Abuko (aka Aboko) is a small
village about 25 km south of Banjul, on the way to the International
Airport. It is close to the famous
Abuko Nature
Reserve.
Abuko Lower Basic School [MAP]
was started recently as a local initiative, so that the village
children did not have to travel 5km to the nearest school.
Pageant members Vic and Jackie Edwards have taken on the
organisation of Pageant's help for this school. The school is
also twinned with
Ridgemede
Junior School in Bishop's Waltham,
Hampshire, which regularly raises money to help the school.
(see our
Ridgemede page)
Busumbala
Busumbala
(aka: Busumbata)
[map] is a village about 25 km south of Banjul, not far from the International
Airport. Pageant has been helping a
Women's Group
in this village for about two years.
Many women in The Gambia have
not had the opportunity of an education, so Pageant is funding literacy
and numeracy classes.
Campama Lower Basic School
Campama Lower Basic School[MAP]
in Banjul was in urgent need of essential maintenance and renovation.
Pageant had already got its toilets fixed, and has now funded locally produced desk units like the one shown for the children. To equip all four classrooms would cost about £3,000.
So far Pageant has helped to equip two Grade 1 classes with the
new desk units, using funds raised by
Brian Howard Mayoral Fund 2006-7,
the The crew of
Bandit,
who are took part in the 2007 Azores and Back Ocean
Yacht Race, and Steve Pitman's 2007 half marathon. The Grade 2
classes have been provided with desks and chairs by
Manor Green Primary School in Crawley.
This is all reported on our
2nd Campama
page.
Serekunda (aka: Sere Kunda,
Serrekunda, Jeswang) is a large urban
area, adjoining Banjul Island, and is considerably bigger than Banjul
itself. Pageant is helping Alex Odell and her
friends in a project to build a new school for the
Yakanu International
Nursery [map] in Serekunda.
There
is a video clip of the children of LIFE Nursery School in Serekunda.
See the
video clips index.
The
Hilary Emery Nursery Schoolis in Talinding also, part of Serekunda. It was
previously called the
JJT Nursery School,
and Aris Harrison-Price
made helping this school her personal project. In 2005, JTT had over 130 pupils, with
just one teacher and a single dilapidated classroom. Aris
organised redecoration and building of toilets,
provided educational equipment and funded a new teaching
assistant.
In 2010, the
The African Oyster Trust built a new school
with three classrooms on a new site. The school has been renamed
in memory of Hilary Emery, as funding for the building work came
from her family and friends. Pageant and Aris still continue to
help this school.
Mahmoud Achten
Nursery School is located in Fagikunda a suburb
of Serekunda. John Emery and Jane Bull have been helping this school
since February 2007, and have achieved some great improvements.
A lot still needs to be done, such as building a new roof,
repairing the walls, replacing the school fence, providing
teaching aids and providing funds for poor children whose
parents cannot afford to the modest school fees.
Serekunda is also the
home town of Pageant's agent
Wandifa and of many of Pageant's sponsored children.
Sinchu Baliya (aka: Sinchu
Dula Balia) is close to
Serekunda. There is a huge primary school, of around 3250 pupils, which received four
microscopes in 2003 (see
details) and has run several
microscopy competitions.
There is a well established Science Club
(see news item), and a new
Resource Centre
was built with funding from Pageant members Linda Murgatroyd
and Chris Hyde.
We reported
progress in April 2005 (see
details and pictures), and by November 2005
the centre had been completed (see
pictures). In February
2005, there was a presentation of prizes for another microscopy
competition (see
details and pictures). Team
Ibrakeforcake
in the 2007 Plymouth Banjul Challenge made Sinchu Baliya their own special
project, raising £1200 for the school.
Saloum Nursery
(Nemakunku)
Nemakunku
(aka Sareh Mowndeh,
Mauwhunda Kunda) is a village about 20km South of Banjul, and about 8km
from the International Airport. Pageant is providing support for
Saloum
Nursery School.
Shap Ahoy,
one of the teams in the 2006 Plymouth-Banjul
Challenge, raised over £4500 for Saloum Nursery.
This is another school, where Vic &
Jackie Edwards are active, and they have overseen many
improvements, including new and renovated classrooms, new
furniture, a new kitchen and new toilets.
The King's Kid Academy (KKA) is located in Temasu, near Lamin, south west
of Banjul. It was founded in about 1996 by a Nigerian missionary,
to provide nursery education. The school has expanded year by year, and
will eventually offer a complete primary
education up to Grade 6. There are two Pageant pages. The
first page covers 2006-2007,
and the
second page
covers 2008 onwards.
During 2008, students from Oakham
School and Copenhagen International School raised funds to build new
toilets (see details).
By April 2009, the toilets and a new classroom block had been completed (see details).
Wesley School
Wesley School, also in Banjul, was visited early in October 2004. Their main problem was an inadequate
kitchen. Pageant member Andrew Rattray has decided to fund the renovation
of the kitchen by his own efforts, because his mum,
dad and uncle all went to Wesley Methodist Chapel in Launceston,
Cornwall.
(see details).
The kitchen has now been completed (June 2005).
Pageant members Brenda and Keith Farrington have taken a
particular interest in some schools in Banjul. In October 2003 they
visited Crab Island School, Greater Banjul Senior Secondary School and St
Augustine's Senior Secondary School, as well as the Royal Victoria
Teaching Hospital to see computers donated by Oxford Instruments (see
news item)
Crab Island School has its
own page
where you can see all the news about this school.
For further information about all the
schools and educational institutes which Pageant is associated with
in The Gambia, please look at our
Gambian Schools Index
page.
