One last push - imaginative Christmas gifts!

Six months ago there was a barren piece of land next to the playground in Sohm Lower Basic school, and the first activity took place around building the new multi-purpose hall. Progress has been swift, as these photos show, and all will be ready for the official opening of the hall, when we visit the country in January. 

Stuck for a present idea, for the person who has everything?

Help someone who has nothing

Make a name for your recipient in Africa

Since we launched our "chair naming" initiative, as a fund raiser, supporters have donated money to name over 100 chairs!

Imaginative people have come up with a whole range of interesting ideas for chair names. Some, as we had originally hoped, have named chairs after themselves; others, after grand children, other family members or well-loved, deceased relatives. 



Some donors have wanted to celebrate figures who may be inspirational, or role models for the students; figures from black African history, inventors, pioneers, African musicians and writers etc.

There are a number of chairs dedicated to our only two "institutional" sponsors - Beech Hill Primary School, in Luton and Redbridge Rotary Club - without whom this new hall would not be possible.  So - a very big "thank you" to them from us, and from the youngsters in The Gambia.



We have now got all the chairs to The Gambia, and our friends out there have stencilled the nominated names on the requisite chairs - as some of the photos show.

But - hurry, while stocks last!! We still have some sad looking chairs with no names - just waiting for your choice (and £25!). There are less than three weeks to Christmas and you know you are struggling for ideas for some "difficult" people.

Your dilemma is solved! Send us you "name" by Christmas Eve, with the £25 donation, together with the e.mail address of the person to whom you are sending the named chair as a gift. We will send them an e.mail with a photo of a named chair (not their name), but with a promise to send a framed print of a Sohm youngster, sitting on "their" chair, in the new hall, in February.

Two bites at the cherry! They get a "gift" promise on Christmas Day and the framed photo two months later. Two gifts for the price of one!

Simple! A quick way for you to solve a dilemma of a gift, we do the work for you, and the youngsters in Sohm get the benefit. Sounds like Christmas, to us!

Roll up - with role model footballers

John is a Crystal Palace supporter and has named a chair after every African footballer in the current squad; see below for a couple of examples.



As an extremely generous Christmas offer, we will be prepared to name other chairs after other African footballers, playing for other clubs - at no extra cost!!! 

For just £25, you could inspire up to 300 African youngsters who, on a daily basis, could see the name of your team's African all-star!

To "Name that chair"

Simply pick a name of your choice, and drop us a line to that effect, with a £25 (or more, if you like!) donation to Sohm Schools Support - see below for bank details.

If you want us to write to the recipient, telling them of your gift, just drop us their e.mail address, too. And consider it done!

We really do need the name before Christmas, as we have to get the stencil of the name made, before we leave for the Gambia in mid January. We will then have get the chair painted in time for the opening. 

We will send you, or your nominated person a framed photo of one of Sohm's youngster's sitting in the chair, in the hall, rather like the mocked-up one below when we return from the country in February.

We are creating a "Scroll of Honour", which will be displayed in the hall, saying a few words about the named person on every chair, to let the youngsters know a little about the people. You may wish to send a few words about your nominated "chair" person.

The bank details are:
Bank: Santander
A/c name: UK Sohm Secondary School (The Gambia)
Sort: 090128
A/c no: 04453414

End of term report - summer 2016

Schools' out for summer - in the Gambia, just as it is here in the U.K. So, it's time for the dreaded end of term report.

Lower Basic - library refurb

As we have mentioned in previous blogs, our main projects as far as the Lower Basic (primary) school in Sohm this year have been to pay for the complete restoration of the school's library and its sick room.

The former has been out of effective use - other than as a store room - for about three years, because it has suffered from termite infestation. With our friends from Jersey, we have paid for the removal of the termites and for new sealed - termite-resistant flooring and treatment for the walls of the room.

