Campfire

Last night we had a campfire with the Gunjur Guides and Scouts. There was lots of singing and dancing!

Gunjur Scouts & Guides

Today we have been running sessions with the local guides and scouts on a range of topics including compass skills, backwoods cooking, climate change, water hygiene and sanitation, advocacy and the rights of the child.

We were welcomed with the scouts' marching band!

Tonight we are having a big campfire.

Gunjur Village

This afternoon we were shown around Gunjur village. We saw the main well where the villagers collect their water. Then we visited a blacksmith who showed us how he makes silver jewellery.

We went to visit a compound which is typical of how Gambian people live. Lots of people live in the same building - several generations of the same family. It was really interesting to see.

All along the visit to Gunjur we were surrounded by groups of very cute young children who seemed fascinated by us. They clung onto our hands and loved having their photos taken. 

Environmental Walk

This morning we went on an environmental walk, where we learnt about the project to protect a local nature reserve. A group of mainly volunteers, supported by the Gunjur Project, have been successful in re- establishing many species of Gambian animals and plants.

We saw lots of different birds, learnt about a variety of trees, sampled some strange fruit and saw 3 crocodiles on the far side of the lake.

We also learnt the natural way to clean your teeth, by chewing on a special stock - as demonstrated on the photo by Emma & Beth!

Exploring the local area

This afternoon a group of local teenagers took us for a walk around the local village. It was so interesting - we went through the village and saw people's houses and saw some ladies making soap.

Then we went down to the beach where there are hundreds of fishing boats and racks of fish drying as far as the eye can see. 

The area is clearly very poor and it was humbling to see how people live and how hard they work.

Science & Maths Club

We had a great morning at the science & maths club. We ran 2 peer education sessions - 1 on climate change and 1 on water sanitation and hygiene. We had around 24 young people in each session.

The young people loved it and especially loved playing splat and dancing the hokey cokey!

Spreading the word

Some of our team members went to PZ Cussons in Manchester today (Cussons kindly donated soap and anti bac gel for the trip). We did a display about our trip and publicised Girlguiding to their employees.


Jemma made a fab cake and it won a competition - it looks great!!

Attention to detail - Rainbow red, Brownie yellow, Guide blue!

Yum!!

And we're here!!

We have arrived!! It was a long day but all worth it now we've settled in and had a lovely meal.

What will we be doing during our week in the Gambia?

#1 We'll be running Peer Education Sessions with local teenagers covering the following topics

• Advocacy
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Water Sanitation & Hygiene
• Climate Change

#2 We'll be running activities for up to 100 Gambian Guides and Scouts

• Orienteering
• Backwoods Cooking
• Games

#3 Painting a local nursery with a themed wall

#4 Building a toilet block at a local medical post

4 days to go!

There are only 4 days to go now and everyone is super excited! Bags are starting to be packed, last minute bits being bought. We've even chosen our evening meal for the first night!

The weather forecast is good and we just want to go now!

Sun, sun and more sun!

Sophie is all packed!