In December 2005, Aris Harrison-Price was on holiday in The Gambia, when she was taken to see a local school by a tourist guide. This is a regular practice for tourist guides, and is exactly the way Pageant started back in 2000. The guide, Mbemba, took her to see JTT Nursery School in Serekunda - essentially part of Greater Banjul. Although the Gambian Government provides primary and secondary education, parents must pay for nursery classes. This nursery school charges just £2 per term, which means that there is little or no money for equipment. Aris decided to start helping the school there and then, and to make it her personal project.

On return to the UK she enlisted the help of Nuneaton Lions Club, Ashby Castle Rotary Club, Coleman Primary School in Leicester, plus a lot of individuals and smaller groups in that area. Aris has since joined Pageant, who now provide admin and logistical help with what is still her project, and Mbemba is also still helping her with the school. This web page is based on a Powerpoint presentation produced by Aris. It describes her first visit and includes details from visits up to February 2007.

First Impressions - December 2005

"When we first visited in December 2005, there were 138 children with 12 desks, 10 benches and a blackboard in a woefully tiny, bare, concrete block building, surrounded by a dangerous collection of pieces of discarded, rusty corrugated sheeting acting as fencing. There were no toilet or water facilities, and only 6 children with an exercise book and pencil. One teacher, known as Janko, was expected to teach the whole group, although he had enlisted the help of a 14-year-old boy, Ebou, to help with the youngest children. In July 2006, Ebou became apprenticed to a carpenter and could not be replaced, as there were no funds.
 

the school 'fence'	some of the children

This was the environment in which possible Gambian future leaders were being educated. There was no visual stimulus, no sanitary facilities, no safe surrounding fence, no equipment, 12 desks, 10 benches and one devoted teacher with a 14 year old boy to help 138 children.

Christmas 2005

Our first task was to equip all the children with a book and pencil. It was 23rd December 2005, and the last day of term before Christmas. We took a book and 2 pencils for each child. These were accepted with the same excitement that an English child might have shown for a new X BOX 360 that year!! children with their books and pencils >> Next, we began the task of creating a more stimulating, safe and hygienic educational environment.

A Model School - February 2006

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I had noticed that few schools in the Gambia exhibited stimulating displays on their walls, so with the proceeds from the sale of my boat, I decided to make a return trip to the school in February 2006 to try to create a more stimulating classroom. Friends and relatives paid for the gloss paint, brushes and turps. Bargain Books of Ashby gave the school a superb poster and colouring folder. Ashby's Tesco store donated felt pens and pencils. All Saints Primary School in Coalville supplied paper, paints, shireseal and stencils to create pictures and posters for the classroom walls. Together with 30 non-European animal story books, the indulgence of a fun game of Twister, luminous skipping ropes and plastic balls, the extra charity weight allowance granted by Thomas Cook was considerably exceeded with the addition of considerable educational materials purchased from various charity shops.
 

We held a car-boot sale with contributions from generous friends, neighbours and acquaintances. In November 2006, toilets were built. These are the standard WHO approved local toilets, with no pedestal or flush facilities. They still need tiling on the floor to enable thorough cleaning. A further donation by the Packington Golf Club covered the cost of replacing the dangerous fence with a safe concrete block wall. << an outdoor arithmetic  lesson

Tap to be installed The Ashby Castle Rotary Club had donated sufficient to pay for the installation of a much needed water tap. One of my first tasks was to go with Mbemba, our 'Project Manager' to register the application and pay the deposit at the Water Division. He is holding the Registration Document with pride after his considerable efforts to make an appointment. Mbemba with the registration document >>

Painting the walls

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The interior walls had been plastered in June 2006 with proceeds from the sale of 600 cakes baked by Coleman School in Leicester. On my first Saturday and Sunday, our team of local volunteers worked frantically to complete a basic wash plus both layers of gloss paint in time to dry sufficiently before school began again on Monday. Friends and relatives had donated funds for this, and we economised by using desks and a local giant, Suileman, instead of hiring ladders.
 

local children at the window	volunteers painting the walls

Local children peered in through the classroom window, curious about what we were doing. Parents came in to help and offer welcome glasses of green tea during the heat of Sunday afternoon. A steady flow of parents gave up part of their working days to offer some help throughout the following week. Occasional mistakes were made (even by myself) for example when nos. 19 and 23 were found to have been left out only AFTER having reached no 30!! Fortunately, they had only been drawn in pencil at this stage and could at least be corrected!! Having concluded that colouring the letters and numbers in wax crayon was not too successful, red and blue gloss paint was used instead. It was less easy to apply, but most definitely more successful - and worth the aching shoulders for those who spent several hours with an arm raised uncomfortably high. (Oh, for a pair of ladders!)

letters and numbers are added
Transformed!	top of page >>

Several days later, the classroom was looking so much brighter and more attractive. Parents and visiting teachers from other schools all commented on how beautiful it looked. I had been given the stencils to leave at JTT School, and offered them on loan to other schools, explaining that they would save teachers time each day, and enable children to learn by osmosis. They have been borrowed already!!
 

the completed back wall	Ebou helping Aris put up posters

Ebou, the boy who had been the teacher's assistant during our first visit, but who is now an apprentice carpenter, heard about what we were doing and dropped in on his way home from work to help put the posters and pictures up.
 

