Onward to 2018

We have just booked our tickets for our next visit to the Gambia and Sohm - it will be for four weeks during January/February next year .

During that time we will be able to catch up on projects that we have funded since February this year - and report back to you, the donors and other visitors to this website. We will also be able to kick start other projects that we have previously discussed with the schools, as a result of some generous donations we have received from family and supporters recently.

A big thank you 

Most significant among the donations has been one we have received from Redbridge Rotary Club, for £250. The Club has been good friends of this charity, and we are always delighted to return, each year, to give them an update on life in the schools in Sohm, and to be able to show, quite explicitly, what their donations have funded.

Redbridge Rotary, significant
donors to SSS. Thank you!

Progress this year with the Lower Basic school

As far as the Lower Basic (primary) school is concerned, this year we have been delighted - with our partners from Jersey - to fund the complete renovation of the outside toilet blocks of the school. We will publish photos of the completed project when we receive them, but understand from the school that the work has been satisfactorily completed.

Broken outdoor toilets at Sohm LBS
 - now refurbished - thanks to SSS!

We also funded an internet router for the school.  MaLamin Gibba, the school's deputy head wrote to say:

We are learning to use it and in time, we will come to know much about it and be able to use it in the best interest of the school and the pupils.

  

We provided a much needed new printer scanner for the school. This enables them to print their own materials rather than having to travel the 15 miles to the regional office in Brikama to get it done. MaLamin, again:    

Having it eases all the hitches we were encountering in the previous years. This year we not only prepared and printed examination questions but we are also able to prepare materials we use in our administrative works as well as print schemes of work and lesson plans.

Perhaps our largest, on-going commitment to the school has been to fund a "homework club" for what we thought would be two hours a week, after school, for pupils who struggle to get space or quietness at home to study.  So popular has this become, that it is now running three nights a week, and is always packed!

Homework club, in SSS-funded
 refurbished library

Most of the staff live in the village, and they continued to operate the scheme, on a voluntary basis, over the summer holidays, so that the scheme did not lose momentum.  We are obviously delighted by this!

In conclusion, MaLamin says a big than you to all our supporters: 

"Can you just imagine how much you are doing for the school? The great work you are doing for the school cannot easily be forgotten. They are visible more so, everything you do is put in our records and filed. Therefore, the amount spent on cash power (electricity supply, which we also fund - having wired the school up two years ago) is all receipted and filed. At this juncture we have nothing but to say thank you to you and all those who supporting us through you."

Deputy head MaLamin acting as "patient"
 in recent SSS-funded First Aid training day

Secondary school progress

The school has benefitted from a major classroom extension building this year - financed by our Jersey partners. And, splendid it looks too.

New Jersey-funded teaching
block in Senior Secondary school

Our major contribution to the school - apart from our annual stationery donation and the sponsorship of a number of poorer pupils - has been the funding of "additional classes" available for ALL students, of one hour per week in each of the core subjects of English and Maths, at the end of the school day.

As we have previously mentioned, progress in improving public examination results for the school since our involvement, five years ago, has been quite remarkable.  The school has shot up regional league tables and from being very much at the foot of these tables, it is now in the top two or three of performers.

The subjects where least progress has been made, however, has been in English and Maths - arguably the two most important - certainly when it comes to the jobs market.

Eighteen months ago we set out ambitious plans to address this, but funding (jointly with our Jersey partners) the "remedial" classes as they were originally dubbed. They proved very difficult to get off the ground, initially. Then, when they were up and running, the school - like all others in The Gambia - was hit by the country's political instability last December, and effectively closed for a month.

75% attendance at voluntary, extra-curricular,
 SSS-funded additional classes in English and Maths

So, a second start was made this new year, and we are delighted to report on progress. We are provided with monthly attendance sheets and progress records - as part of our conditions for funding the scheme. These are subject to spot checks and independent verification by our Jersey partner's local agent in The Gambia.

The results have been most pleasing. Although the scheme is entirely voluntary and extra-curricular, average attendance at the classes has exceed over 75% in both subjects in every month, bar one, since its re-introduction.

The subject teachers and the school's principal review overall progress with the scheme each month and re-tweak it and set targets to be reached.  Regular reports go to the schools governors, who are delighted with the scheme's effectiveness.

This scheme has taken a while to come to fruition, but perseverance is showing pleasing signs of success.  The acid test, of course, will be in next year's public examination results.  We are crossing our fingers!

June 2017 - curriculum area investment reaps rewards

Each year we try to improve the equipment in under-resourced areas of the Senior school's curriculum, in Sohm.

