Education

You will have noticed in our mission statement that we are committed to helping with education in the Jokadu District of The Gambia.
Our first venture into this area has been at:

Bakang/Karantaba Lower Basic Primary School.

This school was established in 1989 and has 150 pupils [78 boys & 72 girls]. There are 4 teachers, 6 classrooms, 1 caretaker and 3 cooks. The children are enrolled at the age of 7 yrs and then complete 6 yrs tuition before moving to an Upper Basic Primary School. They stay there for 3 yrs and then move to a Senior Secondary School.
Our first contact with this school was in the Autumn 2005 when visiting the Jokadu District on the north bank. Following that we sent out exercise & reference books, pens, paper, blackboard paint, chalk, pencils & rubbers etc. Since then we have sent out other parcels containing mathematical equipment, books and writing materials. In the spring of 2007 we opened a school bank account @ Kololi in order that we could send money to the school. We then arranged with the headmaster to have the school repainted, both inside & outside and sent £500 to cover the cost of the paint, re-plastering as required, and labour. This work was completed during the summer holiday in readiness for the new school year in September 2007.

Outside and inside before redecoration. May 2007.


Outside and inside after redecoration. Sept 2007.

During the autumn of 2007 we also set up a sponsorship scheme to help with the education of children from the poorer families. We started with 9 children in December, who were selected for help by the headmaster, Mr Barham Wadda. By the end of June, 2008, we had 20 children being sponsored. If you would like more information please contact us via our Email address:

julie@jhenson.fsnet.co.uk

In December 2007 a sponsor donated £500 to the school in order that a library could be provided for both the children and the staff. Following consultation with the headmaster and the staff a spare room was converted into a library with special shelving for the books, lino covering the floor and chairs and tables purchased. The room was redecorated and a hand carved plaque placed above the entrance door in memory of the sponsor's son, who had died in a motoring accident.

On our most recent visit to The Gambia, early March 2008, we took this sponsor and 4 other supporters to the school and the library was officially 'opened'. Although it was a very happy day for the children and the school there were very few dry eyes at the time. The Gambian people are most appreciative of what is done to help them and they make every effort to show their thanks.

On the same day we visited the school vegetable garden, which is maintained by the children and the staff. The children were delighted to show us the fruits of their labour, from using the tools we had given them and the plants they had grown from seeds, which we had sent out in the autumn. They had grown lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and were persevering with fruit trees, banana, orange, mango, cashew nut. The plan is to make the school self sufficient in fruit and vegetables. Any surplus will be given to the children to take home for the family.

You may recall that we were looking at the feasibility of providing the school with 3 x Beehives + bees so that they would help with the pollination of the fruit and vegetables and hopefully provide some honey. We are now delighted to say that the bees and beehives have been bought from the Gambian Beekeepers Association and placed in the school garden. Our thanks for this go to a generous donation from someone who visited the school earlier this year.

When we visited the school in December we checked to see where the beehives had been placed. To our surprise the hives were placed amoung the lower branches of cashew nut and mango trees. As you can see from the photos these hives do not have legs on which they could stand, as in the UK.

Although there were not many bees flying at the time we were assured that when the trees came into blossom, in the next month or so, the place will be humming! It will be most interesting to find out how much honey is produced in this first season. If it is a success then the plan is to have at least 2 more hives for next year.

Following on from the discussions we have had with the Minister of Education, Mrs Fatou Faye, concerning the use of a spare classroom as a Nursery Class, for children 5 - 7yrs old, we are pleased to report progress. A very generous donation of £600 has been given to the school to furnish this classroom with desks, benches, and other equipment. We have already sent boxes of pens, pencils, crayons, chalk, exercise books, coloured paper etc. The headmaster, members of the PTA and a representative from the Education Department have already met and decided who will teach these children. Initially it is thought that 10 - 15 children will benefit from this venture.

Our latest visit to this school was in fact to officially "open" this Nursery Classroom, which we are delighted to say Dulcie Peacock did, in memory of her daughter Clare. There was much applause and appreciation, by the many parents and children who wanted to be there. There are 25 children aged 5 - 7 yrs enrolled, at the moment, with as many again wanting to join. With a young female teacher to encourage and help these children, in a classroom which has been well furnished with desks, chairs and display material, it is almost certain that this latest venture will be the success that the library has become since it opened in March 2008.

We are delighted with the response to the sponsorship scheme we have running at this school. In the first year 28 children have been sponsored. It is our policy that only one child per family should benefit from the sponsorship. In an area as poor as this, we feel this decision will benefit many more families, and lead to a wider education in a remote area.

Finally, we have heard that the school headmaster, Mr Barham Wadda, has been called to attend a 12 month training course, run by the Gambian Government. We understand that the reason for this is to progress his future development within the educational field. It is understood that he will come back to Bakang/Karantaba School in September 2009. In the meantime another headmaster Mr Jammeh has been appointed to carry through the plans made, by Barham, for the next school year.

Since December 2008, when Dulcie Peacock opened the Nursery Classroom she had funded, it has been fairly quiet at the school. The number of sponsored children has now risen to 35. Improvements made to the school kitchen, following our support, have resulted in providing extra meals for these children.
As mentioned before, the stand in headmaster, Mr Jammeh, has completed his year at the school and we look forward to his end of the school year report. This should arrive around the middle of August and a copy will be sent to every sponsor.

We await the decision of the S.O.S. for Education, Mrs Fatou Lamin-Faye, as to whether Barham Wadda, who has been on a educational development course for the past 12 months, returns to the school in September, or is moved to another school. We feel that having completed this course, it would be ideal for Barham to return to the school and put all his new knowledge into practice. This school has been struggling in previous years, hence the reason why we felt we should help where we could. Without doubt our sponsorship scheme, the library, the nursery classroom along with some new ideas and enthusiasm would benefit the children, the parents, and the area as a whole. We will have to wait and see what is to be done.

Next update Nov.

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