Online Diary

THE GAMBIA REALITY NURSERY SCHOOL HAS A ROOF.

2009-10-09T11:29:00.006+01:00

I arrived in The Gambia on an unannounced visit on Friday Sept 18th 2009. The purpose of this visit was to check on the work at the school and to deliver the money that was needed to consruct the perimeter wal and the toilet block.

Lamin and his family were shocked but happy to see me - I received such a wonderful welcome from them all! It will stay in my memory for as long as I live!

My first port of call was the nursery school. Although I had been told by Lamin that the roof was on the school - I hadn't really seen any evidence of it. This is where my surprise came into play - two thirds (the 2 main classrooms) of the building had been roofed. The painters were painting the doors and the inside of the classrooms. What a transformation from what I saw in March! My faith was restored!

The far end of the building is still awaiting the roof. There were complications with that end which resulted in the concrete beam that is supposed to be supporting the roof having to be demolished and replaced. This will be done as soon as the rainy season has come to an end.

The pit for the toilet block had been dug earlier in the year but the arrival of the rain stopped any actual construction work. I have it on good authority that both the perimeter wall and the toilet block will be completed by the time I arrive on 6th Nov for the official visit.

The school children have now moved from the temporary classrooms to their new school building. Thank You to all of our supporters who have made this possible!

THE GAMBIA REALITY NURSERY IN SANYANG

2009-06-02T21:14:00.003+01:00

I returned to The Gambia on the 20th march hoping to see the nursery up and running. Unfortunately, the school was still without a roof - we were still awaiting the mahogany for the roof rafters! Very disappointed!!!

Despite not having a roof the school was a hive of activity - the builders and labourers were busy with plastering all of the internal walls, concreting the floors and rendering the outside of the building.

After a long 5 month wait, the mahogany rafters were delivered to the school the day before i returned to the UK. The following day as I started my journey home the carpenter and labourers began their work on the roof.

I'm extremely happy to announce that the school building was opened in time for the children to return after their Easter break - nearly a year overdue but we got there in the end!

Although the temporary classrooms were a Godsend, they were so cramped and we had to limit the number of children who attended each day. From october 09 all of the chidren who have registered at the school can attend every day.

The toilet block and perimeter wall are now in the prcess of being built.

Our aim is to have it all competed and the school registered with the education department by November of this year.

WINTER WARMER QUIZ

2009-01-19T22:20:00.000Z

CONGRATULATIONS to Chrissie Rees in Ringmer, East Sussex for getting every answer correct in our Summery Flummery Quiz. She won £25.

The sale of the quiz raised £142 for The Gambia Reality.

For those of you who want to adorn your thinking caps again we now have a new quiz available - The Winter Warmer. Cost £1. 60 answers to find.
Closing date for completed entries is 30th April 2009. Prize for the first correct entry is £25.
Please contact me if you would like to buy a quiz or two. If you think that you may be able to sell them to friends, work colleagues or family please let me know.
All proceeds other than the first £25 will go towards the cost of the teacher training course for Sam, the other teacher at The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang.

NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2009

2009-01-19T22:16:00.000Z

Jodie and I returned from The Gambia during the early hours of Saturday 13th December. So cold after 2 weeks of 35 degrees each day.
We arrived in The Gambia a week before Tobaski - similar to our Christmas. Unfortunately, due to the build up to Tobaski I was unable to complete all of the charity work that I had intended on doing.However I did manage to organise a meeting at both of the schools before they closed for the holidays.
The meeting at The Robert Kemp Nursery in Brikama was very long winded and tense at times. By the time it concluded all of the children had gone home and I was still left with a suitcase of presents for them from their sponsors. These are at Lamins home and will be distributed to the children at a later date.
The meeting at The Gambia Reality Nursery in Sanyang went much more smoothly and the children there received their presents etc before they left for home.
Alice is now very much a member of Lamins family and part of the local community along with being accepted as a teacher at the nursery. I am so proud of her! Not only has she settled in to their way of life but she is now speaking Mandinka and has developed some very close bonds with the family and friends. She has experienced virtually all that there is to experience on a day to day basis. Apart from cooking over an open fire, washing by hand,showering from a bucket of cold water and doing what comes naturally into a hole in the ground,she has experienced weddings, naming ceremonies. a funeral and Tobaski. All that there is left is a birth which hopefully will happen before her return to the UK on the 20 January.
Tobaski was a surreal. It started with the whole of the village going for prayers at the prayer ground. Literally, hundreds of people - what an amazing sight!
Then back home for the sacrifice of the ram which we watched very tentatively - not something that I would like to experience on a daily basis! I have to say that the ram did not suffer in any way and it was all done quickly and as humanely as possible.
For the rest of the day there was music coming from miles around and virtually every inhabitant of Sanyang, male, female,young and old strutted their stuff around the streets dressed in their new outfits.Until then I didn't realise quite how big Sanyang was. The colours and outfits were out of this world.
The evening brought Salabut - all of the local children ( again dressed in their finery) go from compound to compound saying "Salabut" - very much like trick or treat - we gave them small coins and party bag presents that we brought from the UK.
I am so pleased that I experienced it all. The only downfall - like us here in the UK with turkey - we ate Ram for 4 days on the trot - the locals ( and Alice ) were still eating it when we left on the Friday!!!
The main thing that will stick in my mind was the unity,sharing and the respect for each other. No one was left alone or went without food. If they couldn't buy thier own, it was provided by neighbours, friends and even strangers! It all made me feel very humble.

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and to Thank You for your support throughout 2008.

