Dear Mr. McCarthy and pupils of Holy Family N.S.,
I wish to thank you most sincerely for your generous contribution of 638.40 Euro for my Gambian project. The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in West Africa. The average salary is about 8 Euros a week. A bag of rice costs about 5 Euros which will feed the family for about a month. Luckily hardly anyone dies from starvation as the people here look after each other and they share everything. The facilities and conditions in the schools are very poor. There are, on average, over 50 pupils in each class and the only equipment the teachers have is chalk for the writing on the blackboard. Sadly computers and educational aids are non-existent in the Primary Schools. Eventhough the people are very poor they are a very happy people and the Gambia is known as the “Smiling Coast of Africa”.
This year my main project is with St. Andrews Primary School. It is situated it a very poor area out in the countryside where there is very little employment. There are about 380 pupils in the school. I first visited it 5 weeks ago and I was greatly shocked when I saw the conditions under which the teachers and pupils worked. The first thing that caught my attention was how unsafe the school building was. The entrance to the classrooms in the Nursery Section is very dangerous. I therefore decided that my first task was to build a proper veranda, entrance, to each classroom and this work began 3 weeks ago. Happily I can report that this work will be completed this weekend. It will take a number of years before the school can be completely renovated and I look forward greatly to this project at St. Andrews. It will mainly involve buying desks and proper seating for the pupils. At present many of the pupils have to sit on the floor as they cannot afford new equipment. The stone floors in the classrooms are very dangerous with uneven surfaces due to holes in many places. It is my intention to repair them fully and to make them safe. All the classrooms are very dark. This is because the windows are very small and new ones need to be installed. Over the past number of years I have replaced windows in another Primary School, St. Peter’s, and it has made a tremendous difference as the classrooms are now bright and the eyesight of the pupils is no longer affected as it had been. Hopefully I will be able to do the same with St. Andrews.Another task will be to paint the classrooms as this will also help to brighten them. The ceilings in the classrooms also need to be repaired. New toilets also need to be erected. Educational equipment in the school is practically non-existent and this is particularly evident in the Nursery Section.
As I explained at the outset the school is situated in the countryside and on the school premises there is a school garden which the teachers and pupils are keen to develop. Over the coming months it is hoped to grow tomatoes, onions, carrots, bananas, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, sweet peppers and cassava. The pupils at St. Andrew’s are very keen to learn about what vegetables, fruits etc. are grown in Ireland and to know what food is eaten there. Here, in the Gambia, the main food eaten by the people is rice which they have 365 days of the year. With the rice, if they have enough money, they will eat also eat a cheap local fish. Fishing is one of the few ways for making a living so there is plenty fish available.
I wish, again, to thank you all for giving money to help the poor people out here. It certainly helps to make life a little better for some Gambian people but especially the children. In the coming months I will keep you updated with the projects I will be undertaking at St. Andrew’s. I have already addressed the pupils at St. Andrew’s and told them that your school had been very helpful to them. They asked me to thank you for helping them. They will be only too delighted to give you further information about their school and said that they would also like to learn about Holy Family National Schooland your school activities there.
Le gach dea-ghui agus mor-bhuiochas,
CiaranBlack.