Library termites: out! A new refurbed library
 will be up and running from September

This was completed by the end of April and we are pleased to report that the termites have not revisited since! Our grant also paid for a new door and windows, in an effort to resist the forward advance of the little pests. These, too, seem to have done the trick.

So, the room is now being re-equipped with new book cases and chairs.

Having sorted out the books earlier this year, and disposed of the termite infested ones, the school is now re-arranging the them on the shelves, ready for use in the new school year.

The library will be back in full operation from September; with each class in the school having a weekly visit to the library, in an effort to encourage "the reading habit".  

Our initiative last year, in providing electrical wiring for the whole school and donating a number of computers, means that the library will be well-equipped in September for books' study, and perhaps some early computer education.

We will next be in The Gambia in January 2017. It is our intention to discuss paying for the  running an after school 'homework club' in the library, open a couple of hours of each evening - courtesy of the donations we receive from our supporters.  

Accommodation conditions like this make home
 study difficult; so we will discuss paying for
 homework clubs, after school, in the library,next year

Many of the children find it almost impossible to do school work at home, because the poor and over-crowded state of their living accommodation, lack of lighting, privacy, quietness etc.

There is, however, the slightly trickier cultural issue to consider.  Many of the children at this primary school are expected to work at home, or in the fields, as soon as they get back from school in the afternoon.  We will need to have discussions with parents about this and try and find a solution that assists the educational opportunities of their children and not clash with home demands.

Wish us luck!

Lower Basic - refurb sick room

Work is, similarly, at a very advanced stage of rebuilding and re-equipping the school's sick room.  This has been in a bad state for at least three years.  A functioning sick room is essential in a school like this, where children are prone to recurring bouts of malaria and the parents cannot be easily contacted to come and assist them readily.

Inside the out-of-use sick room.
 Now completely refurbished,
 ready for a new school year

So, come the start of the new term, in September, the building work will be finished, complete with re-plastered walls, re-flooring and new windows and doors. There will be a new bed and table and chairs and medicines cabinet.

Although we wish none of the children ill, they will, at least, from September have a comfortable place to relax/recover in the event of any unpleasant bots of sickness.

Senior secondary school - remedial classes

As we have reported before, the senior school has made great strides in most curriculum areas and exam performances since we became involved with it, five years ago.

The most serious area needing attention has been poor performance, across the whole school, in both English and maths.  To address this, earlier this year, with our colleagues from Jersey, we agreed to fund our most expensive and ambitious initiative to date.

We are paying for one additional hour's teaching of both English and maths for all pupils in every class in each year, on a trial basis.

75% plus attendance rates in remedial
 classes across almost the whole school

We have just received the initial results of the trial, and it seems to be progressing well - after a shaky start.

The attendance rates, across the whole school, are above 75% for this voluntary activity for all years, apart from 10 (16 year olds). 

It has been difficult to get meaningful feedback on the impact on the educational standards of the students concerned (no public exam results in yet, no face to face conversations with students or teachers etc).

We are pleased to announce that all students sponsored by our supporters have achieved an 80% plus attendance rate.

Its early days, but the signs look good.  We will need to have further discussions with a number of partners over the coming weeks before deciding whether to extend this (for us) expensive scheme in the new year.  

We will also have to consider how to deal with the poor year 10 attendance - but it is 16 year olds we are talking about!

We need to be convinced we are getting good value for your money, before extending the trial.

We'll keep you informed of progress.

Brexit - unforeseen consequence

It's not the role of this site, or charity, to comment on the recent  referendum decision of the British people to leave the European Union. There has, however, been one unintended consequence that impacts on us, and those we are attempting to support in The Gambia.

The £ - Delasi exchange rate has deteriorated by about 10% since the referendum; meaning we need to raise 10% more, in donations, to compensate and continue with our ambitious plans for the future.
  
You support would be of great assistance!

John and Sandra

February 2016 newsletter - Great progress over the last twelve months

We are just back from a few very productive weeks in The Gambia, working with the two schools in Sohm.

