Nearly two years after we first took our boxes of stationary and books down to the post office and sealed them up carefully for their long trip to The Gambia, I received this email from the new head teacher to say that they got them!
I have copied these emails in their original format without fixing the grammar. There is great heart and soul in Wuyeh's letters. It made me smile.
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28 November, 2008
hello mccarthy
well am so sorry for not write you so long time simply because head was at school was travel. I am now the head of geof nursery school. I was looking for my book at my office i come across your latter and though message i understand that you send a box to school. well we received it by that time am not there am new to that geof nursery school. my name is wuyeh trawally am now the hed of the school.
Wuyeh Trawally
28 November, 2008
Hi Wuyeh,
What a fantastic surprise to get this email from you! I am very happy to hear from you and also to confirm that our box of books did actually arrive at the Nursery School. We wondered if they had got lost in the post. I am so glad to know that you got them!!
If you ever have a camera, I'd love to see some photos of the school and kids. I imagine it's changed quite a bit in the last few years?
I wish you all the best as head teacher. Warmest regards to the kids in your remote part of The Gambia.
Take care
Christy McCarthy, Footprints
3 December, 2008
hello mr christy
well am so much happy to hear from yu i could not belive it i was thing that i will not have reply from as it was long time it almost three to three years back, every one in school was so much happy to hear from you i print your massege so that we all can see as we did not computer in school we use internet.
well thank you one hundred time for the book we receive it and children really love them so much but as i told head of school who was there is know there that why you did not hear from us i did not know that you have send a book for the school as i told you i was in my office looking my book i come accross your e mail i ask about you so one of my teacher tell all about you that is the time i plan to write you. i will also try to send you picture of my student and me if here from you.
hello mr christy i once thank you one hunred time for your kind help for the school as we all know that education is key of life and we are from very poor community they can take child to school simply because theu can pay the other school this is why we open this school that is the time geof come to gambia and see our school he is a wanderfull he also help us too much i hope to here from you soon
from the head wuyeh
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The School Committee - working hard!
This was one of the first projects that Footprints supported and we have learnt so much in the two years since we undertook the fund-raising. With the best intentions, we purchased stationary and books at wholesale cost from an Australian supplier who wanted to help us out. However, the postage costs were staggering and The Gambia is one of the few places in the world you cannot get insurance for your packages. So, we sent them off without any guarantees.
Nursery Students in their bright uniforms.
In the time since, we received reports from Mr Geof Prigge who had heard via his local contacts that "some boxes" had arrived at the school, but there was no way of knowing if they were ours. We began to think more carefully about accountability for project management and deliverables... and concluded that we should stick to our core fundraising/technology role.
Additionally, we were aware that our decision to purchase goods in Australia - although high quality and truly needed in the primary school - had meant that the funds were spent in a first world country, not rippling through into the economy of the developing nation of The Gambia. It wasn't hard to see what would further our intention of 'helping those in impoverished communities'. Again, we learnt from this and look for projects where the local communities and economies can participate and benefit.
In summary, I am incredibly grateful to the new Head Teacher who found his way to a computer and sent me an email about the book boxes. This alone would not have been a simple task. And the fact it took nearly two years makes me smile... it is said that good things come to those who wait. Maybe this is a small part of Africa that's rubbing off on me ? ;-)
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Update Posted 01 Dec 2008.
Christy McCarthy, project co-ordinator at FootprintsNetwork.org
Books project
The 115 students at the Geof Prigge PS desperately need educational materials. It is hoped that what they learn here will put them in a better position to excel at the next level in a local Primary School.
Hence, this project is to supply a box of assorted educational materials appropriate for 2-8 year olds including Story books, Learn to count and tell the time books, Flash cards and floor puzzles. Additionally, pencils, pens, notebooks, textas, coloured pencils, and craft materials will be supplied.
Named in honour of a traveller… Geof Prigge Primary School
In August of 2005 a school was named in honour of Australian traveller Geof Prigge, simply because he made an effort the previous year (during his stay in this West African country), to teach the students of the area a bit about his home country. On his return home a few months later, Geof sent them a box of educational material (mostly books) and discovered that none of the villagers had ever seen so many books in one place in all their lives. This made the elders of the village decide to call their existing school after him. Previously it had no name at all.
School Improvements
Since his first visit Geof has become further involved with the school and started a program to improve the facilities, education and hopefully fortunes of the students.
Here is a list of what they managed to achieve in 2006 alone:
- Purchasing items like stationery, information on health and hygiene, an extensive medical kit, clean water containers and lots of games
- Replacing corrugated with corrugated plastic, thus enabling natural light to enter the rooms and alleviating the need for solar lighting. The effect is amazing - the kids can now see what they’re doing.
- Building a new room for a kitchen. With two cooking areas and enough space for the kids to eat in two sittings, it is large and open and airy. The walls are predominantly mozzie screens allowing lots of ventilation, something unheard of in traditional building in West Africa.
- Converting the existing tiny craft room into a library.
- Building a new craft room where the mothers of some of the children make cushions which are sold at Makasutu, a nearby eco-resort.
- Creating a separate playing field for Football and games
- Clearing land for more than fifty separate plots, which now grow an assortment of herbs and vegetables and teach the kids valuable farming skills.
- Creating two composting areas that are used on a rotational basis. As all water is currently carried from the nearby well by hand, the school is looking into ways of using solar panels to draw water to irrigate more easily.
Where is the School?
The school is in Serakundanding Village which has approximately 500 residents, has no electricity and water is drawn from wells. Nearby Brikama has around 20,000 residents, has periodic electricity and water supply – sometimes though as little as six hours a day.
Other ways to get involved:
Visit globalhandscharity.com and make a donation