PAGEANT - "Education is the future"
Humanity Nursery
Humanity Nursery School is located in Farato Nema. It was started as part of a community project by Fabakary Saidykhan, whose day job is head of the Automotive Engineering Department at Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI). He built the school in his own compound. Pageant first visited the school in April 2011, and have visited on a regular basis ever since, both to check on Pageant's projects and to provide fun and games for the children. This page describes these visits in chronological order. At the end of this page is a summary of the projects which Pageant and Pageant members have funded at the school.
April 2011 - Pageant's first visit
In April 2011 the schools consisted of one room, equipped with desks and chairs and took 18 children at Nursery 1 level from the local community. The room was also used in the late afternoons and evenings by older students to do their homework. There is a light available for this, run from a generator. (This explains the maths on the blackboard - rather advanced for nursery children!)
Wandifa outside the single school room
inside the school room (1)
inside the school room (2)
inside the school room (3)
A second Nursery classroom was in the process of being built - the Pageant team saw the foundations and some of the cement blocks that had been made. Pageant donated the cost of the cement (about £45) needed to render it before the start of the rainy season. This second room would be largely for the Nursery School, but would also be used for the wider community in various ways.
Tina, Frances and Wandifa with some blocks
foundations for the second school room
October 2011 - Quick visit to see progress on second classroom
When Pageant visited the school again in October 2011, the second classroom block had been built and was in use, despite lacking doors and windows. A slightly later visit revealed a brand new tiled floor, the result of a Pageant donation at the start of our visit. The original classroom also had a similar tiled floor laid.
outside the new second classroom
class in progress in second classroom
class in progress in second classroom
new floor in second classroom
February 2012 - Another quick visit to see progress
Pageant's first visit in 2012 showed the second classroom in full use.
April 2012 - Frances and the team bring some fun and games
In April 2012, a Pageant team visited a number of nursery and lower basic schools for various fun activities. At Humanity Nursery there was sponge printing, painting and collage work all based around the well-known children's book 'Rumble in the Jungle'. Pageant left a beautiful jungle and a host of colourful balloons on the classroom walls. There were also outdoor activities, notably hoops and hopscotch.
Pageant team member Frances kept us well informed of events with posts on the Pageant News Blog. [More about the fun day here]
fun day with Frances and the team
game with hoops
story time
April 2013 - More fun and games from Frances and the team
Once again a Pageant team visited Humanity Nursery for another fun day. All the children turned up, even though it was a school holiday. The star of the show was the multi-coloured parachute, seen below. There were also team games such as 'over under' with balloons and hoops, bean bag relays, skipping and 'Duck Duck Goose'. Once again Frances posted news of her visit on the Pageant News Blog, and you can see her posts on this webpage. The last photos also show the new wooden fencing of the school compound and smart green shutters on the windows. There is also a bamboo canopy over the courtyard, and the whole school has been repainted.
bean-bag-on-head race being explained
running and jumping over the 'wriggly rope
November 2013 - New classroom dividing wall & bamboo canopy
During Pageant's autumn visit to Humanity, we saw a lot of progress. The first photo shows the bamboo canopy over the courtyard with Abdoulie and Wandifa admiring the newly done decorations on the school walls. Also the new classroom block has been divided with a central wall, making two classrooms, one of which is shown in the second photo, where Pageant member Alex and teacher Fatou are reading a story.
shade over the courtyard from a bamboo canopy
reading a story
February 2014 - School now has a proper wall around the compound
Pageant's first visit in 2014 revealed yet more improvements. The old wooden fence around the compound has been replaced with a stronger wall, with built-in seating for the children inside it. The classrooms now have wooden doors - replacing the old rather jagged corrugated ones.
wooden fence now replaced with stronger wall
outside of classroom and courtyard with canopy
school compound wall with built-round seating
April 2014 - Frances and the team with more fun and games
A Pageant team once again visited Humanity Nursery School for some fun and games. As in 2013, the children were on school holiday, but they came in especially. There was lots of messy art - collage, painting, hand printing - making lots of exciting coloured pictures. The team left behind some really lovely classroom displays to brighten up the school. The children then enjoyed some parachute games and some singing.
