When we aren’t working in The Gambia, we are travelling around the UK to share our experiences of West African culture with schools, churches, and other community groups. In giving people of all ages an insight into life in The Gambia and Senegal, we hope to raise awareness of our work and highlight the needs of the children we are supporting.
Through providing interactive talks and presentations appropriate for each audience, we hope to bring a small piece of The Gambia to the UK. We provide these talks at request to any church group, school, scout/brownie or similar groups, to both children and adults of all ages.
LIFE IN THE GAMBIA
We present a selection of items, photographs and anecdotes of our own experiences to paint a picture of what it is like for a child to grow up in The Gambia. Using our homemade, small-scale model of a Gambian compound, we describe the geography of The Gambia, the nature of the communities where we work, and the various factors impacting a child’s life and education. We show how poverty can significantly affect Gambian communities, particularly when children are at risk of preventable disease, hunger and physical danger, and how a lack of accessible education can leave families trapped in poverty.
We also feel it is important to touch on the history of The Gambia, including the years of British imperial reign and the long-lasting effects of the slave trade. In providing education about how The Gambia’s past has shaped its current economic situation and widespread poverty, we can begin to raise awareness about how we want to shape a brighter future for as many Gambian children as we can. We discuss the Gambia’s rich culture beyond its troubled past, including playing music with traditional instruments, Gambian currency (the Dalasi), brightly coloured clothing and carvings made in The Gambia to represent ancient tribal beliefs.
CHILD AID GAMBIA'S WORK
Our talks and presentations also involve a demonstration of our work, including objects that we distribute to communities in The Gambia as a part of our aid outreach. To show how we support the basic health needs of children in The Gambia, we display first-aid kits, water purification equipment and jerrycans that are all genuinely used by Gambian families to keep themselves safe. We also display a number of Gambian school textbooks that we are able to distribute to children in The Gambia as a part of their sponsorships, teaching vital subjects such as Maths and English. For churches and Christian groups, we are happy to bring along our audiobook Bibles in native Gambian languages, to show how we are supporting Gambian Christians in their faith.
Film footage and photograph slideshows we have taken show our completed and ongoing projects, as well as information about the communities we have come to know so well. The Gambian children we support have been our friends for many years, and we have records of their school progress and their growth and development to demonstrate how effective our sponsorships have been in improving their lives.
WE CAN COME TO YOU
We tailor our talks and presentations to suit each audience group – for example, schools may wish to learn more about our child sponsorships and partnerships with schools, and churches may wish to learn more about our faith outreach, etc. We will always keep in mind what your community or group wishes to see, and deliver a presentation that can be engaging and enjoyable for people of all ages.
We can travel around the UK to come and present to you, and provide you with a fun and exciting experience of Gambian life wherever you are. We want each person to come away with more knowledge of The Gambia than when they arrived, and to understand the passion and enthusiasm we have for our work.
If you would like Child Aid Gambia to present to you, visit our contact page to get in touch.