2008-11-17T21:01:00.000Z

ALICE IN THE GAMBIA

Eighteen year old Alice Chaloner, left the UK on October 21st 2008 – destination
The Gambia, for 3 months!
Alice has become a member of Lamins family, living and working with them in their family compound in Sanyang along with helping to teach at The Gambia Reality Nursery School and being a representative for The Gambia Reality.
To help Alice to settle in to her new surroundings I accompanied her on the 21st, staying at Lamins compound for a week. This was also a new experience for me!
We arrived in The Gambia to be welcomed by RAIN falling from the heavens like stair rods – unbelievably warm rain! That was the first of my new experiences. I had never seen The Gambia during the rainy season. Total contrast to the hot and very dry climate that I was used to although just as appealing. Many areas were flooded and impossible to get to. Alice was in awe of her surroundings during the 40 min journey from the airport to Sanyang.
Upon our arrival at the compound Alice received a wonderful welcome from Lamins family who immediately made her feel at home. We were taken to Alice’s room which happened to be one of the temporary school classrooms. It had been freshly painted and furniture installed – very cosy! Poor Alice had to share the bed with me for a week as Lamin was not aware that I would be arriving with her. Thankfully he was pleasantly surprised rather than shocked!
Within a couple of hours it was as though Alice had been there for years.
Our first night was eventful as while lying in bed reading under the mosquito net, I saw a creature moving across the floor – a frog!!! It was a mad scramble to disengage ourselves from the mosey net and try to remove the frog from our room. Not knowing whether it was poisonous we were loath to handle it. It was not a good idea opening the door to try to get it to hop out of its own accord as we could have had another 100 hop in – due to the rain there were loads just outside the door. Our only option was for Alice to try to guide the poor thing my way where I was waiting in the vain hope that he would hop into the plastic bag that I had in hand. This took nearly 30 mins to achieve as the 3 classrooms have no interior doors and the frog had decided that he wanted to explore all 3 rooms which coupled with our laughter and screeches, delayed proceedings. He was eventually captured and safely returned to his comrades who were all queuing outside the door for their turn to explore the rooms!
We were awakened at 5.30 am by the call to prayer from the Mosque which is next door to Lamins compound. Each morning after we managed to sleep through it!
The next day was the start of the real Gambian life. We awoke to lots of children standing outside the main door waiting to enter the other 2 classrooms to start their school day unaware of the fact that 2 pairs of white legs were in residence – we were a cause of much excitement!
Alice very bravely attempted to teach the children in the 2nd class. Needless to say there was not much cooperation from the children. It was going to take a while for them to settle down.
As expected the toilet and washing facilities are very basic, literally back to grass roots! Although Alice has her own private open shower and no1 toilet area the no2 toilet is shared by everyone residing in the compound. To shower it’s a case of getting a drum of cold water from the standpipe and using a bucket as the actual shower. This all took some getting used to.
Alice and I decided that we would cook dinner one night – European style, omelette and chips. We thought that this would be much easier/quicker than cooking African style food. How wrong we were! It turned out that we ended up cooking for more than 20 people – Alice cooked the chips in a cauldron of oil over an open fire while I cooked the omelette in a tiny single frying pan (which I had to go to shop to buy) on charcoal in the dark. From start to finish it took more than 3 hours. Worth it though as it was enjoyed by all especially Lamins 92yr old Nan who told us that we had to repeat it all again the next day! That didn’t happen!!!!
That same evening I returned to our room upon reaching around the doorway in the dark to switch on the light I was confronted by screeching. Sitting on my pillow was a chicken who was extremely upset at the fact that I had disturbed her. I tried to remove her but she disappeared underneath the bed. Thinking back to the frog I decided to leave her to Lamin. Frogs one day, chickens the next day – what next I asked myself?
Alice soon fell into the routine of teaching until 2pm and helping with the daily chores as though she had been born to this lifestyle. After just a couple of days she was greeting people in Mandingo and had formed some close bonds with the local people. I have no doubt in my mind that Alice will have great difficulty wrenching herself away from them in 3 months time.
One afternoon while Alice was at a football match with Lamin I stayed at home with Mum and Binta (Lamins sister). I was approached by a little girl who had made a dolly out of 2 twigs and bits of cloth from the local tailor. I was asked to make one which I did, using an orange picked from the tree as a head with matches for eyes. Lots of twigs and more cloth taken from the tailor were thrown into my lap. This started a whole afternoon of making dollies for the local children. I couldn’t believe that something so simple could give so much pleasure to boys and girls whose ages ranged from 2-12yrs – no playstation here!!!
Although I have visited The Gambia many times being on site 24/7 was a whole new experience for me. Less than 6 hours flight away from the UK is a whole new world that seems, in my opinion, to be a much happier and healthier (spiritually) way of life.
This takes me to the day that will stick in my mind for the rest of my life:

THE DAY THAT BROUGHT IT ALL HOME TO ME

Thursday 23rd October 2008 is imprinted in my mind as the day when I fully understood why I started The Gambia Reality.
Lamin, Alice and myself were stood outside The Robert Kemp Memorial Nursery School in Brikama arranging a meeting date with Terema (head teacher). Stood by my side was 4 yr old Ousman Bah. Terema told me that Ousman was newly registered at the nursery and he lived with his disabled mother, blind father and 2 siblings in the little house opposite the school. Ousmans mother was outside the house and came to meet us. She had great difficulty in walking as her left hip seemed to be deformed in some way. Lamin translated while we spoke to her. It transpired that she had given birth to 9 children – 6 of whom had passed away, the eldest being 5yrs 4 months plus her first husband had also died.
She invited us all into her very humble home to meet her 2nd husband who had been blind from birth. He apparently spoke very good English.
Their home consisted of a fair size parlour (lounge) which was sparsely furnished with 2 double beds and 2 small rooms leading off of the parlour. Alice and I were invited to sit on one of the beds while we waited for the lady to bring her husband from one of the bedrooms. A man who appeared to be approx. 70yrs old was lead to the bed and sat next to Alice.
I tried with great difficulty to make conversation with him – I received no feedback!
Feeling very uncomfortable I asked Lamin to ask him his age. It transpired that he was only 52! He then went on to apologise for not being sociable – He was feeling very ill, unable to eat as each time he did, he was violently sick. He had been to the hospital, received medication but the medication had run out a long while ago. Due to the roads collapsing in the rain transport couldn’t get through to his house. Even if it could, he had no money to pay a taxi to take him back to hospital. His wife was unable to walk him the approx. 2 miles to the hospital because of her disabilities plus they would also have had to take the 3 young children. Without a doubt this poor man was dying!
It was too much for me to take, becoming very emotional I had to leave the house.
Lamin came out to find me in floods of tears. I told him that life was so unfair – this lady had suffered enough – not only was she disabled herself, she had lost 6 children, a husband and was on the verge of losing her 2nd husband all because they couldn’t afford to pay the 20p taxi fare! Lamins response was that this is their culture and that they accepted their lot in life, be it good or bad!
We had the car a couple of streets away. I asked Lamin to ask the man if he would be willing for us to guide him to the car so that we can take him to the hospital and that I would personally pay whatever it was going to cost for his treatment and medication. He agreed to come with us.
The hospital was an experience in itself – Queues of people who were sitting waiting to see a doctor (some for more than 2 hours). Our blind man suddenly felt very sick. Abraham, a friend whom we had picked up on the way, knew the blind man really well. He ushered him into the examination room to lie on the trolley. As luck would have it one of the 4 doctors also knew the blind man (sorry I never did get his name). He pushed him to the front of the queue. He was in advanced stages of malaria. Without the medication he would die very soon. Abraham was given a prescription to collect from the hospital pharmacy – another much longer queue. The doctor slipped in through the back door to collect the drugs for us. Total cost of treatment and medication was less than 13p. Less than 35p had saved this mans life.
Lamin and Alice visited the family last week. The man is alive and well. He said that he will never as long as he lives, forget the day that we dropped by his home.