As a result of generous donations in previous years, we have, for example, established a fully functioning ICT suite there, added significantly to the science laboratory equipment and provided key text books in all curriculum areas.

This year, we extended the process by purchasing technical drawing equipment for the school, including a number of Tee squares and set boxes, as well as specialist drawing paper - some of which can be seen in the accompanying photograph.

Senior school principal, Mamadou Manneh,
with some of the technical drawing equipment
donated.  We look forward to improved exam
performance in that subject in future years

It is most heartening, therefore, to see the longer term benefits that these investments bring, years after the initial intervention.

Three years ago, our friends at Football Gambia and Kit Aid supplied over 60 sets of football kit to the school.  These are being well used.

Successful girls football team,
kitted out thanks to Football Gambia
and Kit Aid, two great UK charities

We are delighted to report that the girls' senior football team at the school made it through to the quarter finals of the national schools' football championship.  The photo above illustrates them wearing donated kit. 

It is unlikely they would have entered the competition without the donation of the kit, and they certainly would not have looked so ready for action as the photo shows them to be.

Similarly, two years ago, we re-equipped the schools' domestic science kitchen with new cooking utensils - a priority determined by the school. This is important for the pupils as it gives them a grounding that help gain them access to the national catering college - and into important tourist industry jobs.

Ready, Steady Cook - Sohm girls
at regional cooking finals

This year the Senior school got to the final of the regional schools' cooking competition. Unfortunately, they were disqualified from the final, for adding a Maggi cube (similar to Oxo etc) to the stock in their entry for "Preparing a National Dish".

A delicious dish - too much Maggi, however!

It was done in good faith, for as one of the girls said "Well, that's what we do at home!".

Great to see that small seeds sown in curriculum areas can bring such rich rewards two or three years afterwards, once the investment has had a chance to percolate through to the students learning, and wider performance and experience.

Quite apart from the skills enhancement these initiatives have brought, they have encouraged (in this case, all girls) to broaden their horizons and to participate in events beyond the confines of the village.  These social experiences are, in themselves, important for students living in relatively remote communities.

So, once again, many thanks to our donors and supporters for enabling us to facilitate these small, but important steps to improve the education and experience of the young people of Sohm

First Aid transformation

We are proud to have championed and facilitated a transformation in the First Aid provision in Sohm Lower Basic school over the last two years.

This article sets out how it has been undertaken and the spectacular results achieved.

Each year we sit down with the heads of the two schools in Sohm to determine their priorities for our funding them for the next twelve months. Last January a key project for the Lower Basic school was to reconstruct the dilapidated and non-functioning sick bay (see photos).

The way the sick bay was

... and from the outside

We got the head to provide costings for a complete refit that would: re-plaster and paint the walls, re-floor, provide a new door, two beds, a medicines cupboard and some limited other furniture - and curtains. The overall cost was out of our budget, but we found a funding formula that worked - see footnote for details.

So, we were able to give the project the go-ahead and ensure that the money was available for the refurb. Political uncertainties in the country held the project up for a while, but the work was complete by the time we revisited in February this year.

The school was able to proudly show us the results then.

We then worked with a local pharmacist and the first aider at the school to stock a secure medicine cupboard with necessary items (see photos).

.. and is now

A First Aid room/Sick Bay is vital at the school, where children can experience bouts of malaria, debilitating hunger pangs and the older girls experience menstruation for the first time. The medical facilities in the village are almost non-existent, apart from a couple of visiting clinics held every month or so.

Lamin - deputy head (far left), first aider,
 Malamin, head (blue shirt) with teacher and
 three pupils displaying early first aid kit,
 in refurbed sick bay/first aid room

For some time we have been following a UK charity First Aid 4 Gambia on Twitter (@FirstAid4Gambia - www.firstaid4gambia.org), and have been impressed with their work in the local education sector. So we contacted them to see if they could help take the Sohm project on to the next level.

They could - and responded remarkably quickly. For a small annual charge (well within our budget)they have undertaken to completely restock the medicine cabinet each year with appropriate provisions and to provide first aid training every two years for a dozen or so people nominated by the school's head.

The first training session took place within a month of us making the connection, and the results were spectacular - as the photos and comments show.

Head, Malamin Gibba opening the training session

Staff and community members at
 FirstAid4Gambia training session

The head and deputy head, together with the nominated first aider took part, as well as the head boy and head girls (a great move in our opinion), two parents/members of the community and seven teachers.

Community members dressing wounds

First Aid 4 Gambia declared the day a great success and the school was more than delighted with the outcome.

Head boy learning
respiratory techniques

This small initiative has not only up-skilled members of the school staff, but provided a huge boost to health provision within the whole community - all for £150!!

