Multiple religious books described hell as ‘attractive’, which can be interpreted as the road to hell can be attractive, but also the dangers of over-valuing beauty. Do you hate religion? Fine! I have secular leaning evidence to support my claims. No one will dispute Africa and most places are building beautiful buildings. So the debate is: are our buildings unhealthy compared to which standards before our counterparts around the world? How much of our suffering and premature deaths can be linked to our building materials versus how we build? Although I will focus more on mold (mould), there are other issues our governments and caring folks should not ignore. I think even the average health advising professionals are under-estimating the potential dangers of mold. However, using your mind and listening to the best, not just the average, can sometimes make all the difference. I will outline a challenge that can prove about 50 to 75% of all ‘beautiful buildings’ in the Gambia have mold, including offices. These numbers reveal ignorance or much worse, but who will ‘repent and amend ‘ with care or indifference? I am fairly certain the problem is far beyond the Gambia or even Africa, but proportionately different in many aspects. Something that contributes up-to brain fog is not minor.

Visible versus Invisible Mold: Caring journalists do not need fancy tools to research or estimate how many ‘Beautiful buildings’ have visible mold in your country. Use body cameras to check ten to hundred homes, offices, and other work places. In the Gambia, fairly old elite places like Fajara and Pipeline, Brusubi area, and one other residential area of your choice. Then the offices can be Quad-rangle, two to five new office buildings, a couple of old and fairly new schools, etc. Reveal the numbers and demand more than government sensitization. If you happen to have extra money, going with mold testing kits to detect the invisible mold may help. Again, your eyes and camera evidence may be enough. I will even suggest you visit the homes and offices of ten to hundred top builders, because the culprits in ignorance often double as victims. Visit the homes of ministers and top health officials. So am I a saviour to be honored or to be dismissed as trivial?

You can research what causes mold or how dangerous it is. ‘Black mold needs warm temperatures and moisture to grow and spread. It commonly appears in damp or water-damaged areas of your home, such as basements, showers and windows.’ The above quote explains where you will probably find visible mold. ‘Warm temperature’ is a ‘blessing’ to Africa, but ‘moisture’ is the curse or cause by negligent builders, ignorant home owners, and super negligent non regulating government officials?

Another quote: ‘many people experiencing mold toxicity report issues that seem unrelated at first: brain fog that won’t clear, stubborn sinus congestion, chronic fatigue, or unexplained skin irritation.’ Well! Some may trivialise the dangers of mold as something that affects ‘only five to twenty five percent’ of the population, but almost every single aspect of the above quote is not minor. When your workers or general population are experiencing brain fog, then learning and working standards may be affected; when people are experiencing mass ‘chronic fatigue ‘ due to something that can be rectified, then refusing to learn is a crime. The remedy starts with education. Me and ordinary you can do very little; journalists as teams can do ten to hundred fold more than this article; then the government may willingly or unwillingly be able to do much more.

Last major highlight of the Urgency or explaining the magnitude of the problem before detailing the Solutions: Because the Internet has all kinds of people spreading truth and misinformation, we must explain in layman’s terms that even the best of scientists may be underestimating the dangers of mold. Food mold versus building mold: Every sane person understands the dangers of eating visible food mold, but constant ‘inhaling’ of mold spores is a form of consumption that can be bigger and much worse. Our nose takes-in whatever is around our environment, not just oxygen . From our conception to what helps sustain us, human beings cannot see one sperm out of millions, nor can we see one mitochondria out of trillions. So invisible good or bad must be taken seriously. In the case of mold, we have varying constant inhaling to explain why some suffer more than others. The elderly woman who stays home all day around mold and worsen by TV, Internet, etc means she cannot be compared with the outdoor worker or seniors of centuries ago. So when Gambians+ claim ‘new foreign food additives’ are the problem, ask them what percentage does such contribute? Then ask them ‘indirectly eating mold’ for hours while asleep, hours while awake, may be a much bigger contributor to our health challenges. I can explain much more, but time and space demand we proceed on the suggested solutions.