I firmly believe in fate. I had deliberated for many weeks about accompanying Alice, putting many obstacles in my way which were all easily overcome. There was a reason for me going with her and I am convinced that the blind man is the reason. If we had not been there at that time he wouldn’t be alive now.
Although this was not directly connected to the charity, on a personal level it has made me realise that we can make a difference that will benefit others and ourselves with very little effort.
It was a rollercoaster week which really put my life into perspective - I personally feel very humbled by my week’s experiences.

SPONSOR A CHILD

2008-08-11T22:57:00.000+01:00

For those of you who have sponsored children for the 07/08 period and would like to sponsor your child/ren again for the 08/09 academic year your sponsorship is now due for renewal. Due to the rising costs of everything worldwide the sponsorship now stands at £20 for the year per child. This £20 covers the cost of school fees, a uniform and provides the child with a small amount of lunch money. The children who were sponsored last year will receive a mosquito net instead of a uniform. I am also sourcing suppliers of wind up lanterns and torches. If anyone knows of a supplier who will provide them at a reasonable rate please let me know.
There are still many children who need sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a child at The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang for £20 a year please contact me. You will receive the Childs details and photo and will be provided with an address if you wish to write to them.

FORTHCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS

2008-08-11T22:44:00.001+01:00

On Saturday 16th August, 7.30pm we have a Clairvoyant Evening featuring Paul Broadway. It will be held in Firle Village Hall – tickets £4 each. During the course of the evening there will be a raffle and refreshments.

On Monday 25th August 12 – 5pm we have Firles very own
Brokebrick Mountain. This is a working model railway based on an old American mining town. It was 2 years in the making and is well worth a visit. Their will also be a display of live steam Mamods and an n gauge model railway plus a tombola and refreshments. This will be held in Firle Village Hall, entrance 50p. Firle fete will be happening in the park at the same time.

Our major fundraising event of the year is our AFRICAN NIGHT which is to be held on 6th September in Selmeston Village Hall 7.30pm. In the last 2 years this event had proved to be very popular. African drum music and dance is provided for us by Globang. There is also other entertainment in the pipeline plus an auction. We will have a bar on hand for your drink requirements plus a choice of African food. Due to catering this is strictly a ticket only event. Tickets £8 Adults/ £6 Children including food.
To book tickets or for more info on any of the above events call 01273 858502

THE GAMBIA REALITY NURSERY SCHOOL

2008-08-11T22:35:00.004+01:00

The construction of the nursery school is now complete.

The roof is ready and waiting for Lamins return to The Gambia on 12th September. Upon his return the roof will be put in place and the school will be open for business at the start of the academic year at the beginning of October.

We now have nearly 100 children registered to start at the school in October.

Congratulations to Mariama Sanneh, the teacher at the school, for passing her entrance exam to college. She has now started her 3 year Early Child Development Studies course. Many Thanks is given to one of our supporters in Oxford who sponsored the cost of the whole course, this has given Mariama the career boost that she would never have had without their help. I’m sure that you all join me in wishing Mariama the best of luck with her studies.

GARDEN SALE

2008-06-22T18:09:00.000+01:00

Despite the weather, the Garden Sale which we held at Forge Cottage on Saturday 21st June was a great success. I'm not sure how as we seem to have more items at the end of the sale then we did before we started but the total raised was £368. Many thanks to those of you who helped on the day, baked cakes and attended the sale.

NEWS UPDATE

2008-05-31T16:27:00.000+01:00

Our Clairvoyant evening featuring Michael Kingscote, which was held on the 3rd May in Firle Village Hall was (yet again) a big success. We raised £325. Michael along with Ella Moonbridge (Psychic artist) gave us all a very entertaining evening. I realise and understand that this sort of thing is not for everyone - some people attended just to support the charity, others attended because they were curious and others attended because they are great believers. Whatever their reasons there was no negative feedback at all, in fact one person who has recently suffered many hardships said that Michael had given her real hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to all who attended, Michael and Ella who gave us their services free of charge.

We also received a cheque for £500 from Elaine Foster Gandi of Designer Sales UK. Elaine/DSUK is supporting The Gambia Reality by giving us donations from her sales of designer clothes in London. This donation will go towards adding the finishing touches to The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang. Thank you Elaine - £500 will go a long way in The Gambia.

This brings me to the update on the nursery school - all building works have been completed and the frame for the roof is in place. As it is now nearing the end of the academic year and the rainy season is due to start in June, Lamin has been advised to leave the roof until the rains have started. Apparently, (I wouldn't know as I'm no builder) if the cement/concrete receives a really good soaking, it strengthens it!
The school will be completed 100% and operational by the time the children return for the start of the next academic year. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will also be an officially registered nursery school by then. There will also be an official inauguration ceremony during my visit in November.
Mariama Sanneh, the main teacher at the nursery, will be sitting her college entrance exam this month. She has been sponsored by a person in Oxford to attend the 3 year teacher training course. I wish her luck in passing the entrance exam.
Many of you met Lamin during his stay in Firle last year - I have just had confirmation that he will be arriving in the UK on the 1st July again. He will return home in September. Lamin is looking forward to being a part of Firle community again and seeing the beautiful nature that we have in this country

FEBRUARY VISIT TO THE GAMBIA

2008-03-17T17:11:00.000Z

Rob and I arrived in The Gambia on Wednesday 20 February – slightly warmer than in the UK – nearly 40 degrees!!! It was a very hot two weeks.