New first aid kit - courtesy of FirstAid4Gambia

The school head wrote to us:

So pleased with your effort in bringing this wonderful initiative to our school. We have all benefited from the training. Every teacher in the school is now a first aider.

Deputy head practices wound dressing,
 with head as the patient

The First Aid 4 Gambia trainer reported back to his charity that the training went well:

Monday 10 April 2017, New training course with supplies to the Sohm Lower Basic School at the Sohm Village West Coast Region.

Staff practising respiratory techniques

 14 participants received the training including the School Head Boy and The Head Girl respectively attended the training .The school is running a first aid centre which is well organised and clean, two beds in for temporal admission in case of any emergency.

The School First aider was also part of the workshop, along with 2 community members also joined the training. All the topics were briefly discussed which to my understanding was well received and their practicals were perfect too.

Head girl hard at work, using
 some of the training equipment
 FirstAid4Gambia brought to the day

All the participants were certified and the school was fully supplied. Though it was a long day, everything went successful.

On behalf of the School Mr Malamin Gibba the school Head  thanked the Charity for the gesture, as First Aid 4 Gambia have boosted them to a higher level in terms of first aid.

Some of the other equipment used on the day

 He said the community will also benefit from the supplies.

We would like to thank all of our supporters for helping us achieve this. It is quite an extraordinary achievement, made possible by goodwill, and partnership working across charities, with the fullest enthusiasm from the host community.

Deputy head, Lamin, practisng revival techniques

Footnote: The funding formula

The cost of the building work and refurbing the old sick room was in the region of £2,000. This is considerably out of our price range, but our Jersey partners in Sohm were able to persuade the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission to "match fund" our contribution to the cost. So, suddenly tour commitment was halved to £1,000.

The happy, first aid-certified training
attendees show their certificates

Bearing in mind that we are able to get 25% Gift Aid funding from the UK government for most of the money we raise from UK taxpayers in donations, it meant that we only needed to raise £800 from our donor/sponsors to fund our contribution and kick start this remarkable achievement.

April 2017 Newsletter: Getting bogged down in toilet matters

As we reported in our newsletter of October last year (see here), following a some dealings with Simon Danczuk, the MP for Rochdale over the last few years, we decided to name a toilet block in the senior secondary school after him.

The ceremony was covered by the Mail-On-Line (see here for full details and below for some of it) in February this year, and we reproduce, below some of their extensive coverage.

We are delighted to say that these facilities are now up and running and much appreciated by the staff and students, alike, at Sohm Senior Secondary school.

Ok, we'll leave out the endless puns.

We are pleased to report that we "sold" the story to the Mail-On-line, through a news agency and that money received will help us fix more school toilets in the village.

For the coming year, the Lower Basic school in the village has asked us to refurbish their toilets - for boys, girls and staff.  The photos tell their own story of how much this restoration is needed.  These three tiny blocks provide toilets for over 400 students and 25 staff.

This year's funding project

They are clearly insanitary and, until March this year, were nowhere near running water.

The concrete bases of the blocks have cracked and the ground underneath the blocks are home to snakes - particularly in the rainy season in the country (summer and autumn), with the result that many pupils and staff, alike, refuse to use them.

Roof and doors blown off
 during rainy season

The school's request for assistance is modest. We are committed to working in partnership with our colleagues from Jersey to: restore and recent the concrete bases and erect new doors and roofs, where necessary.

Girls' toilet - snakes nest
below the concrete slab.
200 girls only toilet at the school

Fortunately, because of a water supply project the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission has funded, a new standpipe was erected close to these outside toilet blocks in March this year, to try and address some of the sanitary issues associated with them.

Roofless staff toilets

Given the success of the naming of the Simon Danczuk block, we would look sympathetically on bids to rename any of these three blocks after other people, in return for a suitable donation.  

Water now running near toilets,
 for better sanitation

We will of course be willing to supply photographs of the unveiling of the appropriately named facilities to any sponsor.  Just contact us at: John@SohmSchoolSupport.org.uk if you are interested in this nomination facility!

Whose name would you like to
 adorn this fine facility
- when renovated, of course!

Reporting back from a recent visit

I have just returned from a month in the Gambia (Sandra stayed at home with our new puppy)and can report on very considerable progress at both schools, which I will post details of over coming months.

