Pageant News

Day -4: Ready for the off? Well not really

2012-02-01T22:37:00.001Z

What with Cape Town, Soul Survivor, Micklepage, JCU and Mentoring I'm afraid packing and pinhole cameras have taken a back seat (if such things are capable of occupying this position). Invested in new (and hopefully improved) plug in mosquito killer +a bike pump today. Guess which is going to the Gambia?

Pageant's Artemisia Ambassador

2012-01-25T12:58:00.006Z

The plant Artemisia annua is native to China and has been used there as a cure for malaria for 2000 years. Its leaves and flowers contain artemisinin, which has proven anti-malarial activity. This was isolated from the plant in China in 1971, is now marketed as an anti-malarial drug, and is widely used in Africa in the fight against malaria. However, its original usage as a 'tea' is a convenient and always-available treatment - provided it is possible to grow your own plants.
The Chinese plant does not grow well in hot climates, so a significant breakthrough was the development of a new cultivar called 'Anamed', which grows well in tropical conditions, and still retains its anti-malarial properties. Gambia's National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) has developed successful techniques for growing Artemisia in The Gambia, and supplies seedlings for general use.
Pageant has appointed Lamin Njie as our Artemisia Ambassador. Pageant funded his training in Artemisia cultivation at NARI, and he will now tour The Gambia helping village communities to establish their own Artemisia plantations. He will teach them how to germinate the seeds, grow the plants to maturity, harvest leaves and prepare tea from them. He will encourage villagers to collect their own seeds from mature plants, so that the plantations are self-sustaining and they won't need to obtain fresh supplies of seedlings each season.
Keep up-to-date with news about Pageant's Artemisia Project on this web page.

Get the 'Find and Remind' Toolbar and Pageant gets 50p

2011-12-03T15:17:00.006Z

For one week only!

Every time you or one of your fellow supporters of Pageant gets
EasyFundraising's free Find & Remind fundraising bar,
they will donate 50p to Pageant.

Sign up to EasyFundraising now for donations to Pageant every time you search or shop online.
see further details

Shop Online and Raise Money for Pageant

2011-11-12T16:26:00.002Z

You probably shop online already, so here is a way to raise money for Pageant at the same time as you shop. Easyfundraising is a shopping directory with over 2000 online retailers on its list. These include some of your favourite online stores. Each of these retailers makes a donation of a small percentage of the purchase price to Pageant, but it doesn't cost you an extra penny. As an extra bonus, many retailers offer additional discounts, and other savings, so you gain as well as Pageant.
You can also do online searches through a special Pageant search page and earn money for Pageant each time you click.

Find out more about using these services.

She did it!

2011-10-09T16:59:00.006+01:00

Sarah Hayes ran the 2011 Chester Marathon in a time of 4hr 33min 59sec. This sets a new Guinness World Record for the Fastest Marathon Dressed as a Bottle (female). Congratulations to Sarah on her incredible achievement. See Sarah's webpage for her own account of her epic day. We will be accepting sponsorship donations for some time to come, so why not show your appreciation of her efforts by making a donation which will help Pageant's work in The Gambia.

Sponsor the Bottle

2011-10-04T08:23:00.003+01:00

Sarah Hayes has been running marathons for several years, but next Sunday, 9th October, she will be running in the Chester Marathon, attempting to break the Guinness World Record for 'Fastest Marathon Dressed as a Bottle (Female)'.

Sarah is trying to raise £1500 for Pageant's work in The Gambia. To date she has raised £556, so please help her reach her target. You can sponsor her by clicking this link.
For more information, and latest updates on her attempt, please look at Sarah's page on the Pageant website.

The Pleasure Singers will be raising funds for Pageant in Southwater Parish Church on Friday 16th September at 7.30pm

2011-09-10T23:22:00.007+01:00

The Pleasure Singers are a ladies' choir based in Horsham, whose concerts raise money for many good causes. Their concert in Southwater Parish Church on Friday 16th September at 7.30pm will be raising funds for Pageant.

Tickets are on sale at Stems Florist, Lintot Square, Soutwater, RH13 9LA - and also on the door on the night. Telephone enquiries: 01403 258070 or 01403 730610.

Tickets are £7.00 per adult (£5 concessions) and include interval refreshments. The venue, Southwater Parish Church is in Church Lane, Southwater, RH13 9BT.

Please come along for an evening of good music, and help Pageant's work in The Gambia.

Sponsor Sarah Hayes in the Chester Marathon

2011-07-26T13:05:00.004+01:00

Sarah Hayes is to run in the Chester Marathon on 9 October. She will also be attempting a Guinness World Record by completing the 26.2 miles dressed as a bottle of beer. She hopes to raise £1500 in sponsorship for Pageant's projects in The Gambia. Please sponsor her by following this link You can keep up to date with news about her challenge on her webpage.

'Holiday Hijack' features The Gambia

2011-07-25T08:34:00.004+01:00

Did you see the programme 'Holiday Hijack' on Channel 4 at 8 pm on Sunday 24 July? This featured The Gambia and despite the hype, it gave an idea of where Pageant goes and what we do. We hope that it will encourage holiday-makers to go out of their hotels to see the 'real' Gambia and meet the delightful people. If you missed it you can see it online by clicking this link, or if you have cable, see it on 'Catch-up TV on Demand'.

Exchange Visit to Strengthen Gunjur-Marlborough Link

2011-07-07T20:24:00.003+01:00

The Public Relations Officer of Gunjur Marlborough Link, Mariama Mbanding Darboe, has said that a month long visit to Marlborough by a group of six people from Gunjur will go a long way in strengthening relations between the two communities.

The exchange visit, she said, would give the visitors the opportunity to share the cultural experiences of the people of Gunjur with their hosts in Marlborough, whilst also learning from them so as to share those experiences with the people of Gunjur upon their return.
Her words:
“It is very important that they have this opportunity to meet and interact with other people outside their immediate environment and share their cultures with them. We now live in a global village where people from different cultural and religious backgrounds come together to work in our collective endeavours to promote peace, education, fight against poverty and disease, among others”.

Mbanding also believes that the link between the two communities has been a successful experiment in human relations that has yielded great benefits, particularly for Gunjur in the area of Health, Education, Agriculture and women empowerment.

“We have achieved a lot of progress together since the commencement of the link. We have a community nursery school and four gardens for women to help them pay their children's school fees and put food on the table. We also recently received a milling machine for the women of the village following a fund raising in the United Kingdom. The advent of the machine will save the women of this village a lot of time and hard work spent on using the mortar and pestle to process their harvest,” she said.

The President of Marlborough Brandt Group, Dr Nick Maurice, said they were delighted to welcome six friends from Gunjur to the community of Marlborough.
This, he declared, is the 24th exchange visit of young people between the two communities. He maintained that it also coincides with the 30 anniversary of the formation of the link between Gunjur and Marlborough which came about in 1981 thanks to the enthusiasm and support of Abdoullai Bojang, then Gambian High Commissioner in London.

“The visitors will be bringing the Gambian culture, faith and way of life to schools in the country of Wiltshire through many school visits. They will be visiting London and will meet our MP, Claire Perry at the House of Commons to talk to her about the benefits of community partnerships”.

Dr. Nick concluded that there is no doubt that the visitors from Gunjur would be adding a vital international dimension to the lives of the many people that they meet and will be adding to the global peace, prosperity and justice that Marlborough and Gunjur have been striving for for the past 30 years.

Another Blog from The Gambia

2011-06-19T08:31:00.002+01:00

Lauren Rickwood and Dan Langdon are currently in The Gambia doing a three-week teaching stint at three Gambian schools as part of their Education Degree Course. They are writing a daily blog, which you can see on this link

West Africa’s ‘Children on the move’ is a growing challenge - Child Rights Activists

2011-06-15T16:08:00.004+01:00

A High Level Meeting on ‘Children on the Move’ was held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel yesterday organized by the Department of Social Welfare in collaboration with the Child Protection Alliance. The meeting was convened in hopes to promote and gain support for displaced youth throughout the West Africa region.

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Health, Fatim Badjie, said the government has been mindful of its obligation to children and hoped to create a protective environment for displaced children in keeping with its commitment to stamp out the phenomenon of child abuse and exploitation, an area in which it has made major strides.

According to Hon. Badjie, the enactment of the Children’s Act 2005 is a clear manifestation of the continuation of political will of the leadership of the country in this direction.

“Children’s first line of defence and protection lies within their families. Families and communities are therefore powerful sources of support for children who have been through some of the most negative life experiences,” Badjie said.

Badjie also believes that given the patriarchal nature and orientation of the society, children are seen rather than heard, resulting in limited statuses. She goes on to say that a child is a person with his or her own rights as well as moral and emotional claims which brings on a realization in our society that is hard for many to accept.

“The idea of a child with prescribed rights of his or her own, and freedom to voice opinions, makes any adult jitter,” Badjie said. “To many adults, the concept of child's rights is a subversion, a ploy to undermine cherished and longstanding customs and traditions, an attempt to take away the authority of parents, and a desire to make children rebellious and indisciplined.”

Badjie feels the basic principles of the rights of the child is that society has an obligation to satisfy the fundamental need and to provide assistance for the development of the child’s rights, personality, talents and abilities. She also stated that displaced children need these conditions in order to reach their milestones in a loving, caring, protective and child-friendly atmosphere.

According to Badjie, most parents would prefer to bring up their children with the best quality education as well as understanding his or her religion and/or culture and being able to practice them without fear of persecution.

Badjie also stated the Holy Prophet of Islam was loving, caring, sympathetic and magnanimous towards children, who he regarded as the butterflies of paradise. She went on to further justify her opinion by quoting a biblical verse from the New Testament of the Bible, Matthew 18:6, which states that Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is like a little child, and whatever we do to the least of these we do it to him.

“These rights, which are not external to the society but inherent in it, generate obligations and responsibilities that every duty bearer should honour and fulfil,” Badjie urged.

Fanta Bai Secka, director of Social Welfare, felt that investing in the care and development of children will have an impact on the economic productivity of future adults. Bai Secka stated that child rights are giving children what they need in order to grow to be responsible citizens and to contribute to the development of their societies.

“Let us move ahead as time is against us and childhood is very precious and limited in years, and it is the right of every child to enjoy childhood and grow in a protective environment,” Bai Secka said.

With child rights being the main topic of discussion, it was appropriate for child representative Haddy Jonga, president of the Voice of the Young, to speak at the High Level Meeting.

“Children on the move are unfortunately the most vulnerable amongst children,” Jonga said. “Living on the streets, being trafficked or exploited, may result in a line-up of risks and dangers that these children are prone to encounter and battle with.”

Jonga believes that many children on the move end up being faced with malnutrition, child labour, commercial sexual exploitation and being groomed to become violent and ignorant.

“We need to bring back these children to proper homes, to be loved and cared for, because they will not just end up benefiting you as an individual, but their communities and nations as a whole,” Jonga said.

Jonga went on to end her speech by reminding that the issue of child protection is a collective responsibility in which everyone has a role to play.

She urged the attendees to take on the challenge to make sure we all serve as our children’s keepers and to ensure that all laws are enforced to the letter.

Alexis Scott-Perry contributed to this article.

Vulnerable Children and Young Migrants on the rise in West Africa - Child Rights Activist

2011-06-15T16:01:00.005+01:00

It has been revealed that the number of children and young migrants, who leave their homes in search of jobs and better educational opportunities, only to find them in precarious and dangerous situations in West Africa, has been on the increase.

Making this disclosure at a press conference with journalists, the coordinator of West Africa Network for Swiss Foundation of the International Social Service (ISS) Olivier Geissler said that these children more often than not find themselves in difficult situations far from their families, without any means to continue their journey or return to their countries.

“West Africa sees a lot of movement of people across borders, especially those searching for a way out of poverty or seeking access to basic services such as education or health. From their journey’s start, many of these young people find themselves in precarious situations and fall under the sway of traffickers and other who seek to exploit them. The traffickers see the children as mere merchandise,” he lamented.

This trend of risky migration, he continued, has led to a plethora of other problems in West Africa, namely prostitution, sexual slavery, illegal migration to Europe as well as child labour with its corollaries such as begging and forced military recruitment.

He maintained that his organisation has developed a network of cooperation in West Africa with state partners and civil society to give the necessary support to displaced young individuals who are in difficult situations far from their home and families.

“The project includes identifying the child, his or her protection and psychosocial assessment. We also make a search and evaluation of the family in the country of origin for voluntary return and support for an educational or vocational project and follow-up monitoring over two years. In the past five years, over 1500 children have been reintegrated into their family environment with individualised guidance,” he stated.

This approach, he declared, provides a common procedure by adopting a trans-national South-South innovative project compared to the more traditional North South Dialogue, noting that integration and support of a child does not end at the border but is envisaged as a continuous trans-national guaranteed process.

“The programme is a direct application of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). According to its preamble, the child has the right to live and thrive in the midst of his/her people, its culture and its country of origin. The same Convention requires states to give foreigners on their soil the same treatment as their citizens”.

The approach, he elucidated, is based on synergy and strengthening of existing resources at national and international levels, noting that they shall endeavour to involve all partners in the different phases of the project.

“The dynamic cooperation started by this project is developing and growing across the whole sub-region of West Africa. The network currently has eight participating countries and should cover all the fifteen ECOWAS member countries by 2012."

Day 12: 22 April - Signing off...

2011-04-24T17:10:00.005+01:00

Always so sad to leave The Gambia, and leave behind our wonderful team who work so tirelessly and with such good humour! Thanks to you all. See you next time!!

Love from us all x x x

A TRIP TO RURAL GAMBIA

2011-04-23T16:15:00.016+01:00

I have always looked forward to my trips up-country in general, and Jarreng in particular. On my first trip in 2009, I was shocked at the level of poverty and deprivation the people in one of the poorest swathes of one of the poorest countries in the world have to endure.
And yet, I was substantially impressed with their determination to make things better for themselves. I have, through my conversations with people my age, the High School Principal and parents, known that the daily scrimp and scrape for survival in the rural areas has deprived many children of the chance to acquire education. Many young girls abandon school to get married at an early age, whilst boys provide labour on the farm. Their parents simply cannot afford to keep them in school.
I could not but be impressed with the countless positive impacts (and I mean countless) that Pippa's work and the contributions of PAGEANT members, big and small, have had on the precarious lives of the beneficiaries.
At the Senior Secondary school we were informed that the students being sponsored by PAGEANT have been doing well: Yusupha had "A" in Science in his exams, which is no mean achievement.
We then moved on to Yankuba's compound to see his lovely extended family, and also give mosquito-treated bed nets to a group of women who accumulated in the compound to protect themselves from one of the diseases that deprive most people their dear and loved ones in Africa - Malaria.
And welcomed is what we were. They revealed that the mosquito bed nets they have received over the years from the charity have immensely reduced the rate of Malaria sicknesses in the village.
Tina's extremely good sense of humour was sorely missed. She was ill and was not her normal self, and Pippa tried to step into her shoes, but with less success. Tina is indeed my comedienne-in-chief!(I hope am not getting into trouble).

Note from Pippa: This photo shows us playing 'Jenga' at Tendaba on our overnight stop on the way to Jarreng... Sainey (in the stripey shirt) found this VERY difficult, but persevered manfully!! Abdoulie won the set to take home - I don't remember that he ever lost a game. We also played Scrabble - modesty forbids me to say who won.....

Day 11: 21 April – Rounding off the trip

2011-04-22T08:47:00.007+01:00

Today we spent a wonderful morning by the pool in a last ditch attempt to achieve a tan... before heading home tomorrow. Perfect weather, lovely sunshine and nice breeze. We then headed to the first of three compounds to see Kumba and her family. Although this is a very sad time for them as one of their family members has recently passed away, they seemed pleased to see us. Ebrima in particular was very pleased to tell us that he is enjoying his course and achieving excellent marks in technical drawing. He proudly showed us a car that he had made out of a model kit – beautifully done!

Next stop was Wandifa's compound where we received a very noisy and enthusiastic welcome! LOTS of very happy children, all eager to see what we had brought for them. Tina and I were delighted to meet Ebrima Ian, Wandifa's youngest son, for the first time. He was not so sure about us!! We gave out some presents, played football with the children, admired Wandifa's crop of pumpkins, and looked at the newly dug toilet pit. We were then treated to a delicious lunch cooked by Mariama, Wandifa's wife.

Finally, we called in at Abdoulie's compound where we were shown round the beautiful vegetable garden and introduced to his mother and other family members. We had a refreshing drink under the shade of an olive tree, while we chatted, before stocking up on peanuts on our way back to the hotel.

We had a lovely dinner with Linda before lots of sorting and packing! I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone back at home. Going to miss the smiling people and beautiful sunshine, but definitely NOT the mosquitoes! A huge thank you to Wandifa, Yanbuka and Abdoulie who have worked tirelessly on our behalf, and with such good humour. They are an amazing team and PAGEANT are very lucky to have them.

Until next time... x x x

Day 10: 20 April - Science, Socialising and a New Discovery!

2011-04-22T08:43:00.004+01:00

Notes from Tina (before I forget!):
To Sheila H – Yusupha from Jarreng (sponsored by Chris & family) would like you to know that he thought you were a 'very good Science Teacher'. Joe B & Chris – you should know that Yusupha was able to describe in some detail what he had learned from the February Science workshops to his teacher, who was so impressed, he awarded Yusupha an 'A' grade! Bos & Lyn – Seedy was speechless with pleasure when he received his gifts from you, and he really enjoyed his treat day. To the Skinner family – Goats are SO much fun!! To Gill and Bob – the birds have been fabulous! Including huge vultures, tiny sunbirds, hummingbirds, and pretty little hornbills. To Chris and Charlotte S – we have missed you these last few days!

Day 10

While Pippa was doing complicated things at the bank this morning, Tina wrote up the blog for yesterday, and Frances nobly spent two and a half hours trying (and succeeding) to fix Yankuba's Netbook, which had lost the ability to connect properly to the internet. Working in a different mode to Windows was not easy – Dave G you would have been proud of her!

Today saw the team heading out to Sukuta Nema to visit a new Senior Secondary School and the adjacent Basic Cycle School. Pippa's most senior sponsored student is now teaching at both these schools, and had asked if we could provide any resources as they had none. He was right – we could certainly not see any evidence of any teaching resources, useful or otherwise. We had great fun introducing some Year 12 pupils to a Ray Box with lenses, in addition to a range of magnifying glasses, and eventually, a microscope. When attention flagged, we reverted to the tried and tested 'quick reaction' test using the falling ruler!

Driving away from the schools, our driver Abdoulie stopped the car to show us a 'Jackfruit' Tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) – a leafy tree with the largest fruit we have ever seen – much larger than a rugby ball, and quite spiky to touch. It was really spectacular!

Next we went to visit a lovely young Gambian friend of ours, who is now a married lady, having married a Dutchman last year. We were very pleased to meet her husband, and they both showed us round their lovely home. We were able to see their wedding photos, and Hawa, as ever, looked lovely in these also.

We were pleased to make it back to the Hotel just in time for 'Happy Hour' – what a great invention for the thirsty worker in the heat!

We rounded off a lovely day with a meal out in The Senegambia with Linda and Fatoumatta Saho. We decided Fatoumatta was by far the most skilled person at the table, as she can speak 5 languages no less. A very clever girl!

Lots of love x x x

Day 9: 19 April - Meeeehhhh.... meeehhhhh (Gambian goat speak!!)

2011-04-19T20:35:00.003+01:00

At last the day arrived – Goat buying Day! This is a first for PAGEANT, and we were quite excited at the prospect of a new 'Gambia experience'! Our first stop was to ensure that the shelter we had arranged for had been built, to prevent the new goats from being stolen. We arrived at the family compound to find an excellent shelter, complete with ventilation, food and water, and lockable door had indeed been built! Furthermore, the goats had already been purchased at the market, and were installed in their new surroundings, looking very much at home. This was very good news, as we had been quite nervous about the prospect of leading several possibly reluctant goats through dusty streets, with amused onlookers to help or hinder our progress! So as of today, we are proud to announce that Bill, Sophie, Eloise, Buzz, and Eli goats are installed, and that Nia and Huw will be joining them soon! MANY grateful thanks to all of you who have so generously donated money towards this new project, which has been so rapturously received by the locals here. We have decided that when a family receives donated goats, they must donate two baby goats to another family in need as soon as they can, to spread the good fortune. As one of the goats is heavily pregnant in our first 'batch', this should not take too long to achieve! We note that the goat fund is still growing, so plan to arrange for two more shelters and sets of goats to be distributed before we leave, giving two more families real help to prosper through the rainy season ahead.

As you will see from the photos, this particular family also received a large bag of rice, and a mosquito net to feed and protect their young children during the months to come. To say they were speechless with pleasure is an understatement!

On with our day, the next stop was to visit a newly sponsored 5 year old boy, take his photo for our records, talk to his mother, and check that all was well. He was a real cutie and very happy to receive his PAGEANT pencil case!

Next was a visit to the family compound of an old friend from GTTI, whom we have always previously met at the college. This time we were to see what he does in his spare time at home, and we were not disappointed! He has had the forethought to form a village Association, to look after the needs of the local community. The first task they set themselves was to clean up the streets so that there are no snakes lurking in the rubbish. This seemed an excellent start to us, and the results were certainly impressive! Next they have begun to build a small nursery school, with one classroom already up and running, which doubles in the evening as a space - with lighting no less – for Grade 9 students to revise and study for exams! Not content with that, Fax has organised teams of young people to dig toilets and do other od jobs for the elderly in the village who need help. A truly community spirited man! You would really approve Chris R!
In the evening Linda joined us at the hotel for a meal, and we managed an early night for once. Not really living on the wild side, are we?!