THE ROBERT KEMP MEMORIAL NURSERY SCHOOL
I was pleased to see that our four signboards had been positioned along the route from the main highway to the school.
As usual we received a warm welcome at the school.
The new desks and benches which we paid to have made in November were all in place and being readily used by the children. The border that was donated by Noolibird had been put up around the walls of both classrooms and curtains had been put across each of the windows and doors.
We distributed the 42 mosquito nets to the sponsored children as were the presents and letters that we were given for the children from their sponsors.

THE GAMBIA REALITY NURSERY SCHOOL
The actual construction of our nursery school is nearing completion. All that remains to be done is the roof. The metal roof supports have been made and we are now waiting for the carpenter and roofers to return from another job to begin the mammoth task of roofing this very large building.
Once the roof is complete the children will move over to the school from their temporary classrooms. The rendering, plastering and concrete floors will all be done after the children have moved in. We still have more children who are wanting to register to attend the school but there is not enough room in the temporary classrooms to accommodate more.
The school was visited by an education department official who advised us to make the window openings wider to allow more circulation of air. This has been rectified and we are now on course to becoming a fully registered nursery school in The Gambia.
Lamin has taken delivery of two shipments from Scouts in Denmark of desks and chairs.
Presents and letters from the sponsors were given to the relevant children.

THE SUSSEX OVER 50’S CRICKET CLUB TOUR
Members of the Sussex over 50’s cricket club arrived in The Gambia on the 15 February to coach the local youngsters and to play matches against the Gambian cricket team. I was contacted by one of the cricketers 2 weeks prior to their departure asking if I could organise a day tour for all 34 people taking in Tujering School ( where we shipped the uniform and science books ) and The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang. Their main request was that they had to be transported in Swiss Army trucks. I was given 48hrs to organise this day trip. Thanks to Lamin who pulled out all the stops, the trip was a huge success. To quote Andy Shanks, the organiser of the cricket tour “This day trip was the icing on the cake. It was a humbling and memorable experience. Some of the lads and their partners shed a few tears.” To quote Peter Crees, the captain and a sponsor of 4 of our nursery school children “ This is by far the best cricket tour that I have been on. These children have nothing but are happy with their lot. In one sense they have everything!!!”
These were my sentiments when I returned to the UK from my first visit to The Gambia – humbling and very rewarding!!
In the words of our logo “ LITTLE THINGS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE “.

DSUK

2008-02-13T19:08:00.000Z

The Gambia Reality is excited at the prospect of having a new supporter on board - Elaine from DSUK ( Designer Sale UK ).
Elaine is a fashion designer and hol;ds a series of fashion sales in London each year, retailing notable designer wear such as Duffer, Valentino and Ralph Lauren at very affordable prices.
For details of DSUK's first sale of 2008 - Thurs 28th, Fri 29th February and Sat 1st, Sun 2nd March - please visit www.designersales.co.uk. Unlike other fashion sales the door price is a very modest £2.
As their first project DSUK will be helping to fund the completion of The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang from this forthcoming sale.

BOOTSALE

2008-02-13T19:01:00.000Z

The Bootsale which we held in Firle Village Hall on Sat 9th February raised £272 which will be put towards the completion of The Gambia Reality Nursery School which is currently under construction in the village of Sanyang. One of our supporters decided to double our takings and we were presented with a cheque for £550. A very successful day. Thank You to all of you who attended.

The Everyclick Charity Challenge

2008-01-04T16:24:00.000Z

Now you can raise money for THE GAMBIA REALITY every time you search the web.Everyclick.com is a great new search engine. It works just like other major search engines but it also generates cash for charity. It doesn’t cost you or us a penny, so it is a great way to help THE GAMBIA REALITY every day.Make Everyclick.com your homepage and raise money for THE GAMBIA REALITY whenever you search the web.http://www.everyclick.com/the-gambia-reality/405856/0 Total raised for charity: £368,015.35

Become a Member of The Gambia Reality

2007-12-30T16:32:00.000Z

To become a member of The Gambia Reality costs £7.50 per year or £5 for people who sponsor a child/teacher at any of the schools with which we are involved.
All membership will begin on the 1st January each year and will either be backdated or brought forward. You will receive a minimum of 2 newsletters ( probably more) throughout the year plus any other publications we produce including news of events etc. All of these publications will be sent via email or by post for those who prefer a hard copy or do not have access to a computer.
All monies raised from these subscriptions will go towards covering the spiralling administration costs eg printing of newsletter, children's details and photo for sponsors, leaflets,
business cards, postage, calendars etc. Please note that all persons involved in any aspect of our charity work DO NOT receive payment for their time - all work is carried out on a voluntary basis.
To date I have covered all costs but as the charity is growing larger the admin costs have escalated. All subcription monies will be logged separately from the actual charity donations/fundraising. The balance remaining at the end of December each year will be transferred to the general charity pot as a donation.
To become a member please contact me either via email or phone on 01273 858502.

EVENTS DIARY 2008

2007-12-30T15:41:00.000Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL.

2008 will be a very busy year for The Gambia Reality in terms of fundraising events :

JANUARY
FEBRUARY Bric a Brac/Boot Sale, Firle Village Hall, Saturday 9th February 12-3pm plus a visiting Medium who will give personal readings for a donation to the charity. Refreshments
Jumble Sale - 16th February, Firle Village Hall. 10am - 12pm. Refreshments.
PSYCHIC NIGHT - Psychic Andy Phillips -Saturday 16th February. Firle Village Hall. 7.30pm - 9.30pm. £3 Ticket. Refreshments and Raffle.
MARCH
APRIL
MAY Psychic Night, Firle Village Hall. 3rd May. 7.30pm.Michael Kingscote
JUNEGarden Sale,Saturday 21st June, 11am - 4pm. Forge Cottage, Firle.
JULY
AUGUST Model Railway and Mamod Exhibition. Firle Village Hall. Monday 25th August. 12 - 5pm.
Entrance 50p.
SEPTEMBER African Night, Selmeston Village Hall. 6th September - 7.30pm.
Tickets £7 Adults/ £5 Children under 16yrs inc food.
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER

Other events include an Auction, Quiz Night and Bric a Brac Sales.
Dates and venues have yet to be decided. As soon as they have been confirmed they will be posted in the events diary.
Tickets to any of the events already confirmed can now be purchased in advance.