We saw pleasing evidence of real progress with projects that we sponsored and paid for last year.

This newsletter provides details of them. Future posts will explain what we are hoping to achieve over the coming months, and what steps we have put in place, to help deliver them.

Sponsorship

We, or more accurately our supporters, continue to sponsor the education of more than a dozen Gambian youngsters. We caught up with each of the students, got a face-to-face statement of progress , received a copy of their latest school report and a letter of thanks written by the pupil to her/his sponsor. 

We also took a photograph of each of them.  We will be sending copies of all of the above to the sponsors over the next week or so, as part of our commitment to be accountable for all donations received.

Musa Jarju -
star sponsored student

Progress of the individual students was, inevitably, mixed, with one being a real "star" of the school and a couple struggling a bit, because of home/work pressures.

As we will show in a future newsletter, we have directly intervened to address poor results and performance and hope to be able to report satisfactory progress this time next year.

Computer technology

Last year Little Heath school in Redbridge donated 30 redundant computers to the charity together with a number of desk top printers.

We had them all cleaned up, reconditioned and had a Windows suite installed on each. Assisted by generous free container space, we transported the equipment to Sohm last year.

PCs at work - thanks to Little
 Heath school, Redbridge

The result: a complete transformation! Previously, the senior school only had three or four ancient, working, computers for the 400+ students to access.

The whole Windows suite being
 accessed by Sohm's youngsters

Today, enthusiastic students lap up ICT lessons with the donated computers and many are becoming computer-friendly and proficient for the first time, as the accompanying photographs indicate.

Electrification of the Lower Basic school

Last year we made a grant of £1,000 to the Lower Basic (primary) school, to connect with mains electricity, for the first time. That sum enabled lighting and a single power point to be installed in each classroom and in each of the two-rooms of the individual teacher accommodation.

The standard of electrical work would not gain too many professional plaudits in the UK, but it works - without mishap! The work was completed on time and on budget last Spring. Not a statement you hear often in The Gambia!

All wired up - of sorts! But, working well!

In addition to the installation of power to teaching and living accommodation, power points were also installed in the head's office.  As the photo shows, this, in conjunction with some PCs we supplied, has enabled the school to become self-sufficient administratively - saving costs and time over a number of key tasks.

Electricity and PCs in the
 head's office - real progress!

The geographical location of Sohm means that the schools can have recruitment and retention issues for teachers.  Supplying electricity to their accommodation helps a little: they can now read in their rooms at night, charge their mobile phones and crowd around TV monitors to watch DVDs, for entertainment and training.

Teachers' sparse accommodation,
 above and below benefiting
 from electrification

Cooking equipment

The cooking equipment we supplied the senior school with last year has had some beneficial effects.

External Domestic Science exam results have improved, with examiners commenting favourably on progress. More students are now moving on to catering college, in order to help gain jobs in the important tourist hospitality industry.

Cookery equipment,
being put to good use

While we were in the country in January some of Sohm Students took part in a regional cookery contest.  Although they didn't win, their output went down well with the judges, apparently. They scoffed the lot!

Future newsletters will explain what we have sponsored this year, to be rolled out over the next twelve months, in our efforts to keep supporters up-to-date with Sohm schools' activities.

March 2014 Newsletter

 

We spent the month of January in the Gambia and feel we achieved a great deal, with the two schools in Sohm we are supporting.
 
We'll roll out the details of progress over the coming months, with lots of photos and comments from grateful Gambian recipients.

