"Brikama, Gambia's music capital" Brikama by David&Pauline

We only had a brief stay in Brikama on our first visit, hilariously ending up in the house of the Gambia's greatest music legend and griot, Dembo Konte, just to ask directions. We returned a year later to cement our friendship with Pa (Famara) Gibba and his lovely family. By good fortune we got to see kora legend, Jaliba Kuyateh in concert.
We were very happy to make a small contribution to the school at Bakary Sambouya and wish we could be more help to the fine teachers and staff in every other Gambian school. Just like in Britain the Gambia relies on a network of classroom assistants and very dedicated school dinner ladies, who help to make the most of the very limited budget they have to work on. God bless them all.
If you're interested in helping out this community nursery school, then you can write to: Famara Gibba P.O.BOX 5089, Bakary Sambouya Village, Community Nursery School, Kombo Central, Western Division, The Gambia, West Africa.
If you would like to help this school from the UK, then read on about the KAMBENG TRUST.

Jainaba with class two

Tim & Sue Currant

Splatton Cottage, South Brent, Devon TQ10 9DZ

01364-73237 scurrant@hotmail.com

For five years we have been sponsoring a rural village nursery school in the Gambia. It began with a simple request from a Gambian friend, something along the lines of “Could you find a way of providing £25 a month to pay the teacher, at the moment he is unpaid?” That seemed so easy and so little in our terms.

At that time the village school in Bakary Sambouya was a crumbling one-roomed building, with a blackboard at each end, a few tables and benches, and no equipment or books. There were two voluntary unqualified teachers and about 50 – 60 children aged between 3 and 7. The villagers had built the shell of two new classrooms with money donated by a tourist, but were unable to complete it when the money ran out.
For many years we have grown and sold a quantity of Christmas trees and donated the proceeds to various charities. From the tree sale in 2002 we made enough money to provide a quantity of equipment and materials for the school, and to complete the new building. South Brent Primary School collected masses of books and materials. A group of our friends agreed to donate a monthly amount by standing order to go towards paying staff and running costs.
The project had begun. Our annual Christmas tree event is now wholly devoted to this little school.
Since that time we have raised money to help with materials, to build toilets and a kitchen, to equip the kitchen and fund a daily meal for all the children. Lunch in The Gambia is the main meal of the day, so you can imagine that feeding their children five days a week is a huge benefit for poor families.
In 2004 two new classrooms were built and in April 2005 the first qualified teacher joined the school, bringing a wealth of expertise and energy. The school has recently joined the Early Childhood Education Association, and with their help and support is improving the way the school is managed.

We have been funding one of the existing teachers to receive in-service training. She graduated in April 2006 so her pay has now risen from £25 per month to £40. A fourth teacher has also been employed to keep up with the increasing numbers, we have funded her training and she graduated in March last year.

There is also a manager, a caretaker, and a group of twelve women who take turns to cook the lunches.

Bakary Sambouya school dinner ladies

Sometimes the project feels overwhelming, at other times its quite simple, we just need to find ways to raise more money to ensure the long-term survival and growth of the school! Our approach to this sponsorship is to listen to what the teachers and village committee tell us, and support them in achieving their goals for the future of their children.

The Gambian Government does not provide any education for three to seven year olds, so it is unlikely that the project can ever become self sufficient. The school not only benefits the children by giving them a head start with their schooling, but also assists the economy of the village by freeing the mothers to work in the women’s communal garden, which provides a large percentage of the village families’ income.

We became a registered charity in August 2006

Projects for 2007/8

• The building of a perimeter wall has begun as the playground is bordered by two roads. It will also mean that grazing animals can be excluded so that during the rain season, crops such as cassava and groundnuts can be grown on school land to supplement school meals. We will also be able to plant flowers and trees to enhance the compound and provide more shade.

• We need to provide a covered dining area so that the children are not sitting on the ground to eat.

• Provision of playground equipment, books and educational materials

• Two new classrooms to accommodate the youngest children

Future Projects

Future plans are to build additional classrooms and employ more teachers so that children can complete their primary education in the same school. The Gambian Government funds teachers at Primary Level, so running costs of this expansion would be minimal.



Community Projects

We have also provided the village with a four-wheel drive mini-bus and pay for a driver, which helps the wider community in the following ways:-
• Transporting sick people to hospital (available 24 hours a day)
• Daily transport of the women and their garden produce to market in the nearby town
• Taking pregnant women to clinics and women in labour to hospital
• General school and community use

Our aim is to help this rural community to develop their childrens’ education, and assist the welfare and economy of the village. While the school cannot become financially independent as people are too poor to pay fees, it is our intention that any future financial input will be for self sustaining projects.
We are always looking for more people to provide regular monthly donations as the monthly running costs are around £600 but we only receive around £385 in donations. The shortfall is covered by our fund-raising events, gift aid voucher sales, and one-off donations by individuals.

All money raised is used directly on the project as we have no admin costs or salaries in the UK.

• Pros:A very vibrant crossroads of a town.
• Cons:There are a number of touts around the woodcarvers' market.
• In a nutshell:Gambia's Nashville