25th August - Model Railway and Mamod Exhibition. Come and see Firles very own Brokebrick Mountain working railway display plus live steam Mamods. Refreshments, tombola and bric a brac. Entrance 50p.

6th September - African Night. 7.30pm, Selmeston Village Hall.

THE SILVA BOYS YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM

2007-11-30T10:31:00.000Z

In October Dave and Heather Rogers, of Uckfield Grasshoppers Youth Football Club, approached me regarding sponsorship of a youth football team in Africa. In his spare time, Lamin coaches a youth team in his village, Sanyang. I arrived in The Gambia with lots of the Uckfield Grasshoppers old kit, which mainly consisted of shorts, shirts, socks and a few footballs. The Silva Boys were over the moon with their new kit, as they had never before owned a proper strip. What concerned me the most was that the strips had been donated mainly by the under 9’s team, with the biggest size being 32”, yet Lamin’s team ranges from 14 to 19 years old and the kit fitted them all. During the time that I was in The Gambia the team played two matches decked out in their new strip and ……. jelly shoes! I think that football boots may well be the next items on our list! The Silva Boys drew both matches but their pride in looking like a real football team way outshone the fact that they didn’t win! On behalf of Lamin and The Siva Boys “Thank You Uckfield Grasshoppers”.

TUJERING JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

2007-11-30T10:27:00.000Z

Our shipment of uniform and 700 A’level / GCSE science books arrived in The Gambia in September; it was all safely stored in Lamin’s compound until I arrived. We then had the mammoth task of sorting and assigning the books to various schools and colleges! All of the uniform, which was donated by Ringmer Community College, and many of the GCSE science books, which were donated by Imberhorn college, were taken to Tujering Junior Secondary School. It was all very gratefully accepted. Tujering has its own uniform but this will not deter the students and teachers alike from wearing the uniform outside of school. Nursrat and St Peters in Lamin will receive mainly the GCSE books plus a few A’level ones. The main bulk of the A’level, plus some GCSE books, are going to The Gambia College of Nursing and Gambia High in Banjul; Lamin and his father, Ousaman, will deliver these books.

THE GAMBIA REALITY NURSERY SCHOOL

2007-11-30T10:17:00.000Z

The construction of the nursery school in Sanyang is well underway; the building measures 37m x 9m and consists of 3 classrooms, an office and a storeroom. Due to a shortage of cement in The Gambia and the celebration of Ramadam throughout September, the completion of the school has been delayed until January 2008.
We hope that the school will be operational by the beginning of January, however the school lessons have already started in three temporary classrooms within a local compound - the lessons are from 8am – 1pm, Mon – Fri. One evening at 9pm, we arrived at the compound unannounced and we were pleasantly surprised to find that quite a few of the local children were in class carrying out their night studies. The ages of the children ranged from 3 to 11 yrs and they were being taught by candle light by a 13year old girl who had a 7month old sleeping baby strapped to her back. Some of the older children were doing their homework while reciting the alphabet with the younger ones – this was real dedication. These children really want to learn!
There are now 60 children registered at the school, 28 of whom have been sponsored. We have had 28 uniforms made by a local tailor for the sponsored children. The nursery has had 20 tables and some chairs donated by a Gambian scout group who receives containers of items from a scout group in Denmark.
A further container arrived in The Gambia on 18th November, which also contained more furniture for the school.

THE ROBERT KEMP MEMORIAL NURSERY SCHOOL

2007-11-30T10:05:00.000Z

The builders have completed two sides of the 300m wall, which will separate the school land from the main thoroughfare. Due to the lack of funds the remainder of the wall will be completed next year.
The number of registered children at the school has risen to 183; when we adopted the school on November 2006 there were only 36 children registered.
We have had a further 20 tables and 20 benches made – thanks to a kind donation of £180; the cost of the benches and tables was £200 (the exchange rate dropped from D53 to D39 to the £). The 20 tables were already at the school when we visited, and the local carpenter was in the process of making the benches; they should be arriving at the school on Monday 26th November.
We have order 42 mosquito nets and they are currently being made for the children who were sponsored last year and re-sponsored this year. The children who were newly sponsored this year received a uniform.
Noolibird kindly donated another 3 rolls of their safari border to finish off the classroom. The children very gratefully received their gifts and letters from their sponsors.

THE GAMBIA REALITY 2008 CALENDAR

2007-10-16T17:15:00.000+01:00

We now have on sale our 2008 calendar that was specially designed for us by Natalie Moss. It is A4 size - a month to each page. The date box is large enough to write in your loved ones Birthdays etc. Each page contains a different photo and a short description. The front and back cover are card. It will arrive ready to hang. The cost of the calendar is £4 plus £1 p+p in the uk. Overseas please contact me for the postage costs. These make ideal Christmas presents. All proceeds from the sale of these calendars will go to The Gambia Reality.

www.everyclick.com

2007-10-16T16:44:00.000+01:00

www.everyclick.com is a pain free way for all of you out there to help raise money for The Gambia Reality. All you have to do is visit the everyclick website, register as a supporter of The Gambia Reality and change your homepage of your search engine to the everyclick homepage. It costs you nothing but each time you use your search engine you are raising money for The Gambia Reality. Its that easy! Everyclick works in exactly the same way as all of the other search engines, google etc. So please get clicking and make every click count towards helping the children of The Gambia Reality.

PSYCHIC NIGHT

2007-10-03T12:09:00.000+01:00

Our Psychic night which was held in Firle village hall on weds 26 September was a great success. 66 people attended the evening which raised £360.
A very big Thank You to our mediums Michael Kingscote and Ted Carman, Teds wife Jeanette and Harley Streets own African Healer Magnus Agugu.
All of the monies raised on the evening will go towards the Build a School Campaign.
On the evening we received 2 cheques amounting to £280 by way of a donation to the charity. £150 of this will pay for the 25 benches and 25 desks which are being made for The Robert Kemp School.
We will organise another psychic evening in the new year - watch the news page on the website www.thegambiareality.com for all the news updates.

FUNDRAISING

2007-10-03T12:06:00.000+01:00

We are constantly looking for new fundraising ideas and/or fundraisers. If you have any ideas, would like to raise funds yourself or know of a school, organisation etc that would like to get involved please contact me.