Lots of love to all xxxx

Day 8: 18 April – Happy birthday Wandifa!!

2011-04-18T22:38:00.002+01:00

Today we left the hotel at 9.30 bound for Gunjur, along with Wandifa, Yankuba, Abdoulie, Sainey and Chris. Schools in The Gambia have officially closed for the Easter holidays, but SHM Nursery School in Gunjur had promised to have some of their children in school as they were so keen to see us! On arrival we discovered that the 60 or so children we were expecting had increased to the entire 207 children in the school!! Rather more than we were anticipating for an art activity, however we contrived! We started with some songs and action rhymes lead by Tina and Pippa, including 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes', and 'The Hokey Cokey', whilst Yankuba, Abdoulie and I mixed brightly coloured paint and set up the art lesson. We then brought the children in, 20 at at time to have a go at various printing techniques using paint, bushed, sponges and fingers! Fantastic fun had by all 207 children! And several adults! We then finished the day with a story brilliantly translated to the children by Yankuba, and acted out by the rest of the team. The children very much appreciated the quacking ducks and croaking frogs!

After some goodbye songs we headed to Sainey's family compound, where we had a lovely chat with his mother, and took photographs of his sisters to send to Alhassan out in USA, who is missing his family. The Darboe family all seem very well and it was lovely to see them again. Back at the hotel we had arranged a surprise birthday treat for Wandifa, including a birthday card, cake and presents. Lots of the hotel guests and staff gathered to sing him happy birthday and present him with his first ever birthday cake! Many thanks to Charlotte who made a fantastic card for him whilst we were out at Gunjur. Wandifa was delighted with all the gifts and especially pleased to have another cake to take home to his family. Very mush deserved! We managed a quick swim before dinner by the pool with a relaxed evening to follow. Tomorrow looks set to be another busy day! Let goat buying commence!!

Lots of love to all x x x

PS. Thanks to Chris for some brilliant camera work today! We shall miss Chris, Charlotte, Paula and Alan when they leave tomorrow. Thanks for all your support and the laughs! X

Day 7: 17 April – Treat day!

2011-04-18T22:36:00.003+01:00

This is one of our favourite PAGEANT days where we treat several sponsored children to a fun packed day. Today, we started with a shopping trip in Albert Market where each child had some money to spend on whatever they wished. The children on the treat day today were Isatou, Muhammed, Seedy, Awa, Alieu, Sandy, and last but not least, Mo Lamin. They managed to buy a mixture of shoes, football kit, clothes, swimwear and toiletries, all of which they were very proud to show us! Next stop was Billy's Restaurant where we took them for a chicken and chips lunch followed by ice cream – always a favourite! Linda joined us and a fun time was had by all. The treat did not stop there however, as we then walked back to the hotel, for football on the beach, swimming in the pool, and drinks by the pool bar. Many thanks to Esme who was fantastic assistance in the pool with some thoroughly over excited non-swimmers, desperate to throw themselves into the fun!

Exhausted, but extremely happy, the children left with Wandifa, Yankuba and Abdoulie, full of stories to tell their family and friends when they got home. We staggered to the nearest sun loungers to plan the next days activities and recover!

Very lazy evening after a busy fun-packed day! Enjoy the photos x x x

Day 6: 16 April – Catching up with old friends...

2011-04-17T23:44:00.002+01:00

Today we awarded ourselves a little R&R time beside the pool at the hotel. So this is what they call 'holidaying'! Very restful it was too, but somehow, after a few hours we were in need of more entertainment. So, accompanied by Chris (for the second time!) we headed off to visit the family compound of a very good gardener we happen to know, by the name of Abdoulie. He has been conducting an experiment for us to see how easy it is to grow Artemesia plants, and to see if he could raise new plants from the seedlings. Abdoulie and his family welcomed us with huge smiles, and we were all shown round his truly impressive garden to see a good variety of food crops, ranging from tomato to parsley, cashew and lettuce. He had taken great care to plant the Artemesia in a sheltered and secluded spot, and told us how his own family and several neighbouring families had benefitted from the anti-malarial properties of these plants throughout the rainy season and beyond last year. He is well on the way to raising a new crop for this year. We gave him a second experiment in the form of a self-watering system (large bucket, lots of hose, string and sealant!) to see what he can do with these. We are sure he will have some fun making this work!

Next to the Manneh family who had specially invited us for lunch. One of our favourite families, not least because they have, with some help from PAGEANT members, been able to pick themselves up from sheer despair after their father died very suddenly, and also have a really brilliant attitude to education, and a strong work ethic. They also happen to be a very attractive family, full of fun and laughter, and their hospitality was amazing! Fresh fruits to eat on our arrival were swiftly followed by a delicious fish lunch, as they all told us of the various jobs that they were doing, whilst still studying at school and college courses. The youngest daughter, too young to work as yet, had come first in both her school Grade 5 and exam. The whole family were so proud of her, as are we!

Back to the hotel for a small supper, and an early night! Lots of love x x x

Photos from Jarreng trip

2011-04-17T23:39:00.002+01:00

Day 4 & 5: 14-15 April – The road to Jarreng!

2011-04-16T11:27:00.002+01:00

Where to start... bump...rattle...jolt...ouch!!! On Thursday we began our long journey up-country to the village of Jarreng, home of Yankuba's grandmother and many PAGEANT sponsored children. If you have travelled up-country in The Gambia before, you will know that the roads (or lack of them) always make the journey very exciting!! A true Gambian experience every time. And this trip was no exception!

However, since my last visit two years ago, the roads have dramatically improved. There is now tarmac from Banjul to Kanalai and then Soma to Jarreng. Even bus stops and village names now exist too! We decided to split the journey and stop half way at Tendaba camp for one night. Wandifa, Yanbuka, Abdoulie and Sainey accompanied us girls on the trip and very much enjoyed their holiday! At Tendaba camp, the PAGEANT team enjoyed swimming in the pool (which had water Claire!!), reading, bird watching, making green tea in traditional Gambian fashion, and the highlight – playing Jenga and Scrabble! Very entertaining, especially with Wandifa who is a massive cheat!! We met three ladies from Kent who were teaching in the local schools for a week and exchanged experiences. We all had an early night to prepare for our long journey the next day.

Unfortunately, Tina was very sick in the night, so Abdoulie promised to drive as carefully as he could. We left very early and, after a flat tyre and holding the windscreen in place over the bumps, we stopped in Soma for some breakfast – tapalappa and omlette – delicious! Then, weaving in and out of donkeys...chickens...goats...dogs...cows...sheep....children... we made it to Jarreng Basic Cycle School. There, we met with all the PAGEANT sponsored children from Lower and Upper Basic, as well as Senior Secondary. The Deputy Headmaster showed us the results for the children from term 2 – not hugely impressive, but as the school results as a whole go, all our students were in the top half.

From there,we went round the corner into Jarreng Village, where we were given a warm welcome at Yanbuka's grandmother's compound. Here, we dished out presents for all the sponsored kids, toys for all the children, and pretty jewellery, scarves and clothes for the ladies. We had the opportunity to have a really nice chat with some of the sponsored children - Yusupha and Tina had several very good conversations – his English is truly amazing. Also, after attending the PAGEANT science workshops in February, his science was graded 'Excellent' – a brilliant achievement. He sends lots of love to Chris and family. I had a lovely catch up with Fatoumatta, the girl Tina and myself sponsor. We were very pleased to hear that Fatoumatta's family have moved to a nicer house with the extra sponsor money after her school fees were paid.

We visited the local skills centre and were somewhat disappointed to find that their garden where they had previously planted the artemesia plants, was now a car park. We discussed the importance of keeping these plants going and agreed that they needed some training, which we are doing our best to organise. Back at the compound, we distributed 22 mosquito nets, thanks to the PAGEANT gift voucher scheme. They were met with great enthusiasm.

Next up, was a visit to Jarra, Wandifa's home village. We found everybody in very good spirits, and Wandifa's family traits were to be seen through all generations! Huge smiles, bandy legs, and cheeky personalities! We delivered another 22 nets to the people of Jarra which again were received with huge thanks and happiness.

Finally, en route back to Banjul, we had a true Gambian style journey – hot, incredibly dusty and very bumpy! We lost a window, I got covered in petrol, and then the water pipe burst!! We considered our options for mending the pipe which consisted of chewing gum, hairbands, money... but these were all rejected in favour of a stick! This seemed to do the trick, and we arrived safely back to the hotel before midnight! Definitely a first! What a trip!

Lots of love x x x

PS More photos to come - having trouble with cameras!!

Day 3: 13 April – More lesson fun!

2011-04-13T22:30:00.003+01:00

Today saw Pippa, Tina and myself heading out into the hotel gardens immediately after breakfast, clutching plastic containers apiece. Our mission was to collect samples of hopefully interesting items to view through magnifying glasses and under microscopes. We then headed to Kings Kid Academy in Lamin Village – a fantastic school which has now, thanks to PAGEANT funding for extra classrooms, developed into an Upper Basic School as well as a Nursery and Lower Basic. Chris and Charlotte, two very keen new PAGEANT members staying at the hotel accompanied us on the visit. We held a microscope workshop with Grade 7 students which was hugely successful. They were given the chance to look at a variety of objects from leaves and flowers, to sponge, paper, ribbon and even ants. First they looked at the objects with the naked eye, and then compared their first impression with a succession of magnifying glasses and microscopes. No blackboard teaching – purely investigative!! Grade 7's biggest surprise was that the sand from Banjul beach looked just like glass beads or 'diamonds' as one of the girls described! While Pippa lead the science activities, Tina lead some creative art lessons in Grade 3. The children drew fabulous pictures from nature, including butterflies, snakes and dragonflies, and then collaged them with tissue paper, feathers and foam shapes. After lots of encouragement, the pictures reflected the growing confidence in the childrens' creative skills, and will definitely brighten up the classroom!

We then visited the new nursery block which has been relocated around the corner from the main school buildings. Three very nice light and airy classrooms of happy children who sang lively welcome songs to us in true Gambian tradition! After a lovely drink and late lunch at Lamin Lodge,we headed back to the hotel for some R&R before our trip up country early tomorrow.

No blog for two days as we will be out of wi-fi range, but hope to be back at the weekend! For all those waiting with baited breath, we are still researching goats! Lots of love, F, T and P x x x

Day 2: 12 April - a VERY busy first day!

2011-04-12T23:46:00.003+01:00

A brilliant first day! Our frist stop was Brikamadina Pipeline Nursery School, a small school with just two classes. Our story of 'This Way Ruby (aka Rougie!)' went down a treat with the children. Helped by Pippa and myself, Wandifa, Yankuba and Abdoulie starred as the ducks, frogs and other features of the book, like the storm, rain and waterfall, whilst Tina read! The children all joined us in acting out the story - we had a room full of very excitable quacking ducks, bouncing frogs, and stormy weather! A great lesson! Then, to top it all off, the children did some fantastic art work with sponge and finger painting, and hand printing. Very messy, but great fun!

After a fabulous send off, it was back to our goat research. We visited the compound from which the goats were stolen, to measure up for a shelter in which to house the goats at night. After giving the money for shelter, which is going to include a secure roof, windows for ventilation, and a door with a padlock, the new goats will be very spoilt!

Our next stop was Gambia College where the very successful science workshops took place in February. We delivered the certificates for the participating students, and, some more science and maths resources. We then met two sponsored students from the university, both of whom appear to be doing extremely well. One of them was the very lucky recipient of netbook, which he received with the biggest grin we have seen in a long time!

We were not so fortunate at Nari, our final stop of the day, as they did not have any artemesia plants for us to buy to take up-country. Artemesia is the plant with anti-malarial properties which we have been planting in Gambian villages. The cuttings they had were too small and fragile to take all the way to Jarra, so Wandifa is going to take them as soon as they are ready.

We made it back to the hotel for a quick swim and Happy Hour, and rounded off the day with dinner in The Senegambia with Sainey and Linda. Both are very well and as good company as ever! Then back to the hotel to sort more equipment! Looking forward to tomorrow... but for now, sleeeeeeep!! Love to all at home x x x

Day 1: 11 April Hello from The Gambia!

2011-04-11T22:41:00.002+01:00

Greetings from The Gambia! The PAGEANT team have arrived safely in Banjul after a very early, but efficient flight. The three musketeers, namely Wandifa, Yankuba and Abdoulie, greeted us with open arms and huge smiles at the airport, and, our multitudinous bags were first out from the plane – definitely a first! At the hotel we had a lovely catch up with the crew who are all well and very pleased to see us. We then started our preparations for our first school visit tomorrow - Wandifa and Yanbuka have been practising their best duck and frog impressions ready for our story telling! Definitely a sight not to be missed!! Pippa and Tina are just packing up all the paints, paper and other art equipment, so we're nearly set to go!

Goat research is also due to take place tomorrow... I have told Wandifa that if any goats are to be transported from A to B, then the goats will be inside the minibus and he'll be on the roof rack!!!

A special shout out to Claire and Chris R – both asked after by LOTS of Gambians so far! Love to all at home X x x

Pictured above: Musa, me, Yanbuka, Abdoulie and Wandifa

PAGEANT off out to The Gambia tomorrow!!

2011-04-10T19:17:00.000+01:00

Some fun, messy and creative Art and Science lessons at King's Kid Academy, Brikamadina and Gunjur; a no-doubt very hot and dusty trip up country to visit the wonderful people of Jarreng village, armed with a roof full of mosquito nets and goodies; a beach party with swimming, football and chicken and chips for some dear PAGEANT sponsored children (and I'm sure several big kids too!); and a PAGEANT first - a goat buying expedition! Just some of the plans for the next few weeks out in The Gambia! Pippa, Tina and myself are jetting off tomorrow to the 40 degree heat for another PAGEANT adventure! My eighth visit to the sunshine coast looks set to be a brilliant trip - catching up with old friends, visiting schools and families, and being met at the airport by 3 of my favourite people - Wandifa, Yanbuka and Abdoulie! Bring on the adventures!

Stay tuned for (internet permitting) daily updates from the team! Love to all, Frankie x x x

Gambians feel the Pinch as Food Prices Skyrocket

2011-04-05T00:54:00.005+01:00

The sudden increase in the price of foodstuffs has sparked disquiet among Gambian consumers, who lamented that they have to dig deep into their pockets to ensure the survival of their families.

Speaking in exclusive interviews, consumers complained that skyrocketing prices of essential food items have rendered them incapable of putting enough food on the family table as cost now outweighs their purchasing power.

Commercial driver Muhammed Sanneh said: “As a breadwinner struggling to cope with this situation, I am deeply worried about my family. My ability to provide square meals for my family on a daily basis has dwindled. The price of a cup of cooking oil has increased from D6 to D10 which I cannot afford on account of my meagre income.”

According to him, the price rise has compromised his ability to meaningfully invest in other areas of life to support his family.

“If buying food could be a problem, who would give attention to the education of children. Food is the most important of human needs and I personally do not put anything above it. My children have been attending private schools and received medical attention in private clinics but now I have declared a period of austerity to cut spending. I have informed my family that the days of three meals a day are over until the situation changes for the better,” Mr. Sanneh explained.

Mr. Sanneh said he was not unaware of the fact that the increase in food prices is a global phenomenon causing violent riots in some countries, but nevertheless took the opportunity to call on governments to swiftly provide solutions in the interest of their peoples.

“I know governments may not be at fault and I urge them to take every step necessary to address the problem. I call on President Jammeh to replicate the pragmatism and constructive dialogue for which he is renowned to arrest the problem,” he added.

Sanneh is not alone in his frustration over the rising cost of basic necessities. Mariama Senghore, a food vendor in Bakoteh said that as a result of price rises for the things she sells she has been forced to increase the cost of a loaf of bread and beans from D12 to D14, a move which has not gone down well with many of her customers.

“I am here not to make huge profits at the detriment of my customers, but I am not willing to make huge losses too. I adjusted the price to balance the cost and my sales. I hope the prices will come down soon so that my customers will stop harassing me. Their complaints are understandable,” she indicated.

Ebrima Faal, a Mauritanian wholesaler put the blame at the door step of supplies especially in respect of the price of sugar, a pot of which, he revealed, has increased from D6 to D10.

The major suppliers, he claimed, use the increase in the price of some basic commodities in the world market as well as high customs tariffs as an excuse to introduce cutthroat prices.

“The customs revenue collected is very essential for the government to embark on development projects. However, it will be very helpful in the present state of things if the government lowers tariffs on essential food items,” he suggested.

As a Gambian citizen on holiday from the United Kingdom, Fatoumatta Jeng said she was astonished at the rate at which prices of commodities increase, a situation which she said compares unfavourably with that of two years ago when she was in the country.

“A situation like this imposes a heavy burden on people in the economic sense. When I set out to save money to visit my family little did I know that it will come to this. Aside from scraping livelihood for my relatives I have also got to deal with the obligations to my own family. To my great regret even school fees have been affected,” she declared.

According to Ms Jeng, no sustainable solution could be found unless Gambians look honestly at themselves and ask the right questions about what went wrong. She said part of the answer lies in people’s response to President Jammeh’s advice to embrace agriculture and eventually grow their own foods as an agrarian society.

“If we can attain the kind of food self-sufficiency the president talks about, we will cease to exist at the mercy of global market uncertainties. Going back to the land should be embraced by all able-bodied Gambians. Action should begin where the talking has ended. The rest we should leave to God,” she emphasized.
Meanwhile, transport fares have been hiked across the country effective from Monday, April 4 2011,according to a copy of new tariff dispatched by the Gambia National Transport Control Association. According to the new tariff regime, commuters plying the Banjul-Serekunda road would now have to pay D10 while Serekunda to Bakau is now D7 from D5. Brikama to Serekunda is now D15 from D12 while transport within Serekunda is now D7 from D5.
The Gambia National Transport Control Association Vice President said that they had to make an upward review of prices as a result of the increase in global oil prices.

Help us replace stolen goats - a new target!

2011-03-13T08:42:00.004Z

We have now raised £220 in just 5 days to help us replace some of the goats stolen from a poor Gambian family. So we have decided to try and raise sufficient money to replace all 7 goats, and also to build a secure enclosure. Please help us to reach our new target of £450. You can donate online or send a cheque by post - see the details on this web page.

Post trip reflection from Anne

2011-03-10T22:19:00.000Z

The Convert

(Anne’s conversion on the road to Gambia College)

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Just the thought, I’m feeling sick.

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Boredom hits me like a brick!

Going to the Gambia

Basking in the sun

Seeing all our children,

Having lots of fun,

but ....

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Teach the teachers, that’s the trick.

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Now it’s happening, quite a kick!

Oscillate, resonate,

Reflections in the sun,

Light gate, ripple tank,

This is kind of fun!

it’s ....

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Student teachers loving it.

Physics, Physics,

Now no longer feeling sick!

Telescopes, magnify,

Don’t look at the sun!

Circuits, formulae,

Even these are fun!

so ....

Phy - sics, Phy - sics,

Could be kind of cool.

Physics, Physics,

Where’s my metre rule?

Please help Pageant replace stolen goats

2011-03-10T08:22:00.002Z

Pippa Howard has just returned from her latest visit to The Gambia. While she was there, she called at the house of a very poor family to collect letters from the children to their sponsors back in the UK. She was very disturbed to find that ALL the goats belonging to the family had been stolen. This was really terrible for them, as they were the only things of value that they possessed. Apparently the thieves had taken 3 goats one night and then the remaining 4 a few nights later. No-one saw or heard anything, so it is extremely unlikely that they will ever get any of the goats back. It is really appalling, and mercifully quite unusual, for anyone to steal from people who have so little in the first place.

The family didn't ask for anything, but Pippa has decided to try and make a make a quick collection of money for them during the next few weeks, so that they can replace at least some of the goats. Pippa will be returning in April so this appeal is urgent. The cost of an adult goat is about 2,000-2,200 dalasis (£44-48). We would like to replace 4 or 5 of them, so we have set a target of £240.

If you would like to help us, you can donate online. If you would like to send a cheque by post, please see the details on this web page.

Day 11: 3 March 2011

2011-03-04T10:54:00.000Z

Led my first ever physics class at a sixth form school in the morning. Scary. Pupils are clearly not used to participation so had to work to get them joining in on pendulums and reaction time (led by Pippa). They seemed to find it interesting though judging from their reaction afterwards.

We visited several compounds in the afternoon. We were able to sit under trees during the hottest part of the day which was a great blessing after the roasting day before. Met some lovely children but was a bit manic at times. At another compound children were lower in number and under better discipline and we are were able to play lots of games with them.

And that's about it. Flying home tomorrow. Looking forward to family, friends and a less extreme environment without mosquitoes!

Day 10: 2 March 2011

2011-03-04T10:18:00.001Z

Teaching off the board dominates in all subjects – not just in science. Having good spoken English in Gambia is important as it is the common means of communication in a country with perhaps 8 tribal languages, however the standard is often poor. Practising speaking and listening to how you sound greatly helps develop speech. Today Anne and I were dropped off at a lower basic school she has visited before.