We feel we made significant progress as far as:
• Sponsored students
• Donations of science equipment and books
• Donations of sports kits
• Distribution of exercise books, pens and pencils to every student in both Sohm's schools
• Repairing students' bicycles, necessary for those walking 2-3 miles each way to school every day


Pick up truck, loaded with
donated goods, and bound for Sohm

• Topping up the book supply at the senior school, so that every one of the 400 students now has, at least 2-1 shared access to a book, in every subject studied.  Two years ago, barely 10% of the pupils had this level of access
• Establishing a fund to renovate two dilapidated classrooms in the Lower Basic school
• Paying for the refurbishment of the teachers' quarters for the Lower Basic school
• Receiving encouraging progress reports on last year's school trip for all years 5 and 6 students in the Lower Basic school, and funding a similar trip this year
• Funding mock exams, in preparation for the external national exams taken, in the Lower Basic school
• Funding a small amount of sports equipment for the Lower Basic school
• Upgraded all of the laptops generously provided by friends last year, and added three more to the local stock
• Aided computer studies by providing over 150 donated memory sticks, so that all students studying ICT in the Senior school now have a storage system for all of their work.




Vital chemisty kit being used
in a school with no labs

Sponsorship

In brief, we touched base with, and were able to take up-to-date photos of, most of our dozen sponsored students, all of whom seem to be progressing well, and certainly enjoying their studies, thanks to the £5 per month they get from their UK sponsors.
 
One, Ramatoulie Bah, is turning out to be a real academic star, she topped her year group's external exam performance in all three examined subjects, achieving marks of 85% in English, 93% in Social and Environmental Studies and 67% in Maths.



Star pupil - Sponsored
student Ramatoulie Bah

 
We were told the support we give to the Lower Basic school in helping with mock exams was a big help in preparing to Ramatoulie and her friends.
Ramatoluie was, unfortunately, absent from school, due to illness, when we visited, but we caught up with her very proud mum. Coming from a poor family, Ramatoulie could not continue her studies without her UK sponsor; and it is a sign of what a difference sponsorship can make, when we discovered that her mum is illiterate. 

Small gestures in the UK really can transform African lives.

The fact that Ramatoulie topped the Maths exam marks with 67% is indicative of the poor state of maths teaching in The Gambia, generally.  We are working with the Senior school in Sohm to see if we can sponsor additional maths lessons for all.

Donations of science equipment and books

We are extremely grateful to the Auchmuty High school in Fife for a generous donation of surplus science equipment and books, last summer.  The school moved to new premises in the autumn and donated some of their redundant books and equipment to us.  We drove to Fife and picked it up.  Our good friends at Football Gambia generously gave us free transport of the donation to the Gambia. The Gambian Ministry of Education ensured free internal transportation in the country for us.



Grateful students at the Mahaad school,
with donated science and maths books.
Thanks Auchmuty!

So, a very generous donation was delivered at no additional cost - a real tribute to co-operative endeavour by NGOs and others.



Highly prized surplus, but donated
microscopes, being put to good use

We gave half of the textbooks to the Senior Secondary school in Sohm, and the rest to the Mahaad Senior Secondary, in nearby Sohm and all of the chemistry and physics equipment to Sohm.  The school has almost no science equipment, which makes teaching the subject to its students challenging.  The photos show enthusiastic pupils taking full advantage of Auchmuty's donation.  So, a big thank you to the Fife school for that!

Repaired bicycles

It's also a very big thank you to the 'Billy 'n Babs' bike fund.  Bill Carson and his partner have raised funds to assist with the repairs of bikes for the Sohm youngsters, so necessary in a school with students having to travel up to 3 miles each way to school, with no public transport.  That great charity Jole Riders in the past provided Sohm Senior school with 100 bikes, but many have subsequently fallen into disrepair.  As a result of the 'Billy 'n Babs' fund, we have been able to help repair most of those that have broken down.  So, 20 students can access their education more easily now - without an hour's walk each way, in searing heat, for the school journey.



Thanks to the 'Billy ' n Babs' bike fund,
many broken bikes are now fixed
- students showing some of the repair kits purchased

Next month, we'll bring you news and photos of some of the other achievements of this year's trip - using money generously donated in the UK.

