School's out for summer

Sohm Lower Basic school has had a good year, having bounced back from COVID, without too many casualties. And we are delighted to say, that although Sohm Schools Support did not deliver any major projects  during the year, all of our on-going support elements came in to play, to the great benefit of the children and wider community of the village, as this post, summing up the year, demonstrates.

With our friends from the Jersey Gambia Schools Trust (JGST), we were able to continue to updgrade and refurb one of the teaching blocks, as the photo of the restored classroom, below, indicates. And, along with that, we have paid for the restoration of large quantities of broken and damaged school furniture - all of which is now in full commission.

A refurbed and re-decorated classroom, in one of the two main teaching blocks, part funded by SSS

 

 

 

Children sitting at some of the restored furniture in a refurbed classroom

For the first time in many years, the senior grade classes in the school were given a day trip around significant historic and economic points of interest in the country - important for many pupils who have rarely left their remote village before. We were indirectly able to support this trip because we supplied the school with all of its stationery needs during the year, thus freeing up school funds to pay for the trip for the students.

Above and below: staff and pupils visting Banjul airport, as part of the SSS-facilitated school visit

Over the years we have tried to upgrade technology in the school (connecting it to electricty and paying for its supply, provison of TV, internet connection and DVDs for teaching purposes, along with PCs to assist with the admin of the school). This year was no different. We helped provide a good quality laptop for admin putposes and a projector, to link with it, for teaching and other uses in the new school hall we built a couple of years ago.

A new laptop for the deputy head and a projector for use in the school hall

In this, the last week of term, our good friends, the Scottish-based charity, First Aid 4 Gambia, paid their annual visit to the school The magnificent Momodou from that charity provided a day's first aid training to 19 staff and parents and donated a range of first aid supplies to the school, to keep stocks refreshed in the first aid room we were instrumental in establishing and furnishing. So - safer lives for children and some real medical knowledge imparted into a village with no resident medical staff or facilities.

Attendance list at recent First Aid training course, provided by First Aid 4 Gambia

Some of the teaching aids used during the training

 

Momodou demonstrating some head bandaging

Some of the First Aid trainees, proudly demonstrating their course certificates

Some of the First Aid materials generously donated to the school by First Aid 4 Gambia

We are delighted to have been able to support the school by helping at the margins in thse various ways - each of which enriches the lives of the school's children and enhances the educational experience they benefit from.

Sohm pupils, February 2022, showing some of the staionery supplies donated to the school by SSS

None of this would be possible without the continued support we get from YOU, our supporters. Pride of place of which must go to the generous support we receive from the parents, pupils and staff at Beech Hill Community Prmary school in Luton.

We have mentioned before the large sums of money they have raised for Sohm LBS - with which they are twinned -over the years and are delighted to see the recognition they get locally for their efforts, via the local press. Below is a copy of the coverage they received from Luton News last month, for their latest Gambia Day.

 Luton News, 29 June 2022, reporting Beech Hill's recent Gambia day

So - as the pupils break up for their summer holidays, all connected with the school can look back on an enriched educational year, assisted by all of you, through your generous support.

A BIG thanks to all of our supporters for YOUR on-going support!  Keep the funds rolling in, so that we can continue to help enrich the lives of large numbers of African youngsters, at relatively low per capita costs.

Next post - the conclusion of our ambitious Sukuta Project - the substantial refurbishment and modernistaion of Sukuta LBS - the Gambia's largest (2,000 pupils) primary school.

School year ends in Sohm

Much of our attention this year has been spent in driving forward, with Rotary, the Sukuta school renovation project - about which more, later. 

But we haven't forgotten our friends in Sohm, the first school with which we worked in The Gambia. Although, for COVID reasons, we were unable to visit the country this year, we have been able to make an impact, as a result of the generous donations we have received from our supporters and sponsors.

What follows is a brief summary of some of our impacts over the last twelve months. 

We have assisted the school in getting anti-COVID supplies to it, including hand gels and a range of face masks and shields, as the photos below illustrate:

We supplied the staff with a new laptop computer, on which they have been able to keep the school's COVID records. Thankfully, there have been no incidents at the school.

We have maintained our annual stationery order to the school, whereby we are able to provide all materials the pupils and staff need for the whole academic year.

We introduced electricity to the school about five years ago, and gave a commitment that we would pay the running costs(fortunately no heating bills to incur!). Here is a receipt, for about £9, for the quarterly charges, we have been happy to support.

Regular readers will know that our biggest project in Sohm, to date, has been the construction of a large, multi-purpose, assembly hall last year. We are delighted to report that it continues to be well used, both by the school and the local community. Below are photos of one of the regular assemblies and, excitingly for us, pictures from an inter-school debating contest the school was able to host in the hall, recently.

The hall is the main community assembly room in the village of Sohm, and is used for a range of local events, such as the women's assembly shown below. We have encouraged the school to adopt a charging policy for these lettings and have offered to match fund the income they receive from the lettings, to supply enhancements to the hall and school. 

As a result, we have been able to purchase an additional 100 chairs for the school, a PA system (which many of those letting the building have asked for) and some much needed ceiling fans for the hall. This great partnership working has improved facilities in the school and strengthened community relationships and ownership of the hall.

From the UK, we have maintained our relationship with fellow British charity First Aid 4 Gambia and have ensured that there has been further first aid training and supplies given to the school. Many thanks to our Scottish friends for this. In the spirit of improving first aid facilities, we have also upgraded the beds in the sick room, which we restored a few years ago.

So, it's been a difficult year, because of COVID, but we feel that - even at a distance - we have been able to continue our support to the Lower Basic school in Sohm, thanks to the continued generosity of our family, friends and supporters. On behalf of the children in Sohm, we would like to say a very large Thank You to you all! 

Meanwhile, our major pre-occupation this year has been progressing the Sukuta project, which, with great Rotary assistance, we are attempting to oversee a major renovation of the Sukuta Lower Basic school. It has over 2,000 children and is the country's largest primary. 

There has been a slight delay in progressing this, as the Rotary annual budget for supporting projects such as ours was exhausted earlier than expected this year. However, the new Rotary year began on 1 July and we were encouraged to make a grant application for this new year. Which we have done! 

Without wishing to sound too confident, we look forward to being able to announce significant progress with the project within a month or two. 

Thank you for reading. Your continued support is important to us, and is vital to Gambian youngsters.