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Our Gambia Project

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Our Gambia Project Link : https://we.tl/t-mE0lPWG04I

Our story so far.

It all started when we visited Gambia on holiday back in 2012, we wanted to visit a school that was not supported by hotel excursions, so we got talking to staff and they mentioned a waitress that worked in the hotel in the evenings and taught young children in a remote village during the day for free.

After meeting Bernadette and getting to know her, we visited her school which was inland in a very poor village, this consisted of a brick shack building, metal tin roof, no electric, no running water, no toilets, the 30 children had to drink out of a bucket of water in the corner with a plastic cup to share. The building got so hot, some children where even sick due to the heat.

We decided to support this school and took pens, pencils, paper for them to use, plus food and snacks each time we visited and started sending money over on a regular basis.

We then decided to fund extending electric to the building so fans could be installed, bought blackboards to write on, decorated inside, hard floor laid rather than sand, and toilets where installed next to the building.

However the building was owned by a landlord, it was apparent that when the rent was behind, the landlord used to lock the door until rent was paid, this amounted to £1 per term per child which the parents sometimes could not afford, so we used to fund the rent to keep the doors open so the children could attend school.

After many visits over a period of years and the landlord still being unreasonable, we spoke about building our own school, so it was then owned outright, so the fundraising began.

We managed to raise £25,000 in the UK thanks to so much support in our local town, so first it was to buy the land which we purchased for £7,000, a large plot owned by a farmer, pictured below, this is when the land agreement was signed, Bernadette, her uncle, local major and a solicitor as witness also attended.

We immediately started construction, the sand and cement were delivered to site with water tankers, this was to start making thousands of bricks which are all made by hand and baked in the sun to set.

Next was the foundations for the perimeter wall, again all dug by hand, and slowly the site was taking shape, sand and cement all mixed and poured by hand.

Next was the installation of main gates and side gate at the front entrance, then more bricks where made in preparation for the main build

The picture below shows broken bricks, apparently these have since been broken by children looking for food, as they catch our equivalent of rats to take home to the family to eat.

Unfortunately, the site has had no activity for a few years, as we run out of funds, we have also been unable to visit and raise more money due to our own time restraints, but now we wish to push again to get the project finished.

After visiting Gambia and the site recently, we decided to not only build a school but a house for the teachers Bernadette, her husband James and their 4 children to live, as they currently share one room in a house, shared by up to 20 other relatives which is rather cramped.

We estimate a small house to cost around £10,000 and the school £15-£20,000 to construct, but then we need to do the fit-out. First, we need to install a Borehole as shipping in water by tanker was very costly before.

So, this is where we hope you lovely people come in, any financial support, large or small would be greatly appreciated, even clothes, children’s toys, school utensils, stationary, anything they can use as they have very little.

Just to put in perspective, the lucky ones who work in hotels, they are paid around £600 per year, they look at our mobile phones and say that is worth more than their annual wage, imagine what the unlucky Gambians earn.

The Gambia is a lovely country which my wife and I have fallen in love with, the people are so friendly and genuinely thankful for any support, the country has been very corrupt for over 30 years, due to being ruled by a president that bled the country dry of money and ignored the need for infrastructure, this president is no longer and the country is under new government rule, so the future looks brighter.

Our goal is to finish this project and give to the local children, Bernadette and her family a better life by providing these buildings, as they have supported the local young children for many years for free, giving the children some education starting out in life within very poor surroundings.

Our last visit to Gambia below, we paid for the family to come into our all-inclusive hotel for the day, none of the children had ever been in a swimming pool, they ate and drunk well, it was a lovely day, even many of the other guests staying in the hotel donated money, toys and clothes whilst they were there.

The child on the right being held by his father James, is called Timothy after me, he was born with displaced hips which made his feet stick outwards, if untreated he would not have been able to walk when he got older, thus not being able to work. We paid for his operation, now he runs everywhere, which is so nice to see.

We have set up a funding page, please help if you are able to contribute.

  • PLEASE
  • HELP
  • THE
  • GAMBIAN
  • CHILDREN
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    Organizer

    Tim Catt
    Organizer
    England

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