If you feel this is all worthwhile, and would like to assist, we encourage you to donate to our small charity, via the 'Donate' section of this website, or consider sponsoring a student - at £5 per month.  We personally oversee the spending of every £ raised and are able to top up all UK donations, by 25%, via the government's Gift Aid Scheme.



Electrical testing equpiment -
doing its job. Thanks Auchmuty!

To get regular, automatic, updates of news from Sohm, please complete the 'Subscribe' button on the home page of this website.  It is free, of cost and hassle, and ensures that updates will be dropped into your e.mail in-box, automatically.  You can unsubscribe just as easily.  We share your details with nobody.

You may also wish to follow us on Facebook@ Sohm Schools Support, or via Twitter: @GambiaSchools.

Thanks for reading, and for your continued support.

December 2013 Newsletter

As winter sets in, our thoughts are turning to the warmer climes of the Gambia, and thought we would share some of them with you.

Sponsorship

Our supporters are paying the school and associated learning costs of a dozen youngsters in Sohm.  We have recently received upto date school reports on their progress, together with letters of thanks from the pupils, which by now are winging their way to the sponsors.

Most pupils have made significant educational and social progress over the last year, as reflected in the reports and letters.  What is clear, however, is that there would have been no educational progress without the help from the sponsors, because that alone has enabled them to continue with their studies.



A selection of school reports and letters from sponsored students

So, thanks to all who are supporting Sohm's students.  For just £5 per month you, too, could sponsor a Gambian youngster's education and receive an annual school report, letter from the student and recent photo of the student. Please contact us, if you would like to join our band of supporters.
 
This could be the ideal, selfless, Christmas present for that person who has everything!

Christmas Fair

Speaking of Christmas, we'll be making one of our regular fund-raising appearances at Derwentwater Primary school in Ealing, at the school's Christmas Fair on Friday 6 December.



Recent fund-raising fair at Derwentwater Primary School

Derwentwater is twinned with the Lower Basic School in Sohm and all money we raise through our brik-a-brak stall and raffle will be used to help restore two badly damaged classrooms in the bulging Sohm Primary school.

So, big thanks, in advance (!) to the pupils, staff and parents of Derwentwater for continuing to assist their "twinned" friends in Sohm.

Plans for January

Sandra and I will be off to the Gambia in early January for a month.  As part of the preparations, we've totted up the charity's earnings for the year, and claimed our Gift Aid from the government.

So, in total, we will have raised around £6,000 over the last year.  About £1,000 of this is earmarked for the sponsorship of students, mentioned above.  Of the rest, we have spent around £500 on getting batteries and supplies (ink etc) for the 10 laptops and printers donors have given us.  These, with the addition of the 100+ memory sticks we have been given will provide a major boost for the teaching of ICT in the schools without mains electricity.



Back on the road: broken bikes mended with SSS funds
which improves school transport for youngsters

We have continued our practice of topping up the book and bike funds we established last year and have bought a supply of blackboard paint, to provide for very basic needs for the schools.  We will, once again, fund a school trip for all the final year students in the primary school and will continue to help with photocopying exam past papers etc.
As indicated above, we will be looking to make a major push in trying to restore a couple of ramshackled classrooms in the Lower Basic School, to help with much needed accommodation there.



Funds raised will restore Sohm classroom in need of repair

Political situation in The Gambia

Following press reports over recent months, a number of our supporters have asked what is happening, politically, in The Gambia.

The Gambia left the Commonwealth in October, some weeks after President Jammeh caused some controversy with an appearance at the United Nations. The Gambia is also changing some of its key international alliances.

We do not feel able, nor need, to comment on these events.

What is clear to us, however, is that the education needs of the youngsters in Sohm remain unchanged, and we will continue, via the charity and the help of our supporters, to help meet them.

Please feel assured that all donations to this charity will continue to be spent for the benefit of pupils in the Sohm schools , directly under the supervision of this charity's trustees.  We know that you would wish no different.

Congratulations!

