Tire Swing

Last week after a long series of promises and some convincing that it would be safe Kristy and I installed a tire swing into one of the mango trees in our compound. It very well may be one of the only such swings in The Gambia. The kids love it, they are on it every morning and they laugh and laugh the whole time.

Because such things are so foreign I was not sure how they would react. We had to show the first kid how to use it and the whole time of his own maiden voyage he was silent and he was wide eyed. I thought it was sheer terror. He got off, didn't say a word and he left to join the rest of the family at a naming ceremony down the street. Moussa returned with the other kids from the compound and they spent hours on it afterwards.

Kristy and I are glad that we were able to give a sustainable toy to the family. We have spied some of the neighborhood adults on it, but not really neighborhood kids, yet. Thankfully, the tree the swing is attached to is far from our room and it keeps the kids at a distance where the cries of joy are not overwhelming.