This weekend is Independence Day weekend in the Gambia. It is the 42d year since Independence. Monday is a national holiday. We’re celebrating by going up-country with the kids, for a more rustic experience. I thought this would be a good opportunity to share the Gambian national anthem lyrics with you. If you Google it, you can also hear it sung. My favorite is when the 3-year olds in Sophia’s class begin their song medley with this:
For The Gambia, our homeland
We strive and work and pray,
That all may live in unity,
Freedom and peace each day.
Let justice guide our actions
Towards the common good,
And join our diverse peoples
To prove man's brotherhood.
We pledge our firm allegiance,
Our promise we renew;
Keep us, great God of nations,
To The Gambia ever true.
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A Philadelphia-area family's adventures during a three-month stay in The Gambia, West Africa.
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2 comments:
I like this anthem -- very positive and child-friendly with no mention of fighting or vanquishing enemies.
Love the Anthem.
About traditional healer, not so sure why people assume that herbal medicine and faith have no place in health care, especially in favor of western medicine. (40% of pharmaceuticals are made from plants, plant derivatives, or synthetic versions of them).
It seems that herbs and faith are being lumped in with superstition and that is a shame. Superstition can and does interfere with true health and healing. And that is a real problem.
On the other hand, Western medicine is not the cat's meow and the dog's bow wow that some may believe. For example Western doctors did not even think that diet had any impact on health until the past maybe 10 years, if that!
Here's some medicine for thought: According to a study, published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association}, which is the most widely circulated medical periodical in the world, Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing 250,000 Deaths Every Year!
Journal American Medical Association Vol 284 July 26, 2000.
The author is Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Anybody ever heard of Integrative Medicine, or Complementary Medicine? That's where we take wisdom and experience from various, appropriate to the occasion, healing modalities and use them together.
The underlying challenge is how we can create global health and well- being by recognizing and respecting the merits and pitfalls of what each culture/country/continent has to offer and put them together. Then we will have the best of all worlds. :)
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