| We are encouraged that, thanks to you and your support, SchoolForAll has been able to help over 100 children go to school this year. We are planning to have a meeting with the pupils soon in order to spend some time with them and encourage them in their studies. Many of them do not receive much encouragement from home so we feel that it is important that we do this. Esther, our UK admin person, will be visiting at that time so she will be able to meet them and also take some photos back to share with supporters. We have recently become aware of a boy called Sulayman Ceesay, who told us that he wants to become a teacher of the deaf. He is a very committed young man and has spent much of his time since leaving school doing voluntary work. He has a real passion for the deaf, and has travelled around all the Serahule villages to see if anything is being done for them (nothing is). We went with him to talk to the Principal of the Deaf School of Gambia and he told us that he would be very willing to take Sulayman on and give him on-the-job training, as an apprentice. He would not be able to pay him however, so he suggested that we sponsor him so that at the end of the month when the teachers get paid he will not be empty-handed. This seems like a good idea so we are looking for someone, or maybe a few people, who would be able to donate toward Sulayman in this venture. We would like to give him £20 per month, which would be a reasonable sum here in Gambia - not as much as a teacher is paid but enough to give him money for transport and food. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch » Another need we have become aware of is in the Upper Basic School in Sabi. We now have our first pupils from 2001 in that school and they are all doing well at their studies. Mr Janneh, the Principal, has been asking for a while if we can help them with putting electricity in the school – this would help them enormously with printing, photocopying etc and the teachers would be able to use computers to aid them in their work. We are pleased to report that we have the funds for this project! Mr Janneh is also asking for football kit and footballs! If anyone feels like meeting that challenge please let us know » We are always being made aware of other needs – more than we can respond to – eg medical students who have no text books, university students who need travelling expenses, many students who would like to go for further education . . . Thank you so much for the support you give to our projects – we really appreciate so much your partnership, and so do the students and their families. Please get in touch if you want to find out more about our work here in Gambia, or if you have any ideas for ways you can help! Fill out a contact form here » |      |