PAGEANT - "Education is the future"
Boundary wall at Bakalarr BCS
Background
Bakalarr Basic Cycle School, in the North Bank Region, is reached from Banjul by using the ferry across the Gambia River to Barra, followed by a road journey of about 15km. [ Map showing Bakalarr BCS ] The school serves five local villages, and has Grades from 1 to 9, as well as a nursery class. Pageant began visiting the school in 2001, and has helped in many ways over the years, but much of the credit for the huge improvements achieved is down to the enthusiasm and commitment of its headmaster Mr Bakary Gitteh.
The perimeter wall around Bakalarr School was completed in July 2003. This page shows the story of its construction. The outside of this wall has since been transformed into an 'art gallery', with numerous paintings by the children.
classroom blocks surounded by unfenced scrub in 2000
children playing on a large sandy area
When we first visited the school at Bakalarr, there was nothing to show the boundary of the site. Children and visitors (including wildlife) could roam through the area unchecked.
digging trenches for wall foundations
sand for making the comcrete blocks
The blocks for the wall were cast on site and the wall constructed on sound foundations. Below you can see the mason with some labourers beside the first section of the wall to be completed.
concrete blocks being laid for the foundations
completed wall section with some of the builders
after completing the entire wall