Frances kept us up to date with posts on the Pageant News Blog, and you can see her posts on this webpage. The photo shows Tina entertaining the children with some bubbles and also shows a better view of the new doors.
Tina blowing bubbles!
November 2015 - Pageant Loan Scheme
In November 2015 Pageant started a Loan Scheme for the schools Mums' Club women's group, called Farato-Nema Kafoo. The go-between lady (pink headscarf in the photos) is one of Pageant's senior students, Fatou Jammeh, who lives in the village and knows headmaster Faks and the school well.
womens group start-off meeting
signing the book
all six ladies with go-between Fatou
December 2015 - Chicken House Project
Pageant member Carol Grace (also known to her work colleagues as Caro Peckham) has been helping Humanity Nursery for some time. In November 2015 she ran the Donington Park Half Marathon, raising well over £500 in sponsorship for Pageant. [read more on Carol's fundraising page] She decided to spend most of this money on a project to refurbish an old building to provide some chicken houses at Humanity Nursery School. Faks, the founder of the school, has had the idea of keeping chickens in the compound to raise funds to help pay the teachers at the school. He has consulted with experts at the Veterinary College to make sure that the chickens will have the best possible environment to live in, so that there will be a lot of eggs as well as more chickens to sell. Eggs are expensive in the Gambia as most of them are imported, so Faks hopes that this venture will work well as a fund-raiser for the school.
Carol handing over the money to Faks
outside of the completed chicken houses
Carol's Visit March 2017
Carol was in The Gambia in again in March 2017 and visited Humanity Nursery. She handed over £500, which had been donated by the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. This was raised through ticket sales and raffles from the pantomime which the staff put on every January. Carol played the role of Fairy Goodheartin Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [more about the panto] Headmaster and founder Faks was pleasantly surprised at the £500 donation.
Since her last visit, the school had moved into new premises. Carol saw that the shaded play area was complete, providing a wonderful place for the children to play. The classrooms were neat and tidy, with the children happy and contented in the nurturing and learning environment. Faks continues to make the school more accessible for children with disabilities, mirroring Faks' values about true integration, fairness and equality. The school staff spend time with these children's parents helping them with the difficulties faced by the children.
Carol pesenting a 'cheque' for £500 to Faks
When the school moved to new premises, the chicken house project has remained at the old school site. The project is continuing to extend the project by using the old school classrooms to house more chickens. Carol saw lots of healthy chickens and two large turkeys. The eggs are being sold to provide a regular income and help the school to be more self-sufficient.
Chickens at the old Humanity site
How Pageant has helped Humanity Nursery
Pageant has helped Humanity Nursery School in many ways since our first contact with them in 2011. As well as fun and games, and other visits, we have helped with construction and infrastructure projects, and with teaching resources. All the classroom furniture has been donated by Pageant, as a result of gifts from several UK schools. Here are some of the things which Pageant has funded:
2011-12
- Cement for rendering the walls of the second classroom building.
- Piping mains water into the school compound.
- Tiling the floors in both the original and the new building.
2012-13
- First year of a three year course at Gambia College for one nursery teacher.
- Mains electricity & wiring.
- Upgrading of toilets.
2013-14
- Second year of a three year course at Gambia College for one nursery teacher.
- Fencing for the school compound.
- Repairs to roof and ceilings.
- Painting and decorating materials.
- Teaching resources - furniture, sports materials, art materials, individual whiteboards and a parachute.
2014-2015
- Third year of a three year course at Gambia College for one nursery teacher.
- Donation towards the cost of some permanent shading for the outside play area.
2015-2016
- Pageant loan scheme established for mothers at the school.
- Carol Peckham (Grace) sponsorship in Donington Park Half Marathon used to fund the Chicken House Project.
2017
- £500 from proceeds of pantomime, donated by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust for Carol's projects.
- Carol's sponsorship in Stafford Half Marathon raising more funds for Humanity.
- £2,000 to provide shaded playground area in the new school premises