The main aim of The Gambia Reality is to help provide a basic nursery school education by way of providing a safe, comfortable environment in which to learn and by alleviating the financial hardship of the children’s families through the child sponsorship scheme. We hope, in time, to have all of the teachers from each of our schools fully trained at The Gambia College in Brikama. Nursery schools in The Gambia are not government funded as education is not seen as a necessity until the children reach the age of 7-8 years. If by that age they can not read or write they are unable to start at the primary schools.
By helping to provide a basic preschool education we feel that this gives the young children of The Gambia a start in life that all children worldwide deserve.
In the words of our logo “ LITTLE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE “.

THE ROBERT KEMP MEMORIAL NURSERY SCHOOL

2007-10-03T12:02:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately, Terema, the head teacher of The Robert Kemp
Memorial Nursery School has failed her entrance exam for the
teacher training course at The Gambia College in Brikama. She
is unable to re-apply until next year.
We are in the process of having 25 benches and 25 desks made
for the second classroom. The cost to have all 50 made is £150.
We are hoping that these will be made and in place in October when
the children return to school. At present there are over 100 children
registered at the school and they all share the same classroom. Once the new
furniture is in place the children can be divided into two classes.
The construction of the 300m wall to separate the school land from the main thoroughfare is underway. I estimate that this will be completed late November.

BUILD A SCHOOL UPDATE

2007-09-21T21:14:00.000+01:00

The building of The Gambia Reality Nursery School in Sanyang is coming along in leaps and bounds.The actual construction of the building is at about the halfway point. It is understandable that the building work has slowed down considerably during this month of Ramadan. It must be difficult enough to be doing such manual labour in that heat let alone to be working in that heat on an empty stomach. The builders and labourers have achieved so much in such a short space of time.
Lamin estimates that the school will be open for business November - December time. He has started the registration of the children who will be attending the school. We will be looking for sponsorship for these children. To sponsor a child it costs £15 per year. If you are interested in sposoring a child at The Gambia Reality Nursery School please contact me - details on the contact page of the main website.
Although the school will soon be up and running it will be a while yet until it is 100% completed.

THE SHIPMENT HAS ARRIVED.

2007-09-21T20:45:00.000+01:00

Rep Argentina arrived in Banjul on weds 12 September. All 36 boxes that are destined for Tujering Upper Basic School arrived safely. Lamin had obtained the necessary stamp from the Ministry of Education to have the customs charges wavered but we still had to pay £80 import duty. That notched the total fees for the shipping of all 36 boxes up to £290.
On Monday 17 September Lamin was able to remove the shipment from the port although that was easier said than done - it took him 4 trips in the taxi.
Due to the fact that it is the month of Ramadan life in The Gambia is running at a much slower pace. All of the boxes have been taken to Lamins home where they will stay until I arrive at the beginning of November. I will then photograph the items being received at the school in Tujering.

BUILD A SCHOOL UPDATE

2007-08-30T17:41:00.000+01:00

The building of the new school in Sanyang is coming along. The digging out and cementing of the foundations is now complete. The actual construction of the building will begin as soon as they have a dry day.

The building will consist of three classrooms, each measuring 8m x 6.5m, an office and storeroom.

These pictures were taken of the men working on the foundations and were provided by Lamin.

SHIPMENT UPDATE

2007-08-30T17:34:00.000+01:00

REP ARGENTINA left Tilbury on 27 August and is now sailing across the ocean heading towards The Gambia with our consignment on board. Hopefully it will dock in Banjul on the 10 Sept.

BUILD A SCHOOL CAMPAIGN

2007-08-14T12:25:00.000+01:00

Work on the building of the new nursery school has now begun.

When Lamin returned to The Gambia on 22 June he took with him £1700 to kick start the project.Initially there was a month long delay due to a shortage throughout the whole of Gambia of the cement needed to make the blocks. Each block is made individually and then left to dry in the Gambian sunshine for a week. The block making has been hampered by the rain - it is the rainy season - even losing a few blocks. To date approx. 3000 have been made.They are aiming to start the work on the foundations on Thursday 16 June - weather permitting! Picture of the blocks was sent by Lamin.

We have raised approx. £2000 towards this campaign so far. We have another £5000 to raise.

Anyone wishing to make a donation or provide fundraising ideas please contact me. Details on the contact page.

CLAIRVOYANT EVENING

2007-08-10T22:26:00.000+01:00

Our next fundraising event is our CLAIRVOYANT EVENING - featuring Michael Kingscote and friends.There will also be a raffle and refreshments. It will be held in Firle Village Hall on Weds 26th September 6.45pm. Tickets £3 each - must be pre - booked. Magnus Agugu - African Healer of Harley Street and Tunbridge Wells will also be attending. For a donation to The Gambia Reality Magus will give you a 5 - 10 minute massage - an amazing experience, not easily forgotten! Visit Magnus at www.magnusthemasseur.co.uk . Please call 01273 858502 to book your tickets. All proceeds will go towards the building of the new nursery school in Sanyang.

SHIPMENT TO THE GAMBIA

2007-08-10T22:15:00.000+01:00

On 27 August 2007 a ship, the REP ARGENTINA, will leave Tilbury with a shipment bound for The Gambia. This shipment consists of 36 boxes full of school uniform and obsolete library books from Ringmer Community College, nearly 700 GCSE and A level science books donated by Imberhorn School in East Grinstead and an A level College in Horsham and also other educational materials donated by various individuals. All of these items will be going to Tujering Upper Basic School.

We transported the boxes from home to Crawley on 13 August where they were palletised and are now in storage awaiting the container which will transport them to Tilbury then on to Banjul. The total cost of this shipment was £195.70. It measured a little under 2 cubic metres and weighed in at 671kgs.

The ship should arrive in Banjul on 10 September 2007. Lamin O. Bojang will be picking it up from the port and taking it all to the school.

The shipping agent that we used is called Redcoat Express based in Crawley and can be found at http://www.redcoat.org.uk/. They have been very helpful and gave us a discount as we are a registered charity.

Thank you to all of you who have donated towards this shipment. Also a Big Thanks to the Sussex over 50's cricket club for raising the funds ( £127 so far ) to enable us to send all of this to The Gambia.