She was kindly allowed to take a class and was able to show a small group how to use a tape recorder creatively to record what they see around them, listen to what they said, and learn how to express themselves. It was also fun which is so key to wanting to learn. The recorder was left with the school with the hope they will use it – we shall see...

We also visited the fish market on the beach at Tanji - a place of frenetic but organised activity.

Day 9: 1 March 2011

2011-03-01T23:02:00.000Z

A change of tack today plunging into a very well organised lower basic (i.e. primary) school. Pippa lead a session to a class of ~10 year olds on microscopes. Neither Joe nor I had realised we might be teaching science too. We had none of the lovely science kit from the college but hurriedly devised a short class on pendulums; our apparatus stones, a piece of garden string at the bottom of my rucksack, and my phone stopwatch. The class of 45 joined in well.

In the afternoon 5 children came to the hotel to swim and receive gifts from sponsors. We also played football and several local older youngsters joined in and did very well passing to the less able footballers. The children were delightful.

Tomorrow we are of to a village over an hour away on bumpy “roads”. Might be helping Anne teach English! Fab.

Day 8: 28 February 2011 – Special supplement

2011-03-01T23:00:00.002Z

One of the student teachers,Omar, presented Joe with this kind “Thank you poem” on behalf of the student teachers: We have a deep honour for we receive this marvellous humanitarian gift. PAGEANT, what a true sincere friends you are. Potential partners you are with admirable team of experts.
Gambia is proud of you for your excellent innovative support. We shall nurture this precious gift of talent, skill and knowledge. The Gambia College will celebrate your association in all manners. You make a history in Gambia's education sector. You set a record in our calendar of dialogue.
Thank you the PAGEANT group.

Day 8: 28 Feb 2011

2011-03-01T16:21:00.002Z

For some reason I woke at 3.30am and once awake I began to mull over ways of demonstrating magnetism, my topic for the day, to my class. Came up with the idea of clamping two bar magnets in mid air and sticking steel pins to them. The pins should align with the magnetic field direction. (Note from Pippa - I thought I would insert the photo of Chris's set-up - it worked really well!)

Never did get back to sleep but was in good time for breakfast.

Our last day of physics workshops went well but you all were very tired by the end. There were short speeches from a college rep and the minister. The highlight was an improvised drama from the students showing how not to teach (all from the blackboard) and how to teach better (using experiment). Very funny. The college was very helpful to us during our three days and the student teachers and teachers got stuck in with enthusiasm. Our hope is that something of the approach will stick and we will begin to see science teaching become more accessible and dynamic.

Day 6: 26 Feb - the serious stuff begins

2011-02-26T22:28:00.002Z

Yes, today was day 1 of the main reason we are here - to show science teachers how they can use experiments with simple kit to demonstrate the stuff they teach off the board. For most this is the first time they will have learnt this way.

Following a gracious address from the minister for education (I think he was) (Note from Pippa: not the minister, but the man who has special responsibility for Science Education at the Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education), we split the students into 4 groups of 6 who during the course of the day moved around 4 separate "stations" giving them the chance to try out science in different areas. Today my station was "pressure" (bernouilli effect, pressure = force/area etc.). The students were very engaged but often understandably awkward around hardware. At the end of the day 8 students demonstrated to everyone else one simple experiment - great fun but a big learning experience.

Yusupha (our sponsored student) joined us today too which was great.

On the way back from the simple restaurant tonight one of the local youths was trying to persuade the ladies to walk on the beach with them tomorrow. He was surprised to be told this would be impossible as we are leaving for work at 7.15 tomorrow morning. Fab...

Day 5: 25 Feb 2011

2011-02-25T20:23:00.000Z

Bit of a dicey start to the day. Had to seriously ask if I was going to make it to the college about 50 minutes away - but imodium is wonderful stuff.

A successful final set up of our science stations until heading to the airport to meet Joe and Sheila. Very pleased to see them both and the extra science kit they brought (not saying which the more exciting).

Turning in early. I'm in a sweatshirt everyone else is the short sleeve shirts.My thermostat is not on top form.

C zzzz

Day 4: 24 Feb

2011-02-24T17:28:00.001Z

For Ian and I leisurely start to the day as we were visiting students at local schools. Pippa and Anne, however were visiting schools on the north bank meaning they left around 6.30. They are still not back yet.

We visited 4 schools, Muslim,Christian and non denominational. A coffin was brought through the gate of the muslim school while we were there. I chatted with one student at another school who wants to be an engineer -very bright. They had been studying the work function of surfaces (how easy it is strip electrons from a material if I remember right).

In one school I came across a door marked "Parish Office". Knocking on the door I met the vicar of the church who was very friendly. It seems the bible study did happen yesterday but they all went to the home of a person who was housebound. Will try again next week since I now know how it works.

In the afternoon I reviewed my science experiments for the workshops. In consequence I have asked a waiter for some straws (any guesses what experiment this might be?).

Chris x

Days 2-3: 22/23 Feb

2011-02-23T18:49:00.004Z

Panic over. Looks like we can actually run the planned science workshops. Without going into detail, all the teaching kit shipped out around Christmas WAS where it was meant to be by the time we arrived at the teaching college this morning.

We were allocated one lab to set up, which we swept and wiped down (the Gambia is very dusty) and proceeded to sort the kit into piles for the various topic stations we are running; light, mechanics, waves, magnetism, pressure etc. This took up to lunch (omelette and bread - v good).
The afternoon we got various experiments running. Abdoulie and Wandifa built a wire and wooden bars waves demo kit. I repaired the ripple tank (packing insulation tape was a good move). Pippa played with timing gates, Ian with balances, and Anne was stores control.
Got back in time for a quick drink then walked to the anglican church for what was advertised as a bible study at 6. No one there - still I chatted with one local each way. One pointed out that people have several wives out there but I said I'd stick with just the one thanks.
This evening we are off to the local rotary club.

Yesterday we visited a centre for supporting those with physical disabilities. Had a good chat with the wheelchair repair guys. The material they have to work with!

The rest of the day we visited the compounds of several families of sponsored children. Lots of lovely kids.

Day 1: 21 Feb

2011-02-22T16:57:00.001Z

Safely arrived without a hitch. Divested myself of shirt and sweatshirt down to my Pageant t-shirt before leaving the plane - I understand the customs people recognise PAGEANT which may come in handy as they have been tricky before.

Walking out the door of the 757 was like hitting a wall of heat. For a moment I wondered if somehow we were experiencing heat from the engine exhaust, but, no, it was just another typical upper 30s centigrade day in the Gambia.

We queued in the mercifully cooler customs hall for 15 minutes or so.

An elegantly dressed Gambian lady weaved through the queuing line of thermally shocked tourists with her bevy of children in tow – a VIP it seems. A customs official briefly questioned my large box containing a power supply and signal generator (part of our science teaching kit) but was satisfied with my official PAGEANT packing note. And so we were through to be greeted by Pippa, Ian, Wandifa, Yankuba and Abdoulie.

Now it is evening and we are back at the hotel after a simple meal at a local restaurant. I had a rather bizarre curry paella, not what I was expecting but perhaps in tune with the climate here. Anne innocently ordered a pancake for dessert not realising they would spend the next hour finding some flour with which to make it – but the proprietor gave us a lift home by way of apology. This is the Gambia!

Tomorrow we are off to track down a mythical science training centre…

Science in the Gambia: Day 0 - all packed?

2011-02-20T16:30:00.001Z

Off to the Gambia tomorrow to teach Physics! A scary prospect (for whom you may ask). It's been a bit manic the last few weeks but my checklist is almost all ticked off now.

While my job is quite technical, the extent to which I use the physics I learnt at school or uni is pretty limited
There is big difference between intuitively understanding how a phenomenon like diffraction works and explaining it to someone else. So I've been doing quite a lot of preparation which has been grounded in the excellent material developed by Joe B from Collyers who I'm glad to say will be with us.

We will be working with Gambian teachers rather than pupils largely. The plan is to focus on experiment and show how this can be used to explain the physical phenomena which are generally only taught off the blackboard in the Gambia. A common misconception of science is the laws (e.g. Newton's Laws of motion) define how reality behaves. Of course it is in fact the complete opposite; a "law" is merely a model of reality. When a model fails, as Newton's does at high velocities, then it needs modification - bring on Einstein. We are hoping that starting from experiment will challenge such an understanding.

Apart from never having taught physics, I've also never done so at temperatures approaching 40C. Should have spent last week in the environmental chamber at work conditioning myself....

So its up and off at 4.45am tomorrow.

Chris :-)

Microloans - good or bad news?

2011-02-02T15:23:00.004Z

Microloans are very small amounts of money lent to poor people who would not otherwise be able to borrow. Microfinance schemes started in Bengladesh and India in the 1970s. Their original intention was to encourage entrepreneurship, so that disadvantaged people could start their own small businesses. For in-depth information about microfinance, please see this excellent article The Promise of Microfinance for Poverty Relief in the Developing World

A news item in the Guardian newspaper (UK) on 1 February 2011 describes how things have changed for the worse in India since those early days [read the article]. Commercial firms, driven solely by profit, are now involved in microfinance. Interest rates charged are typically from 25% to 40%. Borrowers are taking microloans to buy consumer goods or even food. Poor people find themselves with debts they have no hope of repaying and interest they cannot afford. They are harassed by aggressive debt collectors, and some have been driven to suicide.

Despite this disturbing news, there are many microfinance schemes which still adhere to their original principles, particularly those promoted by charities and NGOs. Pageant's Loan Scheme in The Gambia is designed to avoid all of these problems by giving control to the local community.

Pageant does not lend to individuals, only to groups - typically six women within the same community. Having a group means that each woman can help and encourage the others.
Each group needs a coordinator. This must be a woman who commands respect in the local community, with a good understanding of how the scheme works and able to give Pageant feedback on progress. The choice of a good coordinator is the most critical thing in setting up a new scheme.
Pageant does not get its money back, so the initial loans can be viewed as a gift to the community. Currently each woman gets 1500 dalasis (about £34), so Pageant has to spend about £200 to set up a new scheme.
Each potential member of a scheme has to make a presentation to a community meeting explaining how her particular enterprise will work, and assess if the community will support it. In this way, all of the enterprises in a scheme have a very high chance of success.
Once the scheme is running, each member is asked to pay back 1/6 of their loan at the end of each month, so all the money should be paid back in six months. It is then available for a second group of women, so successful Pageant schemes could go on indefinitely.

Pageant currently has three schemes working in The Gambia. The first at Sika is now operating with its twelfth group of women. Read more about Pageant's Loans on this page of the Pageant website.

Happy New Year to Pageant Members from Wandifa

2011-01-03T17:33:00.005Z

Wandifa wishes all Pageant members happiness and good health for 2011. He wants to say a big Thank-you to them for all their support to the Gambian children and to say how much it is appreciated by the Gambian families and schools. This photo shows Wandifa with Tina and Pippa.

BRITISH COMMUNITY COLLEGE,PAINTS,DECORATES KAJABANG NURSERY SCHOOL

2010-12-08T12:51:00.004Z

Kajabang Nursery School in Gunjur Village was recently painted and decorated by a group of twenty students from Samuel Whitbread Community College in the United Kingdom.
The Nursery School was built by a group of visiting students from the United Kingdom in conjunction with volunteers from the Community with the chief aim of giving better access to education for kids in the area which is located in a remote corner of Gunjur.
Trudi Squires who works as Head of Design at the College revealed that the visit would help the students understand the culture of the Community whilst also sharing with them their own experiences back home.
“We will definitely carry on doing this to help the community and broaden the horizons of our students.It is invaluable for our students to work with the community and help the community provide access to education for children,”.
The visit, she continued, would also go a far way in making the students better appreciate some of the privileges they have back home which they invariably take for granted, adding“most of our students come from wealthy families and have jobs to earn income. It is essential for them to see how poor but happy everyone is in the community”.

For the head boy of the school, Jamie Marshaw, the trip has been an eye-opening experience for him to see first hand how warm and welcoming people are in the community.
“I have realized they are very community based. They are so warm, welcoming and friendly. I expected to see a lot of poverty but I did not expect people to be so happy”.
This, he disclosed, has taught him that life is “not all about what you have but how you utilize what you have and share it with others”.
The group, according to him, would also make the playground in the school safer for the kids to have fun as well as handing out gifts to the pupils .
The negative Media coverage in the United Kingdom of Africa, says Amy Pitchard, had made her believe that the Continent was a place constantly at war with extreme poverty and disease.
“It is amazing. We take so much for granted. The people are definitely poor. They have next to nothing but they are happy and welcoming”.
She further stated that they had the opportunity to talk to people their age through which they have learned how hard young people work to have access to education compared to kids in the UK.
Talking to the Gambian students on the challenges they face in their efforts to acquire education, according to her,has been very helpful for her to remember how lucky she is to have such easy access to education whilst capitulating that she used to take it for granted.
Another student of the College, George Wood, revealed that he is grateful for the experience he has had in the community and working to help the school.
“I have heard that Africa is very poor. I have heard that everybody is downhearted and sad. I have seen for myself how different things are. I have learnt that everyone helps each other. Everyone is very close and open despite having so little. My experience is life-changing” he declared.
The Alkalo of the Village Kebba Moto Moto Sanyang enunciated that the group's intervention could not be over-emphasised granted the importance the Community attaches to the education of their children.
“The children of today are the elders and leaders of tomorrow. This indisputable fact places on our shoulders the responsibility of giving them the opportunity to prepare for the responsibilities that await them. Some of us older people did not have the opportunity to go to school as our children have, so I will do my best in my capacity as the head of the village to work closely with any and everyone one who complement our efforts to achieve this goal”.
Closing, he expressed thanks to the community for answering his clarion call for voluntary work during the construction of the school, noting “this would not have been possible with out their efforts in joinig hands with our friends ”.

Visit to Jarreng 31 October 2010

2010-11-13T11:22:00.008Z

During my recent visit to The Gambia I was lucky enough to be invited by Pippa to join her on a trip to Jarreng, a village about 130 miles from Banjul.
Pippa had planned a trip to the village to distribute PAGEANT items and to speak to the parents of sponsored children. I sponsor Sheriff Ceesay who attends Jarreng Basic Cycle School and it was a great opportunity to see him.

Our wonderful driver, Abdoulie, collected me from my hotel, The Kairaba, at 6am and together with Wandifa, Yankuba and Sainey, Pippa and I started the long and diffcult drive to Jarreng.
The last time I had visited the village was in 2006 and the roads were very bad but now the road up to Kanilai (The Presidents village) was tarmac but then the road became more of a dirt track and was quite bumpy in places.

We went through a number of police and military check points but Pippa and I found ourselves seated in the police station at Kalagie as an immigration office was not happy that we did not have our passports with us for ID. After some heated persuasion from Wandifa and Yankuba we were allowed to continue our journey but having learnt a lesson for future trips: take a photo-copy of your passport including the page showing the stamp when you entered The Gambia if travelling out of the tourist areas.

During part of the journey we were accompanied by police officers who commandeered the vehicle for a lift to another village. At least we passed through the check points without any difficulty with our uniformed passengers!

Eventually we arrived at Soma, a busy place which is the crossroads between the Trans Gambia Route and the road between South and North Senegal.
The boys disembarked to get some local breakfast whilst Pippa and I had bananas and I tried a local delicacy Pippa had said would be sweet, something like doughnuts! Small round fried balls, did not taste of anything much, could have been chicken but I was not convinced.
From Soma the road to Jarreng was pretty good and we arrived in the village about Noon feeling very hot and tired but the children and ladies were all so pleased to see us and we were soon sitting in armchairs under the trees.

We were in Yankuba's grandmother's compound and everyone gathered around to hear Pippa speak. It appears that some parents of children who had not done so well at school had been asking Yankuba to change the school reports. Pippa explained that this action would risk future sponsorship for their child. Pippa and Wandifa then spoke with individual parents and children who are sponsored. Yankuba then opened a large sack of clothing for distribution. At first this was a very calm affair but as fewer items remained people began to get anxious that they would not receive anything and it became a bit of a scramble. Unfortunately there is never enough to give to everyone who is in need.
I had some football shirts and three pairs of football boots to give but with so many boys and only three pairs of boots I was worried we would be trampled underfoot. Quietly I asked Yankuba to select three boys he thought the boots would fit. Oh how they tried to squeeze their feet into those boots, like a scene from Cinderella, but eventually three lucky boys had new football boots and probably haven't taken them off!
Our hosts had prepared a delicious lunch of chicken, fish and rice which we shared.
After lunch Pippa took photos of some sponsored children and we had to leave to visit the Skills centre.
The building was located down a track and was well laid out with the tables provided by PAGEANT from the last container. Pippa gave a speech and all those attending applauded and thanked PAGEANT for the support provided.
Our next destination was to Wandifa's village, near Soma on the way back from Jarreng.
Pippa had mosquito nets to distribute and gardening tools which had been donated through the Gift card scheme with PAGEANT.
Pippa explained that this village is rarely visited by westerners.
Much pushing, shouting and general disorder ensued and Wandifa resorted to a big stick to try to control the excited crowd who eventually formed a line to receive biro pens.
Pippa had some hair bands to give and all the girls surged towards us in an effort to get one.
Woolly hats, baby clothing and blankets caused the girls, some not much older than 7 or 8 to grab a baby in an effort to be given something.
In the end it became impossible to control the surge of people upon us and Wandifa returned items to the safety of the vehicle to avoid an accident.
I have never witnessed anything like this before, and it makes me feel very humble and sad that these families are living in such conditions that to be given a pen or a simple hairband or plastic bucket can bring them happiness. I cannot praise the work of Pippa and the PAGEANT team enough.
We left in a cloud of dust as I tried to give a few sweeties to the children. (Sorry Pippa, I know sweets are bad for their teeth)

Our journey back was uneventful and as darkness fell, the smell of burning wood was the tell tale sign that we were approaching a village.
Abdoulie swerved to avoid a huge snake, a python they said, crossing the road.
Something big flew towards us, could have been an owl or bat and Yankuba spotted a Gambia fox .
The only other night activity was a required comfort break for Pippa and me to visit the bushes and look at the beautiful night sky so bright with stars.

Arriving back at the Senegambia strip to drop me at the Kairaba, we were stopped by the police check-point and a major problem. We had just travelled over 260 miles, and the policeman said that Abdoulie did not have a driving licence! Abdoulie said that he had handed the document to him but nobody had it!
Eventually they left to take Pippa back to Banjul without the driving licence.
Next day however, everything was sorted and Abdoulie was given a new licence.
It seems the police admitted to a mistake being made.

Thank you Pippa for an eventful trip, Abdoulie for your safe driving, Wandifa and Yankuba for your good humour and control and Sainey for your interesting stories.
I don't know when my next trip will be but I will continue to support the wonderful work PAGEANT do and hope my story may encourage others to visit this country full of smiles.

UTG TO WORK WITH CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL FOR BETTER SERVICE TO HUMANITY

2010-11-11T14:39:00.005Z

The Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, Professor Muhammadou Kah, has said that the University administration is poised and committed to establish a vibrant Law School in The Gambia as well as a clinical programme so as to give legal assistance to those who cannot afford it.

He said these words in a “question and answer” session with Law Students of the University of The Gambia alongside a high-level delegation from City University of New York.

“We are committed to make the law students the next generation of knowledgeable people in legal jurisprudence in The Gambia. The relationship between the law and society and service of Humanity is very important. We have the first batch of Law students graduating in December and we shall help them to help those who do not have the ability or means to be adequately represented”.

The City University of New York, he noted, is unique in the sense that it was not set up to serve and protect Corporate interest but to help people who need legal representation in pursuit of justice but lack ability to pay for the services of a Lawyer.

“Next year we hope to have Legal Clinics with the help of our partners from CUNY where some advanced students will be mentored to help clients” he said, adding that they should not see graduation from Law School and getting a good job as the end of Law but also give back to the Community which has given them so much in many ways.

He maintained that the University of The Gambia has discussed plans with CUNY to have some Gambian Law students go to the University to pursue LLM and PHD degrees. The idea, he continued, is to employ them as lecturers in the University upon completion of studies so as to boost the human resources capacity of the Country's highest institution of learning.

The Director of the City University of New York Community Legal Resource Network, Fred Rooney, revealed that New York is a city of migrants from different parts of the world, who invariably need access to justice but are sometimes shut out and discriminated against owing to lack of money to pay legal fees.

“Most Americans have no access to civil Justice. We are well known for guarantee of Justice and fairness in our Constituion put in place by the founders. We still struggle to meet those ideals and standards” he conceded.

Corporations, according to him, need lawyers absolutely as well as people and added that Lawyers should use their talents and ability to change the world in a positive way.

“I always thought that I could change the world when I was much younger. Now I know you can only change one life at a time. We have been using our facilities to train young lawyers to get into the trenches in New York and help poor migrants from Africa and South America. We want them to use the blessings of their life to give help to those who need it”.

Mr Rooney further enunciated that he was inspired by the energy and ambition of University of The Gambia Authorities and students to have a Law School and commencing a clinical programme in conjunction with City University of New York Law School, which has one of the top ten Clinical Programmes in the United States.

Closing, he expressed thanks to the Gambian people for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded them since their arrival in the country, promising that the visit would not be the last of its kind.

