Real Life in Gambia with Omar: February 2026

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

How Our Garden Is Coming Along This February

We have been working very hard to grow food. It is more difficult in the months with no rain. Our rainy season food grows very fast and we preserve as much as possible. But, when we cannot grow food we go hungry until the point that those of us that can work receive payment at the end of the month.

Once we are paid, we can purchase food that is available to eat. I have a mother and a daughter. I make sure they eat, and there are times I do not. The need for the well will literally save our compound if we are able to get one. Here is a few videos of the progress of our garden.

Here is Omar'sTiktok

The baby plants we are working on.

Some of the progress that has gone on this month.

Omar in the garden.

What A Well In Gambia Looks Like & What We Have Currently

So here in Gambia, there are ways to get a well. It is difficult to get the people to help here. A well is not super expensive for others outside of our country, but to us its near impossible.

A typical well costs around 400-600 pounds. A working person in Gambia makes barely 15 to 25 USD in 30 days. This is not per hour, this is literally for an entire month. That money has to go towards food as well as housing and seeds. It's not much, but it gets us through.

Here is Omar'sTiktok

This is the type of well we need. It holds water and allows more water to be stored and used by more people.

This small well is our current available water source to the whole area and that is many people. By the time we each get some water, it's gone for the day and must have time to refill.

If anyone in the USA knows of reliable options to help us get the funding we need for the well school supplies, please email us.

Tiffaniapsp@gmail.com

Drammehomar210@gmail.com

Thursday, February 12, 2026

What We Can Grow In Rainy Season

Hello friends.

During the rainy season here we grow a lot of food. Fruits and veggies and our trees grow lush with mangos. We grow corn and okra and melons. We try to dry preserve a lot of our food to last through the dry months. When in our dry months we get no rain. So, to grow plants we need to bring water from place to place like I showed in the last video.

Here is Omar'sTiktok

Cucumbers

Mangos

onions

Mango trees

Pumkin Goards

Melons

A well would allow my compound and neighboring compounds access to clean and flowing water that we can then not have to worry about if we will get sick from animals using the restroom in our water, or the e-coli or other bacteria that run rampant in our source currently.

A well currently would cost 400 british pounds to build.

We are searching for a mission or organization that can help us make this a reality.

Each day my compound walks back and forth. 10 minutes each way to get water. By the end of the day we have barely any to get until the next morning as the source refills from the underground water. Every water we get has to be rationed for drinking, cleaning, and watering our plants to try to grow during the dry season. When the plants burn from lack of water that means we go without food.

I work 2 jobs. In one I help clean and maintain a building. This job pays $25 USD a month. I do not accept this money. It goes to put these children through school since they no longer have parents. This money is enough to get them in school and make sure they have some food and care since they have no one else to do it for them.

I am also trying to create a wishlist to get these children school supplies. We are looking for a e-commerce site that allows wishlists and purchases that can be delivered to my compound in Gambia and surrounding areas.

My other job is at night. I work all night long and keep a fire going. I watch our compound and protect it over the night time hours. This job pays me $15 a month.

That money has to pay for rent and what food I can afford at the end of each month.

When there is no food, I do not eat. I have a daughter as well that I support and I must do my best in order to help her survive as her mother is not around.

My mother is older and almost completely deaf. She helps around the garden and compound as well.

Here is some pictures from around the compound and the children and my mother.

Mother

Monday, February 9, 2026

Watering My Garden

Watering the garden in the USA is very easy. We have access to hoses and pumps and irrigation systems. That is not the case in Gambia. Here is a video that shows how we water our gardens in my country. Our ground is very hard during the dry season as you can see in the first video. I have Tiktok and that is a great place to see more videos from me.

Here is Omar'sTiktok

How we water in my compound.

As you can see everything is by hand. Buckets of water, pail by pail. We carry them on foot back from the existing water source. This source is depleted daily so we have to rise early to get the water for the day. It is a 10 minute walk each way. We take what we can carry and use as much as possible to grow food.

It is important to note that in Gambia, water is NOT clean. It is used by animals and can be infected by e coli as well. It is very important that we take every precaution to make what we can get last the day and try to make it as safe as possible to drink.

We need a well that will give us safe drinking water.

The purpose of this blog is to help get funding for a well and we also are attempting to start a wishlist to help get items for the children for school.

When that is available I will have all links ready for readers to check on.

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Welcome to Real Life in Gambia with Omar

Here is Omar'sTiktok