23, 2025, perfect for our return home for Tabaski2025 in late May. We will spend the festive holiday in the village of Kani Kunda with the Cham family. While we are up country, we will also visit historic JanJanbureh, once the home of vigorous inland slave trading and the retirement home of many West Indian Regiment members, plus a visit to the landmark Wassu Stone Circle.
Note: We will soon adjust the itinerary to reflect taking United Airlines directly to the new Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, which is 45 minutes away by air from Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. I look forward to taking the new train from the Dakar Airport into town and eating domoda (meat in groundnut (peanut) sauce at Kololi's new mall, Tropic Shopping Centre.
.