MISS UTG AMBASSADOR ROOTS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

2010-10-10T15:00:00.005+01:00

The winner of Miss University of The Gambia Beauty Pageant and the new face of the Gambia TeleCommunication Company (GAMTEL), Teneng Gitteh, has stated that she would use the status and popularity accorded her by the award to promote the cause of women and children in The Gambia in particular and Africa in general.
She revealed this in an exclusive interview with Pageant Newsblog held at the Law Faculty Building in Kanifing. She added that her decision was informed by the "pathetic state of women and children" in most African countries, which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency to put Africa firmly on the path to Progress and Prosperity.
"I have observed that women and children are not getting the support they deserve and should have. Diligent research has shown that women, despite limited opportunities, continue to produce more than Fifty Percent of food in Africa. This is despite the fact that many have been denied land ownership, basic Education and sent into forced marriages at tender ages, especially in rural areas. And children are sent to so-called Arabic schools, where they are forced to beg for the benefit of their master".
This, she submitted, is grossly unacceptable because there should be equal opportunities for all, as enshrined in the constitution regardless of Political affliation, gender, ethnicity or religion.
"It is sad to note that African women have not been, in most countries, seen as partners in efforts to develop our Continent but as child bearers and house-maids. African women can do better than this and play a greater role in our societies than they have been allowed. The "sexual objectification" of the African woman should stop and it requires the efforts of all and everybody to be achieved. I know it is a long haul but we can achieve it."
She continued that there has been some progress over the years, with more girls getting access to education, thanks in no small way to the intervention of President Jammeh with the President Empowerment for Girl Education programme(PEGEP).
The enrolment of girls in different Programmes at the University of The Gambia, she noted, will go a far way in preparing them to take advantage of the opportunities accorded them and prove that they could do as well as their male counter-parts in their chosen careers.

2010-10-04T15:08:00.006+01:00

Student Week to teach Leadership Skill

The President of the University of the Gambia Students' Union, Ousman Bojang, has said that the “student week” to be held from 19th to 24th October will immensely help in instilling leadership skills in the participants from different faculties whilst also promoting understanding and cooperation amongst them.

The initiative, he revealed, will take the form of lectures, debate, quiz, football, volleyball and basketball which will help the students to share and make lasting friendships that could be helpful to them during and after their time at the University.

The lack of a campus for the University, acccording to him, has meant that students from the various schools in the University do not know each other, which takes away from them the opportunity to compare notes and share experiences which could be very “helpful for their studies”.

“It was our immediate predecessors who came with the idea of bringing students together for a week in a conducive environment where they can interact, share and learn from each other. It was a substantial success given the high turn-out and cooperation of all involved to achieve our objectives” he stated.

He further expressed optimism that more success awaits the initiative this year granted the enormous support it has received from the Chancellor, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Dr Yahya A.J.J Jammeh and Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammad Kah as well as the entire administration of the University.

Recalling last year’s “student week” an Economics student, Khalilou Sanyang, noted that it was a pleasant experience for him as he had the chance to spend a week with old and new friends which “was great fun”.

“University studies can be very hectic and stressful sometimes, so a week of fun is not, to my mind, a bad idea. I am so excited. I cannot wait for it” he declared.

A second year law student, Teneng Gitteh, who was recently crowned “Miss University of the Gambia” in a beauty pageant competition and serves as its ambassador, said that the “student week” held last year has enabled many participants to be more confident in public presentations like debates, quiz competitions and discussions during lectures.

“It is amazing how much many participants have learnt from the experience. I would encourage the Students' Union to do more in promoting this initiative because it brings incalculable benefits to the folks involved” she noted.

A second year Political Science student, Amadou Camara, said that it is very important for students to meet at a less informal setting and compare notes on their respective courses.

“We have a lot to learn from each other because we all have different experiences which we can use to our advantage. I intend to use it to seek some advice from other students on the Courses they have done which I have not. I trust this will be of great benefit to me as I will have an idea what to expect and what I can do to meet the challenges” he concluded.

Gambia Young Journalist Association Celebrate 3rd Anniversary

2010-09-24T16:59:00.004+01:00

The Young Journalist Association of The Gambia (YJAG) recently celebrated three years of existence, which the President, Assan Sallah described as a moment for reflection on the successes registered and the challenges that lay ahead.
He stated that the Organization under his stewardship has made tremendous success in improving the welfare of Young Journalists in the Country through constructve engagement with relevant stake holders.
He further revealed that the Executive members of the Organization recently had an audience with the Minister of Interior and NGO Affairs, Ousman Sonko, which culminated in fruitful discussion on the possible signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.
This agreement, if signed, will require the Ministry of Interior not to harass, intimidate or arrest any young Journalist without contacting the Organization to ensure their rights are not infringed upon.
"I hope this process will not take long because it is in the interest of nation building. We feel that vibrant Media is very important for our development as nation. I assure you that we shall do our best to promote the welfare of Young Journalists in The Gambia with unfailing consistency", he pledged.
Veteran Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of FOROYAA (Freedom) Newspaper, Sam Sarr, articulated that the leadership must learn to accept criticism and work harder for the realization of their goals. Their goals, he said, are achievable with hard work, persistence and determination and added that they should not allow themselves to be used by anybody for personal gains against the ethics of the profession.
"It takes character and commitment to be a Journalist because some Governments are hostile to the Media, although some are friendly. It is your job to inform the Public and that should be done with utmost truthfulness and impartiality" he stated.
The celebration also took the form of a March-past from the Africell Building along Kairaba Avenue to Traffic Light on Bertil Harding Highway.

Young People Need Protection from Illicit Drugs - Director Public prosecution

2010-09-24T15:43:00.007+01:00

The protection of young people from hard drugs has been described as crucial to the sustainable development of any country. Making these remarks was The Gambia's Director of Public Prosecution, Richard Chenge, at the inauguration of board members of Youth Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse (YAPSA) held at Seaview Hotel in Kololi.
He noted that there are different types of prohibited drugs which have the tendency of negatively influencing human behavior. The deceptive nature of hard drugs, he submitted, is that it gives sensational pleasure to those who take it whilst according them considerable sense of self-esteem and boldness. He added that hard drugs, in actuality, destroy their will power and are also detrimental to their Health and wellness.
The country's top prosecutor further asserted that the drug control Act has made possession and dealing of drugs an offence.
"Young people under 18 years of age are more prone to seek the deceitful illusion of pleasure given by drugs due mainly to Youthful exuberance and lack of experience. The protection of young people against drugs should be the primary priority of any democratic Government".
While a few drug dealers may live in wealth and affluence from the dirty trade, he continued, the capita income of the country becomes very low leading to poverty, disease and death.
Concluding, he suggested an amendment of the drug control act of The Gambia to hand severe punishment to those found guilty of engagement in trafficking of illicit drugs with young people as he urged for more sensitization campaigns to create more awareness about the negative effects of drugs.
The Director of YAPSA, Assan Jallow, revealed that the Organization was founded with the prime goal of creating awareness among the youth about the impacts of drugs.
"Drug tafficking is a growing problem in West Africa. United Nations officials believe that West Africa is being used as a transit point by Latin American drug cartels for smuggling cocaine to Europe".
Youths, he enunciated, are the future leaders of the country and it is essential they understand their role in that respect and stay away from drugs as well as other activities that can undermine the country's efforts in achieving her developmental goals.
"I therefore advise YAPSA members to spread our message to other young people and in supporting the fight aginst illicit drugs. We should also join our leaders in being always patriotic and honest in our efforts to achieve the Vision 2020 national development blue print and the Millenium Development Goals.
Also speaking, Beatrice Prom, representing The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that sound-minded youth is sine qua non for sustainable for the development and growth of the economy through entrepreneurship and skills acquisition.
She closed by assuring the Organization of her Office's continued support and collaboration, noting that they have a similar goal of developing the Country.
The Board members are Richard Chenge, the Director of Public Prosecution; Malick Jeng US Embassy Banjul; Beatrice Prom, Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Abbas Sandena, President's International Award; Momodou Jeng, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and Albert Cocks, Director of Gambia Food and Nutrition Agency.

BBC Journalist shares Gunjur Experience

2010-09-17T11:51:00.003+01:00

Anna Quarendon is a BBC Journalist who visited Gunjur Village in the Gambia.She is among hundreds of people from the United Kingdom to visit the Coastal Village which has had a long-standing link with Marlborough since 1982.Below is her account of the trip to the place known as the "Smiling coast of Africa".

BBC Anna Quarendon and friends in The Gambia

Over the 11 years that I've worked as a programme producer for BBC Wiltshire, we have regularly reported the work of the Marlborough Brandt Group linking Marlborough with the Gambian village of Gunjur, since 1982.

As a result of this exchange programme, thousands of visitors have travelled between the two countries, we have welcomed Gambian visitors to our studios and found out more about life in The Gambia.

So it was enormously exciting when, in early January, I received an unexpected invitation to visit Gunjur myself.

The purpose of the visit was to honour two founder members of the Marlborough Brandt Group, MBG - Dr Nick Maurice who helped found it in 1981, and Anita Bew who became involved soon after.

Both were to receive honorary citizenship of a place which Dr Nick has visited more than 40 times, and where Anita has now made a second home.

This was my first visit, not just to The Gambia but to Africa and, as is customary on these exchange visits, I would spend the week living with a local family.

Fishing is one of the key industries in Gunjur

After a six-hour flight across the vast sandscape of the Sahara, we landed in the capital, Banjul, where we were welcomed and taken back to Gunjur to meet our Muslim hosts.

And welcomed is what we were.

As I was dropped at my 'compound', I was surrounded by women and children, singing, smiling and clapping as they led me to the room which was to be my home.

Others had moved out to make it mine and would sleep many to a bed during my stay.

Their hospitality was spontaneous, warm and generous and extended to giving me the household's only oil lamp to ease my introduction to a world without electricity. Or running water.

My water was drawn from a nearby well by young girls who balanced on their heads huge quantities in bright plastic buckets to provide enough for keeping clean and for doing the weekly wash.

All these chores, like the daily sweeping of the sandy ground, were undertaken by the women, and girls as young as seven who start work early each morning before heading off to school, if their families can afford to send them.

The girls in my family were able to go to school thanks to the industry of 'Mama' who worked in the vegetable garden funded and supported by MBG, and her eldest daughter.

Water is carried from a well on women's heads in a bucket

Thirty-year-old Mbanding not only washed, cooked and looked after her parents, brothers, sisters and twin daughters, but also ran a small shop, worked in the local bank and helped run adult literacy classes for the village elders.

Her father was a local driver. Other men worked in the fishing port or repaired some of the village's many rickety bicycles or sat on benches and passed the time of day.

Mbanding's 20-year-old brother, Suleyman, is bright and ambitious. He wants to be an accountant but has had to drop out of school because his family don't have the money for the fees. He needs £40 for the year.

To help raise the money, the women work. And through working not only help to support their families, but also gain in confidence thanks to some of the projects supported by MBG which empower them to earn a livelihood.

In spite of all the hard work there is time for laughter and leisure. The girls need little excuse to put on their best clothes to celebrate anything from a baby-naming ceremony, a Cora Band or, my mother's 80th birthday.

With life expectancy around 65, age is reverenced, elders greatly respected and, as an adopted member of the family, my mother was their mother. The day was marked with special food and a fruit drink to toast her health.

We drank from a yellow plastic dustbin brimming with a concoction of vanilla sugar, condensed milk, bananas and apples, while mysteriously out of the darkness, plastic chairs appeared from nowhere, along with a borrowed ghetto blaster, balloons, and a neighbour, brought in to make a speech. It was fantastic.

But the biggest party of all was the reason for our being in Gunjur; the honouring of 'Dr Nick' and Anita.

It began early on the Sunday with the arrival of a group of women, flamboyant in their colourful costumes and led by their elected elder, the Nansimba.

They were there to make sure that all of the 'Toubabs' (white people) were properly decked out in the African clothes which local tailors had made for the occasion.

Then, like children following the Pied Piper, we were led in procession along the sandy streets, joined by increasing numbers of women banging drums, singing, dancing and wearing the different costumes of the town's eight kafos, or clans.

A thousand women, two thousand. Speeches were made, songs sung, tears shed - mine amongst them.

And again, a week later, when it was time to say goodbye.

They say that Africa gets to you. I think 'they' could be right.

UTG Poised to Produce next Generation of Gambian Leaders

2010-09-16T17:57:00.005+01:00

The Vice Chancellor of the University of the Gambia, Professor Muhammed Kah, has restated that the institution is poised to be the core of the Gambian rapid transformation in development through the impartment of knowledge and skills among its pupils, who represent the next generation of people to take the country forward.
He made these remarks at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of The Gambia and York St John University in the United Kingdom, which was held at the Brikama Campus.
He added that the partnership established with the signing of the memorandum will enhance possibilities for twinning between the two universities and sabbaticals, sports, joint degrees, research as well as staff and student exchanges.
“The University of The Gambia is very important to the development of this country. The next generation of leaders in the country will emerge from this University and we have many degree programmes in different areas. In short, we are a comprehensive University and many of our graduates are pursuing Masters and PhD degrees in great Universities around the world”.
Mr. Kah maintained that Staff and students of York St John University are warmly welcome to The Gambia and his gates shall always be wide open for them. They shall, he enunciated, meet in the University of The Gambia friendly students and staff willing to make reality their mutual aspirations and ambitions through substantive collaboration.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor of York St John University, Professor David Maughan Brown, stated that it was a great pleasure and privilege for them to come to The Gambia whilst noting that they are very appreciative of the warmth of the welcome accorded them.
He further ploughed on that the presence of heads of different faculties for the meeting with them was so great that he doubted any other University in the World can do it. He also disclosed that the two institutions have a common focus and have to embrace the challenge of graduating students into a globalizing world which demands equipping them with skills to entertain the difficulties and adjust to different cultures, religion and ways of doing things.
The proposed student exchange programme, he said, will give the participants an international experience and enable them to think about other people’s histories, which is critically important in light of what happened on September 11 as he challenged Universities in the developed world to help student acquire this experience.
Professor Brown further capitulated that the developed world has a great deal to learn from anywhere else in the world by opening doors to education and interactive research, which he described as very beneficial.
He also revealed that their University was founded by the Church of England way back in 1841, with the chief aim of widening access to education for the whole society, and it was not until four years ago when they became a fully fledged University.
For his part, the University Secretary Jenung Manneh said that they are constantly committed to the amelioration of learning conditions for young people. He commended the University staff for their sterling and admirable performances with great moral turpitude over time for the realization of their common goals.
He concluded that they shall continue improving upon this trend without fatigue in the great enterprise to give good education to the suitably qualified people attending the University so that they can produce knowledgeable graduants.

ST MARY'S COLLEGE STUDENTS SHARE FONI BEREFET EXPERIENCE

2010-07-02T11:08:00.005+01:00

Some students from St Mary's College in Maryland, United States, have said that their month-long stay in Foni Berefet on research has been a good experience for them as they had the opportunity to meet and interact with local people whilst learning to speak local languages better.
A Psychology and Neurobiology student, Mike Woodburn, noted that the trip has made him more adaptable to change, more self-reliant and less reliant on technology.
"We had drumming and dancing by women which was nice. I have also been learning Mandinka Language and I am a lot better than I was when I came. Everybody knows everybody and are more open. That is definitely something I would like to take back home".
Amanda Porter who conducted research on traditional Medicine said she had learned a lot from the meetings she had with Marabouts and Alkalos about the different plants and herbs used used in the healing process. Another aspect of traditional Medicine she has discovered in her research, she continued, is the use of the use of spirituality like the Qu'ran to heal people.
She adds: "It is awesome. Friendly people and very welcoming. There are very organized houses and the kids can speak good English so they could communicate with us and the food was delicious".
Sociology and Anthropology Major Frank Callow, the focus of whose research was spatial, organizational and geographical perception said that he dusted off an old World Map and had a geography lesson with kids which he described as "interactive".
He said that the kids with whom he had the geography lesson understand more about the subject in terms of Sports as they could easily name countries from other parts of the globe but would have no answer when he would ask them about the neighboring countries.
He also had the opportunity to make further research on Alkalorship, the local power structure, compilation of oral history and cultural sites. Whilst speaking on his impressions of the local power structure, he said that "power is pretty defused as you can easily meet other people in authority after meeting the Alkalo".
For Elizabeth Benge and Susan Signooelli, working in the country's main Health facility, Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, has enabled them to learn how to deliver babies and cut Umbilical Chords as well as inserting cannulas, among others.
"I got to know the expectations placed on the shoulders of Doctors. People streamed in double the number of Doctors. There is lack of enough personnel and supplies to take care of the patients" said Elizabeth Benge.
Susan Signooelli added that the Doctors and Nurses are "brilliant" and "hardworking" as she called on the Government of The Gambia to provide more resources for the Health sector so that more people can join the labor force and do their job with less stress.
She concluded that it is "very hard on the emotions" to see patients not getting the help they need and said that the lack of urgency and laid-back approach of the staff should change.

MARVELLOUS ANNUAL NATION-WIDE ONCE-IN-A-LIFE-TIME TOUR FOR THE TOURISM STUDENTS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COLLEGE 20-24 MAY 2010

2010-06-28T23:30:00.003+01:00

This post has been submitted by Yankuba SM Ceesay.

On 20th May in year two thousand and ten (20-05-2010) a number of students from IBC (International Business College) had a nation wide tour. This excursion is mainly aimed to meet one of their criteria in one of their modules - there are eight modules taken at IBC, as the lecturers together with the school administration have found it very much vital and essential for the tourism students to know their country well, especially their tourist attractive places and the cultural heritage sites as well their historical places from dates of colonialism until today. Interpretation of the above information is one of the main aims and objectives for conducting this trip in order to achieve a common goal of success.
Basically this is why every year a group of such students goes out for this nation wide tour. We set off from Banjul the capital city, where we took our first crossing to the north bank of the Gambia. From there we droved to Juffreh (Albreda) to the slave house at James Island and we took a wonderful boat trip to the Island, where we found it very interesting and educative about the ways the slave houses were built and also different parts of the slave house. And from the Island we also visited a church and according to the explanation we received it is the oldest church in the sub-African region, and from there we went to a museum too.
After visiting various places in Albreda we headed to Wassu and had a very short visit at the stone circles. It was interesting to see the different types of stones and what they represent, and we were told that some symbolise the graves and houses of ancient chiefs while others represent their worshiping places. This was a very short explanation and we then droved to Janjang Bureh where we spent our first night - we spent it at Armitage SSS which is my former school and I was acting like a tour guide for our team, because I was familiar with all those places including all the tourist attraction sites in Janjang Bureh and the places we visited included the old colonial cemetery, the slave house, the freedom tree and also the old governor's residence. From there we headed towards Bansang and then arrived at Basse, which is regarded as the second capital of the smiling coast of Africa (The Gambia) but it is very far from the capital city Banjul. To visit Basse was very much interesting as most of the students have never been to Basse before, and after the arrival we were directed to take a boat trip towards the Fulladu camp which is an Eco-lodge. Here the river is drinkable water and while on the boat to the camp some of our team members were drinking it and some were washing their faces. Some students along with their lecturer(Mr David Jassey) and me as well took some pictures of people taking shower while some are laundering their clothes and at the same time some are drinking the water – the students find these very much interesting and were very much pleased with the atmosphere at that time of the day . All the students were very much happy to see such a town like Basse with very lovely and friendly people with smiling faces and this part of Basse is something which tourists would not like to miss on their excursions to those parts of the country.
Then, from the Fulladu camp we had a visit to the former colonial masters (British) building of the market and from there to the new market built by the Gambians after gaining their independence from the British in 1965. The market is a place which tourists would like to visit to know the different types of products found in our local markets and they could not afford to miss the market place. While on the market visit we went to visit the immigration department and the police station which are essential to know in case of any emergency.
Furthermore, from the market visit we had a visit to the first Methodist church where the first President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara got married to his wife who is an Aku, and according to the interpreters the wife is a Christian any way at the church is where the marry bride was tight. From the church the student join their vehicle to go to another part of Basse known as Basse Mansajang. At Mansajang we visited a school called Saint George, where we were supposed to spend the night but this was cancelled. due to some miscommunication between our management and the school. We wish to thank Mr Arabatou Badjie who is the principal of the school, who has provided us with accommodation free of charge - he is some one that will always stick in our minds - thank you Mr Badjie for the kind help as we do appreciate so much and our prayers are for you always. And during the night I went with some members of our team went to visit my mum and she was very happy when she saw me and my friends including our lecturer. For me it was the place I enjoyed most in a sense that I met with my family members including those I miss for about 3 years who are my best friends.
The following day we departed from Basse to Tendaba camp via Jarreng, and this was the time when I dropped the PAGEANT letters to one of my friends to distribute them for me. And when we reached Jarreng it was surprising to see the road constructors have reached Jarreng, and that was the time we started experiencing good road. The road from Jarra Soma to Jarreng is now finished and the constructors are fast in their work and I believe before the end of the rainy season they will be very close to Basse.
After our arrival at Tendaba Camp we had a lunch and after the lunch each and every one of us contributed D100 to buy a goat, and during the night time we organised a small party and this was the first place where we had such kind of fun and entertainment and it was very enjoyable. We were not lucky enough to have a boat trip at Tendaba but we have had a long discussion with the camp manager in regard with eco-tourism management, and we really learned a lot from the manager and this will pave our way in improving our educational standard in eco-tourism management.
The second to last place we visited was Kanilai and this was an impromptu visit - it was during the time of the cultural festival in Kanilai and the places were so busy with different types of cultural groups from the different parts of the world who came to attend the festival and due to these occasion other places in Kanilai were restricted including the presidential palace and the animal zoo as well. But the cultural festival was very colourful with lots of entertainment and exhibitions and these last for one month.
Our last visit was to Tumani Tenda eco-tourism camp and this place is unique, differing from other eco-tourism camps we visited in terms of social responsibilities they render to their various communities – see the details below.
TUMANI TENDA ECO–TOURISM CAMP
ABOUT THE VILLAGE
Tumani Tenda is a Jolla village with approximately 300 inhabitants living in seven extended families. It is situated 25km east of Brikama and 3km from Kafuta, on a tributary/bolong of the Gambia River. This small village derives its name from a peanut picker, called Tumani, who lived in the area and Tend, which is a Mandinka word meaning riverbank. The founder of the village is called Alhaji Osman, who is a quoranic scholar and he established it about 30 years ago after his immigration from southern Senegal, called Casamance. The community is a religious community and it embraces certain values, notably a sustainable attitude to the natural environment, a socially responsible style of living, respect for the elderly, independence, self-sustainability and a sense of community. The village owns 140 hectares of land, of which 89 are species rich forest that is continually upgraded with seedlings and serves as a pharmacy and natural water reservoir. Plants and other food crops are grown in abundance and include millet, maize, groundnuts, vegetables, herbs and spices, bananas, grapefruit, oranges, mangoes, lemons and many others.
ABOUT THE CAMP
The villagers used local materials to build the accommodation in a sensitive way that suits its environment, the round houses consist of comfortable rooms, decorated and furnished to give an authentic African atmosphere and each hut is designed and built by each of the families. And all the furniture is locally hand made with tie dye materials used as bed sheets, made by the village itself. All the rooms have mosquito nets and lighting facilities, with flush toilets and showers situated behind the accommodation in a separate building. All the waters are clean and fresh and drawn from one of the wells in the village.
The main meeting area consists of a beautifully built hut with a floor of shells and a big mahogany table where everybody sits around for eating and relaxing. And it also includes four hammocks for chilling from the mid day sun as well as a bar where you can request drinks and also where buffet style breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. The kitchen is located just next to the restaurant area in a separate hut and is where typical delicious dishes are prepared by the women of the village.
ROLE OF CONDUCT
According to the explanation from the camp manager regarding ethics and the morals of the village, visitors visiting Tumani Tenda are required to respect the local culture and the following rules are adhered to.
In regard to the Islamic religion visitors are advised not to wear short skirts and short shorts and also swim-wear is not allowed to be worn around the public areas. In other to avoid the bad habit of children begging visitors are requested not to give children sweets, pens, and other gifts. All the gifts or donations should be passed to the village head, the alkalo, or camp manager to be distributed equally within the village.
And also cleaning the environment by avoiding littering on the ground in order to keep the village clean, visitors are encouraged to be respectful of the traditions and hospitality offered by Tumani Tenda and they should act like they are part of the community for the time they spend there.
SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT
All the money spent by the visitors at Tumani Tenda goes to the village development fund. And later on the money is used for the development of village facilities, infrastructure and families need within the village. The money derived from the camp is used for the payment of all the village taxes and taking care of any emergency and also buying medicines for the village inhabitants and the other part of the money is used for the payment of children’s school fees and other related issues like projects and the women’s garden too, and it is only village in the Gambia where school fees are free for all the children of the village. I believe this camp is unique from the other eco-tourism camps in the Gambia.
From there we finally drove back home.