posters on the side walls
children's work	the completed front wall
The rear wall had been designated as a maths and science area. I was suddenly reminded of the fact that we were in a country still steeped in the belief in witchcraft and voodoo. The teacher explained that only by placing this humorous skeleton behind him, could he convince the children there was nothing to be afraid of. humorous skeleton behind the teacher's desk >>
	Since the classroom is so small, nearly all the 28 kgs of equipment we had brought would have to be used in the shaded part of the playground. We had to protect it against the dusty, sand surface. Plywood and lino were chosen. They needed to be cut to size, which was done for us by the local carpenter. << local carpenter cutting plywood top of page >>

Tesco's felt pens and pencil crayons enabled children to experiment with colours; we even had purple and green giraffes on the poster book gift from Ashby Bargain Books!! It wasn't that they didn't know which colours to use. There was, after all, a huge picture of a giraffe on the wall. It was simply that the children wanted to use every colour they could!!
 

children colouring their poster books
Fridays are only ½ day at school as the mainly Muslim population attend Friday prayers at the mosque in the afternoons. For this reason, Fridays are usually only used for singing and revision of times tables. With the gift of 30 beautifully illustrated story books, the teacher has begun to make Fridays a story, singing and tables day. The children had never seen a text book or story book before!! They were spell bound. story time >>
Totally New Experiences	top of page >>

Although we knew the school had no equipment, it was quite a shock to discover that even the teacher had NEVER BEFORE seen some of the things we had brought! He spent 3½ hours one evening learning how to use a shape sorter, play maths skittles, build with a Duplo type kit, try different skipping and ball games, do alphabet and number jigsaws and read through the story books. It took a surprising amount of time for the children to learn how to use the equipment. After all, they had never had anything like this. Even at home, there are no toys.

Stones are used as footballs and were the nearest thing to a toy that was seen during the visit. A ball was only viewed as part of a game of football, so we taught the children how to throw and catch, plus other non-kicking games. The teacher mentioned that someone had given the school just 1 skipping rope a couple of years ago, but it had soon broken, so we were really pleased to see the pleasure the children were getting from learning to use those which we had brought.
 

playing ball	skipping

After 1½ hrs. experimenting, children were still finding the concept of joining and building with the large Duplo bricks very difficult, despite the fact that Mbemba and I had demonstrated earlier.
 

learning to use Duplo bricks                      top of page >>

A simple shape sorter for 2 yr olds took all the concentration and considerable effort for the 8 yr. olds to complete. We have a video clip showing them solving this challenge. Placing jigsaw pieces together, for an alphabet train and a number puzzle, became a major learning task.

shape sorter	alphabet train

Throwing a ball to knock down and count totals on maths skittles was a skill that had to be taught, as they had no concept of the fact that only by rolling the ball could they hope to knock down skittles.
 

maths skittles	Twister

Having no p.e. equipment, the balls and skipping ropes are going to provide opportunities for some exercise for some time. However, there was one indulgence we couldn't resist taking and calling p.e. equipment - a game of Twister. Well, you need to be supple and fit to play it, don't you? The children were delighted. School had finished and usually the children disappeared within seconds. We asked if anyone would like to stay to play a game.... Benches were brought outside and more than 1 hour later we had to shoo the children home so that they wouldn't be late for Friday prayers!!!!! I think that Twister is as popular now at JTT School as anywhere here in England.
 

nursery rhymes	handing out the sweets

We had great fun teaching the children: 'There were 10 in the bed' and 'The wheels on the bus' and they thought the nursery rhyme posters very funny. A donation, specifically for sweets, enabled us to give some out on the first and last day of our work at the school, and were able to leave some for the following week, too; an extremely rare treat!!
 

Problems still to be resolved

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• As work was being carried out during normal school times, with class being held in the playground, we were able to witness the incredible problems the teacher was having trying to teach more than 130 children unaided. A second qualified teacher would cost us £35 monthly, but an assistant at least is vital, and as soon as possible.

• We had already replaced four panels of corrugated roofing, but I was very aware that every other panel had holes. If all our work is not to be destroyed during the summer's torrential rains, we need to replace the remaining panels.

• The toilets need a flooring which can be washed down effectively each day.

• With only 12 desks even with 4 children to each, more furniture is greatly needed.

A New Assistant

Natoma Sanyang is nearly 20, has completed all her schooling and covered a 2 year computer course. She is intelligent, eager and very good with children. She has been unable to get a job because in a country where there are as yet so few jobs using computers, she is considered too young. I explained that she would be employed from as soon as we could raise 12 months of the £15 monthly salary and this has now been achieved. She is delighted by our offer and walks to school from the far side of Serekunda each day, a 35 minute journey each way.  Natoma >>

Around the school

Children come to the JTT School from several compounds. The owner of the school land, Ebrima Camara, lives in the compound adjoining the school, where many of the children live. Most people were at Friday prayers when I visited, but those who were there were happy to show off their compound with pride.
 

children and families in the compound
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The Compound garden grows herbs and a few vegetables. The well cannot be depended upon during the dry months, and the nearest tap is almost ½ mile away.

Ebrima Camara is almost blind and too old to work now. He was eager to show us the roof of his home. He can't afford corrugated sheeting, so it is covered in pieces of polythene, which leak during the rainy season.