PROJECT GAMBIA 2018

Project Gambia…Changing Lives Including Yours.

When first established in 2007, the aim of Project Gambia was for Year 10 students to travel to The Gambia for a week each year to experience first-hand life in a developing country so that they become aware of their responsibilities as global citizens, develop a respect and appreciation of their own culture and make a difference to the world in which they live. Now in its 11th year Project Gambia has developed and grown in ways we would have never thought possible. The yearly trip is now just a small part of Project Gambia which now, as a registered charity is an ongoing, day to day work.

Project Gambia…Changing Lives…in The Gambia

The aim of Project Gambia has always been to go beyond ‘handouts’ and has worked closely in partnership with Gambian communities and families who over the year we have built relationships with. Through these relationships we have been able to provide education, support and funding for many Gambian people and have enabled villages to become independent and find sustainable solutions to poverty.

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11 years on… a snap shot of some of our work.

•Over £160 000 raised

•Over 700 people have visited The Gambia

•New classrooms have been built

•Schools have received much needed equipment and resources

•Schools have been refurbished

•Children have access to education & medical care

•Medical resources supplied

•Farms have been established in rural communities

•Two Project Gambia shops in The Gambia provide employment and money for projects in The Gambia

•A solar powered water pump has been installed providing clean running water to a whole community

•Gambian people have been supported to develop businesses

•Four 40ft containers have been shipped full of equipment, school resources, furniture, clothes etc to The Gambia

•We have also provided:

•Hundreds of solar lights

•Thousands of items of clothing and shoes

•Thousands of mosquito nets

• Hundreds of ‘Christmas Shoeboxes’

Project Gambia…Changing Lives…Including Yours

Project Gambia is not just about raising funds and changing lives in The Gambia but an equally important and an integral part of the project is the impact it has on the lives of the students and adults involved, the skills it develops and the way it changes their outlook on life.

During their visit to The Gambia the students gain first-hand experience of poverty as they spend time with families and communities. Through the relationships we have developed with Gambian families the students have many unique experiences which challenge them and cause them to reflect on their outlook on life. Their perception of poverty is challenged and they are amazed how, in the midst of poverty the people they meet are happy and resilient. Many of them begin to realise that the Gambian people are rich in areas where we are poor.

One of the strengths of Project Gambia is that it gives students the opportunity to become the ‘change they want to see in the world’. Not only do the students see the many projects they have raised funds for but they become part of the change, painting and refurbishing schools, leading activities in schools etc. Project Gambia is ‘real life learning’ which for the students becomes a life changing experience which many of them repeat in subsequent years.

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PROJECT GAMBIA 2018

Since starting in 2007 the Project has seen over 700 people travel to The Gambia and has raised thousands of pounds to support schools and poor communities there.

This year 106 people took part in 3 trips over a 2 week period. The Project Gambia 2018 team not only included Ridgewood High School students and staff but also staff and students from The Earls High School, Stourbridge College as well as primary colleagues, parents and other adult volunteers.

Each year Project Gambia goes from strength to strength and through the hard work and fundraising of all the students and adults who have taken part, a real difference is being made to peoples’ lives in The Gambia.

Throughout this year’s trip the team spent time in schools at Half Dye, Madiana and the Methodist Special School, leading activities such as art and craft, football and face painting.

Half Dye School

This year we were delighted to be part of the first Half Dye Sports Day. The children competed in range of races including running, filling up a bottle with sand and musical chairs! Later in the week we attended the now annual presentation at Half Dye School. Children from the school entertained us with drama and traditional African dance. At the end of the presentation we presented certificates and prizes to the 12 children who had made the most progress in their studies.

One of our priorities this year was to continue to refurbish the new school at Half Dye. Over the past 3 years Half Dye School has been knocked down and rebuilt into an impressive 3 storey building which now enables more children who live in the poor community surrounding the school to have access to an education. The school is run by New life Children’s Centre a UK charity which Project

Gambia has worked closely with; financially supporting the building of the new school and also supplying school resources and equipment.

Project Gambia is known for its ability to do a ’60 Minute Makeover’ (well perhaps not 60min!). This year’s team did not let us down; working tirelessly in the heat without complaining; drawing and painting…and what a difference they made! An amazing job done!

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Madiana

Since 2014 Project Gambia has supported a school located in a very poor village called Madiana.

Three years ago we were saddened to see that the nursery children were being taught in a classroom that consisted of corrugated sheet walls and a roof made of branches. Fifty children were being taught in a very small space with no tables or chairs and small pieces of wood to write on. Over the last 3 years we have shipped out tables and chairs to the school along with boxes and boxes of school resources. It is fantastic to see the tables and chairs in the classrooms making such a difference to these children’s lives. Many of the children who live in the village who do not attend school joined us for the art and craft activities, facepainting, singing and football and watched as we painted several of the classrooms.

The school at Madiana has nearly 900 students but only 8 classrooms. We were delighted to see the foundations being dug for the new classroom block which we have started to raise funds for.