And finally, huge congratulations to Ian and Christabel Stapleton of Football Gambia - our good friends and supporters.  Christabel has recently given birth to their first child, Sebastian.  We are delighted to report that all three are thriving!

Best wishes to you all at this festive time of the year, from us at Sohm School Support.

Sandra and John Walker

More Sponsorship

Sohm Schools Support currently assists a dozen local youngsters' education.  We are looking to increase this number in future. We have simplified the system - by averaging out costs over a school life -  so that for £5 per month sponsors can support a child's education in the village. This will meet all educational costs, plus some limited social support (school lunches and uniforms).

This can make a huge difference to local youngsters.  For ease of administration, we'd prefer if you could pay by standing order (monthly, quarterly or annually), and would prefer a long term commitment.

In exchange for your support, you will transform a young life and get a framed photograph of your student, a letter from them and a copy of their school report, each year.

What a great Christmas or birthday present for "the person who has everything" - the transformation of the life of an African youngster!

Sandra with some of the dozen students whose education we are helping to sponsor

• Improving science education
• More sponsorhip
• Electricity in the schools
• Classroom repair and maintenance
• Laptop donations
• Topping up funds
• Improving teacher training support

Our Involvement - progress, to date

• We visited Sohm for the first time in 2011, and began assisting the schools the following year, by donating some books and stationery and teaching materials, to both schools. We found sponsors for a dozen local youngsters, to enable them to receive a decent education.
• We began serious fund raising in 2012, and through the generosity of family and friends raised about £5,000 for the schools.
• We arranged the twinning of Sohm Lower Basic school with Derwentwater primary school, in Acton
• In 2013, during an extended stay in The Gambia, we spent the money that we had raised in Sohm, in ways that you can read about elsewhere on this website.

Sohm Lower Basic school has twinned with Derwentwater Primary school, Acton.
Sandra with Lower Basic head, Gibril Bojang.

• The Jersey Start - early beginnings
• Our Involvement - progress, to date
• All Above Board - our legal status
• Local Ownership - all together

Supported Projects - recent achievements

The Gambian government provides almost free schooling for pupils from the ages of  5 - 11 - but the youngsters and their families still need help with staionery and items like school lunches and uniforms. From age 11, school fees are charged, and pupils have to pay for their own books, equipment etc.

Sohm is a small village, consisting mainly of poorly educated, subsistence, farmers and their families. But they are proud people and desperate to get their young people an education.  This is where we come in - trying to help.

Educational posters supplied for every classroom in the schools

So far, we have:

• arranged for the sponsorship of a dozen pupils, paying their education and some related social costs;
• established a Book Fund, so that all older students have access to key textbooks for all subjects studied;
• encouraged a school twinning project between the Lower Basic school, and Derwentwater Primary school in Acton, London;
• provided teacher training support in English, sports development and child protection for both schools;
• supplied a limited number of laptops, to help with ICT teaching and school administration;
• paid for a school trip for all 150 years 5 and 6 pupils, getting many of them out of the village for the first time in their lives, to visit their capital city, airport, zoo, ancient monuments and Atlantic coast;
• arranged a whole day visit by 50 volunteers from British charity, Football Gambia, to offer sports training for all the village's children, and donate 40 football kits and associated play equipment;
• donated enough educational posters for at least one to be displayed in every classroom;, in each of the schools
• created a Bike Fund, to provide money to repair the bikes of students riding many miles each day, on untarmaced roads, to and from school.

• Introduction - about us
• Supported Projects - recent achievements
• Sohm - where we're at

Track Record - achievements to date

Although we were only established in late 2011, we have managed to make a difference to the life chances of Sohm's youngsters, already. We have:

• arranged for the sponsorship of 11 pupils at the Lower Basic and senior secondary schools;

Sandra with a group of Sohm School Support sponsored students, February 2012

• provided basic school stationery for every student at the secondary school;
• provided over £600 of core textbooks, in English, Maths and Agricultural Science for the secondary school;
• supplied wall posters and maps for each senior secondary school classroom;

Deputy head, Nicholas Mendy (right) with a student putting up donated poster in science lab

• provided examination papers for all pupils in the final year of the Lower Basic School;
• generated national press coverage for the school (observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/jersey-technical-senior-secondary-school-boosted).