 The headlines are:

• After concerns about the political stability and personal safety in The Gambia following the disputed presidential election results of last December, all is calm in the country, as it looks forward to a new era;

Anti - Jammeh graffiti, widespread
 in The Gambia - making local feelings
 clear about the former president and tyrant

• As promised in our newsletter of last October, we were able to officially open the new "Simon Danczuk Toilet Block", which gained press coverage in the UK. We will deal, in detail with this in our next newsletter;

• Last year we funded the complete reconstruction of the Lower Basic school's First Aid room.  It now looks spectacular!  We will be posting details of this, and exciting forward plans for it, in a forthcoming newsletter;

Tee-shirt democracy - much in evidence

• It is a similar good news story with the library that we were able to fund the restoration of in the Lower Basic school, again with exciting forward plans. We'll have photos and news of this in a future newsletter;

• Our funded "Additional Classes" scheme in the senior school had a slightly disrupted start, because of the change of head at the school and the political instability in the country from November - February (see below). Those problems now seem to be ironed out and the scheme is back and successfully running on a firmer footing;

• Our funding of equipment in specific curriculum areas in the senior school continues this year.  The school had a couple of spectacular successes over the last year, resulting from our previous equipment interventions - again, we'll provide fuller details in a forthcoming newsletter;

Local feelings made clear

• We are continuing to sponsor a number of students in the village's senior school; some with excellent future prospects.  We are not, however, extending the scheme, as education is now free for all school students in the country.  We will be devoting our activities to whole school subject sponsorship initiatives in future - additional classes in the senior school and a trial homework club in the Lower Basic school. Once more - full details will be given in a later post;

• For the future, we will be looking to restore the boys', girls' and staff toilets in the Lower Basic school.  We will provide details of the need and progress in addressing it, later in the year;

• As a result of our ICT interventions in both schools, and because of better telecoms in the country, we will be sponsoring the installation of Wi-Fi hubs in both schools - so there will be good internet access for the first time. Again, we hope to report on progress, later in the year.

The medium is the message - Gambia style

Political climate and background

So much for the headlines. The more detailed aspect of this newsletter concerns the political climate in the country. Although this is, of course, completely outside of the control of this charity, it impacts directly on all those we hope to assist.

The Gambia is tiny (less than 2 million people) and is rarely news in the rest of West Africa, never mind in the West. What is reported in the UK is often garbled and incomplete, so we will attempt a brief, but fuller picture here.

The President of the Gambia for the last 22 years has been a corrupt, civil rights-abusing, brutal dictator, Yahya Jammeh. He lost the presidential election to an almost (even in The Gambia) unknown, Adama Barrow, in December last year.

Preparing for Barrow's inauguration,
which co-incided with Independence Day

Jammeh refused to accept the result. The surrounding West African states (known as Ecowas) played a key role in "persuading" him to go - including by amassing an armed force to ensure the election result was adhered to.

There was almost 3 months of instability (December - February), during which time Jammeh plundered the state's coffers and negotiated himself an exit (to Equatorial Guinea). He eventually left on 22 February, without a shot being fired in anger.

Hash tags abound - showing
 importance of social media in
 communications
 in the new Gambia

Adama Barrow was inaugurated as the new president on 18 March, amid much jubilation. Barrow is best, if at all, known in the UK as having worked as a security guard for Argos in Islington. Correct - but he was doing so when a student in the UK, as a means of paying his way through college.

He heads a coalition administration, with a very difficult job. The state coffers have been depleted and there are few people in positions of power in civic society, or the military who are not in some way tainted by their association with his predecessor.

Half the country have known nothing
 but Jammeh misrule - and
 are keen for change

So, the task ahead is a difficult one and it is far too early to indicate whether the new regime will be up for it.  But, the early signs are good.

• The Gambian people are delighted with the change, as a few of these randomly photographed revellers indicate;

• The Ecowas states are providing material assistance in helping the country's reconstruction;

• The Gambia will be rejoining the Commonwealth, three years after Jammeh stormed out - and Boris Johnson flew to the country to discuss the process (see photo of him, at a beach bar we like to frequent);

Boris Johnson with Gambians at
the Calypso Bar, Cape Point, the day
 before the presidential inauguration

• The country will be rejoining the International Criminal Court, after Jammeh flounced out, following criticism of his regime;

• There is a fund of international goodwill for the new Gambia; and the EU has offered to restore Grant Aid to the country, for very specific and agreed projects, two years after having stopped aiding the country because of Jammeh's behaviour;

• Barrow has said that he wants The Gambia to become a beacon of human rights in Africa, after the oppression of Jammeh.  Easy words, perhaps, but the gay-friendly article in the newspaper clipping below is a very bold step in that direction in a region of the world usually hostile to gay rights.

Western educated Barrow showing
 liberal attitude to gay rights -
uncommon in the region

As we say, these are early days, but we hope they will provide a peaceful and more prosperous political background for the people of the country, and in particular for those in the village of Sohm and their students.