Introducing Project Gambia
Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Jennie and I am a senior tutor here at HDP. For the last 7 years I have been visiting The Gambia, West Africa. Initially I went over as a holiday, 44degrees in February I wasn’t complaining.
What I wasn’t quite ready for was the poverty, watching it on TV was one thing but having it right in front of you was another. Whilst there I visited a school which was funded by the government. I began to realise that these were few and far between. As soon as I returned we planned next year’s trip but this time decided we would try and help. We contacted a local charity which was managed from Leicestershire, England but they funded for schools and toilet blocks over in Gambia. We put a small advert in the local leisure magazine asking for small donations of school equipment, not thinking anyone would really see it we set about our own collections but the donations came in thick and fast. We were overwhelmed by the amount of things we received, even our local council came down with boxes full of pencil cases, pencils and crayons. We were contacted by the local radio who wanted to interview us and my old primary school donated some of their books.
On February 26th we set about our trip back to The Gambia with 5 suitcases in tow, pretty much wearing all the clothes we were taking as we couldn’t fit them in the cases. During the trip we visited 7 different schools and distributed a good chunk of the donations. They were gratefully received, we spent time in each school helping with their learning and listening to the children. This became a yearly tradition.
In 2013 I visited a charity called Goal for the Gambia, It is ran by an English Lady who now lives in Gambia, she fundraises for local schools and has a big passion for education. She has transformed many schools and now many more children are being educated in small villages. Her enthusiasm for the project is very admirable. She has constantly got projects in progress.
I am now planning my next trip for the end of the year, but this time everyone from HDP is going. Introducing “Project Gambia” Goal for the Gambia has recently built a health clinic and are struggling to keep stock. The maternity wing now has 1 qualified midwife and the infant survival rate has increased dramatically. So here is my project, I am trying to raise as much money as possible for the charity, also I am hoping to gather as many supplies for the clinic as possible, this includes medication, first aid supplies, and paediatric equipment including maternity packs. We will also be teaching basic first aid to the villages whilst we are over there.
The size of the project is scary but at the same time exciting so please keep checking for updates and progression.
Until next time 🙂