A group of Twinsclub forum members are embarking on a trip to Gambia at the end of March, in order to visit and help fellow twin mother Fatou. Inspired by forum member LindaL's first visit in March 2008, members twinmumanlovinit and Cass4Kids are joining her this time, with help and aid from other forum members.

twinmumanlovingit reflects, "I read about Fatou through Lindas posts on Twinsclub and was really interested to see what life was like for a twin mum in The Gambia. I have never been interested in traveling and if you had asked me a year ago if i would go to The Gambia, I probably would have laughed at you. But something really spoke to me from Lindas trips and i felt strongly that I would like to get involved and to see for myself. I would like my four children to grow up thinking about the people who we share the world with and learn all about life in another country, and that we CAN make a difference, even if it is just a small one... every little helps."

For LindaL this will be her third visit. In 2007 she was contacted by friends who told her of Fatou, a single mum of twins living in poor conditions in The Gambia. Fatou's sponsors had sadly had to pull out so Linda decided to take over… "I really felt that it would be nice to help a fellow twin mum." In March 2008 Linda went out and met Fatou. She was bowled over by Fatous humility and how different her life was and how she coped with it all in such appalling conditions. "Then when I returned to The Gambia in December 2009, I was sad to see that things had got worse for Fatou and Adama and Awa, her nine year old girls. She had been evicted from her very basic home (breeze blocks and a tin roof; with a cupboard for a kitchen over a fire, and a hole in the ground for a toilet). Now I found she was living in terrible conditions, no place to cook and sharing a hole in the ground with many others in her crowded compound. It really was like a light had gone out in her eyes and I knew then I would do everything I could to help her."

The cost of living seems low compared to the Western World, but keeping in mind that Fatou can sometimes go two to three days without making any money, life can be a big struggle. At the most she is able to make up to 200 dalasi a week which is around £5. The following list outlines some of the basic expenses that Fatou faces:

LindaL has been asked ‘Why Fatou?’ … "Well for me, it was the way she touched my heart. And the fact that I am connected to a fellow mum of twins raising her girls in a
completely different culture on another continent."

March 24th 2010, LindaL is going back with two fellow twinsclubbers who will be able to meet Fatou and see first hand the life of a mum of twins in The Gambia. Twinsclub hope to follow their trip and report back on what they have taken and what  they have done. More importantly, they will report back how life is now Fatou and her twin daughters, and how life may now be a bit better for them due to the generosity of Twinsclub forum members.

Read background details of Linda's visits at:

• [http://riverratsam.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/travels-in-the-gambia-2/]
• http://www.friendsoffatou.wordpress.com

Inspiration for the project

• http://www.seedlingsforchrist.com/.  

Visit Twinsclub forums here.

If you would like to know more, get involved, or would like to donate money or materials, you may contact the group going by emailing avie59@dsl.pipex.com