As usual, I am the type that believes in education (knowledge) as the highest love. So God, journalists, governments, etc must re-educate not just the builders, but everyone. Since humankind can arrogantly refuse to learn, then regulations and up to punishments are largely the responsibility of the government. In some countries, I doubt if builders receive any health related education. In other countries, the question of enough education in an evolutionary world is on a test. I do not like excuses like we are a ‘poor country’ and the government allows non-educated builders. Such are fractional facts and I just highlighted the so-called professional builders are guilty with their own homes and the adored beautiful offices they built with enough budget. We must put functionality, including health, above beauty. So the architects must design better, builders do better, and home owners demand better by rejecting those who dare propose with negligent assumptions.

No builder has the right to assume you cannot afford a health friendly roof, then propose tiling or xyz where it serves only beauty or what more? I believe at least 75% of Gambian professional roofs are bad. Remember, we said ‘moisture ‘ contributes to mold. So water control has levels and meanings. If the roof is not extending out enough, then do not blame God’s rain. If you under control the water, have it dripping on a wall, rather than collect it towards a garden or sunny area, then negligence is a crime that God or nature does not always forgive. I actually believe in a living terrace as more functional over the different types of corrugated materials many Gambians/Africans use as roof. You can argue my preference is subjective and may still need more water controlling tactics than we see in present Gambia and beyond. Some want to over control kids and even adults, but refuse to understand the importance of controlling things like water for health? Set the standards from minimums, think to go beyond government standards where need be, and learn with numbers towards perfection. Do not tell me ten percent of homes in Japan having five percent of invisible mold is equal to thirty percent of western homes and seventy five percent of modern African homes having mold. I will let you research how Japanese homes do better in roofing, using materials like lime, etc. I will insist we can do better than the Japanese by building with hemp, glass, wood, etc in better ‘ how’ over endless debates on ‘what’.

Journalists and builders can virtually visit Japan and other places through travelling podcasters more than their professional counterparts. Builders can learn about camera security placements from home design level, or search ‘real versus false 360-degree cameras ‘ by Jarga kebba Gigo.

The types of material we build with around bathrooms and the most mold ‘friendly’ places can be upgraded with at least suggestions. We cannot cover all the details of the needed regulations in such an article. However, building codes must be part of the government tasks, or brace up for huge spending on hospitals. Again, sun friendly bathrooms of centuries ago in Africa is not my desire, but using more glass or sun friendly materials around bathrooms can be multiple blessings.

Old versus New Buildings: It is relatively easy to set standards for the yet to be built homes and offices, but what can we do to the existing buildings, the homes and offices? I strongly believe every compound should have at least one glass house, room, or hall. Do not tell me people are poor, because I just told you the beautiful buildings have the problems and lack the solutions. Contrast the cost of a glass house versus your health bills and pain? The sun friendly glass house is to help our ageing folks and others access more sun, not just avoid mold. The sun gives much bigger than vitamin D and health professionals are learning more everyday. Some of us, including myself, are feeling it, explaining things, and the professionals are slowly confirming the truth.

Besides the glass house, what renovations can improve water control and mold? Task them to think differently and allow options. On one side, I am pro regulations, but I hate over regulations or the types that hinder growth or thinking. Set the targets, not dictate or impose the means. So regulations can be good or bad, but if we allow open discussions, then we can rectify questionable regulations. Even the offices, government should seriously consider choice or different ways of renovation for learning purposes… I do not support monthly or periodic ‘mold removal’ as the remedy. First, we try 100% prevention means. If we come short, then such periodic testings and removals can be the mixed blessings.

Besides mold and building materials we use, the air friendly nature of windows (wind-doors) matter above air-conditioners, questionable beauty, and endless complaining of electricity short-supply. The world is not about copying, but learning. So I do not think Africa should copy the west or anyplace, but study our realities and possibilities. We must have enough trees even in our cities and try to access sweet nature over paid questionable man made things. We can build better air friendly offices even if it means less ‘big buildings’. We can suggest better, including which minimums on windows+, especially on commercial buildings. Replacing capitalism is a mighty task, but even improving them can be hard. You want to rent me, but you still gamble my health with the wealthy? I hope God brings Lovism and makes it worldwide. We are different in blessings or can be different should be used to seek the best, not to refuse learning or to support any form of oppression.