St Mary's College Students meet Banjul Mayor

2010-06-13T10:13:00.004+01:00

A group of twenty-eight students from St Mary's College in Maryland, United States, recently made a visit to the Mayor of Banjul City Council, Samba Faal.
In his welcoming remarks, Mayor Samba Faal said that the student exchange programme between the University of the Gambia and St Mary's College in Maryland is one of the best things that has happened to Gambian education.
He stated that many students from the University of the Gambia have been to the United States for studies as part of the programme and have come back to contribute their part to the development of the country.
This, he said, has also immensely helped in fostering a better world view among participants noting that cultural exchange increases tolerance between people and makes them better persons.
The head of the student group Professor Bill Roberts thanked the Mayor for the warm welcome accorded them at such a short notice.
"This is an affirmation of why I have over the years brought students from America to know about the local Gambian culture. They can learn from Gambians how to be more generous. They can learn how to be more friendly" he said.
He added that the visit would not only give the students an opportunity to learn about the Gambian Culture but will also help them to know themselves better.
A Psychology and History student from the college Katelyn McKerlie said that she has had a great experience since she arrived in The Gambia saying "I am grateful for the experience I have had".
For Sam Horrocks, he has been amazed at everybody's willingness to talk to everybody and how less wasteful the citizens are compared to those of his country. He concluded that in the United States people are less friendly and everything is so big and extravagant.
One of the local language instructors of the group Naisatiou Conteh-Jatta said that the group has made tremendous progress in learning to speak the local languages. Learning about other cultures, she continued, will help improve their knowledge about other people and their differences while taking their lives to another level.

NUSRAT SCOUT LINK HOLDS 2ND INVESTITURE CEREMONY

2010-06-11T17:41:00.002+01:00

The Nusrat scout association in collaboration with other scout troops in the Kombo St. Mary’s Region recently held an investiture ceremony for ten of its members at the Nusrat school ground. The purpose of the ceremony was to award certificates to their members as well as to officially enlist them in to actual scouting.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. John Kemokai, director of studies at the Nusrat Management and Accountancy Training Centre, showered praises on the scouts for their hard work, commitment and discipline. He said that scouting is a discipline that plays an enormous role in effecting positive changes in young people. He said that the investiture ceremony will go a long way to inspire more students to join the scouts.

He said that Nusrat School is not only a haven of academic excellence but also champions in terms of other areas like sports, scouting to name a few. He warmly welcomed everyone and said that Nusrat is ever ready to lodge anyone who wants to make progress in his life.

Lamin Ceesay, a representative of the scouts revealed to the gathering that scouting was formed in 1907 by Lord Robert Smith Stevenson Baden Powell. He said that Baden Powell joined the Army when he was 19 and rose to the position of Lieutenant at the age of 26 and by 32 he was already a Major. Ceesay said that the purpose of scouting is to contribute positively to the development of young people. Mr. Ceesay went further to say that a scout is known to be loyal to his community, nation and the world at large and that it is non political but voluntary organization that is open to all without discrimination of colour, origin, race, religion or nationality in accordance with the purpose and principles of the method conceived by the founder.

The invited guest speaker at the ceremony was Lt. Col. Baboucarr Sanyang, commanding officer of Gambia National Guard (GNG) who applauded the efforts of the scouts and advised them to continue working hard and be disciplined. He described discipline as something which is not easy. He urged them to be more tolerant and obedient as it all starts from where you are. Lt. Col. Sanyang told the scouts that he started from where they were and by the grace of God, he is now holding a high rank in the military which is due to hard work, discipline and loyalty. He strongly advised them to work very hard in whatever assignment they are given and, “definitely you will achieve your goals,” he said.

Lt. Col. Sanyang informed the scouts that they have already earned a job for themselves because the army needs such skillful people like them. “So be certificated and whenever we are enrolling people you guys will be duly considered.” He further went on to cite an example in the army that their drum major started his career as a scout. Lt. Col Sanyang reminded them of the President’s promise that the sky is the limit.

Being awarded a certificate means that you have done a very good job and what is most important after all is how to maintain it,” Lt. Col. Sanyang remarked.

Lt. Col. Baboucarr Sanyang finally thanked Nusrat School under the able leadership of Principal Bojang for providing the right education in the most conducive atmosphere to the students for their future. He revealed to the listening audience that Nusrat was the school that he ever wanted to attend but due to conditions beyond his control he could not attend the school, but fortunately his son has attended this great institution and has completed successfully. He thanked the staff for a job well done and urged them to continue the momentum.

Isatou Secka, a former head girl of the school, delivered the vote of thanks and the ceremony was concluded by the singing of the National Anthem by the scout band. It was attended by students of Nusrat and a cross section of the community.

ARMITAGE HOLDS PRIZE GIVING DAY

2010-06-11T17:33:00.003+01:00

Armitage Senior Secondary School recently held their annual speech and prize giving ceremony at the school grounds in Janjangbureh, CRR. Over two hundred students graduated in the fields of Science, Commerce, Liberal Arts and Basic Technology and prizes were awarded to the deserving students. The prize for the best graduating male student went to Musa Wally and the best female student was Bandeh Bobb.

The guest speaker, Pa Macoumba Njie, managing director of Trust Bank in his eloquent speech noted that Armitage has built an enviable reputation as a citadel of learning, testimony to which is the list of Gambians who have been educated there and gone on to develop great careers in medicine, law, business, politics, banking and the list goes on. He further pointed out that this ‘great bastion of secondary education’ has been able to produce a long list of luminaries who have led exemplary lives and contributed immensely to the development of our great nation.

He said that discipline is paramount in all student activities, by instilling a sense of sacrifice, service above self and a dedication to duty for the benefit of the whole student body. He asserted that every student who has the benefit of attending this great school knows about the unparallel emphasis put on hard work and the pursuit of excellence.

He elucidated that as graduating students, having finished their secondary education, they were now faced with an array of options and the choice they make now may have a lingering impact in their future career direction. He opined that they are facing many challenges, ranging from the difficulty of selecting a career path to sourcing the necessary finances to fund their university education.

The vice principal of Armitage school, Isaac K Koroma in his report said that the 2009 WASSCE results were a great improvement over last year’s results in quality of passes in all subjects and the overall percentage was 74.1 percent. He further revealed that the general school discipline is satisfactory, noting that on striving to reach a desired goal a ‘hold tight’ mechanism which includes guidance and counseling, roll calling and cautionary measures was put in place. He advised the students that now they are stepping outside the gate of Armitage for the turbulent world of bitter sweet with all its attendant trials and tribulations and urged them to bear in mind that it is a different world. “A world that insists on conformity, regular work, new responsibilities and many challenges,” he noted. He commended the ex-students of the school for their humanitarian assistance.

STEVE BIKO STUNS GAMBIA PORTS AUTHORITY

2010-06-11T17:24:00.001+01:00

Steve Biko yesterday beat the newly crowned champions of the GFA First Division league Gambia Ports Authority in the final game of the season held at Serekunda West Mini Stadium.

Gambia Ports Authority made a superb start to the game showing why they have been crowned champions as they created numerous chances and camped in their opponent’s goal mouth for sustained spells.

Sulayman Sanyang got a ball over the edge of the penalty box in the 16th minute with little defensive encumbrance to thwart his effort but his shot proved too lame, enabling the goalkeeper to let it peter it out with the minimum of trouble.

Steve Biko got a scare in the 18th minute when Alagie Fatajo released a howitzer that hit the upper frame of the goal post just a little distance out of the penalty yard.

Just before the break in the 34th minute, Sulayman Sanyang managed to get his head to a cross from the midfield which the goal keeper saved.
The second half saw more action from the defending champions as they sought to break the stalemate while their opponents dug deeper into their defense to stave off goals.

Toni Mendy made a successful instinctive move for a cross sent out by Hamza Barry in the 56th minute but a defender came to Steve Biko's rescue and foiled the incursion.

Matarr Ceesay placed a close header over the bar whilst Alagie Fatajo hit the wood work for the second time in the 71st minute. Though Steve Biko Football Club were thoroughly outplayed in both segments of the game a twist of fate helped them to claim the lead when Ports player Bun Gaye inadvertently handled the ball in the penalty box.

Ousman Njie stepped up to the ball in the penalty spot and sent the goal keeper the wrong way, occasioning wild celebrations among Steve Biko fans in the stands.

Steve Biko assistant gaffer Borris Demba noted that he was not surprised at the result achieved by his players because they had trained hard and played the way they have been taught to.

“I am not surprised at the way the team has played. These players have been with us learning how to play football from the academy to the youth team and then the senior team” he said.

He conceded that playing against a team that has won the league is not a rudimentary task but commended his team for concocting a formula to win the encounter. He said that the suspension handed Steve Biko’s Head Coach had not affected them negatively because they all worked together to achieve their aims.

“We all work together to achieve our ambitions. We do not have any differences in the technical group, that is why we are so successful”, he said.
Quizzed on suggestions that his team had favored Bakau United to a one goal win against them to save them from relegation, Demba said that such insinuations were being made by people who do not want his team to go forward.

He said that his team was not favored when they were experiencing difficult times so they will not make favors for any team.

FAYE BIRAN BEATS LIVERPOOL FC IN SERREKUNDA EAST QUALIFIERS

2010-06-11T17:06:00.002+01:00

Faye Biran Football Club yesterday thrashed Liverpool Football Club in the Sere Kunda East Nawettan qualifiers staged by the Sere Kunda East Sports Organization.

Faye Biran FC controlled and dictated the pace of play from the very outset coming close to scoring through Kay Kuta Kanyi who shot wide in the 12th minute after a cross.

Alagie Bah came close to helping his team pull ahead in the 16th minute but the goalkeeper made a superb save and quickly dispatched the ball to his players.

The deadlock was broken in the 19th minute when Muhammed Sanyang received a pass at close range and dispatched the ball to the top corner of the net.

Liverpool made efforts to draw themselves level and Modou Touray dribbled his way to the right hand corner of the field near Faye Biram goal post but his cross was intercepted.

Liverpool football club’s efforts finally witnessed fruition in the 55th minute after the resumption of the game in the second half. Ebrima Barrow slotted the ball into the back of the net at close range.

Kay Kuta could have restored the lead for his outfit when he was teed up at a very close distance from the goal but he inexplicably directed the shot at the goal keeper in the 34th minute, causing noise in the crowd.

Armed Forces and former U17 player Buba Sama was sent off for what seemed like a knock on the face of a Liverpool player.

Alagie Bah was on the end of a cross in the 69th minute of the encounter but his effort missed the target but Muhammed Sanyang’s second goal of the game was declared by the referee as off-side seven minutes later.

Liverpool coach Sulayman Badjie said that he was defeated but not disappointed with the score line given the fact that their opponents fielded more experienced players.

He added that some of the players who took to the pitch for Faye Biram FC are plying their trade in the Gambia Football Association first-tier league such as Buba Sama and Alagie Bah.

He added that he was proud of the performance fleshed out by the team despite the obvious advantage against them.

“I am proud of my boys for the way they have played today. We only had a few problems with our defence which allowed our opponents to score goals”.

Faye Biran Football Club gaffer Mbye Camara noted his satisfaction with the way his players have dictated the proceedings of the encounter which handed them a place in the next stage of the qualifiers.

He also weathered questions about their choice of line-up in the game by using first division players. He said that their decision was informed by the fact that Sere Kunda East Zone is one of the toughest when it comes to qualifiers for the Nawettan due to the sheer number of good teams competing.

REAL DE BANJUL BEATS GIFTS ACADEMY IN TEST MATCH

2010-05-23T15:56:00.002+01:00

Real De Banjul Football Club feeder team beat Gifts football academy 2-0 in a test match held at Serre Kunda West mini stadium on Saturday.
Both teams made a brilliant start to the game with ball possession split almost in half but Gifts academy had more goal scoring chances which they failed to put beyond the goal line.
Samsideen Jarju was passed the ball at the right hand corner of the penalty box in the 27th minute following an accurate pass from the flanks but his blast went across the face of goal.
The impasse was broken in the 65th minute when Pastor Jammeh was set up in the penalty box in substantial space to exploit and he made a low, stinging shot that whizzed past the left hand side of the goal keeper into the net.
The goal sent the Gifts academy coach Ebrima Mendy barking instructions from the technical bench to his players who started pouring forward as they looked to create a better score line. The forward surge by Gifts proved calamitous as they left themselves open at the back which Samsideen Jarju took advantage of in the 75th minute to drive a powerful shot into the net which left the goal keeper stranded. The advent of the second goal seemed to have all but killed the game as Gifts players merely kept running after their opponents whose dominance became more glaring and the game ended 2-0.
Real De Banjul instructor Dawda Soto Ceesay said that his players did well given the absence of some key members of his team due to problems beyond their control while adding that it was a successful revenge mission.
“We lost to them 1-0 in the final of Matarr Sarr Memorial tournament recently. So we have made a revenge on them for that and we are very happy” he said.
Dawda also added that the encounter was also a good preparation for them ahead of the West Africa U-17 Club championship to be held in the country in the month of July which will see them take on teams from Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and others in the sub region.
“Last time, we took part in the competition and won the final and we want to win it again. We have a very good team which I believe can play well against any team and I do have confidence in them” he declared.
He finally thanked the Real De Banjul Football Club administration for their support, both moral and financial, which has enabled him to nurture the young talents on his team for the future.

SOHNA'S FC WIN ALHAGIE NYASSI TOURNAMENT

2010-05-23T15:48:00.004+01:00

SAINEY DARBOE
Sohna's Football Club were crowned champions of Alhagie Nyassi Nooran tournament held at Serre Kunda West mini-stadium in a well attended final match on Friday 21st May 2010.
Safira FC could have grabbed an early goal cushion in the 3rd minute when Tamsir Jallow was passed the ball from the flanks at short distance but he slipped on the grass just before he fired the shot. Sulayman Corr latched onto a pass through the midfield and dribbled past the defender as well as the guard-man but his powerful shot hit the side netting.
Sohna's were awarded a free kick about two yards outside the box in the 21st minute of the game which Sanna Sonko took but the goal keeper made a superb save and Mam Jange was tee-ed up in the 25th minute within striking distance of the goal but the referee declared that he was off-side.
Mam Jange got on the end of a pass in the 37th minute from their key striker, Modou Gai, who proved quite influential in the game but his shot went over the bar. The dead lock was soon breached in the 40th minute when Carlos Mendy completed a shrewd move in Safira's rear-guard and ringed the goal keeper to put the goal in the net, causing wild celebrations among their fans in the stands.
The resumption of action in the second segment of the game saw Safira pile pressure on their opponents as they pushed for parity on the score board and Sohna's knew they were in for a match.
Sulay Coker unleashed a shot at close range in the 48th minute but the goal keeper was equal to it and Tamsir Jammeh made a lovely cross in the 76th minute for which the doctor only prescribed a cool tap into the net but his team mates failed to connect, leading to an awkward clearance.
The most glorious goal scoring opportunity of the game was manufactured in the 45th minute when Kebba Wally of Safira FC was set up for a header at point blank range only to put it into the hands of the goal keeper which prompted uproar from the crowd.
The game concluded 1-0 in favor of Sohna's Football Club who were given a trophy with a cash prize of D3000 whilst runners-up Safira received a sum D1500 as consolation.

47th ORDINARY SESSION OF AFRICA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OPENS IN BANJUL

2010-05-13T16:35:00.001+01:00

The increase in human rights violation in Africa, the systematic denial of democratic change and the refusal to recognize the fundamental rights of the human being as well as the unacceptable reversal of constitutional order with no regard for the right of the population have been blamed on bad governance in the continent. Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, Mrs. Reine Alapini Gansou, gave this remark at the opening of the 47th Ordinary Session of the Commission in Banjul.
According to her, Africa has considerable assets which can contribute to its economic development and without a doubt make up for lost time in its development. However, several human rights violations are perpetuated with impunity by states who are parties to the African Commission.
She said that the Commission has deployed great efforts in the combat against torture, against the death penalty, the right of human right defender associations, the right of journalists and has also convinced the stakeholders to accept the right to be different and in particular to that of non-discrimination.
“There is evident correlation,” she noted, “between democracy, good governance and human rights, a necessary link which should give life to human rights in normative contexts, which take into account the general interest through a regular checking of the high performing, responsible and participative republican institution, founded on a basis which guarantees multiparty democracy, the rule of law, and a system which guarantees the effective promotion and protection of human rights, of individual and collective liberties.”
According to her, there cannot be good governance where arbitrary arrests, torture in custody, problems of gender based discrimination or the population’s HIV status are the order of the day; or “where the most basic of fundamental freedoms are muzzled and are replaced by liberticidal or restrictive rights; where journalists disappear for having accomplished their mission; where women are excluded from the decision making or peace process.”
She said only respect for the standards and principles of democratisation, respect for human rights and presence of constructive sociopolitical dialogue between various actors can bring about good governance.
Commissioner Reine then expressed her joy over the partnership established between the commission and state parties, which should be strengthened at all cost, keeping in mind that each stakeholder must be obligated to respect scrupulously the African Charter on Human and People’s Right.
In her speech, Commissioner for Political Affairs in African Union, Julia Dolly Joiner disclosed that the continent has, since the dawn of the 21st century, stood witness to a simple and irreversible reality whereby Africans are establishing, expressing and asserting their human rights more than it has been the case in the past. She added that this, by all accounts, is attributable to the expressed commitment of heads of states and governments, the positive efforts of institutions and direct activism of African civil society.
“No matter our differences or contestations of content might be, I am certain that there is amongst us a recognition that we are on a positive and sustainable path to the future. Even whilst we grapple with continuing human rights challenges and the intricacies of reports presented to this august body, we need to take a step back and look at the journey traveled and the progress registered,” she stated.
She said that it is imperative that the continent builds on that which it has succeeded in putting in place, the most significant of which are the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
She also noted that there are many suggestions that the continent moves to a higher level of success in its human rights promotion and protection efforts.
For her part, Miss Hannah Foster, the executive director of the ACDHR who spoke on behalf of the NGOS Forum, noted that the forum acknowledged that although challenges in the human rights and democracy situation persist leading to violence, insecurity and conflict, some real and positive developments have been registered in a good number of African countries.
She said that the forum has drawn attention to the suppression of the freedom of expression, opinion, assembly and the press. In this regard, the forum requests the AC to pay particular attention to the situation in Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. “We thereby request the AC to express solidarity with all journalists living under extreme persecution and to urge states to abolish repressive laws and to ensure a conducive environment for the protection of journalist in Africa.”
The forum wishes to express its satisfaction so far in working with the mechanisms of the African Commission and urge the AU to provide sufficient resources for the maintenance of all its mechanism to ensure greater impact.
While declaring the 47th Ordinary Session of African commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights open, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Edward Gomez called on human rights activists to exercise objectivity in pursuit of respect for and observance of human rights.
Responding to human rights concerns about freedom of expression in The Gambia, Mr. Gomez retorted that journalists sometimes publish sensational articles so as to boost paper sales without observing the basic principles of the profession by verifying the content. Whilst noting that it will be difficult to recognize the rights of those who infringe the rights of others, Mr. Gomez extended an invitation to anyone who nurtures doubts about his assertions to visit him at his office for a frank and open discussion. He disclosed that the government of The Gambia respects human rights and upholds it.
He closed by characterising the increasing occurrence of rape on the continent as a terrible practice that warrants ‘castration’ for the perpetrators, concluding that in The Gambia the penalty for rape is life imprisonment.