AFRICAN NIGHT

2007-06-15T15:58:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank all of you who attended and supported our African Night which was held in Firle village hall on Saturday 9 June. It was a resounding success, raising approx. £1300, of which ( after expenses ) a minimum of £1100 will be put towards the building of the new nursery school in Sanyang. This was a fantastic result and possibly the most amount of money raised from an event in the hall.
Global Bang, the multi cultural band from Hastings provided the live music and dancers, getting the evening off to a fantastic start.
Jamie with his Boomwackers was, again, very entertaining and also managed to save the evening when the CD player in the hall decided to stop working within the few opening bars of a young boys solo dance routine.
The most talked about part of the evening was the large presence of Magnus, the African healer - all 6ft 7inches of him! He proved to be very popular by setting up a (high) stool outside and performing his healing techniques on the guests in exchange for a donation to the charity.
Thank you to Tim, our auctioneer, and Ben, his assistant, for conducting the auction which raised £280.
Special Thanks to the chefs who provided the very tasty food.
I was very pleased to have two special guests at the event - Lamin - our charity rep from The Gambia - who has been our house guest for a month. He was very impressed with the effort that everyone put into the evening and touched by the wonderful welcome that he received from the people of Firle and beyond. The second special guest was my first grandchild, Joseph Thomas. He was born to Tom and Allie on 23 May. I don’t think that he realised what a star he was as he slept right through it all.
Finally, I would just like to say that although I really appreciate all of the wonderful comments and praise that I have received about my work with the charity, the real stars of the show are all of you out there who help and support the charity - without you there would not be The Gambia Reality - so on behalf of myself and the children of The Gambia, THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.

The Gambia Reality TShirts

2007-05-18T16:34:00.000+01:00

We now have on sale The Gambia Reality TShirts. They are only available in white at the moment - made of a very good quality fabric which is cotton on the inside and polyester on the outside. The tshirts have been heat printed and the logo is actually part of the fabric, not a transfer that sits on the top which means that it will not wash out, crack or peel off. They are available in adult sizes S - M - L - XL and XXL or in childrens sizes age 3 -4 up to 13 - 14 yrs.

Price £13 each which includes P+P in the UK - for overseas prices or to place an order please email me at thegambiareality@hotmail.co.uk .

All profit from these shirts will go towards the Buy A Brick Campaign

African Night

2007-05-16T10:16:00.000+01:00

Our African night which is to be held on the 9th June is now sold out - there are no more tickets available.

Global Bang will be providing the live music and African dancing. They are a band consisting of adults and children from various cultural backgrounds. They are led by Nanna Tsiboe, the master drummer, who originates from Ghana. Global Bang is part of an organisation called Celebrating Cultural Diversity which is based in Hastings. On the last Saturday of every month they hold a Bring A Dish Celebration in St Leonards. This is an informal get - together where everyone is welcome. Please take a look at their website at www.celebratingculturaldiversitynetwork.org .

Jamie and his Boomwhackers will also be in attendance. Those of you who came to our African Night in October 2006 will no doubt remember Jamie. This is the part of the evening that requires audience participation - very entertaining!

Yet to be confirmed is a solo drummer and an African Healer, from Kenya I believe.

During the course of the evening there will be an auction and of course - the food and drink!
A big Thank You to those who have bought tickets, the entertainers and to all of our helpers and supporters.
All proceeds from this event will go towards the Buy A Brick Campaign to build a new nursery school in Sanyang.

2007-05-01T17:45:00.000+01:00

BUY A BRICK CAMPAIGN
We are asking people to buy a brick for £1 to enable us to raise the £7000 needed for the materials to build a new nursery school in the village of Sanyang. A piece of land in the center of Sanyang has been donated to The Gambia Reality purely for this purpose. We have raised £400 so far - its a start but still a long way to go yet.If you want to help the children of Sanyang please donate £1 or more. For more info contact Suzy on 01273 858502 or email thegambiareality@hotmail.co.uk

Within the next 2 - 3 weeks there will be a full page on the main website with all of the information about the school build.

Anyone wishing to buy tickets for the African Night must do so soon as there are only 12 remaining. Tickets are £6 each which includes food.

2007-04-14T12:53:00.002+01:00

RETURN TO THE GAMBIA 14 - 28 MARCH
The Gambia reality is now a UK registered charity no. 1118466.
The Robert Kemp Memorial Nursery School is now moving on in leaps and bounds.
On our first visit to the school on 15th of March we were met by a welcoming committee consisting of members of the school committee and some of the children's mothers. We had arrived with 2 sponsors from Oxford and a suitcase full of puzzles, writing materials, chalk and 10 blackboards which were made by Class B10 at Ringmer Community College.
A bench was placed at the front of the class and the 4 of us were told to sit down - that was when the hour long Thank You speeches started. All of the speeches were spoken in Mandinka while Dembo our co - ordinator translated word for word what was being said. The general gist of it is the parents are extremely happy with what The Gambia Reality has achieved at the school and with the support that their children are receiving from the sponsors. At the end of the speeches I went to the car to retrieve the brass bell that I had left in the boot. Only to find that on my return to the classroom Rob, Nat and Ade were still riveted to the bench listening to the speeches which had recommenced - I had walked out in the middle of the Inauguration ceremony!!! I think that these people can even beat me in the talking stakes!!!!!
The inside of the school building has been painted in green and white with a wonderful Safari border adorning the wall of the main classroom. This was very kindly donated by Nula and Anne Kennedy of Noolibird. The 25 tables and benches have been made and are in use in the classroom. All of the window shutters and doors have been painted green. The transformation is amazing - it is now looking very much like a nursery school.
As well as the 10 blackboards, Class B10 also made number and letter sheets to stick to the wall which had already been put to good use before we left.
A good part of the money to build the wall and to make up the 4 sign boards was left with our co -ordinator Dembo, upon our return to the UK.
73 uniforms for the children at The Robert Kemp School are in the process of being made - they are being made in the same green and white summer design of Firle School.
£180 has been left in a bank account in The Gambia to pay for the first year of Teremas , ( head teacher), teacher training course. It was too late to get Terema signed up for this academic year so she will sit an entrance exam at the end of June. On passing the entrance exam she will begin the course at the end of July.
Before our visit, we had managed to get 34 children sponsored at the school. We have about 49 children that still need sponsorship. The cost is £15 per year which covers the cost of the childs school fees, the uniform and their lunch money for the year. Anyone interested in sponsoring a child please contact me.
I am currently working on a ‘ Buy A Brick For A Pound ’ campaign. This is to enable The Gambia Reality to fund the building of a nursery school in a village called Sanyang. It is approx. 15 mins drive from Brikama where The Robert Kemp Nursery is situated. There is already a nursery school in Sanyang but it is on the outskirts of the village and is too far for many children to walk to. A plot of land right in the centre of the local community has been donated for the purpose of building a nursery school.
We have managed to form a link between Turjering Upper Basic School and Ringmer Community College. I took a few pieces of the school uniform that Ringmer Community College had donated to Tujering, for which the head teacher and the pupils were extremely grateful. We also donated some stationery such as exercise books, pens, pencils etc. We are currently still awaiting the go ahead from an airline to fly out the uniform and educational books free of charge. In total we have 9 boxes weighing in at a total of 135kgs. All of these items have been donated by Ringmer Community College and will be going to Tujering. I returned to the UK armed with 147 letters from the pupils at Tujering to form a penpal link with the pupils at Ringmer.

