ABSTRACT
Gambian independence, on February 18, 1965, was a time for celebration. And since The Gambia's independence, the pace and scope of change have been so rapid and broad that few leaders of the continent's new nations have been able to grasp the consequences of that change and plan adequately for the future. People in Niumi expected the government, the prime minister, and their new government representative to look after them. They anticipated prosperity in good years and a fair shake even when crops and prices might not be so favorable. Niumi never made it onto many African maps, let alone world ones. Its name and any of the others it went by almost never were read or spoken outside the small area around the lower Gambia where people knew of its existence. Greater access to education and improved health care were the most promising aspects of people's lives in Niumi approaching the mid-1990s.
