Proud
The way people walk, the way they look and the way they talk made an big impression on me. Although they have not much, their posture and face is full of proud and their smile is more worth than a golden necklace. You know what’s funny? A friend of mine is pregnant at this moment and is reading books about the way the baby grows, what kind of phases a child is going through after birth, etcetera. Suddenly it hit’s me that people in The Gambia don’t read books about life, they live life! They just do it.

Colorful market, a real life catwalk
My visit to the market in the main capital Banjul made me smile all the time. The colors of their clothes and merchandise, the funny smell of their food and sweat, the noise… In some way it reminded me of the market in Antigua, Guatemala; the market I visited lots of times. So there in Africa it felt like coming home. I felt a joy deep within me seeing, hearing and smelling all those things. It’s like butterflies in your tummy. It’s like wanting to hug everyone and telling them they’re beautiful. Well, the last thing actually, I did. I did tell some women how beautiful they are. You should see the look in their face! Joy and happiness. Willing to give a hug. To give a smile. To pose for a picture.

Dust, bare feet & a smile
At the border crossing to Senegal I jumped out of the bus. I wanted to be in the middle of the citizens. Immediately little boys were coming to me, bare feet, asking for money and sweets. I told them I hadn’t any but that I was interested talking to them. First I saw disappointment but soon that made place for curiosity. Official language in The Gambia is English but lot’s of tribes have their own language. And when children of those tribes don’t go to school they can’t talk English. But one of the boys could talk English so I started asking questions such as their names, ages, how they live. More boys joined the group, their black faces covered with dust. And they asked me the same questions back. A disabled big boy with a distorted face who could hardly talk came up to me and asked for money. I asked the boys who I was talking with if he is their friend. They answered: no, but we know him.

When I got back into the bus I saw a kid playing with the rim of bicycle, bare feet, dust on his face, holes in his clothes. But with a smile…

Catwalks behind the scenes
The idea of a behind the scenes movie of catwalks around the world existed longer already. But after visiting a big group of children in Kanuma, Gambia, I knew I have to create one.

Before the children gave us a show of singing and dancing the tour guide told them about my project so I laid down the red carpet. After walking the red carpet I invited the kids to do the same thing. At first they doubted (only the president walks on a red carpet), but once a couple of kids just did it, almost everyone followed!

Afterwards I started taking pictures of them. Close-up. They were só curious about the result. And I felt só exciting doing it. Being so close to them, getting them out of their shell, showing them and tell them how beautiful they are, making them smile. When I think back of that moment I smile again.

Some of the picture can be seen in the following movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcJJ9N9ID7A

No20
With The Gambia and Senegal I reached my goal of doing the catwalk in 20 countries! Strange feeling that that journey has come to an end…

Now I will go editing the movie so I can show you the result!

Perhaps a part2 will follow in the future…..

One thing is for sure, if that happens, Africa will be part of it again!

It started out fine, meaning being on time on the airport and no stress at all.

Once I had my seatbelt on and we were ready for take off, I was overthinking the steps I took getting in the airplane. And then I realised I only took my suitcase on board and my sweet little, but o so important red carpet still stood on the airport! O my god! I will not repeat all the words that came out of my mouth by that time but I can tell you I was shocked and angry at myself. Immediately I started thinking about ways to get a new red carpet in Milan! I knew one thing for sure, I wasn’t about to leave Milan without a movie!

We (my brother and I) arrived at our hotel at lunchtime so we first went out for a good Italian meal which was absolutely great. If you ever go to Milan, visit this little vegetarian restaurant called Latteria di Via dell’Unione. You might want to write down the address (Via dell’Unione) because it’s so small you would easily pass it

After we enjoyed this sparkling waterfall of good food and great wine, we asked the lady of the restaurant for help. I thought getting a real red carpet would be difficult, but we could make one out of red paper, material or clothes. The lady gave us the address of a store where they might sell paper so we went out looking for it.

Just around the corner I saw a restaurant with RED table-cloths! I could make a red carpet out of these, I thought! I went to the lady of the restaurant (which is called Bar Bindi) to ask if I could borrow the table-cloths. I explained the purpose and showed her the movie of the catwalk in Paris. She immediately was enthusiastic about it and asked her boss and he said it was fine. I was stunned! So friendly! To be sure, I told her the table-cloths were going to be wet because of the rain, but that didn’t bothered her. I felt so happy! I felt like a won the lottery! With these table-cloths I could make the movie in Milan! Wow! Big thank you to Bar Bindi!

I’m thrilled of the idea showing you the result of two years travelling, working, living, walking. I think about the movie every day and in my mind I’m already seeing the movie It’s giving so much energy!

Challenge
Give me during my travel a challenge and tell me which amount of money you would like to pay for accomplishing this challenge. When I fulfill your challenge, 50% of the amount will go to T.E.S.S. Unlimited, the other half will be used for continuing travelling and fulfilling challenges.

Inspiration?
Let me bake a pie for a homeless Honduran, let me walk my catwalk in a camionetta (bus) or let me make a picture of a Maya woman on my catwalk.

Smile
Foundation T.E.S.S. Unlimited, founded by Tessa de Goede, helps children with cleft lips to a beautiful smile, malnourished children to a healthy weight and school children with English education. An operation of a child with a cleft lip costs for example 150 Euro / 185 Dollar. With accomplishing your challenge I like to help T.E.S.S. Unlimited.

Evidence
You can find the evidence of accomplished challenges on the website in the form of a video, photo. or story. If I’m not able to get it done, you can read that on the website too.

Sooo, go creative and let me know what I can do to get a smile on your face. Drop your challenge with the amount of money here as a reply or send me an e-mail and help me and T.E.S.S. Unlimited realize our dreams!