5 Men go to Gambia

Hi everyone!

So last March I travelled to Gambia in West Africa to join 35 other volunteers from United Friends For Education (UFFE) for 10 days to do works on a local school. In the 10 days we built 3 new classrooms, a tuck shop and an assembly hall. Everything from block laying, plastering, roofing, wiring and painting all done in coordination with each other to get the project done on time. The volunteers come from all walks of life ranging from skilled tradesmen to corporate roles and everyman gets stuck in to do whatever is needed to complete the project.

That trip was a huge eye opener for me seeing 1st hand the conditions the people live in. The lack of basic needs of food, water and electricity.

UFFE was founded about 4 years ago by my father Christy and 3 mates, Pat Larkin, Nickolas Corkery and Paddy Barry. The guys all met doing volunteer work in South Africa with another charity. The guys have been volunteering for many years now with some of the guys on their 17th year. UFFE started during covid by firstly raising money for a terminally ill school teacher in Gambia in 2020 and has since went on to building much needed schools with 3 major projects completed so far.

February 2025 UFFE returns to Gambia to do works on another school and along with 4 more recruits I will be heading back. Myself, Jimmy Connolly, Martin Heraty, Alan Hope and my brother Niall Corroon. With all of us having a background in construction we will be busy on this project which involves the building of 3 new classrooms, re-roofing existing classrooms, a tuck shop and a sheltered area.

We have set up this GoFundMe to help raise funds for this project. The funds will be used to buy building supplies, 60 new desks for the classrooms, school books, stationary and food for the school. We aim to raise $25,000 between the 5 of us. Any donations of any size will be greatly appreciated.

Attached is a video of last years project which shows the work that gets done. Also keep an eye on @bigdaveschipper Instagram for images/videos from last year.

Thanks very much for your support.

Dave, Niall, Jimmy, Martin and Alan