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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 19:49:18
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Who knows. The dutch were in the Gambia much earlier.
Infact the frst person to form the Department of Community Development in 1963 was a Dutch man called Van Der Plas. He was a Dutch colnial Governor in Indonesia in the Java peninsula. He later served as as diplomat in Saudi Arabia and Ethipia before retiring. In 1954, he was a UNited Nations consultant in the Gambia on post war unemployement. In 1963, he took up a job with the Gambia Government. Community Development in the Gambia is strictly Dutch idea. As a compromise for not being British, he had the title of "Honoray Organiser".
He was a well educated man and down to eart and even at age 74, he was treking the villages in Kiang teaching development and grassroot empowerment. Unfortunately he is an unsung hero that Gambia needs to recognise.
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 21:16:16
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I always thought that Gambians and Dutch have something in common, and I certainly don't mean Ganja  . E.g., a very special balance between 'relaxed' and 'straight' attitudes is what I find in both societies. |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 21:22:24
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
Who knows. The dutch were in the Gambia much earlier.
Infact the frst person to form the Department of Community Development in 1963 was a Dutch man called Van Der Plas. He was a Dutch colnial Governor in Indonesia in the Java peninsula. He later served as as diplomat in Saudi Arabia and Ethipia before retiring. In 1954, he was a UNited Nations consultant in the Gambia on post war unemployement. In 1963, he took up a job with the Gambia Government. Community Development in the Gambia is strictly Dutch idea. As a compromise for not being British, he had the title of "Honoray Organiser".
He was a well educated man and down to eart and even at age 74, he was treking the villages in Kiang teaching development and grassroot empowerment. Unfortunately he is an unsung hero that Gambia needs to recognise.
the van der Plas story is true. i have worked with a dutch guy some years back with a similar name and he became very famous.
villagers/people have long memories, and remember good people too. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 22:04:59
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Infact the local food rationing donated by USAID to children as part of a nutrition programme in communities is locally called BANTA PLASS. I guess a corrupted name for Van Der Plas. He may have led the effort in maternal and child survival programmes.
He led many efforts for community support and at age 74, he must be a dedicated person given his previous international standing especially as Diplomat and Colonial Governor. |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 22:24:39
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This is a nice surprise!
Serenata, maybe that is why i felt at home in the Gambia and with my partner and his family as from moment no.1.
The Department of Community Development sounds very interesting, does it still exist? Wanting to organise, trying to find ways to operate more efficiently - it seems to be in our Dutch blood. I can imagine Mr Van der Plas kept wanting to go back to the villages even when he was 74. Meeting the people, talking to them and once in a while seeing that his teachings were in any way successful will have given him much more energy than just stay at home and 'be a retired person'.
Funny that you mentioned that he went to the Kiang villages. My partner is from a village in West Kiang, so that makes the circle round again! |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 22:47:52
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quote:
Originally posted by anna
This is a nice surprise!
Serenata, maybe that is why i felt at home in the Gambia and with my partner and his family as from moment no.1.
The Department of Community Development sounds very interesting, does it still exist? Wanting to organise, trying to find ways to operate more efficiently - it seems to be in our Dutch blood. I can imagine Mr Van der Plas kept wanting to go back to the villages even when he was 74. Meeting the people, talking to them and once in a while seeing that his teachings were in any way successful will have given him much more energy than just stay at home and 'be a retired person'.
Funny that you mentioned that he went to the Kiang villages. My partner is from a village in West Kiang, so that makes the circle round again!
He was stationed in Kwinella a lot of the times but visits all over the country and a good friend of the Chief Landing Mbinkinding Sanyang. He spoke many languages, Mandinka, wolof, Dutch, Arabic, Four Indonesian languages, French, Italian, Spanish and Greek.
Thast a great achievement. |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 22:55:21
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| Wish i could have met him, he must have been an inspiring man. |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 00:09:23
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quote:
Originally posted by anna
This is a nice surprise!
Serenata, maybe that is why i felt at home in the Gambia and with my partner and his family as from moment no.1.
The Department of Community Development sounds very interesting, does it still exist? Wanting to organise, trying to find ways to operate more efficiently - it seems to be in our Dutch blood. I can imagine Mr Van der Plas kept wanting to go back to the villages even when he was 74. Meeting the people, talking to them and once in a while seeing that his teachings were in any way successful will have given him much more energy than just stay at home and 'be a retired person'.
Funny that you mentioned that he went to the Kiang villages. My partner is from a village in West Kiang, so that makes the circle round again!
The Department still exists under the Department of State for Local Government and Lands. |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 10:18:02
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| Thank you for the picture. He looks vaguely familiar - i have seen this type of man before, either as a youth hostel manager or as headforester on the Dutch islands. Either way, the type of man we would call a 'people person'. |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 16:13:06
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| The Dutch aye. |
There is no god but Allah |
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Alhassan
Sweden
813 Posts |
Posted - 16 Nov 2006 : 16:27:29
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quote:
Originally posted by anna
This is a nice surprise!
Serenata, maybe that is why i felt at home in the Gambia and with my partner and his family as from moment no.1.
The Department of Community Development sounds very interesting, does it still exist? Wanting to organise, trying to find ways to operate more efficiently - it seems to be in our Dutch blood. I can imagine Mr Van der Plas kept wanting to go back to the villages even when he was 74. Meeting the people, talking to them and once in a while seeing that his teachings were in any way successful will have given him much more energy than just stay at home and 'be a retired person'.
Funny that you mentioned that he went to the Kiang villages. My partner is from a village in West Kiang, so that makes the circle round again!
C O Van Der Plas and the lat Imam Abdoulie Diop as I remembered translated a book that the students of Armitage especially used to learn about Islam.He is known to many Gambians especially in the countryside where he started day care centers for the farmers women to leave their children when going to the farms and ricefields. Most of those from the grater Banjularea cannot remember him as much. I remembered him coming to Janjanbureh as an Armitage student. |
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