I have just returned from The Gambia in early December in my volunteering role for The Gambian Schools Trust, a small charity based in West Yorkshire.

The trip once again centred around my current project over there which is Conteh-Kunda Lower Basic school. We had a meeting on site with the Education Dept, planning officials and builders - I'm pleased to say the rules are somewhat more relaxed than the UK, sketched plans very much acceptable! The school is in a remote area approximately 5 hours drive from the coast, there is no electricity and limited running water from a neighbouring village well. I use the word limited very loosely, when I was there in February (sleeping on site in the classrooms) we had no water at all for 4 days, work that one out!😅

The fund raise which started in spring 2024 has so far been magnificent with just shy of £18k in total raised across the team. This allowed us to transform the school from it's previously dilapidated state by:

- Replacing the severely damaged roof on the school and building external pillars to secure the roof to in an effort to avoid further storm damage to the roof

- Tiling the classroom floors and outdoor walkway

- Building a standalone classroom for Early Learning

- Painting the school buildings inside and out

I would like to finish the job I started and in this Phase 2 of the fund raise we are looking to raise £10k to build sleeping quarters for the 7 teachers at the school - due to distances involved and the lack of personal transport, the teachers sleep in the local village houses Mon-Fri and only return to their own families at the weekend. Take a look at the headline picture with a makeshift double bed squeezed into a cramped room where rice is stored - it pains me to say that this bed is shared by 3 teachers. Remember there is no electricity and these rooms can get unbearably hot so you can see what a difference teaching quarters would make to the teachers' well beings. We will build a solid base for the beds in the sleeping quarters and provide new mattresses.

It is fair to say that every school we visit is in need of support, whilst £10k is our target for Phase 2 of the fund raise we would like to push on to Phase 3 and raise additional funds to support another remote school, Kerr N Dongo. The school desperately needs a library and we are keen to get one built and fill it with books for the children!

You can read all about the great work of the Trust https://www.gambianschools.org/ led by Steve & Hilary Lawther, a retired but still hardworking couple who base themselves in The Gambia for six months of the year overseeing all the works undertaken by the charity. They have recently been awarded the MBE for their contribution to education in The Gambia which was well deserved.

For myself I have been actively involved for a few years now in this charity which was established in 2001. Every year in October a shipping container full of school stuff is shipped out there with a small team of us visiting in February for a couple of weeks to help with building renovations and distribution of goods. I also visit in the Nov/Dec prior on a "recce", all trips are totally self-funded!

Every penny raised will be spent in Gambia, no expenses/salaries whatsoever are paid by the charity to the Trustees or volunteers. We are a bunch of volunteers doing our best to improve education facilities in Gambia. The Charity having built 6 schools out of the ground plus several libraries, extensions and new classroom blocks has a regular team of local tradespeople who are paid direct by the Charity. As Steve & Hilary are based over there for half of the year, funds are always tightly controlled which I have seen first-hand.

If you can help us make our target then please donate or even run a fund raiser yourself and join our JustGiving team page and together we can help make Conteh-Kunda a school to be proud of and give these kids the chance of a brighter future😊. If you are daring enough you could consider a trip to Gambia in support of the charity or alternatively volunteers October time are always needed for container loading in Bradford, tea and biscuits provided!😁

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.