One of the highlights of our trip this year was being joined by Sharon Wardle the UK High Commissioner to The Gambia. Whilst with us she visited the school at Madiana and one of the 3 market gardens Project Gambia has helped the women in the village to develop. The crops from these gardens which include cashew nuts, beans, tomatoes, sorrel and onions not only help feed the village but provide money which enables the women to pay for their children to attend school.

Kotusilo Village

Each year students visit Kotusilo, a poor village built on the edge of a rubbish dump. The village has no running water or electricity and people live in overcrowded and basic conditions. Students and adults alike were shocked by the poverty they saw and the amount of people (including children) they saw scavenging on the rubbish dump for anything they could reuse or sell. Some of the children who live in this village attend the Newlife School at Half Dye. Living next to the rubbish dump means that they are extremely vulnerable to all sorts of diseases and infections and in the rainy season they are at very high risk of malaria. Each year when we visit we distribute mosquito nets. This year 300 were purchased and distributed to families in the village. We also were pleased to be able to give out 100s of wind up torches that had been donated to us.

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Sintet

One of the highlights of the trip were the visits we made to Sintet. Over the past 6 years Project Gambia has worked with the community to develop a farming project. Since 2012 the farm has been extended and now measures 400m x 400m. In March 2015 following the tragic death of an 8 year boy who fell down one of the wells and 2 years of drought in the ‘rainy’ season, in partnership with the Stourbridge News, the ‘Well of Life’ appeal was launched. Over £12000 was raised to provide a solar powered irrigation and pump system which enables crops to be grown all year round.

It was incredible to see how the farm has now developed and grown under Jabang Tamba, the manager who was employed to oversee the work. His job is to ensure that the farm reaches its full potential in providing crops and a livelihood for the villagers.

After visiting the farm we walked down to the village where we spent time facepainting, painting nails and playing football. After a delicious traditional Gambian meal, we were ready for the 3 hour journey back to the hotel.

Sintet Medical Centre

For the past 2 years we have supported the Medical Centre at Sintet. The midwife here, Mulang Kujabi, works very long hours in very basic conditions with very few resources. The nearest hospital is 35km away which many people are unable to get to.

The clinic provides antenatal and postnatal care, an immunisation programme, child health services, and family planning. Mulang can deliver up to 30 babies a month. Whilst there we refurbished the post natal ward and the outside of the building. We also presented some of the ‘Baby Packs’ for newborn babies which were donated by some of our local primary schools.

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Methodist Special School

For many of the students a visit to the Methodist Special School is one of their favourite things to do. The school is the only Special School in The Gambia and the children here have a wide range of needs with very few resources and support to help them. The children here are always so delighted to see us and always make us feel very welcome. Several mornings were spent there doing a range of activities including art and craft, football and music. As these children never get the opportunity to do these things, the look on their faces makes it all worthwhile.

Project Gambia Shop

A quick visit was also made to the Project Gambia shop which is located near to Kotusilo village. This shop is overseen by Florence one of our friends in The Gambia and employs a local woman. The shop sells good quality children and baby clothes, shoes and toys at much cheaper prices than the markets. Monies raised from the shop is being used to support children and families who are in need of food, medical care and education.

Prior to the trip students work hard to raise funds to support the work of Project Gambia. The money they raised went towards the following:

* Mosquito nets for Kotusilo village.

* Equipment and resources for schools at Kanifing, Half Dye, Madiana and the Special School

* Purchase of paint, brushes etc to refurbish classrooms at Madiana, Half Dye, Kanifing, the Special School and the Medical Centre

* Medical equipment and supplies for Sintet Medical Centre

* School equipment, toys, toiletries, shoes, clothes etc were given to all the families and communities we have contact with.

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So What Happens next?

•Fundraising will continue to support the work of the schools we are involved in (Half Dye, Kanifing, Madiana, and the Methodist Special School) and the families and communities we work with.

•Provide Sintet Medical Centre with antenatal and post natal equipment and supplies.

•Continue to provide ‘Baby Packs’ for all new born babies at Sintet Medical Centre.

•Continue to develop the farm at Sintet under the management of Jabang Tamba.

•Provide villages with basic essentials such as clothes and shoes

New Projects

‘Light Up Kotu’

Imagine a world where there is no switch to flick on for light.

Imagine a world where at night the choice is to sit in the dark or burn candles that are both costly and dangerous.

Imagine a world where to have light may result in your children getting burned and long term may cause you breathing and sight problems.

Imagine how scary the world would be without access to light.

We take being able to flick a switch for granted, it’s our basic human right.

However not for many Gambian communities, and not for the villagers who live in Kotusilo.

They choice they face each night is to purchase candles each night with money they cannot afford to spend and put their children at risk or sit in the dark.

Project Gambia now seeks to address this issue and ‘Light up Kotu’

Under the management of Karamo Tamba and Mary Jabang the ‘Light up Kotu’ Project will enable the villagers to rent solar lights at a fraction of the price of a candle. The money raised with then be used to purchase more solar lights which will then be rented out.

One small solar light can change

everything. No more sitting in the dark. No more dangerous candles. With hours of light in the evening families can feel safe and children can learn. One small lamp can transform the life of a family.

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