Children of the Gambia

The Children of the Gambia charity was founded in 1997 by Hildred Helm and Sandra Foster, it was whilst on holiday that they experienced children running after the tourist coach. When it stopped the children did not ask for money, they only wanted a pen or pencil so that they could go to school, Hildred then discovered education is very limited for children aged 4 to 7 years. These children have to pay to attend school, on average 25 Dalasi a week, which is about equivalent to 50 pence, and many parents cannot afford these school fees so this means their children do not go to school. In 1997, the charity sent 36 boxes to Gambia containing supplies and in 1998, we sent a further 180. During the last 7 years, we have been able to send five forty foot containers equipped with nursery equipment, medical supplies, desks, chairs and educational material, kindly donated by Leeds and Bradford Educational Departments. Fundraising has enabled us to help many schools including ones in Abuko, Nyodema and Manjai Kunda we have also improved conditions in many others. We first built our own school in Kusalang village, about a 10 hour drive from our base in Serrekunda.

We try to help as many schools as possible by renovating existing buildings or building our own and supplying them with all the educational material and equipment, they need. The aim of our charity is to make as many schools as possible free, which will enable some of the children of Gambia a chance of a good education, which will in turn help them with a better start in life.

All work performed by the Children of the Gambia charity is voluntary. We are a non-profit making organisation, and so we rely on the generosity of others to help us help those less fortunate than ourselves. Every penny collected goes directly towards helping educate the children in Gambia.

Your donation can help to make a difference to the lives of the children of Gambia.

Smiling Nation

Known as the 'Smiling Nation', the Gambia's population is growing at a very high rate due to civil wars in the surrounding areas, it is a safe haven for refugees fleeing their devastated countries.

Some of these refugees decided to settle in a village called Manjai Kunda only a few miles from the capital of Banjul. Immediately this caused the village to be full of children to roam about all day with no schooling or education. Most of the parents of these children are disabled and of Gambian nationality while others are from Cassamance in Senegal and Sierra Leone having escaped from the rebels who committed terrible atrocities. Some parents were even killed or abducted and some of those who brought their children to Gambia for safety then abandoned them, travelling to the USA, Canada and elsewhere for resettlement.

A survey has shown that there are many boys and girls, especially aged between 4 and 8, who because of their circumstances would never gain access to any education. Most Gambian children up until their early adolescence know only how to sing and dance because they have no toys or games, education, television, video, cameras, radio or know anything about the world outside of Gambia.

Convinced that the younger generation is the future of the development of The Gambia and to enable more children to have a better quality of life, a school was established in 1996 by the Gambian Government. 34 children began to receive education under cover of very primitive shelter and fund raising commenced to dramatically increase the quality of the building, its surroundings and the education of the children of that village.

COTG charity was founded in 1998 and our aim is to work with children, their families and communities to build/renovate schools and provide the children of Gambia with free education and an improved quality of life.

Kusalang Nursery School is situated in the bush, a 10 hour drive from our base in Serrekunda. This area is a farming community and the region is very dry and arid, money is very scarce. This school supplies

We find that many people cannot understand the vast and complex problems that face most of the population of Africa, so they turn their backs and say, "What's the point, my donation won't make any difference when there is that amount of suffering". We then tell them the following story.

Two friends were walking along a beach after a huge storm. As they walk along, they noticed thousands and thousands of Starfish washed up on the sand and rocks by the fierce waves. All were dying because they could not get back into the water. One person picks up a Starfish and throws it back into the sea.

First friend asks:  “What did you do that for? It won't make any difference"   

Second friend replies: "It will to that one!"