Great progress at Lower Basic school this year

This post, as promised, reports back on what donations to Sohm School Support have achieved in the Lower Basic school over the last twelve months, or so.

Everything we do there is at the request of, or in agreement with, the principal, governors and community of the village.

Toilets

There are only three, outdoor, toilet blocks for the 400 pupils and 20 staff of the school. As we reported last year, they were unsanitary, attracted snakes and in states of considerable disrepair. At the request of the community, we have completely upgraded these - with new doors and roofs, new concrete bases (to keep out the snakes) and provided them with a lick of paint.  See below for the "before" and "after" shots of one of these blocks.

Toilet block - before and after refurb

Stationery order

As in previous years, we have supplied enough stationery to meet all the pupils needs during the school year, and materials for the staff.  These are not provided by the government, or educational authorities in The Gambia.

Some of the pupils excitedly showing
off some of the stationery donation

Homework club

Many of the pupils are unable to get peace and quiet at home, to either do homework or read.  Following our refurbishment of the school's library, two years ago, last year we funded the creation of a homework club (2 hours) in that library on one night a week for any pupil who wanted it.  This has proved very popular and successful.  We will be continuing with the scheme and looking to extend it in future years.

Homework club in progress

First Aid

Last year we completely refitted out the school's First Aid room and got training for the staff, senior pupils and parents in first aid from our friends at FirstAid4Gambia. The charity has returned to completely restock the first aid room with medical equipment for the forthcoming year.  We thank them for their extended generosity, and to Mamadou, in particular, their extremely efficient local contact.

Some of the FirstAid4Gambia supplies
that will benefit both school and village

TV and DVD 

There are few TV sets in the village and none in the school..Three years ago we paid for the electrification of the school. This year - together with our partners in Jersey - we were able to purchase the school's first TV - and and necessary massive aerial dish - and DVD player. Gambian TV isn't great - but it does mean that for the first time the children at the school will be able to watch appropriate educational DVDs - a huge step forward in the teaching resources available to the school.

Deputy principal, Lamin, unloads the TV and

 an engineer installs the satellite dish

See above and below photos of the school's deputy head, Lamin Saidy, excitedly unloading the TV, people working to fix the aerial and an engineer tuning the system.  It's all systems go, for the future!

The engineer tunes - ready for reception!

And  ... the children watching the TV in class,
 for the first time!

New laptop for staff

Last year we donated a re-conditioned laptop to the school's deputy principal and he has made great use of it, for the school's benefit.  His self-taught up-skilling and the impact it has had on the school encouraged us to donate another laptop to an enthusiastic teacher.  The smile on his face says it all!

Another delighted laptop recipient!

Excellent progress

The school and regional educational authority continue to be delighted by our interventions at the school. One result is that the school is now top of its "cluster" of regional primary schools, in attainment levels.

Exciting plans for this year

Over the last twelve months some extremely generous local donors (including the Redbridge Rotary Club and friends) have donated significant sums of money towards restoring semi-derelict classrooms. Our next newsletter will provide updates on plans for this work.  And they are very exciting.

Watch this space!

April 2017 Newsletter: Getting bogged down in toilet matters

As we reported in our newsletter of October last year (see here), following a some dealings with Simon Danczuk, the MP for Rochdale over the last few years, we decided to name a toilet block in the senior secondary school after him.

The ceremony was covered by the Mail-On-Line (see here for full details and below for some of it) in February this year, and we reproduce, below some of their extensive coverage.

We are delighted to say that these facilities are now up and running and much appreciated by the staff and students, alike, at Sohm Senior Secondary school.

Ok, we'll leave out the endless puns.

We are pleased to report that we "sold" the story to the Mail-On-line, through a news agency and that money received will help us fix more school toilets in the village.

For the coming year, the Lower Basic school in the village has asked us to refurbish their toilets - for boys, girls and staff.  The photos tell their own story of how much this restoration is needed.  These three tiny blocks provide toilets for over 400 students and 25 staff.

This year's funding project

They are clearly insanitary and, until March this year, were nowhere near running water.

The concrete bases of the blocks have cracked and the ground underneath the blocks are home to snakes - particularly in the rainy season in the country (summer and autumn), with the result that many pupils and staff, alike, refuse to use them.

Roof and doors blown off
 during rainy season

The school's request for assistance is modest. We are committed to working in partnership with our colleagues from Jersey to: restore and recent the concrete bases and erect new doors and roofs, where necessary.

Girls' toilet - snakes nest
below the concrete slab.
200 girls only toilet at the school

Fortunately, because of a water supply project the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission has funded, a new standpipe was erected close to these outside toilet blocks in March this year, to try and address some of the sanitary issues associated with them.