Before leaving the UK we were donated a quantity of new bandages and 13 large bottles of emergency eyewash plus

other medical items. We took all of these items to Banjulunding Medical Centre. This is a small hospital which we were directed to during our visit to The Gambia in November 2006 with our first batch of bandages.It provides very basic health care for approx. 50,000 people and relies heavily on donations and grants.
http://www.thegambiareality.com/

2007-04-14T12:46:00.000+01:00

RETURN TO THE GAMBIA 10TH - 17TH JANUARY 2007
Just before Christmas 2006 I received a message to say that the first stage of the renovations at Giddah Sanchaba - The Robert Kemp Memorial School - were complete and could I send the payment for the labourers.
Although I had received photos of the work that had been carried out and it all looked as though it was rather a good job, I wanted to see it with my own eyes!
A quick dash to the travel agents and myself and my mother were booked on a flight on 10th January.
Little did I know that we had an extremely busy week ahead of us !
On our arrival we arranged to meet with Dembo ( the youth leader and our co-ordinator), members of the school committee and Terema ( the head teacher ). Firstly, we went straight to the school to check on the work. For once in my life, I was lost for words - in the space of 5 weeks they had completed the first stage of the renovations. They had cleared the scrubland that surrounded the entire school building - which when we were there in November was about thigh high ! They then plastered every wall inside the building plus laid concrete floors in each of the five rooms. The whole of the outside of the building was rendered and a concrete veranda was created right across the front of the building. The 2 cubicle toilet block was made good inside and the outside was rendered.
By Gambian standards, for all of this to be achieved in five weeks, this was very fast work. The locals say that they operate on GMT - this does not mean Greenwich Meantime, it means Gambian Maybe Time!!
We retired to Dembo’s home where a meeting was held with Dembo, some committee members, the labourers foreman and myself.
The labourers were paid for their work and Dembo was given the money to complete the renovations on the school building - this included the purchase of four metal doors and two metal window shutters plus the paint and the painting of the inside and the outside of the entire building.
The total cost of all of the work carried out plus materials came to a little under £1700.
The next thing on the agenda was the name of the school - everyone agreed that it should now be called The Robert Kemp Memorial School. The school uniforms will be changed from blue and white check to the same green and white check of Firle school - in honour of both Robert Kemp and for the invaluable support that Firle residents have given to this cause.
Dembo was then given £200 to have 25 school benches and desks made plus a desk and a chair for the teacher.
The next stage of the project is to fence off the entire school grounds which measures approx. 100ms x 50ms plus have four signs made to direct people from the main highway to the school. I am awaiting the estimates for these.
There are now 52 children registered at the school and I have brought back the sponsor details of 43 of those children. The sponsorship will still be £15 a year. £3 will buy the child a school uniform, £3 will be the yearly school fees - as the school belongs to the community there is no rent to pay so the school fees have been set at £1 per term - the remainder of the sponsorship will be paid into a bank account and will be used to provide each child with breakfast and a hot meal at lunchtime.
Aswell as getting sponsors for the children, I suggested that it would be a good idea for Terema ( the head teacher ) to be sponsored to complete her teacher training at college. As it stands at the moment Terema is not only unwaged but she is also untrained.
The course is a 3 year course which costs £60 per term ( £180 per year or £540 for the whole course). At the end of the 3years Terema will receive the Early Childhood Development Studies Certificate. Not only will this course be beneficial to Terema but also to all of the children. If we can not find a sponsor for Terema we will pay her fees on a yearly basis from our fundraising.
Later on in our week we were fortunate enough to meet Steve and Siobhan Grindley from Chester. Steve is a professional photographer and just happened to ask me if I knew of any local schools where he could go to take some photos. My answer to that was “ I know of 2 schools and I would be delighted to take you to both of them”. This resulted in Steve taking nearly 1100 photos of both schools which will be put on disc and sent to me plus as an added bonus Steve is now building a website to promote our work in The Gambia. The photos are being given to us free of charge and the website will only cost approx. £50 which is the cost of the domain name and our host site. The building of the website is also free of charge.
As we are now going worldwide I will be applying to become a registered charity. The charity and website name will be The Gambia Reality. Our primary objective is to help nursery schools, as they are not government funded but we will not be adverse to helping any other genuine local project.
We did visit Yankuba Bojang Memorial Nursery School to give some children their letters and gifts from their sponsors.
The toilet block is still awaiting its roof. I have told Lamin, the head teacher, that until such time that the toilet block is completed to a satisfactory standard we will not be proceeding with the renovations of the school building but we will still continue to sponsor the children direct.
I met with some of the parents and was asked to convey their Thanks and gratitude to all of the sponsors for what we are doing for the children and their school.
I am taking in old mobile phones. It does not matter how old they are or whether they are in working order or not. In The Gambia they are sold to shops who repair them or use them as spares and then resell them. Anyone who has any old phones lurking in the depths of their cupboards rather than throw them away please consider passing them on to me.

If you have any questions or would like further information please contact
Suzy on 01273 858502.

Ps. Our website is now live. Please visit us at http://www.thegambiareality.com/