Equipment for the primary school in Serakunda, Gambia, 650 Euros
The Jataba school in
Serakunda, Gambia can hardly be called a school actually. In the
compound of one of the large families of the village, the 70 pupils
between the ages of 4 and 10 are taught under a tree. During the
rainy season the school has to stop, or the teachers try to put all
of the children in a small near-by building. The government of
Gambia pays little or nothing for education so this school is also
dependent upon support from other sources to be able to offer the
children education.
Louise Marinus, a Dutch woman who is a
nutritionist in a hospital in the Netherlands, has been involved as
an independent volunteer with the building of two other schools in
Gambia; she became concerned with the situation of the school and
started to build a “real school” using her own time and finances.
She has donated part of her salary and also offers lessons on
hygiene and aids prevention on the regular occasions that she visits
the school. The land on which the school will be built has been
donated by a family in the village. The floor was prepared and there
was a roof, but to build the walls, two classrooms and two toilets
required a donation of 1750 Euros from Moments of Joy and the work
of the local population to finish the building.
Now what is needed are 20 tables, material for a shelter and a
cement floor for the classrooms, a school board and two desks and
chairs. Total 650 Euros.
