Searching in Somita

Today we were carrying out a little task in The Gambia which had been set up for us many months ago. We’ll give you some background for this one…

Four months ago we were exploring the walled town of Taroudant, Morocco (a mere 2,700km north of here) when we stopped for a drink and to listen to some street performers. With our bikes we’re quite conspicuous and a German guy came up to us and started asking about where we were going and what we were doing. His name was Daniel. He was on holiday with his wife and three children in Morocco.

During the conversation we discovered that he had lived in The Gambia for a couple of years from 2001. As we were heading to West Africa he asked, if we were passing, to visit the village where he lived, try and find his host family and show them a picture of him and his family, so that they could see him now. We agreed but with the thought in the back of our minds that 1) we may not reach The Gambia, 2) if we reach the Gambia, are we going to be near the village/would we make a special detour? 3) if we find the village, how are we ever going to locate the family?

As it turned out, we crossed the border at Jboro and then found the fantastic community accommodation at Tumani Tenda. This was a mere 25km from the village of Somita where Daniel had lived. This provided all the impetus we needed, so we decided to make the trip to the village today to try to find the family. If we didn’t succeed, at least we would have explored more of The Gambia.

Other than the busy South River Road, the ride was easy, passing through multiple villages until we made it to Somita. Here I stopped at the police station where I hoped to at least ask if they knew the family name. Before I could enter, some guys asked me if I was ok and I explained that I was looking for a family in Somita that had hosted a European 25 years ago. They suggested we travel a little further up the main road, to a corner shop. Here I asked the shopkeeper for help but they spoke little English. Luckily, the children hovering around the shop could speak English and I repeated the family name we were looking for. One of the boys asked us to wait whilst he got his shoes and walked us further into the village.

On the wall of the house he took us to was the name ‘Jallow’. This was the family name we’d noted down when we met Daniel. We were hopeful. After a couple of phone calls we sat and waited with a bike mechanic whilst people asked around. Then an older guy comes over and we show him Daniel’s picture. He knows him immediately and his face lights up. He has many fond memories of Daniel and calls his sister who was a school student in the early 2000s and remembers Daniel too. It’s a wonderful experience to share in their joy in hearing about a long lost friend who was once part of their lives.

Over some incredibly sweet tea we ask about the Jallow family and the older brother proudly shows us photos and videos of his sons. Soon it’s time to leave and we say our goodbyes. We sadly have no way to contact Daniel but should our paths ever cross again, we can exchange numbers and put the families back in contact if they so wish.

To have shared in this moment was something really special and we can’t quite believe how easily it was achieved! Thanks to all those who helped us locate the Jallows. It’s another example of how the people you meet in your life help you form the most important memories…and how willing we are to go on a random bimble, given the chance.