Embassy and Gambian Media Conduct a working visit to James Island 

James Island showing defense wall being built from locally available tree stumps with high resistance to water erosion.

On Wednesday 3 June, 2009, Embassy Staff, the Peace Corp and The National Council for Art and Culture (NCAC) accompanied by representatives from all media houses, visited James Island to see work in progress on the restoration of James Island in Jufereh.  Robert Hymn, visiting Consular Officer at the US embassy in The Gambia, noted that, the Embassy had decided to use the Ambassador’s Cultural Preservation Fund to prevent the Island from further deterioration. Baba Ceesay, director of Cultural Heritage at NCAC, the implementing agency of the project, described that once the restoration work is complete, it will minimize the affect of sea waves on the structures, which is one of the contributing factors to its deteriorating situation. 

The interview demonstrated the USG’s support for both environmental and cultural preservation of historic sites.  The interview received extensive coverage on all the major newspapers and GRTS TV evening news.  The Pro government National newspaper did an editorial on it.