04 November 2016
Day 3
An early start
to go to Gambia College in Brikama. Gambia College is part of the University of
the Gambia and is where their teachers are trained. We met with Mr Nakulang
Ceesay who is the Head of Science at the college. We discussed what had
happened following previous science and microscopy workshops that we had
carried out. Unfortunately, other partners in the project seem to have lost
interest. A party from Pageant will be coming in February 2017 and will carry
out some microscopy workshops. However, it looks as if that party will be smaller
than usual, so it was decided to do two workshops at the college for trainee
science teachers; a formula that has worked well in the past.
We then made
short visits to a couple of schools in the area and then on to Brikama Nema
Nursery and Lower Basic School. Pageant has not visited that school before, but
we sent a batch of school and office furniture from the container sent over in
the summer. The Headteacher was very delighted with what she had received as
the school had ben desperately short of furniture. We had hoped to see the
nursery classes in action, but it was nearing Friday lunchtime and the nursery
children had gone home. Many schools are closed on Friday afternoons. We will
go back there later in our visit
We decided it
was time for lunch too so went off to Lamin Lodge. Lamin Lodge is a building
which is built on poles and stands in the water of the Gambia River in the middle
of the mangrove forests. There is a restaurant at the top with stunning views,
but you usually have to be wary of the monkeys who will come and steal your
food given half the chance!
After lunch a
visit to the compound of a newly-sponsored child to give him a filled pencil
case and take his photo. Then back to the hotel for some late afternoon R&R.
A classroom at
Brikama Nema with furniture from the Pageant container
