11 November 2017
Day 3 - Schools and college
Carol had
arrived from the UK late the night before and we were all pleased to see her.
Pippa, Carol,
Mo, Regina and I along with Abdoulie Yankuba and Wandifa set off to Brikama
today which is about 30 minutes drive away.
We stopped
first at a compound to collect a missing report and pay some fees to a
sponsored student. The report should have been delivered at the end of the
summer term and we wanted to stress the importance of delivering the report on
time so that Wandifa Abdoulie and Yankuba do not have to waste their valuable
time chasing these up
On then to
Gambia College to see Nakalang Ceesay who is head of science. In February 2018
we will be holding the usual workshops for trainee teachers and may also do
other science subjects depending on who comes over. We were there to discuss
the days for those workshops and also to discuss the catering arrangements with
Madame Touray. At the workshops we give all those attending breakfast and a hot
cooked lunch. We wanted to avoid the problems we had in February this year over
the pricing. We had thought the price quoted was for the whole two days the
workshops run, whereas in fact the price we had been quoted was per day.
We then went to
Longman Memorial Methodist School to look for a particular student we thought
was there (she was) and then on to Brikama Nema LBS and EDC school.
We had
sponsored and paid for the provision of new toilets for the children there. We
were disappointed that the work had not been completed as the boys’ toilets had
not been tiled and some of the money we had paid for the provision of
children’s toilets had been spent on providing new toilets and a shower for the
staff. The school said that those had been in the estimate supplied to us but
were unable to find the documentation then. We had not brought the paperwork
over from the UK, so will need to resolve this when we get home. We had hoped
to fund new projects at that school, but these will have to be reconsidered in
light of this.
We then went on
to Yundum army barracks which is near the airport. In the barracks there is a
nursery school, a Lower Basic and an Upper Basic. Until last year we had not
even known there was a school on that site. It caters for both children of army
personnel and from the local community.
Our primary
reason for going there was to see if they could accommodate the three students
coming over from Christ’s Hospital School for a couple of days doing a variety
of activities with the children. They will be delighted to do so. We were also treated
to an extended tour of the school. From what we saw the school seems to have an
excellent ethos and is getting very good results. The teachers are very
inspiring and the children seem to learn well. However they are desperately
short of equipment etc. and we have earmarked this school as one we may well
wish to help in the future
Back then to
the hotel. Here is a picture of Mo in playful mode, with Carol in the
background.
Tomorrow we
hope the container will get out of the port and that we will have the fun of
unloading and distributing its contents.
Mo in playful mode. Carol i the background
