The Jobarta family and their relatives are members of the Manding ethnic group. Their ethnic language is Mande, however, communication is not a problem because English is widely spoken in Newjeswang.
The Jobartas live in a home without electricity or running water. Learning that the people in Newjeswang do not have electricity or running water brought up an important point. Without electricity they are unable to have computers and access to the internet. Although the internet is available in the larger cites the people in Newjeswang have no access to it. None of the homes that Chris is familiar with have electricity either.
On a recent trip to see the Jobartas, Chris and her husband gave them a gift of a new wall to be built around their home. In the photo with the group of Manding children, notice the cinder blocks drying on the ground (left side) and a large pile of sand, gravel and other components on the right ready for the block maker to mix for more cinder blocks.
In this part of Gambia, when one wants to build with cinder blocks, a block maker must be hired to come on site to make the cinder blocks for the wall. The cinder blocks are in the process of drying before they can be added to the wall in the background.
In this part of Gambia, when one wants to build with cinder blocks, a block maker must be hired to come on site to make the cinder blocks for the wall. The cinder blocks are in the process of drying before they can be added to the wall in the background.
When asked about the Manding in Newjeswang , it was learned that they are Muslim and in several of the pictures some of the children and adults are wearing traditional clothing for a Muslim prayer day, Salibo, signaling the end of Ramadan.