Since governments are hard to move, I recommend journalists to work harder. A research with numbers and camera evidence can be stronger than this article in a largely non-reading populace. Yes! This article can reach millions, but people are more into videos. You can even have educative ads that will pressure both the builders and home owners towards a kinder truth. We thank God for the knowledge and hope He helps us with or without others learning, or accepting the truth. If we try to save millions or billions from ‘brain fog, chronic fatigue’, etc, then may God accept our efforts in multiple ways. I have long said: ‘ mistake may not be a crime, but refusing to learn will always be a crime’. Many builders simply do not know, wrongly assume, focus on compliments over legitimate suggestions or criticisms, etc but which builders will learn to adjust their homes and do what for their old and new customers? If the doctors’ homes and workplaces have mold, then how often can they suspect their patients may have much worse mold issues to cause which symptoms? May God bless Showlove Trinity: let’s learn, let’s work, let’s have fun.

By Jarga Kebba Gigo
An Activist and Transformer
Author of Juts Quhr-aahn
Optional Notes:
Hey! Heyy!! Heyyy!!! I suspect the rich builders of Africa are putting money and beauty above health. Many times, I suggest to them, but they tend to put beauty above functionality. They forward excuses and smile with assumptions like questionable politicians or which sales people? Or are the journalists the guilty folks who refuse to teach and pressure them? You want my contract, but do you care about my health and modern security accommodation? No! I may have the ultimate decision as a customer, but professionals have the responsibility to at least advise sincerely. Educate me why I need such water control mechanisms? Maybe I have to window-shop between builders beyond beauty and price range. Well, you must explain to me why you are slightly different from the average builders in your country? Are you a health conscious builder, a functionality conscious builder? I want a home that is even accommodating for wars of drones and beyond? We must be thinkers or how could the Supreme leader of Iran died in which types of strikes? Sometimes the building kills you instead of the strike. So how many state houses and mansions are accommodating the present and reasonable future?

I suspect the guilty leaders are focused on the beauty of their questionable first ladies and endless renovations the average cannot afford. Maybe the joy of ruling over others keeps them laughing and mitigating the impact of mold for how long? Maybe they enjoy air conditioners above sweet natural air. Even if air conditioners or its joy can temporarily mitigate mold, you have responsibilities to citizens. You licensed the builders and their learning institutions with taxes. We elect you to regulate. You failed on your responsibility to think and appreciate thinkers? You can learn or arrogantly dismiss me until the noise is loud. However, atom’s weight of good and evil is the promise through the Quhr-aahn. I do not think one billion breaths of an atom’s weight of mold is trivial, so I will make efforts regardless of the leaders I am tested with. However, leaders who ignore what can affect one innocent person or millions of people may get trillions of atom’s weight in judgment. So let’s all learn or let the videos get brutal against the builders to the leaders … There is a huge difference between teaching in love versus ordering with indifference. Mass educating demands careful crafting from multiple aspects and repetition in care for character uplifting. Those who worship money repeat ads for a reason, so those who value character or avoid costly punishment must learn the importance of repetition. Those who learn fast may hate repetition, but the sentence or paragraph you dismiss may help many slow learners or simply different learners. Like a prostitute can be beautiful but unhealthy, a building can be beautiful and unhealthy. Today, I am poor to build a beautiful and healthy glass mansion, but I still advise in love for others to benefit until my time…

Visiting a home or office with mold is terrible enough, but living or working under such is now a choice? Until we ‘exhort each other to truth…’, the guilt is collective lost as per ch.103. When God of the east and west reveals truth through whom he wills in different countries or regions, then how much learning or patience may exist before a new judgement? Truth is an opportunity to learn, but nature varyingly gives minor punishments or rewards before God’s final punishment or reward? So who will learn versus arrogantly reject truth in the two easts or two wests? Who will learn and share, versus refuse to even share ? Wishes and empathy are minor levels of love in my world. Protect me from sickness, visiting hospitals as a patient or even as a visitor. So please, my friends and families, try to build better and avoid visiting certain buildings. Until then Educate your loved ones and demand better from your leaders+.