BAES STUDENTS VISIT TILOO SOLAR PROJECT SITE

2010-05-13T16:23:00.002+01:00

Students of the Banjul American Embassy School in Fajara, Kanifing Municipality, recently visited the site of Solar Project ‘Tiloo’ a company making solar equipment in Kanifing South, off Kaiaraba Avenue, as the company celebrated a Solar Day on Saturday.
Speaking on the purpose of their visit to the project site, Ms. Blair, a teacher at the Banjul American Embassy School said that the visit was supposed to familiarize the students with various inventions that are being undertaken in The Gambia. She said her class was studying inventions, mostly of Haitian origin and they have thought it expedient to examine the Gambian experience in this respect.
“We were having a class in invention and these were mainly inventions in Haiti and elsewhere, which is why I decided to bring them to the solar project site for them to see for themselves inventions from our own backyard in The Gambia.
“Our visit to the Solar Project Tiloo-Gambia is very important because the most important problem in The Gambia here right now is deforestation as the forest cover is being depleted by local communities for fuel and cooking,” she said.
One of the students hailed the visit as important as it avails them the opportunity to see for themselves the alternative use of energy. “The visit is important because they use solar energy often and they don’t need to use electricity. It is also important for us too because we get to learn a lot about new inventions.”
Another student stated that curiosity had made them want to see how to use solar energy to cook instead of using firewood. “We are also here to see how we don’t have to waste things by using solar power and we also got to learn that they use computer fans in the solar oven to get the waste air out.”
For his part, Muhammed Jarra, the manager of Solar Project Tiloo said that the visiting students have learnt a lot about how solar works, its different parts of and how it is used for baking or cooking.
Mr. Jarra added that they are trying to work with schools and students to help them better understand how solar works and how it can preserve the beautiful environment by being used as an alternative source of energy instead of cutting down the forest, which can take a toll on both the environment and the society at large.
At the event marking the Solar Day on Saturday, Mr. Muhammed Jarra highlighted the advantages of using solar energy as it is a cheap and convenient way of cooking. “We are trying to raise awareness for environmental protection as the forests in The Gambia are endangered and the soil dries because of deforestation. That is why it is important to use sustainable energy,” he said.
He said that with a solar cooker or a tunnel dryer, women do not need much time to cook anymore and that they have the possibility to make their own business by selling cooked and baked food which offers more financial independence. “By using a solar cooker, people prevent smoke entering their lungs, plus they avoid inflammation of the eyes. In other words, the food cooked and baked by the solar cooker is much healthier as it preserves the vitamins. Besides, as using the power of sun is free, more people boil the drinking water, which frees it of dangerous germs.”
One Gambian carpenter is currently employed by the project. He manufactures the solar cookers and the tunnel dryers. They make sure that most of the materials they use for the cookers and dryers are mainly local so as to support local businesses.
Mr. Jarra said that by using solar cookers, deforestation and C02-emission can be reduced. Many families in The Gambia do not have a fridge: as a result fruits and vegetables can be stored only for a short time and with the tunnel dryer you have the possibility to preserve the food up to six months. “As at now there are currently two Gambian bakers employed, and they bake daily like cakes, muffins, cookies, sweet bread, croissants, fish and meat pie and much more. A small but very nice restaurant is part of the bakery and is visited by Gambian cooks also where the local people and the tourists meet for coffee and cake. With this, we want to promote the idea of a community with ecological awareness,” he added.
He said that there is awareness training and the aim is to sell the advantages of solar energy to the Gambians. They want to improve the awareness of health and hygiene with creative and interactive presentations.
He argued that the local traditions and customs are very important to the natives. Therefore it is ideal to start with the children and tell them about the use solar energy. Mr. Jarra noted that with school programme they sponsor schools with two cookers and show the students and teachers how to use them. The profits realized from such ventures are again used to support other schools.
The project started sponsoring schools in 2009 starting with three schools namely St. Peters in Lamin, St. George’s in Basse and Charles Jaw in Bundung. Five students from each school are given five days of training and at the end receive certificates.
St. Peters was awarded a certificate and a cash box so as to continue using the solar cooker as it is reliable, cheap and convenient.The manager finally advised the people to keep the nature safe and fight against global warming.

Feb 24 Kathy's blog

2010-02-24T07:45:00.004Z

Kathy’s blog Feb 24 – really hot today

Beginning to wind down to going home. Last evening during Happy hour Katherine won at Bingo. Her prize was any drink from behind the bar as long as it was a small beer!

picture here shows Pippa ad Ian's bedroom during a packing session for the workshops- we did this 4 times.

Went to KMJ nursery school this morning and were deafened by the children singing! Very impressive though and so many smiling faces. Had to dig and push the minibus out of deep sand just before we got there.

Visited a compound where some children we sponsor live and saw some although the rest were at school. We had seen them a few days ago so it was a settling up visit but good to see them again.

Back to the hotel where Pippa and Ian met Mr Jallow the headteacher from Barra Essau to arrange some work in the school and give him a spare extra microscope. We have 3 left over, two from a school that didn’t show and one spare. We had decided that there were 3 very outstanding teachers/schools in the workshops we could give an extra microscope to, and Barra Essau was one. Mr Giteh from Bakalarr school had also come to visit, so it was nice to meet him again.

Peter and Katherine went home today. We were sorry to see them go. They were really great in the workshops and good company outside.

At the hotel you couldn’t even get cool in the shade it was so hot. Noticed a few very sunburned people around the pool. We went to Linda’s in the evening and out for dinner. Restaurant ran out of gas so we were there a long time waiting for food. It was very nice when it did finally turn up.

Tomorrow is a rest day hopefully and a short boat trip if we can, then back to pack for leaving on Thursday.

A very full two weeks for me and three for Anne and Pippa. Weather sounds awful in the UK so not looking forward to that. At least spring should be on the way soon.

Very glad we came and did this but the amount of organisation Pippa and Ian did had to be seen to be believed.

Bye for now

Kathy

2010-02-23T07:06:00.003Z

some pictures

2010-02-23T07:04:00.000Z

Kathy’s blog Feb 23 – another very hot day

Today a reasonably early start to drive down to Jambanjelli basic cycle school. Greeted by the teacher of the grade 5 class that were linking with the Ipswich school, and we also met the Principal, a very experienced and nice man. Went to the classroom and Pippa, Ian, Wandifa, Peter and Katherine left us to go to a few nursery schools further on.

The children in the class were just finishing letters to the kids in Ipswich. The standard of English and writing was very high, especially when you think that they are only about 11 years old and learning a new language. We showed them a short movie of the children in Ipswich and then filmed them saying hello and also singing a good song. We had a few rehearsals first.

The children and their teacher were really delightful and full of fun. The biggest laugh was when they tried to teach us Mandinka. They thought our pronunciation was very funny and I think it probably was!

Afterwards they gave us a bag of oranges as a gift. We will try to get them juiced in the morning for breakfast.

On the way back we stopped off a few times at schools or to meet up with families to arrange the school fees. We then were all invited to visit Wandifa’s compound where we met up with his family and saw the new baby. He was so cute and small but really lovely looking. He was fast asleep but had been keeping them awake during the night crying a bit. We were cooked a good lunch and everyone enjoyed seeing the family again and having fun with some of the toys we had taken.

Arrived back at the hotel very hot and dusty. My face looked like a beetroot, and the pool was very good at cooling us down. Also in time for Happy Hour – Hurrah!

Kathy’s blog Feb 22, 2010

2010-02-22T07:12:00.001Z

I’ve been here nearly 2 weeks now and like last year had good intentions of doing a blog often. However this means remembering your email name and password! Finally thought to text Helen who was at home and ask her to send it to me.

Andrew, Ian (our son) and I came out with Ian Howard and Bob Skipper on Feb 10 to join Pippa and Anne Jackson who had been out since Feb 4 visiting schools and compounds- well you know how hard Pippa works when she comes out here! Anne is Andrew’s sister and a retired teacher. We were coming out this year to help run 4 workshops for science teachers on using microscopes in science lessons. Peter Evennett and his wife Katherine had arrived on Feb 9. Peter is a retired University lecturer in microscopy and Katherine also a scientist worked as a teacher and taught science teachers.

40 schools were invited in total to the workshops and 2 teachers from each school. We had to get 124 microscopes plus lots of small pieces of equipment out here for them. This meant absolutely huge amounts of luggage. Fortunately Thomas Cook had given us enough excess baggage allowance so when we got to Gatwick at 4.30am we got through check in fairly easily. We were met by Wandifa at Banjul. It was really good to see him again.

Each workshop took place in a school so we had to transport it all in a taxi minibus. It did all fit- just! We arrived at each school at 8.30 to set up and the workshops finished at about 4. Two ran in an organised timetable and 2 were more Gambian time. They were hard work as the standard of teachers experience varied a lot, but they were very enjoyable and I think the teachers gained quite a bit- at least I hope they did. They were very happy to be given a large holdall with the microscopes and extra stuff that we microscopists like to use, for them to take back to their own school for science lessons and hopefully a science club.

The school on the north bank meant a very early start to catch the ferry. Something I was looking forward to as I didn’t get to see the north bank on my last visit. I really liked it and would like to return.

Bob returned home last Thursday and Andrew and Ian returned home last Friday so we are a reduced group. The last workshop ran well but we did miss them.

This is my second visit to the Gambia and I see it with different and better eyes. I also really enjoyed meeting our kids we sponsored and doing a market shop followed by a good lunch at Billys and a swim at the hotel.

Today we are going down towards Brikama. Anne and I are visiting a school in Jambanjali which is linked with a school in Ipswich where a friend of Anne teaches. Pippa is visiting children further on below Brikama. In the afternoon we are hoping to visit Wandifa’s compound even though his wife has just had their second son (really just yesterday!)

If I want to get this up today I must finish now and go to the lobby to log onto the internet

Bye for now

Kathy

2010-02-12T15:39:00.002Z

TWO BRITONS RECEIVE HONORARY CITIZENSHIP

Two British nationals namely Dr Nick Morris and Anita Bew were on Sunday 31st January 2010 awarded honorary citizenship at a ceremony held in Gunjur village in recognition of their long-standing contributions to the Gunjur Marlborough Link which started some twenty eight years ago.

In his acceptance speech Dr Nick Morris who founded the link thanked the community for recognizing his efforts in promoting the link with the aim of creating a new world order for peace, justice and equality.
"I am moved and humbled by this event. This is the culmination of an extraordinary adventure which started in another part of West Africa - Togo. My experience in Togo where I worked as a teacher for one year and stayed with a warm, caring Muslim family set me on the journey to the Gunjur-Marlborough Link. I returned home so much richer for the experience I had and wanted to promote cultural exchange for other people." he said.
He added that over one thousand five hundred people have exchanged visits from Marlborough and Gunjur since the inception of the link with the prime aim of learning about each others cultures.
"Over nine hundred people from Marlborough visited Gunjur and stayed with families to learn their culture and all of them say that their lives have been positively changed for the experience. This is a remarkable experiment in human relations", he added.
He likened the Gunjur-Marlborough link to a mango tree which is long-lasting, has intense foliage that provides shade, fun and is fruitful, ending with the poser "what is the purpose of a relationship if it is not fruitful?"
For her part, Anita Bew thanked the people of Gunjur for their warm welcome and hospitality that makes her feel at home.
"I have always been told Gunjur is my home, but it is now official. I must thank my hosts whose warm welcome, care and assistance on my first visit in 1985 really meant so much to me that I was motivated to do more to promote the link. I have had many thing from Gunjur but this surpasses everything", she said, clutching back tears.
The Alkalo of Gunjur Village Sulayman Touray thanked the recipients for their efforts which, according to him, have yielded positive results for the Gunjur Community and the Country as well.
"You richly deserved this award for your efforts, which have gone a long way to promote the advancement of this community. There is no better award we can give you than this to show our appreciation for your loyal and fruitful friendship over the years", he said.

The Governor of Western Region, Lamin Sanneh described the Gunjur-Marlborough Link as a bright example of a partnership that can positively change the reality of our world and bring development to poorer parts of the globe.
"Gunjur-Marlborough link has not only helped in the education of young people, but it has also provided further education for people from the community who have now become assets to our country, especially in the education sector", he observed.
Drawing on the benefits of the link, Governor Sanneh made mention of various partnerships that have been formed between schools in The Gambia and those in the United Kingdom which he said have been inspired by the Gunjur-Marlborough Link.
The Gnansimba of Gunjur, Mai Kebbeh, also expressed thanks and gratitude to Gunjur-Marlborough link on behalf of Gunjur women folk for establishing gardens that have served as sources of livelihoods for them.
"Gunjur-Marlborough link has immensely helped progress in this community, because we(women) use proceeds from our gardens to support the education of our children. This is helping us in laying a firm foundation for the future progress of our society", she said.

GUNJUR NAWETTAN REACHES FINAL

2010-01-13T14:44:00.004Z

Oxford Football Club on Saturday 9th January 2009 took to the pitch against Nyokoyorr Football Club in the final of Gunjur Village 2009-2010 football championship.
Oxford Football Club dominated the early exchanges, controlling a greater chunk of ball possession and playing deep into their opponents' half, which paid off in the 17th minute of the game when their in-form striker Foday Joof got on the end of a pass in the penalty box and made no mistake in front of the goal. The goal stopper for Nyokoyorr was sent the wrong way and the crowd numbering in thousands roared in celebration.
Nyokoyorr nearly rendered the celebrations premature when their youngster Yusupha Barrow made a stinging shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but the goal-stopper palmed it off. A number of other close chances followed for both teams but none was converted into goals and the first half ended with a 1-0 cushion for Oxford United.
Nyokoyorr continued to pile pressure on their opponents on the resumption of play in the second half with a number of creative passes in the mid-field going down the flanks, but the Oxford goal stopper was at his best until the 58th minute when a Sheriff Bojang strike restored parity and their fans who had been quiet started beating drums, singing and dancing.
The match had to be decided by the lottery of a penalty shoot-out as ninety minutes of regular play ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Oxford Football Club emerged victorious with five goals in the shoot-out as opposed to four by their opponents who missed one of their chances. The winners were given a giant trophy and a cash prize of fifteen thousand Dalasis (D15,000) whilst the runners-up received a trophy with ten thousand Dalasis (D10,000) as consolation.
Nyokoyorr striker Yusupha Barrow and Mommodou Clerk Bajo were each given a trophy and a cash prize of two hundred and fifty Dalasis for being the leading goal scorer and best player respectively.
Meanwhile Bubanding Bajo and Lamin Fish Touray, both members of Gunjur Youths and Sports Development Association(GYSDA), were also awarded trophies in recognition of their contribution to the Development of Sports in Gunjur Village.

GUNJUR-MARLBOROUGH LINK SET TO GROW FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGHTH

2010-01-04T18:05:00.005Z

Marlborough lies thousand of miles away from the Coasal village of Gunjur in The Gambia, but relations between the two towns could not have been closer since the inception of their link in 1982. The link is set to grow from strengh to strength if the words of the Head of women Gnansimba Mai Kebbeh and Alkalo Sulayman Touray who recently made a three-week visit to Marlborough are anything to go by.

Speaking to a gathering in the village square, The head of women Mai Kebbeh stated that they discussed a whole lot of issues affecting women in the Village with their Marlborough hosts, with a view to coming up with possible solutions.
"I pointed out the need for more milling machines in the village, which will help us a lot because the ones we have are not enough granted the level of demand. To this end, they have promisd to give us ten milling machines", she uttered to a wild cheer from the crowd.
She also stated that their hosts reiterated commitment to sponsoring the women's garden, which serves as a source of income for a lot of women who grow vegetables there and use it to pay their children's school fees.

For his part Alkalo Sulayman Touray revealed that the skills centre being built with funding from Marlborough will be supported to help young people in acquisition of skills. He added that they also had a meeting with Gunjur immigrants in the United Kingdom whom he advised to cherish the image of their village and Country by being honest and law-abiding.
"I also made it clear to them that their village and Country needs their in-put in our strive for Development and attainment of our collective goals", he said.
He finally concluded that the exchange visit between the two communities will continue despite recent challenges, which he fell short of mentioning, and thanked the villagers for their warm welcome.
The Gunjur-Marlborough link has come under strain when only four out of twelve people who went to the United Kingdom on an exchange visit returned, with the rest absconding. However, the visit to Marlborough by the two leaders in the Gunjur community is seen as an immense step to improve relations.
Link to Marlborough Brandt Group website

STUDENTS AT FARAFFENI SSS URGED TO WORK HARD AT SCHOOL

2009-12-22T15:31:00.003Z

The executive members of the National Patriotic Students Association (NAPSA) have called on students of secondary schools in the country to work hard for success in their various schools.

The student body made these remarks at a visit conducted to Farafenni Senior Secondary School in North Bank Region recently.

The aim of the visit was for the executive of the association to familiarise themselves with the new executive members of the Farafenni SSS Welfare Association and also to have the opportunity of talking to both sides on the need for attaining standard and quality education in schools.

Speaking at the ceremony, Modou Salieu Sowe, chairperson of NAPSA underscored the importance the association attaches to promoting mutual understanding, dedication and hard work among teachers and students in the transfer of knowledge and skills.

According to Sowe, students should be respectful to their teachers and be hardworking. He advised them to always be dedicated to their studies, adding that the teacher-student ratio remains the biggest challenge to the government as far as NAPSA is concerned.

He added that without adequate teachers in schools, the provision and attainment of quality education in the country becomes thwarted and difficult.

“The attainment of quality education calls for concerted efforts and high sense of belonging and discipline from students to support the Farafenni Senior School administration in due execution of their functions,” Sowe said, commending the school administration for their openness and clean-hearted discussion on the way forward for achieving quality education for all as documented in the country’s education policy.

According to him, it is incumbent on the newly inaugurated executive council of the welfare association to work hard and inculcate a high sense of morality and discipline among students. He also promised that NAPSA would soon establish a divisional headquarters in Farafenni, North Bank Region.

For his part, Honourable Seedy Njie, nominated National Assembly member of the Gambia Parliament and the coordinator of NAPSA urged students to work in their studies so that they could continue to enjoy the various opportunities created by the government, including the scholarships package for needy and deserving students as well as the opportunity to study in the university.

He added further that the provision of partly free education for girls in the country is a bid to eradicate illiteracy among women and to enhance their participation in national development.

Also speaking, Babou Cham, head boy of Farafenni Senior School who is currently the chairperson NAPSA Welfare Association in Farafenni hoped that the promise that a divisional headquarters would soon be opened in Farafenni comes to reality sooner than expected.

According to Cham, it is also important to motivate students to become good citizens of the country, noting that this is the main aim and objective of NAPSA.

He said forming such an association in schools will highly develop the students’ ability in becoming good leaders in future. He said that this could be achieved through dialogue, actions and motivation that is normally done by NAPSA in schools.

Giving the vote of thanks, Fatou A. Sowe, a Grade 12 student of the school commended NAPSA for the work done in establishing the Welfare Association which will go long way in fostering unity among students in schools.