March 2013 Newsletter - Number 3

Sandra and John have recently returned from seven weeks in The Gambia, when they were able to spend a considerable amount of time assisting with the two schools in Sohm.  They achieved a great deal, in allocating the £4,000 plus that the charity has raised this year.  Progress has been made in so many areas, that the news will be spread over the next two newsletters. Activities included:

• Improving sponsorship arrangements;
• Facilitating teacher training;
• Establishing a Book Fund, for the secondary school;
• Ensuring that all 180 10 and 11 year old students, at the Lower Basic school, get a school trip, exploring the major sites in the country;
• Cementing the school twinning arrangement with Derwentwater School, in Acton;
• Distributing donated lap tops to both the lower basic and senior secondary schools;
• Establishing a repair fund, to mend the bikes of students who live more than 2 miles from Sohm, and who would otherwise have to walk to and from school;
• Arranging the visit of 50 members of Football Gambia to Sohm, to provide an all-village sports training day for both schools;

Teacher Training

Sandra's daughter, Natalie, is an assistant head teacher at Derwentwater Primary school in Acton. She spent the February half term in The Gambia, with her colleague, Nicola.  The two of teachers provided whole day teacher training to all of the staff, in each of Sohm's two schools.

They received an over 90% approval rating for their efforts, with the most common remark on the feedback form's being "Come back next year"! The heads of the two schools were delighted with their efforts and are confident that teaching performance in the schools will improve.

Certificates of participation and attendance were presented to all those who attended the courses.  The picture on the previous page shows Natalie and Nicola with the whole staff of the Lower Basic school, with their certificates.

Book Fund

John with the senior school principal, vice principal,
chair of governors and English and ICT teachers,
with some of the books provided by the charity

The Gambian government provide textbooks for pupils until the age of 12.  After that age, students have to buy their own textbooks, or rely on sponsorship.  A year ago there were very few books in the Sohm Senior Secondary school for the 180 years 10, 11 and 12 students (aged 15 - 19) and examination results were poor.

Sohm Schools Support has established a Book Fund over the last two years.  As a result, there are now sufficient text books for these students, so that all of them are able to share a key set book (one book between two students) for each of the 15 subjects studied at this level.  We look forward to greatly improved examination success!

Cementing School Twinning

Derwentwater school in Acton twinned with Sohm Lower Basic school last year, and raised funds for their Gambian friends and colleagues at two school fairs. The pupils have exchanged letters and whole class diaries. We presented small prizes to the Sohm pupils who wrote the best letters to their London colleagues, while in The Gambia

Students at each school have had lessons on the countries and life styles of their international friends. A talented artist in the village was keen to show Sohm's gratitude for the twinning and painted the Derwentwater logo on the wall outside Gibril Bojang - the Lower Basic school's head teacher's office.

Sandra with Gibril Bojang (principal) and LaminSamu(deputy - crouching)
by the friendship sign outside the head teacher's office in Sohm

Football Gambia Sports Day

Sohm youngsters enjoying a parachute game
 on the Sports Day arranged by Football Gambia

We'll be providing you with an update of this exiting occasion, in our next newsletter.  We thought we'd just whet your appetite, now!!

Keep in Touch

We have a presence on Facebook (SohmSchoolsSupport), Twitter (@GambiaSchools) and a website (www.sohmschoolssupport.org.uk), and can be contacted via e.mail at info@sohmschoolssupport.org.uk.  Keep in touch and find out how we are getting on, and spending our income!

That's enough from us, for now.  Until the next time,

John and Sandra Walker
(Trustees, Sohm Schools Support)

The Point (Gambia) - in the news

[Click for larger image]