St Francis School, Gambia Library and Agriculture
Donation protected
St Francis Junior and Senior Secondary School in Kunkujang, Gambia is a government funded school with minimal resources. Even though schools are government funded, parents still have to pay school fees which means some children may not make it to the end of compulsory secondary school.
Agriculture is part of the school curriculum however, the agriculture teacher is responsible for class lessons and tending to the agriculture land itself. If a gardener were employed full-time, the produce could be used to feed the children and provide additional revenue which could be used for books for the school library.
The majority of books in the school library are old curriculum books. Most of the story books that are in the library, are more suited to the middle aged person rather than an African child whose first language isn't English. The library is in need of colorful, fun and inspiring reading books including science books to encourage self sufficiency. It was an energy book in his school library, that in part, gave William Kamkwamba the inspiration to provide his village with water.
Not only does the library need inspiring books but it also needs paint on the walls and a seating area for children to study or relax with a good book. A library should be a place of possibilities via access to information, regardless of financial circumstances. The right information will change the life of a child, family or village.
We cant help every school in Gambia or Africa for that matter, but helping this school means I can give regular updates as to the impact donated resources have made to the school.
The money raised will be used to pay for 3 months wages for a gardener. The idea behind this is to provide 'start-up finance', so that the school can continue to raise their own finances independently for agriculture. Two barrels will be sent containing donations of books , stationary, educational resources, seeds and gardening tools. The money will also pay for some new books, as there are some books that have to be bought due to the importance of the information in them and masonry paint for the library walls.
I hope you see fit to contribute to this first step in new hope projects we will be doing throughout Gambia in the future.
Organizer
Subira Dalila
Organizer
England