#gambia

Sona Jobarteh is a Gambian musician from a griot/jali family and she does amazing work with reimagining West African traditional music:

https://youtu.be/oToZfPGMMBY?si=3dbkXeFgLAoxg1jf

https://youtu.be/PtmmlOQnTXM?si=fnqw7FJXQij8sCl9

and Muthoni Drummer Queen is a Kenyan rapper/hip-hop artist i love her so much!! first time i heard her was in the movie Rafiki (2018), which is also great!

https://youtu.be/KpgCf5ZlDqk?si=cpXI54xjS2fcjRij

https://youtu.be/uQUjueTWL9c?si=sYwlzx8wERZlzTOw

Oooh a griot family, okay!!

hey everyone! I am now running a chuffed campaign on behalf of my friend Saikou in Gambia. Saikou is 19 and an orphan alongside his younger siblings; he is their sole provider, and works freelance taking whatever work is available, often laborious work from unreliable or abusive bosses. Saikou asked me to help him fundraise for a tricycle (pictured below) so that he may work for himself doing deliveries rather than his current precarious employment setup. In his own words, from the text he sent that I use in the bio of this fundraiser:

[ID: screenshot of a WhatsApp message from Saikou reading: "Regarding the job opportunity I have in mind it's basically a tricycle business where I can get to transport people's goods from one place to another and get paid for it, for instance if someone bought goods from the store I will be there to pick it up for them and basically transport it for them from one place to another. So the amount of that is about GMD150,000 for the entire cost of the tricycle and if I get that I can be able to start the work as soon as possible and be able to stand independently and take care of things for myself like taking my younger siblings to school and getting to put good food on the table for us here and get us some new clothes from time to time and all of the good things one could do for his family as I believe with the tricycle business everything that I've ever dream of will become reality here and I can take care of all our needs here. Please I am begging you to find a possible way and make this happen for me here so I can be in better living conditions with my family here" /end ID]

[ID: a motorized tricycle fitted with a truckbed. /End ID]

The goal for the fundraiser is $2,050. This campaign meeting its goal will be a huge deal for Saikou and his siblings; steadier independent work will open up opportunities for the whole family, who were for a long time unhoused and in very uncertain circumstances. This new kind of work will help keep the family's current housing and provide food and necessities like clothing for the Jabbi family. Saikou also very much wants his siblings to get an education, and steadier work made possible with this tricycle will help put them on the path to a sturdier future.

Donations are currently at $0/$2,050. If you dm me with proof of donation I am happy to draw or write something for you as a token of gratitude. If you would prefer to donate directly via Remitly.com (the method by which I will be disbursing all funds raised on Chuffed to Saikou) I will include details under the cut. The phone number below is also the one associated with Saikou's WhatsApp if you wish to contact him directly.

because he lives in gambia, he can only take money through remitly, which is primarily used by immigrants to send money back home. it transfers money using bank/card info, so send him a message on instagram (@/survivourjobe) or tumblr (@/modou-journalist09) for his. for obvious reasons, he doesn't want all his info out on a public post. you will not have to share your info with anyone but remitly.

modou is an older brother and was caring for his neighbor after he (his neighbor) got injured while working. he is helping said neighbor raise money to afford a prosthetic leg in a separate campaign linked on his ig. i've known him for years now. he's done work farming and some video journalism as well, the latter of which is his passion. he wants to create empathy for people around the world and to educate about other serious topics like domestic violence and disability rights. he's asked me to blur/censor his face. here are some old pictures of his garden:

Instagram - @official_mo_family

Mo’s accounts continue to be shut down/restricted on Instagram. He is a kind, determined young adult and older brother from Gambia working to:

• support his family’s basic needs 🤍

• save up for a future home; requires land + building materials (their rent has been raised to 175$ per month) 🏡 —-> Emphasis on this as nearly nothing is coming in for it. It’s a huge daily worry for Mo.

Several 🔗 above to directly support Mo with $

(last link includes items with his family’s art designs, organized in a mutual friend’s shop — proceeds go to them) 💚

+ reblogs etc. are a huge help <3 (especially if you truly can’t dedicate any funds)

Tags for support (let me know if you are open to being added )

africa part 2 (D-G)

edit: once again, i have forgotten a country