Our Legacy

We did a lot of great things in The Gambia on our 2014 trip, but it didn't stop there. From our fundraising we had £1,500 left over, so this is where our money is going, facilitated by The Gunjur Project:

£350 to sponsor a turtle monitoring project – see here for full details. This project will start next month (June 2014).

£350 to support a cooking project which has been specifically designed for farmers so that they can make the most of their crops. We would offer it to the women’s association to make (& sell) food from their garden, plus some of the Scouts. It's a government organisation who are delivering the training, the cost covers resources and paying the teachers.

£500 to purchase 100 doses of malaria medication – the rainy season will soon arrive, when malaria is rife and many people die. A dose of this medication can save someone’s life.

£300 to sponsor a child through 3 years of education, covering school fees, uniform & books.

2015 Here we come!

We had such a great time this year that half of the original team are going back next year, along with some new team members.

We identified lots of opportunities for projects we can do with the skills within our team and we can't wait to start planning again!

Girls just want to have fun

We made a fun little video during the week which was a great laugh!

You can watch it via this link:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/cheshireforest/13976584121/in/set-72157644182248342/ 

Our fancy Gambian trousers!

We mentioned the other day that we'd bought some material to have some trousers tailor made. Actually some of us also had tops and skirts made too.

They are all lovely and bright & colourful, we love them!

Sophie, Jemma, Alyson, Katie T, Chris, Katie H, Catherine

Sue, Jemma, Chris 

The Gunjur Lodge

The Gunjur lodge is run by a family of 4 who are originally from Chester. Jo and her husband Butch, their daughter Jenny and her husband Brendan. They have a Gambian man called Alagi as a business partner.

They have been at The Gunjur Project for 8 years now and have built strong relationships with the local community. They have a very ethical approach to their charity work and this is refreshing to see.

The staff team of 18 people are fantastic and cannot do enough for their guests. They are friendly, always smiling and always happy to help.

The compound is very secure and there are security staff on the gate all night so everyone can feel completely safe.

The food is lovely - several different choices each night and it's always freshly cooked and served hot. Compliments to the chef!

We would recommend the Gunjur Project lodge to anyone who wants to go and experience the real Gambia.

Lots more photos

Everyone took lots and lots of photos in The Gambia - have a look at some of them on this album:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheshireforest/sets/72157644182248342/

Women's Garden

There are around 70 women who are part of a group running a community garden.

This afternoon they invited us to help them plant some pepper seedlings and water them.

It's their tradition to return home after working in the garden by singing and dancing all down the path. This is quite something to be part of and the whole group loved it!

Painting at the medical post

Today we have been painting at the medical post. We chose to paint a mural about hand washing.

Brikama Market, African drumming & Dancing

We started today with a walk down to the beach to watch the sunrise. There were lots of fisherman bringing in their morning catch.

This morning we visited the craft market which was filled with wood carvings, jewellery and drums. Everyone bought something to take home!

We also visted a shop selling colourful African fabric (watch this space!).

This afternoon we took part in a dancing and drumming workshop. A fabulous day!

Guide Uniform

We had our final day with the 100 scouts & guides today. They really appreciated all the workshops we did for them. They did a big parade for us with their band marching & playing.

We gave the scout & guide leaders lots of resources from Girlguiding and WAGGGS. They had no resources at all before.

The local guides didn't have any uniform so we paid to have 50 made and they were ready just in time for us to be able to present to them. It was so lovely to see how much they appreciated them, in stark contrast to guides in the UK who all too often don't want to wear uniform as it's 'not cool'. 

The scouts & guides had made each of us a necklace as a thank you gift which  we will all treasure.