learning community

What if there were no banks and no public welfare system? What if you didn’t have any wealthy relatives or friends… and then suddenly something happens and one of your family members needs expensive surgery urgently… what would you do? How could you get the money to pay for it?

Many Jolas face similar situations in Gambia. There are banks in the country, but most people don’t have money to save and taking out a loan would definitely not be an option for them. But they do have ways of getting access to some money at times.

In some villages the women have a party once a month, with plenty of food to eat and lots of talking and laughing until late in the night. But this is not just any party, it is a fundraising activity. Each woman who chooses to participate can pay D50* into the pot for a chance to be chosen (by picking names from a hat, or whatever the Gambian equivalent might be) as host for the next party. The benefit of being host is that you are given all the money collected in the pot on the evening of your party.

Another way to get something you need is by asking someone to give it to you. Tourists especially are inundated by children asking them for minties, pens or other items. “Give me book!” “Help me bicycle!” But it’s not only tourists and other white people who are faced with requests like this. If someone is in need, any family member who has extra money will be expected to give them financial help. And a person who has children living overseas will normally expect them to send money back for their family in Gambia.

In rural areas, most Jolas survive by farming, supplemented by gathering and selling various resources (such as lime, salt, firewood, and various food stuffs from the bush). In the city, the Jolas are often the people doing the more basic jobs – as household workers, watchmen, etc. In contrast, the Fula people are often the owners of busy shops or herds of cattle**; and the Wolof seem to have the more prestigious jobs in the city.

* The Gambian currency is the dalasi. At the time of writing, $1 Australian is worth a bit less than D20. One question people often ask me is about the strength of the Australian dollar compared to the Gambian dalasi. They complain that the dalasi is very weak, that it “doesn’t have power” in comparison to the major Western currencies.

** One way of saving some money for use later is by buying a cow – so owning a lot of cattle is a sign of wealth.