TARUD GIVES TO FLOOD VICTIMS

2009-12-21T09:33:00.005Z

Trust Agency for Rural Development (TARUD) in collaboration with Concern Universal recently donated items including bags of rice, cement, buckets, corrugated iron sheets and sanitary materials to over twenty disaster victims in a ceremony held at Gunjur, Kombo South, Western Region.
Speaking at the ceremony, Faburama Darboe, TARUD’s focal person for disaster and risk reduction thanked Concern Universal for their timely donation of essential items to flood victims which would go a long way in alleviating their suffering.
Mr. Darboe also hailed the newly appointed Western Region Disaster Management coordinator, Mr. Serigne Modou Joof for supporting and helping them in the identification of the needy and most vulnerable of those affected by heavy rains and flood.
For his part Alhagie Sandang Bojang, the director of TARUD also hailed Concern Universal for collaborating with them in helping disaster victims.
“Many of the victims receiving this donation have to rebuild their homes and lives all over again after having their houses razed to the ground and food stuffs destroyed by the flood, and I guess this would go a long way in helping them rebuild their homes and lives,” Bojang said.
Mr. Bojang also thanked the regional disaster committee for helping in many ways to enable them achieve their desire to help the disaster victims. He also promised that his office would always be ready to work with the newly established disaster coordination committee to help the needy.
Mr. Serigne Modou Joof, speaking on behalf of Governor Lamin Sanneh of Western Region and National Disaster Management Agency, thanked TARUD and Concern Universal for coming to the aid of disaster victims. He added that the government, left alone, cannot do everything by itself. He commended nongovernmental organisations like TARUD for helping in complementing the efforts of the government.
Mr. Joof lamented that over seven thousand families were affected during the rainy season. He also used the opportunity to counsel victims to stick to proper building codes to avoid building their houses in places or areas prone to disaster and floods. He mentioned optimism of his committee to work in closer collaboration with NGO’s and partners in the region to help disaster victims.
Sheikh Alhaji Shaiban Cham, representative of Gunjur village Alkalo at the ceremony also thanked TARUD and Concern Universal for the wonderful gesture and also advised the beneficiaries to put the donated items to good use. Musukebba Bojang from Sanyang village, one of the beneficiaries, thanked the donors for coming to their aid at a time when they need it most.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 8

2009-11-14T22:14:00.004Z

Monday 26 October: One of the most important things left to do was to go to visit some Upper Basic Schools with a view to seeing which would be willing and able to host some Practical Microscopy Workshops for Science teachers in February 2010. We had recently been awarded funding for the Workshops by the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) - I had been notified of our success in winning one of the Vice President's Awards for 2009 while we were in The Gambia - so we were eager to start the ball rolling. We visited several schools and decided on three from the South Bank and one from the (less populated) North Bank. All the headteachers we approached were very keen on the idea (and it is the organisation of these Workshops that has been keeping me so busy since our return!).

At one of the schools we presented some football kit that had been donated to us - several children appeared as if by magic to model the kit for us, including a couple of PAGEANT sponsored girls. They told me that the kit should definitely be for the girls as they had won all their matches whereas the boys had lost several!!
As well as visiting these schools we went to the Hotel School to check on the admission of one of our students, visited a few last families and children in school - then back to the hotel in time for our last Happy Hour drink, supper... and packing.

Tuesday 27 October: Our last morning.. could two weeks really have gone by so quickly? Lots of goodbyes to our good friends, the staff at the Atlantic (don't go, the plane is not flying today, stay with us, you are Gambians now...) and a few more last minute visitors - Ousman arrived from the North Bank with some new pictures, others arrived with small gifts for sponsors and friends in UK. At last it was time to go - we left the hotel with Wandifa and Abdoulie (Yankuba was again at college) and then stopped at Billy's for a last lunch and drink before our final drive (via Linda's again, to drop off a few things) to the airport. We just beat the tour bus again, checked in, had a farewell drink in the Airport Lounge with Wandifa and Abdoulie.... and then flew home.
A pretty good trip, all in all.... and we look forward to February 2010. See you then, everyone - get the rooms ready and the Julbrew on the table, Atlantic - we'll be raring to go again.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 7

2009-11-14T20:31:00.007Z

Saturday 24 October: We spent the morning at the hotel by the pool! Wow, so this is what a holiday is like..... However, by the time Abdoulie arrived to collect us at 2.00pm we were getting a bit bored, so we were ready and eager to go again - particularly as this was the day of the party at Linda's for last year's Grade 12 students. Now we would find out who had won the promised netbook for the best Grade 12 results...
We had decided to add to the party atmosphere by celebrating the 18th birthday of two of our PAGEANT students, Fatou and Amie - the hotel chef had made us a lovely cake (WITH candles) so we collected that from the hotel kitchen and set off for the party.
When we arrived we found that two of Linda's colleagues from the Peace Corps had decided to join us, as they were keen to meet some of our older students and to see PAGEANT in action.

So first - the Grade 12 results: each student came in turn to sit with me, to go through their results and to enter them into my chart. There are three streams for Grade 12 - Arts, Commerce and Science - and some students had take eight subjects, while others had taken nine. The fairest method seemed to be to total the points for each student and then divide by the number of subjects taken - this was agreed and after working out the numbers Modou Jeng (St Augustine SSS) was the winner by a small margin from Sainey Darboe (Nusrat). Modou was delighted - he wants to go on to study Medicine at University and is currently doing an Access course in preparation. He is a thoroughly nice, as well as intelligent, young man - we wish him well for his future and will help his sponsor to fund his studies.
All this excitement had made everyone hungry, which was just as well as Tida, Linda's maid, had made a wonderful meal of chicken yassa and rice - really yummy!

The birthday part of the celebration then took over, with the cake making a perfect dessert... Fatou and Amie blew out all the candles and cut the cake in the approved manner, everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' and the cake was polished off pretty quickly by the assembled company.

It was a really good afternoon - great to catch up with nearly all of our Grade 12 students, all of whom we have got to know well over the past few years, and Amie and Fatou felt that their birthdays had been celebrated in style. Abdoulie took most of them home and we gave bus fare to those travelling in the opposite direction.
We stayed on and worked out outstanding finance and sponsorship with Linda, as we would be leaving money with her to bank, to enable Wandifa to deal with the few items we had not managed to complete during our stay.

Sunday 25 October: The morning saw us in the hotel once more, but this time we were busy taking photos and details of several children that had been recommended for sponsorship, who would now go onto our waiting list.

We also saw some children who had recently been sponsored and who had come to meet us to receive their 'welcome to PAGEANT' pencil-cases.
In the afternoon we went down to Wandifa's compound where more families and children either received their sponsorship payments or were entered onto the waiting list. We took some PAGEANT members with us who had arrived at the hotel - we were as surprised to see them as they were to see us - and we all enjoyed a great afternoon of games, dancing and chatting - thank you, Wandifa, for making us all so welcome.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 6

2009-11-13T23:53:00.010Z

Thursday 22 October: After yesterday we decided to have a slightly less taxing day - we went to Wellingara LBS, where a lot of the school furniture from the last container had been sent, as well as - you've guessed it - more bookshelving! This was the last of the shelving to be assembled and by this time the team (complete with Yankuba again now) was really slick. In no time the room that was to be the library was cleared, swept, the component parts of the shelves were brought in (many on the heads of the pupils) and the shelving assembled. The headteacher could not believe it had happened so quickly - he was truly amazed! He showed us the difference made by the classroom furniture we had sent - it had enabled him to double his intake for the year and had meant that his school could be used for some of the area examinations that are carried out at the start of each year.

We had sent nine bays of shelving to Wellingara as we did not know how much space they had, but they only had room for seven. So, as we had been introduced to Wellingara by Ansumana of KMJ Nursery, AND he had come today to help with the shelving, we decided to take the surplus two bays to KMJ - Ansumana was delighted! We loaded all the bits onto the roofrack of the minibus and took them directly to the school, where they were instantly assembled.

While we were there we were introduced to the new members of staff (some of last year's teachers have now gone to college) and two little girls showed us how they are using the green uniform skirts we sent out on the container. Another school it is always a pleasure to visit!

Friday 23 October: Friday, so we just went out in the morning and were back in time for afternoon prayers at 2.00pm. We took three microscopes and some revision workbooks for Maths and Science to SOS SSS in Bakoteh - the headteacher was delighted. We then visited a number of families in the Kotu - Kololi - Bakau areas, after which we returned to the hotel.
After prayers Yankuba and Wandifa rejoined us at the hotel and we showed Yankuba a small printer we had brought with us for him to try out, with the idea of him being able to take and print both ordinary prints and passport-type photos - many Gambians are constantly in need of the latter for ID cards, student registration cards and so on. He and Wandifa were very enthusiastic about the printer and found it very user-friendly, so we will see if it is a success.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 5

2009-11-13T23:16:00.003Z

Wednesday 21 October: North Bank day, so we decided to give Abdoulie a rest, catch the ferry as foot passengers and get a Barra taxi for our journey around the places we needed to visit. Ian was feeling a lot better by now, so he, Wandifa and I caught the second ferry of the day as planned - goodness, could this really be happening? A North bank trip going to plan - unheard of! We found a really excellent Barra taxi driver (must remember his phone number for our next trip!) and set off - Essau UBS first stop. Here we had the very pleasant task of telling the headmaster about the wonderful sponsorship raised for his school by the efforts of Sarah Hayes (see the website for details). To say he was delighted would be an understatement... we took some photos of the areas (bookstore and the staffroom) that are to be renovated first - again, Wandifa will check progress and release more funding as the stages of the work are completed.
Then to Bakalarr BCS - just a quick visit today as our time was so limited, but I am delighted to say that we were able to partake of our favourite Gambian meal - a Bakalarr breakfast! All our friends at the school were well and the Grade 9 results had been pretty good (with the exception of English - what has happened there, I wonder?). We discussed a couple of possible projects and will see what funding becomes available later in the year. We were able to give out more sponsorship to families in the Bakalarr area and then set off for Albreda, where we visited Wandifa's brother's family and the little cafe by the jetty. Our friend Abdou at the cafe was sad to find we were not staying the night at the rest camp this time - next year, we said....
After some cool drinks (heaven!) back in the taxi for the very hot ride back to Barra for the ferry ride home. We arrived at Barra and - good heavens, a ferry was waiting... could this continuing good fortune be possible?
And then.... the ferry took one hour forty two mintes to make the crossing!! (For the uninitiated it usually takes 40 minutes - an hour on a bad day). It was 40 degrees Centigrade, no shade on the ferry, no breeze and the ferry was barely winning against the tide... my word, it was hot! We eventually got back to the hotel - too late for Happy Hour - and flopped into chairs by the pool bar, where Julbrews and cold Sprites appeared as if by magic. Thank you, lovely Atlantic staff...

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 4

2009-11-13T22:37:00.008Z

Monday 19 October: Today we set off early for a trip to Brikama via New Yundum (where we stopped off to pay some sponsorship to a couple of families). Our main destination was Brikamadina Pipeline Nursery School, where we were to assemble yet more bookshelving in their little store-room and to give out a considerable amount of school uniform donated by Southwater County Junior School. It is always a pleasure to visit this little school and today was no exception - and the children were thrilled with the uniform. Particularly popular were the white polo shirts that carry the Southwater crest in red on the front - these were given to the elder children who take some responsibility in the classroom. While the shelving was being assembled (no Yankuba today as he was in college) the teachers and I discussed what additional materials they would like: a First Aid box and contents were top of the list followed by a handbell to ring for the end of lessons, a seesaw for the playground, a mattress on which tiny children could have a nap, some posters (simple numbers, shapes and colours) and a bucket and drinking cup for the second classroom. We will see what we can do....
Back to the hotel via a couple more families - another busy day....

Tuesday 20 October: Ian was not feeling too good today so he stayed in the hotel while Wandifa, Abdoulie and I did a grand tour of the south of The Gambia - my goodness, it was a long day. We visited Tanji (family visiting), Banyaka (school and sponsored children's families), along the road (see the photo!)

to Jambanjelly (where we gave a pencil-case to a newly sponsored child and saw little Modou Lamin getting around really well on his new crutches), Siffoe (family visiting plus checking on the considerable amount of shelving to be assembled at Siffoe SSS), Brikama (to see a family me missed yesterday) and finally to Farato (to take photos of some children in need of sponsorship) before returning to the hotel! When I got back Ian looked and felt a lot better - and he had a Julbrew ready!!

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 3

2009-11-13T21:33:00.004Z

Saturday 17 October was a day devoted to lots of family visiting in the Serrekunda and Abuko areas to pay sponsorship and to discuss future courses with several of the FE students - it is always a real pleasure to go to visit these families and young people who have now become such good friends and we thank them all for their hospitality.
Sunday 18 October: Gunjur visiting day! We collected Linda and the Darboe twins en route and were in Gunjur by 11.00am. We parked the minibus in the twins' family compound as has now become our custom and walked along the lane to the nursery school. As on other days, we had three things to do...
Ian and his assembly team set to work on the Nursery school bookshelves (the team was getting really expert by now) and I went to start a PAGEANT Loan scheme with the ladies of the Mothers' Club associated with the nursery school.

The details of this scheme are reported more fully on the PAGEANT website, but a photo of the 'start-up' group of ladies is attached to this blog. The go-between for this group is Binta Jammeh, who teaches Home Science at the Gunjur Upper Basic School. As well as speaking excellent English and being able to translate between Pippa and the Gunjur ladies she has decided to lead from the front and take one of the first 'start-up' loans herself - Binta is at the right of the photo.
Once the bookshelves were assembled and the loans arranged it was time to discuss projects with Ahmed Manjang, the founder of the school and his committee. We have agreed to fund improvements to the school, with Wandifa checking at each stage that work is progressing properly. The first thing to be addressed is the perimeter wall (or fence, as the Gambians call it) - the kitchen will follow if the first project is completed satisfactorily.
Having completed our work at the school we returned to the Darboe compound, where we had a warm welcome from Kaddy, the twins' Mum and a delicious meal cooked by Musa. Nfansu, the twins' father, returned from his farm shortly before we left, so we did not have as much time to talk with him as we would have liked.... next time, maybe.
We returned to the hotel, dropping off Linda on the way, and just had time to change before a couple of our FE students came to see us for a drink and a discussion about their respective courses.
One of them, Lamin, is doing a Community Nursing course in an up-country hospital. He had asked us to bring him a blood pressure measuring machine (a sphygmomanometer, as he had correctly called it) for his course and we were able to give him one for babies as well as the normal adult-szed version - he was delighted as he said that the clinic did not have such a thing at all.
The other, Momodou, is our first PAGEANT University student. He is now in his third year at the University of The Gambia and is doing very well - his is a real triumph for sponsorship as he would not have been able to even progress through Secondary School without the help of his sponsor and his undoubted talent would have been wasted.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 2

2009-11-13T21:02:00.009Z

Friday 16 October: Prize-giving Day!! Today we visited King's Kid Academy (in the company of Holly, Gemma and Sara, fellow guests at the hotel) with three things to do: First, to give out the prizes for the Art and English work we started with Tina in April... Tina, Frances and I had selected three winners from each of the two classes who had submitted the work and it was my pleasant task to present the prizes. Some of the children were absent, but the donation of some large class packs of coloured pencils as well as the individual prizes (dictionaries plus either geometry sets or calculators) went down well with all those who were present. I have no photos of the prizewinners yet, but hope to get one from Gemma later. We felt that Mr Michael also deserved a prize, so we gave him a very smart academic year diary/planner.

Then, more bookshelves - the assembly team went into action while Pippa went with Pastor Dennis to discuss projects (do you see a pattern emerging here!!??) and the donation of additional funds that had been made by supporters of the school. The Pastor was really thrilled with this support - he says that the day that we first visited his school was the luckiest day of his life!

After paying some more sponsorship to the families associated with King's Kid we went off with Mbemba to visit a nearby nursery school that has been started with his help by a couple of Pageant members, called the Lamin Touba Nursery. The children had left for the day and the place was deserted when we arrived, but we looked through the windows to see the furniture that we had sent on the container - when we turned to go, word had obviously got round that the 'toubabs' had arrived and Gemma and Sara were soon surrounded by eager children. (I don't know where Holly was when I took this photo - probably completely buried in children!)
We thought our guests had probably had enough by now, so we finished off our trip with a visit to Lamin Lodge and a very welcome drink before returning to the hotel.

Pippa and Ian's October 2009 trip - part 1

2009-11-13T20:22:00.012Z

I have been feeling guilty that I have not yet written up our October trip (I HAVE been busy since our return, but more of that later), so here I am, better late than never....

We flew out on Tuesday 13 October and were met at the airport by Wandifa, his 3-year-old son Mo Lamin and our great driver from last April, Abdoulie. Having been unable to take any excess baggage on this trip we arrived with a mere 4 cases - however, that was soon rectified as we drove to the hotel via Linda's, where we collected a large number of packages that had arrived on the container in August. When we arrived at the hotel we managed to completely fill the lobby (those of you who know the Atlantic will know that is no mean feat!) so it was fortunate that the tour bus had not yet arrived from the airport!!
Having squeezed all the parcels into our room we were marched firmly to the pool bar by Mo Lamin for 'juicy'.. his English is improving all the time! Loads of welcome back hugs from all the hotel staff - it was great to be back.
Wednesday 14 October: started our family visiting to pay sponsorship money - mainly in Banjul today. We visited Campama LBS to discuss assembly of the book shelving we had sent on the container and agreed to start on theirs the following morning. We also dropped in to GTTI to take a couple of packages of useful stationery from the container, and found that the Automotive Department has just started running a new Practical Automotive course, rather on the lines of our NVQ course, which would be suitable for the less academic but practical students who have not done too well in their Grade 9 (similar to GCSE) exams. We discussed this with Malik Faal, the Automotive Department Head, and it seems to be a very positive step on their part - we could well have some students for him in future years.

Thursday 15 October: off to Campama LBS again to do the shelving. Wandifa, Abdoulie and Yankuba provided the muscle, assisted by a number of eager Campama pupils and Ian directed operations -

Pippa took photos of the new nursery class and discussed work done since our last visit (tiling the verandah and part of the kitchen floor) and future improvement plans. We then went off to one of the Senior Secondary Schools where one of our students had been excluded from school despite having paid more than the first term fees and all his book fees. We sorted that out, Lamin went back into class, and we then went off to Latrikunda and nearby areas to deliver more sponsorship money to another seven families.

A Short Walk in The Gambia Bush

2009-11-04T17:08:00.002Z

Helen Jones and Jason Florio have just started out on their walk around The Gambia. They are doing this to raise money for Gardens for Life - a programme linked to The Eden Project, which brings together schools in the UK and throughout the world to develop school gardens as a rich teaching resource. They are covering their journey on this blog. If any of our friends in The Gambia meet Helen and Jason, please say a big Hi! on behalf of Pageant.
You can read more about Gardens for Life here. One their projects in The Gambia is of the Makasutu & Ballabu Conservation Project.

COMPUTER VIRUS

2009-08-28T21:44:00.002+01:00

HELLO
A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. This program is a problem to we Africans because of many of us don't know what it means and what it does too. But a virus is a very serious infection to computers, so that when the virus affects the computer, it makes it not perform as it should do. The main thing is that you easily lose all your documents specially people who used USB; as you know technology is advanced now so many people use USB to saved their files on it and it's easy to handle files and it's easy to access as you have computer. So please, I am applying to all the internet holders to try and download anti-virus to their system so USB users wouldn't infect their office, school computers or lose documents, because most students go to the internet cafe to research some of their assignment or do work as they don't have much time at school

Computer viruses in The Gambia

2009-08-15T18:54:00.008+01:00

These are the musings of the Pageant Webmaster, and in no way represent any Pageant policy.

The Virus Problem
Many people donate their old computers for use in developing countries, and we at Pageant know of several Gambian people and educational establishments who use such computers. However, until I read a recent article in the Guardian Technology supplement, I hadn't considered the consequences of viruses. This article is concerned with Ethiopia, but the main points are probably valid for large parts of Africa. I recommend that you read it, and also look at the very useful comments at the end. [link to the article] It seems that around 80% of all computers are infected with viruses or other malware, and large numbers of these computers have been rendered unusable, after a virus destroyed vital files.

The problem seems to be due to a shortage of anti-virus software. A typical anti-virus package can cost each user £30 a year, a large sum in terms of the local average income. Also packages from brand leaders like Symantec and McAfee are large, and have large update files to be downloaded on a daily basis. Broadband is very rare in The Gambia, and most people with internet access use a dial-up service. Downloading the update files could take a whole day, so these products are not really suitable for users in The Gambia, even if they could afford them.

Free anti-virus products are a bit better. To start with they are free. They also tend to be basic stripped down versions, with smaller file sizes – typically around 30Mb. They could be downloaded on a dial-up connection in about 2 hours, but this is still a bit of a pain. The updating files are also smaller. Even if an anti-virus program is not kept up to date, it will still provide a huge amount of protection, as many of the viruses in circulation are up to 10 years old.

What can we here in the richer countries do to help?
Firstly here are some links to free anti-virus programs:
AVG I used to use the AVG free version before upgrading to a paid for version, and fully recommend it. However, note that the initial download of 800kb is just an installation program, which then downloads the rest.
Avasti I have no knowledge of this, but it is highly recommended.
Avira Again highly recommended.
All these are free for non-commercial home use, and I would not in any way suggest that users in The Gambia did not adhere to these terms and conditions. It would be nice if the makers of these packages could extend free use to everyone in developing countries.
Next, if you are going to The Gambia soon, what about downloading one of these anti-virus programs, copy it onto a CD (or even a memory stick) and take it with you. Taking pens, notebooks etc. is now a widespread practice, so why not add a few CDs?

Let us know what you think.
Please email me with your comments, using the website feedback form on this link.
To our readers in The Gambia – please tell us about how computer viruses affect you.
To our readers in the UK or anywhere else – please tell us what you think of the CD idea, and could you suggest better ways of tackling the virus problem.

