PAGEANT - "Education is the future"
Projects Up-country and in the South
Pageant's activities in The Gambia started in 2001 at Bakalarr across the Gambia River from Banjul, We now have have projects in schools and communities all over The Gambia. Projects in the North Bank area, which includes Bakalarr, are covered by our North Bank and Bakalarr Page. We have another page covering projects in Banjul and West Coast Region. This page covers all the other areas, both up-country along both banks of the Gambia River, and in the South, such as the area around Gunjur. You can find more about all the schools and educational institutes which Pageant is associated with in The Gambia on our Interactive Gambian Schools Page.
Projects in The South
Gunjur Environmental Protection and Development Group (GEPADG)
GEPADG works to achieve long-term, sustainable solutions to poverty in The Gambia through reversing the current destruction of forests, mangroves and coastal ecosystems. It is based on the Atlantic coast, and is staffed entirely by Gambians motivated by their desire to protect and enhance their natural environment.
For further information, see our GEPADG page.
Sheik Hatab Memorial (SHM) Nursery School
This is the only nursery school in Gunjur that combines Islamic and conventional education. Pageant helped this school with furniture and construction projects. See our Sheik Hatab webpage for more details of this school. In May 2012, the school's water tower collapsed. Without water, the school had to close. Pageant launched an urgent appeal, raising more than enough to rebuild the water tower, and the school re-opened in a few weeks. [more about the water tower]
Siffoe LBS
Siffoe (aka: Sifoe, Sito) is about 40 km south of Banjul, close to the border with Southern Senegal. Pageant member Mo Dawkins visited Siffoe LBS and reported that it was in need of help. Building work on a new classroom block had been started, but had ceased through lack of funds.
Pageant decided to use the rest of the Three Peaks Challenge sponsorship money, and provide additional funds to complete three of the five classrooms. [details and pictures]
Up-Country Projects
Jarreng BCS
Jarreng is more than 150 km east of Banjul, on the south bank of the Gambia River. The school at Jarreng received a microscope and took part in the microscopy competition [details of microscopy competition]. The school is visited regularly whenever the Pageant team is up-country.
Pageant assisted the headmaster to set up a chicken farming project to enable children to learn about farming techniques and the care of animals. The building work was completed before it was discovered that the conditions in the building would be too hot for the successful rearing of chickens.
It is now proposed to use the building for an alternative project, possible something to do with carpentry. Whatever happens the investment in this building will not be wasted. Jarreng village was also the recipient of the proceeds of the raffle of a painting, which helped pay for mosquito nets and insecticide for the poorest villagers.
Kalagi LBS
Kalagi (aka: Kalaji, Kalaja) is a village on the south side of the Gambia River about 100 km from Banjul. The school at Kalagi was one of the schools visited in 2003.
Kanikunda LBS
Kanikunda Lower Basic School is in the small community of Kanikunda close to the town of Soma, which lies on an important road junction where the main east-west South Bank Road crosses the north-south Trans-Gambia Highway.
Pageant member Miriam Reed has been fundraising and making donations to Kanikunda LBS since 2011. They have completed work on a new computer room and built a perimeter wall - further requests include a new dining room and a borehole with water storage tank.
Misera BCS
Misera is in the Jarra West District of the Lower River Region near the town of Soma, which as noted above, lies at an important crossroads where the main east-west road on the south bank of the Gambia River crosses the Trans-Gambia Highway. Misera Basic Cycle School combines the functions of Lower Basic and Upper Basic, with students in Grades from 1 to 9 and ages ranging from about 7 to 19. Jacinda (Jacy) Bowman is a Peace Corps Volunteer working at Misera BCS. Jacy has been closely involved with the library at the school, and organised an excursion for the library committee to public libraries and other places of interest in the Kombo area and Banjul.
Pageant visited Misera in November 2015, and gave them some microscopes and hand lenses.
In early December, science teachers, Mr Bah and Mr Baldeh, started to teach
microscopy to Grade 7 and 8 students.
[more about Misera Basic Cycle School
and teaching microscopy]
Misera library and resource room
Misera student using a microscope
Pallol LBS
Pallol is a village in the Central River Division not far from Janjanbureh. Ceramic roof tiles at Pallol Lower Basic School had been damaged by years of extreme weather during the rainy seasons. Some had cracked and some had fallen off, and the leaking roofs were causing water damage to the classrooms. The Peace Corps Volunteer at the school, Laura Osterman, asked Pageant for help, and we provided funding for roof repairs. As replacement tiles were not easily available, they re-roofed the kitchen and toilets with corrugated sheeting, and used tiles from these buildings to repair the main roofs.
Yallal Tankonjala LBS
Yallal Tankonjala is a village about 8km west of the town of Farafenni in the North Bank Division. The Peace Corps Volunteer at the school, Laura Lyons, asked Pageant for help to renovate the school's library and resource room, and we provided funding for building work and materials. The photo shows the resource room/library after its renovation. The teachers make extensive use of the facility for planning their lessons, and it has become a space for professional development. Both teachers and students borrow books for personal reading, and the library is the source for selecting books for smaller classroom libraries.