Roofless staff toilets

Given the success of the naming of the Simon Danczuk block, we would look sympathetically on bids to rename any of these three blocks after other people, in return for a suitable donation.  

Water now running near toilets,
 for better sanitation

We will of course be willing to supply photographs of the unveiling of the appropriately named facilities to any sponsor.  Just contact us at: John@SohmSchoolSupport.org.uk if you are interested in this nomination facility!

Whose name would you like to
 adorn this fine facility
- when renovated, of course!

October 2016 newsletter - Big changes at Sohm

Farewell Ismaila

Ismaila Sambou, principal of Sohm's senior secondary school for the last seven years, is moving on to new pastures - having been appointed to a vice-principal's post at a larger urban school, nearer his family home.

Ismaila has overseen huge changes at the school:  a more than doubling of its roll and a considerable increase and upgrading of its accommodation, the introduction of mains electricity, being the most obvious.

Sohm Senior Secondary school
 principal leaves for pastures new

We have worked with Ismaila to equip the school with: computers, science and sporting equipment, enough course books to ensure that all pupils have access to a shared text book for all subjects, and stationery to meet their needs, twenty bikes to help students with long journeys to school, to name but a few.

The big task for the new principal will be to oversee a considerable improvement in the academic performance of the students.  Our funding of out-of-school remedial classes, available for all students in English and Maths, will go some way to addressing this issue.

We believe all the building blocks are now in place to a see considerable take-off in examination results and pupil attainment  - under the right school leadership.

We would like to take this opportunity of wishing Ismaila all the best in this next, exciting, stage in his career.

Remedial class progress

As we have noted, we have funded remedial out-of-school classes accessible to all the senior secondary school students in English and Maths, since March this year.

We have now had an opportunity to review their progress and impact.

The good news is that the classes have taken place with pretty good attendance rates.  All but one of our sponsored students has achieved an 80% plus attendance rate.  The rate for the school, overall, has been around 70% - for this voluntary activity.

On balance, reasonable progress being
 made with remedial classes.  We look
 forward to improvement with the new principal

The bad news is that the largest cause of disappointment has been with year 10 students (15 - 16 years!) - whose attendance rates have bobbled around a disappointing 50%. We have not had a satisfactory explanation for this, or what steps are being taken to address this poor rate.  Overall, the administration of the scheme has left, somewhat frustratingly, much to be desired.

This will be top of our priorities to address with the new principal.  We will, of course, keep you updated with progress on this, our most ambitious and expensive initiative at the school.

New library, refurbished sick room

As we have previously reported, this year we have paid for the refurbishment of the sick room and library at the Lower Basic (primary) school.

We understand that the work has been completed and that the facilities are now in full use, now that the new school year is underway.  We look forward to posting photos of these two great new facilities in use, when we next visit the country, in the new year.

Hopefully, we'll be paying for a homework
 club in the Lower Basic school's newly
 refurbished library, from early 2017

All being well, we hope to be able to fund and after school homework club in the much improved  library, for those pupils who are unable to study at home.

Doing a Danczuk

Some readers/site visitors to this site may know that John has been in dispute with Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, for the last three years over copyright/plagiarism issues around his book, Smile for the Camera, which claimed to expose his predecessor as MP, Cyril Smith's, sexual abuse of young men in and around Rochdale.

John always made it clear to Danczuk that any payments made to him for his work on the highly successful book would be donated to this charity - and find its way to Sohm. We said that if the donation were significant enough that we could ensure that a facility at one of the schools would be named after him: say the "Simon Danczuk ICT suite", or "Simon Danczuk science laboratory".
Danczuk consistently refused to make a donation. 

Eventually we challenged his publisher, Backbite, over copyright issues.  They, reluctantly, made a donation of £250 - which is now with this charity.

Reluctant donation from this book's
 publishers will pay for the
 "Simon Danczuk toilet block"

True to our word, we will put the money towards refurbishing a toilet block at one of the schools, and have the facility named "The Simon Danczuk toilet". In all the circumstances, we feel that this is an appropriate name.

It will, after all, give an appropriate meaning in The Gambia, at least to the notion of "Going for a Danczuk". We will post a photo of the suitably named facility, when we next visit the country.

In keeping with the Danczuks predilection for selling photos of themselves, we will happily send photos of pupils "on their way to doing a Danczuk", for an appropriate donation.  Just let us know!

And finally ...

All is going reasonably well in our annual fund-raising drive (we aim to take around £5,000 to Sohm each year). But, there is a bit of Brexit fall-out to deal with.

The slide in the value of the £, means that we will get around 10% less with our money in The Gambia, when we visit in 2017.

  

Forget Marmite - remember Gambian kids

 So, we will need to raise 10% more this year, or the kids in Sohm will suffer.

Our message: Forget Marmite, remember the Gambian kids!