THE ROBERT KEMP MEMORIAL SCHOOL
In September 1997 two communities in Brikama, namely Gidda and Sanchaba decided to join forces and establish a nursery school. The school originally operated from a house but after one year the committee anounced that they could no longer afford the rental fees.
The committee approached the district Chief and the Town Chairman to request a plot of land that could be used as a school venue. Their request was approved and they were given a plot of land measuring 100m x 50m. The land was a gift on the condition that it was used to build a school on.
The EDF ( European Development Fund ) donated the cement, sand, gravel and some other building materials to construct one building containing 2 classrooms, one office and one store. The construction of the building and the roof was completed but that is where the materials ran out.
When we were introduced to the school in November 2006 it was mud floors throughout the building, none of the walls had been plastered inside, no rendering on the outside and it was missing four metal doors and two metal window shutters. The two cubicle toilet block was also in the same condition.
On the 16th November we left Dembo Bojang ( our co-ordinator ) the money to buy the materials to complete the school and toilet block plus construct a veranda right along the front of the building.
A week before Christmas I received an email telling me that all the work was completed. I flew out to The Gambia on 10 th January 2007 to inspect the work. In a little over 5 weeks the labourers had concreted the floors throughout the building, plastered all of the inside walls, cleared all of the scrubland from the surrounding area, rendered the outside of the building and created the veranda across the front.
The labourers were paid and the money was left with Dembo to purchase the metal doors and window shutters plus the paint to brighten up the inside and outside of both the toilet block and the main building. The money was also left to have 25 benches and desks made for use in the classroom.Four sign boards have been made to direct the general public from the main highway to the school. We are also funding the construction of a 300m wall to define the boundaries of the school land and to provide the children with extra security during break times. The total cost for this is £4000.
In his honour the school has been renamed " The Robert Kemp Memorial Nursery School".
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child at this nursery please go to the Sponsor A Child Page.
TUJERING UPPER BASIC SCHOOL
Although as an organisation our objects are to work with and help nursery schools we were offered lots of obsolete secondary school age uniform by Ringmer Community College in East Sussex. This uniform consists of trousers, skirts, sweatshirts and PE kit which is all new and was being sold in the school shop. When the college changed their uniform this all became obsolete.
This was an opportunity not to be missed. Although all of the secondary schools in The Gambia have their own uniforms and the students of Tujering will be unable to wear this uniform to school, they will be more than happy to wear it outside of the school as it is a rare occasion when a family can afford to pay for new clothing.
All of the uniform plus approx. 700 A level and GCSE science books were shipped by Redcoat shipping agents to The Gambia. The consignment consisted of 36 boxes which weighed in at 671kgs. The cost of the shipping came to approx. £280 which included the import duty in The Gambia. It arrived in Banjul on 13th September 2007.
All of the uniform and many of the books were delivered to Tujering during my visit in November 2007. The remainder of the books were distributed between The Gambia College of Nursing and Gambia High in Banjul, Nursrat and St Peters in Lamin.
Ringmer Community College has now formed a penpal link with Tujering Junior Secondary School. This will be of benefit to the students in The Gambia as it will help them with their English studies. The students at Ringmer will gain an insight into a culture that is very far removed from that of their own.
All of the above schools have been provided with educational materials such as pens, pencils, books etc plus some recreational items footballs and skipping ropes.