WAII AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP TO FIVE ESSAY FINALISTS

2009-08-11T14:06:00.007+01:00

West African Insurance Institute on Friday 7th August 2009 awarded scholarships to five essay finalist to study insurance at its headquarters in Kotu South, The Gambia.
It could be recalled that WAII organised an essay competition on the theme "Insurance and educational development in The Gambia". A total of thirty three students submitted essays from across the country out of which five best have been selected by a central committe set up by the institute to sieve the best out of the lot.
Speaking at the ceremony the director of the instute, Dr. Prince Mike Okupolati, thanked participants for responding to the initiative by putting pen to paper to write.
The aim of the project he said "is to raise awareness about the existence and work of the institute which is based in The Gambia but however not many Gambians know about it."
According to him, since the inception of the institute in 1993 it has not been known to many Gambians, which is why they launched the initiative; not only to encourage better knowledge about the institute but also to encourage Gambians to study insurance which is a noble profession.
Also speaking at the scholarship award ceremony, the chairman of the central committee for the essay competition Mr. Abdoulie Touray, who was once the head of the governing council of the Gambia University, said that they were amazed at the quality of writing they came across during their assessment. He also urged the participants to nurture their writing skills and keep reading books.
The five winners of the scholarship are Sainabou Bojang of Methodist High School, Sainey N.K. Darboe of Nusrat, Imran Njie of Glory Baptist and Emily and Abigel Gomez, both of whom come from St Joseph High School.
Sainey Darboe, speaking to Pageant news blog shortly after winning the scholarship, said that he was so happy to win it and thinks he is now even with Alhassan (his twin brother) who back in March won the Black History month essay competition.
WAII website

Elena raises €200 for Pageant

2009-07-01T13:49:00.012+01:00

Elena Tassi divides her time between the UK and Italy, About 3 months ago she visited The Gambia on holiday, with her young son Zion. While they were there, they visited a primary school, and met the children.

Elena was so impressed by the welcome she received, and the way the children entertained Zion, that she decided to say thank-you in a very practical way. She organised a fundraising collection at Zion's second birthday party in Italy, and raised a total of €201.46 (which translates to £171). She sent this to Pageant so we could use it to help Gambian children. Pageant says a big thank-you to Elena and her friends for their generosity.

Help us to find the school!

Pageant would like to use this money to help the Gambian school where she and Zion had such a good time. But there is a big problem. Elena doesn't know the name of the school. She knows it was in the south of The Gambia. There was also a Dutch flag at the entrance, because some Dutch people were helping the school.

Here is a challenge to our readers. Please look at the photos of the school above, and let us know if you can identify it. See more pictures and a contact link on this page of our website.

Tourists!

2009-04-29T22:19:00.007+01:00

Tuesday 14th April

A very strange thing happened today in the Gambia - Pippa, aided and abetted by Tina, Frances, Claire, Wandifa, Yankuba and Abdoulie, took a whole day’s HOLIDAY!!!!! It’s true dear reader, she really did have a break…………..what’s more, she behaved like a tourist with her accomplices, and went on a boat trip, from Denton bridge to Lamin Lodge and back! And as if that wasn’t enough, the 4 ladies decided to finish the day in style, gathering Linda up in our wake, and heading off to Ngala Lodge for a celebratory meal, a fitting finale to a wonderful, action-packed, exhausting, exhilarating trip.

Thank you to all the amazing Gambians who helped us over the fortnight, especially to Alhassan & Sainey, who laughed with us (and at us!), to Yankuba who explained so much about his country, to Abdoulie who drove us so carefully, and most of all to Wandifa the wonderful, for all his hard work and good humour. We couldn’t have done it without you all!!!
(Text by Tina)

Another visiting day

2009-04-29T22:04:00.006+01:00

Monday 13th April
We started by going to Campama school to hand over money for their ongoing project and admire the very smart and well-cared for school compound. Such a difference from when we first visited. Then on to deliver more forms to various students, and catch up with some of the families we have known now for several years. Frances & Tina were especially pleased to meet up with old friends such as Ellen and her family, and Hawa and her family in their new compound. All of us were delighted to be treated to a special Domada lunch, courtesy of Wandifa’s cousin. Our very favourite Gambian meal – thank you Jonsaba. On to Wandifa’s compound for more hairbraiding (Frances this time) and sewing machine practice at making bags.
On our return to the hotel Wandifa, Yankuba and Pippa checked over all the student records to ensure no forms had been forgotten – no easy task now that PAGEANT sponsors so many young people!
An evening at Billy’s along the road rounded off the day perfectly.
(Text by Tina)

Visit to Gunjur

2009-04-29T21:54:00.007+01:00

Sunday 12th April

Today we went to Gunjur, family village of the twins, and the final nursery school of our visit. We spent the morning singing, storytelling and painting with the nursery children, who were delightful. Thank you to Ahmed who gave us a lovely welcome.

After this we were honoured to be shown round his farm by Sainey & Alhassan’s father, Nfansu, and engaged in a lively discussion about how pleased we parents are to receive practical offers of help from our children when they visit us at the family home! (*Please take note A & S!)

We ate another delicious lunch, this time provided by Musa, elder brother of the twins, and later returned to the hotel.
(Text by Tina)

Rest day for weary travellers!

2009-04-29T21:49:00.003+01:00

Saturday 11th April

We stayed at the hotel, but just in case you think that we were sunbathing / reading / sleeping, we would like to assure you all that we were kept busy with a stream of visitors all day, including 2 grade 12 students, who impressed us with their calm attitude to their studies and forthcoming exams. Good luck to all our grade 12 students in the next few weeks!

We did manage a little relaxation – Frances had a massage, Pippa a pedicure & Tina a manicure. (Claire – what were you doing meanwhile?!).
In the evening we stayed at the hotel to enjoy the A team show.
(Text by Tina)

Travellers’ Tales Part 2!

2009-04-29T21:34:00.010+01:00

Friday 10th April

Another 6am start in preparation for our long and busy day ‘up country’. We loaded all our belongings onto the minibus again and set off on the last leg of our journey that would take us as far as Jarring, the most easterly village along the river in The Gambia that we support. This is the home of many of our sponsored children, and
Yankuba’s home town, so he was to be in charge today.

We made a brief stop in Soma to buy some breakfast – the delicious Gambian quivalent of French bread, called ‘tapalapa’, filled with meat (Gambian choice) or banana (English preference on this occasion!). Soma is a main thoroughfare for both Gambian and Senagalese travellers, as it has a main river crossing here, so we met both French and English speaking children who stopped to talk to us. One of the constant delights of this wonderful country is the friendly nature of local inhabitants who, on seeing white travellers, are very happy to engage you in conversation – such a refreshing change from less gregarious westerners.

From Soma Abdoulie drove us ever carefully on until we reached our destination, Jarreng. Here we went in search of the young girl sponsored by Tina & Frances, and were somewhat nonplussed to find that she had gone to visit family elsewhere for a holiday! However, we were able to catch up with many other students who we had not seen for some time and to deliver the 50 mosquito nets, a bicycle for one lucky sponsored boy, and quantities of baby clothing so kindly made and donated by a ladies knitting group back in Surrey, England. Yankuba took charge of the distribution of all these items, and we would like to thank him for his excellent organisation. We were very pleased with the delighted, but ordered way in which these gifts were received, and we know they will be well used and appreciated.

More letter forms for students to write to their sponsors were delivered while we had a delicious fish lunch at Yankuba’s grandmother’s compound, then all too soon it was time to leave on our long trip back to Banjul. *T & F caught up with their sponsored girl on the way back, at her relative’s compound, so they were very happy! We also caught up with Lamin K, a nursing student at Soma on the return journey – we know he reads this blog, so he gets a special mention here!

We finally got back to the hotel via Wandifa’s home village of Kanikunda, at 12.45am, having been travelling since 6 the previous morning!! A long day indeed.
(text by Tina)

Our long trip east...

2009-04-21T17:51:00.009+01:00

Thursday 9th
We were up and ready to leave at 6am. Wandifa, Sainey and Alhassan all arrived promptly with our fantastic driver Abdoulie and we loaded up the car with all our belongings, presents for all the children and families we were going to see on our trip, and all of the mosquito nets that we were taking to Jarreng. We picked up Yankuba on the way through Serrekunda and set off on our trip. The first part of our journey on tarmac roads went well and we made good time. However, the tarmac runs out very early on the South Bank, so the greater part of our trip was taken at a much slower pace, due to appalling road conditions. Sainey & Alhassan kept spirits high with their infectious excitement as this was to be their first expedition this far East in their own country.
We stopped off at Kalagie to meet Ensa, one of our Grade 12 sponsored students and his family, and then some of the party had a brief walk to visit his Mum's garden and then along the river back to the road to catch up with the car containing the rest of the party. We took a photo of Alhassan the tourist with Ensa and Yankuba beside the river.

We arrived at Tendaba Camp where we were to stay the night, soon after midday, and everyone was able to recover from the journey by relaxing at the riverside, with plenty of wildlife to watch.

We spotted white and black herons, kingfishers and even a pelican! Everyone enjoyed the relaxing afternoon especially Sainey who went off on his own adventure on a boat trip to the north bank! It was his first ever boat trip and he was very excited to tell us all he'd seen on his return!

We had a lovely evening meal and then chatted and played games before heading to bed ready for another early start!

2009-04-21T17:47:00.004+01:00

Wednesday 8th
Today we started slightly later than usual after a brief lie in which was wonderful!! First we took a couple of Atlantic visitors to see a school with which they are interested in forming a link and to meet two young children associated with the school.

We then visited Isatou's compound to see lots of PAGEANT sponsored children. All the children were well and their grandmother was much better than when we visited them last year. We gave the children their presents from their sponsors which they were all very pleased with! Then we headed to Wandifa's home. It was lovely to see his family and especially all the children who live in his compound. We were treated to a lovely meal and then Claire had her hair braided by some of the older girls there. Pippa and Tina showed Mariama (Wandifa's wife) and Aminata (one of Pippa's sponsored students) how to make some simple bags which we thought perhaps they could sell to tourists and locals if they made lots between them.

Pippa gave Aminata a small sewing machine which she was absolutely delighted with and she was able to practice using it.

After being waved goodbye by practically all the children in the area we headed briefly to Albert Market to collect Frances' outfit and to buy lots of family sized mosquito nets to take to Jarreng. These were bought with gift token money through the PAGEANT website. We were very pleased to be able to buy 50 nets with this money! We then enjoyed a nice meal back at the hotel before watching the staff show which was very entertaining! Claire and Frances joined in in a group dance at the end which was a great laugh! After dinner we packed our things for our trip up-country as it was going to be a very early start in the morning!

Science and Art at schools

2009-04-21T17:43:00.003+01:00

Monday 6th
Monday saw us off to Bakau for an eventful morning visiting lots of family compounds to give out forms to students so that they could write letters to their sponsors. We saw no less than 12 students and were able to update 6 photos as these pupils had changed considerably since we last saw them! We also fitted in a visit to Timbooktoo book- and coffee-shop as well as visits to 2 schools, Bakau New Town and SOS Senior Secondary. At the latter Pippa gave an impromptu science lesson on how to use a laser raybox and a set of lenses which demonstrate various optical phenomena. She had an appreciative audience including the headmaster and science teachers. The head asked the science teachers to let him know when the next lessons were going to be so that he could join in and use the new resources!

Tuesday 7th
Today we went to Brikama to visit Brikamadina Pipeline Nursery School to do some art work with the children. We arrived to find over 60 very eager children waiting for us! They were extremely well behaved even though they were very excited and were a credit to their teacher Fatou who is married to Lamin Jammeh from the hotel. We sang songs, told stories and then let them experiment with paint and printing materials. A great and very messy time was had by all! After this we visited Jambanjali School and Day Care Centre to see a newly sponsored child and give out more forms. We were treated to some lovely singing from every class!
We drove back to the hotel calling in at NARI on our way, to discuss the latest progress with the artemisia plant project, plus several more family compounds. In the evening we met Linda for a lovely meal at her local Italian restaurant.

Travellers' tales!

2009-04-12T20:01:00.009+01:00

Sunday 5^th

Hello crew!

Today we travelled to the north bank on the Banjul ferry, having been joined by Jemma who was visiting her sponsored child for the first time. We crossed the river as foot passengers and took a taxi from Barra to Bakalarr where we met Ousman to check on the progress of his new art studio. He's in the process of extending his original studio and has completed the walls and roof. We're sure it'll look very good when it is finished. He also showed us his current portfolio which included some stunning pictures.

We took the opportunity to photograph the new block at Bakalarr School which has now been completed and looks very smart. We thought the school grounds were looking particularly well cared-for. Frances and Claire were very pleased to be able to use the toilet facilities and also wash their feet!! In true Gambian style the taxi needed a little helping hand to restart so with a great push from six staff members we finally set off for Albreda where we had a welcome cold drink from Abdou.
We then stopped off at Wandifa's brother's compound in Juffreh to catch up with several sponsored children including Fatou, Jemma's student and to update our records. We were pleased to see they were all in very good health and had some excellent reports to show us. Frances met Seedy who she helps sponsor along with her dad, for the first time. He and Fatou were very pleased to receive some presents from her and Jemma and Seedy promised to keep up his outstanding performance at school.
Next we went to Sika to see the brand new market place which has been funded by PAGEANT and recently completed. We all thought it looked very good and finished to a very high standard. Bakary Gitteh met us there and explained that the market was in daily use every morning where all the local women have the opportunity to trade each day. We went back to his compound for a delicious lunch before driving back to Barra to catch the return ferry. We were very pleased to be met by Goodboy in Banjul who drove us back to our hotel in high spirits!

MY WONDERFUL TRIP TO UP COUNTRY.

2009-04-11T17:38:00.007+01:00

Prior to my going on the trip to Jarreng, my excitement was broken when my oral examination was slated for the day we were supposed to go to Jarreng.

I was so sad that I told my friend who broke the news to me that “the only thing that would slow me down” (quote from Ian Senior) quitting friendship with him would be breaking another news as bad as the news that my trip to Jarra would not be possible because I was going to have an exam.

My joy knew no bounds when Pippa told me on the phone that we would be going on Thursday instead of Wednesday and I was so excited that finally I was going to go on the trip.

The trip started from Atlantic happily, Tina and Pippa treated us to some lovely songs from their late father one of which was so dear and funny to my heart, it has some phrases like because, because, because. And I would try to get the song written down for me by them.

One thing that really infected and could not stop me laughing was Tina’s sweetest sense of humour and I just unusually cannot stop myself from laughing and at some point I felt like a fool as I just cannot stop laughing with just one entertaining and funny word from Tina.

The trip was not all laughter and entertainment but also educational as we learnt some aspects of science with explanation from Pippa about evolution, and also that a black bucket will live longer in the sun than a green, blue or red bucket.

We also were able to see two the historical places we learnt about in history at school which were Jataba and Sankandi. Should I explain a bit of history that happened between the two villages?

The two villages of Sankandi and Jataba quarrelled over the ownership of a rice field. Sankandi was a Marabout village while Jataba was a Soninke one.

The British commissioner in charge of the two places then, Commissioner Sitwell ruled the matter in favour of the Soninke village of Jataba. The villagers of Sankandi were not happy about this decision. Commissioner Sitwell summoned a meeting in the neighbouring village of Battering where he invited the chiefs of the two villages, only the chief of Jataba, Mansa Koto, attended the meeting.

Bana Darboe of Sankandi refused to attend the meeting, which Commissioner Sitwell interpreted as a challenge to his authority and therefore asked for his arrest. It was during this time that Commissioner Sitwell, his deputy Silver and some British official who escorted him were killed by the villagers of Sankandi.

Bana Darboe and his villagers after killing the British commissioner fled to Foday Kabba’s (a Marabout leader) stronghold of Medina. This happened from 1900 to 1901. (historical background)

Now back to the trip to Jarreng, I really enjoyed it at Tendaba camp busily walking around, holding my bottle of water pretending and trying to look like a British tourist.

In fact, literally I was not pretending to be a British tourist because it is the British who took me there and I have to be a Gambian-Gunjurian-Black-British Tourist.

Shouldn’t I be one?

(Note from Pippa: the song that Alhassan liked so much was 'We're off to see the Wizard!' from The Wizard of Oz...)

THE JARRENG TRIP

2009-04-11T14:25:00.003+01:00

Yesterday marked the end of a mega-exciting trip up-country. It is the furthest I have gone and it was quite interesting to see other areas beyond my immediate environs. I was amazed to see for myself how different other parts of the Gambia are from the part I hail from.
Shall I go on? Because I could. I was also lucky enough to go bird-watching and my mesmerization had no bounds seeing lots of beautiful birds with their colourful plumage on the banks of the River Gambia. My twin brother and I took time out to talk to some young people from Jarreng and asked them questions about life there, which was by any stretch of the imagination interesting and eye-opening.
On the overall, the trip was enormous fun as the ever charming and kind-to-a-fault Tina (don't mind me Pippa) was on hand to cheer us all up despite the effect of the bumpy roads. We also had a lovely time travelling with fabulous Frances and Claire to whom we both enjoyed talking and asking, shall I say, lots of silly questions.

Treat day for children!

2009-04-05T23:42:00.003+01:00

Hello!

Today we took 6 sponsored children from Wandifa's and neighbouring compounds out for the day! Wandifa, his wife Mariama and Yankuba also came! We started off at Albert Market where all the children had some pocket money to spend on whatever they wanted. We took the opportunity to buy some material and get measured for some Gambian outfits to be made up for us! We can't wait to see what they'll be like!! After the market we went to Billy's, a local cafe, for lunch with the children. They tucked into chicken and chips and also had ice cream for pudding which they really enjoyed!! We then took the children up the Arch which is the highest landmark in The Gambia. We had a brilliant view of the whole of Banjul and the children were very excited to be up so high and also to see the sea as they knew we would be going to the beach next!

After a drink at the hotel pool bar, we went to play on the beach and take the children swimming in the sea! For two of them, it was their first experience of the sea - the shrieks of excitement could probably be heard on the North Bank!!! Lamin in particular did not stop smiling and laughing the whole time we were in the water and Claire and Frances nearly got pulled under by the enthusastic jumping and bouncing girls! The children had a wonderful day and when we waved them goodbye we knew that they'd had an experience to remember and treasure!!

We went to an Indian restaurant in Senegambia for a relaxing evening meal passing hundreds of very excited Gambian football fans rushing towards the capital to celebrate their under-17's team winning the African Cup. Quite an achievement for such a small country in a large continent!

Love to all at home and pictures will follow tomorrow when we can get to a better computer!! xxxxxx

Latest from The Gambia!! (Friday 3rd April)

2009-04-05T23:29:00.001+01:00

Hi all!!

Today was another wonderful day! We spent the morning in KMJ Nursery School where we started off by doing a sensory story. The story was called 'Rain' and we used many props to help tell the story and make it more interesting for the children. We used bubbles which the children were fascinated by, rain makers to demonstrate the sound of the rain, a lightening stick and a thunder tube. After the story we sang a version of the 'If you're happy and you know it' which used animals!! The children (and teachers) all loved our impressions of the animals and all were very keen to join in!!

After the songs we then did some art. We let the children tear up tissue paper strips and create pictures by overlapping the strips and adding feathers and sequins! The teachers joined in with great enthusiasm!

On our return trip to the hotel we called in to see Linda's new house which was lovely. We had a couple of hours relaxing at the hotel and then had enjoyed a meal out at a local fish restaurant. A brilliant day!!

Hello from The Gambia!!

2009-04-03T00:01:00.005+01:00

Hello everyone!

Here we are in The Gambia again for two weeks of work, play and enormous fun! This time the team includes Pippa, Tina, Frances and Claire - it's Claire's first ever trip to The Gambia!!

Today (Thursday 2nd April) we started our day with a visit to Abuko Nursery School to see how well the new water tap was functioning and providing for the children and staff there. We had realised there was an urgent need for this tap due to safety concerns about the well that was previously their only source of water. Whilst Pippa was busy in conversation with the nursery teachers, we entertained all the children with a few rounds of The Hokey Kokey which they loved!

After our brief stay we piled back into the van with Wandifa and Yankuba and headed to King's Kid Academy which now has children from nursery up to grade 5. We had promised that this visit we would teach the older children of the school so we spent a couple of hours in the top two classes doing English and Art activities. With each class we discussed different environments including the desert, jungle, river and ocean. The children collaged their own backgrounds using coloured tissue paper and then cut or tore silhouettes of animals/plants/objects found there and then stuck them on. The pictures looked really effective as we encouraged the children to let their creative flare run wild!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a much-needed refreshing drink at Lamin Lodge, a restuarant which floats on the River Gambia. We saw many herons, lots of fish and several monkeys - we held on to our belongings very tightly, especially our sunglasses and PAGEANT caps!!

We had a couple of hours swimming and relaxing at the hotel before setting off to meet Sainey and Alhassan for dinner. Linda also joined us! It was great to catch up with the twins and see them both looking so well and hearing all their latest news. They are very much looking forward to accompanying the PAGEANT team on our trip up country next week as it'll be the furthest they have ever travelled in The Gambia!

Keep watching for further news!!
Love to all at home, Frances and Claire xxxxxx

PS Note from Claire to mum.... have you phoned the dentist? Love you!