SUCCESS STORIES - Sira Njie

Sira Njie's mother died when Sira was just eleven, leaving her an orphan.  She went to live with a local family in her home village of Bundung on the South Bank.  The family who took her in was being sponsored through HELPING by Lisa Osborne, Chris and Margaret's daughter.  

During a visit to Gambia, Lisa and her parents had invited the Gambian family to spend the day at their hotel in the tourist area.  They were playing together in the hotel pool, splashing and laughing, when Sira suddenly paused and told Margaret it was the first time she had laughed since the death of her mother.  This comment had Margaret in tears which attracted the attention of another tourist who was sunbathing by the pool.  "Why are you crying?" she asked, and when Margaret explained, the lady immediately offered to become Sira's sponsor.

As a result, Sira was sponsored throughout school.  Now aged 19, she has completed a basic IT course followed by teacher training and currently works as a primary teacher in Bundung Lower Basic School.  

SUCCESS STORIES - Ali Bah

Ali Bah is now 27 years old and works in the accounts department at Trust Bank in Banjul.  However, his life could have turned out very differently if he had not been lucky enough to find a sponsor through HELPING which allowed him to complete his schooling.

Ali grew up in Fass in a very poor family and without sponsorship, would have been unable to go to school.  

However, he was able to complete his education, train with the Gambian Technical Training Institute and qualify as an accountant.  As a result, Ali now supports his whole family and pays for his brothers to go to school.

SUCCESS STORIES - Babacarr Nyang

Twenty-four year old Babacarr Nyang from Fass was linked with a sponsor from the age of nine.  He was among the first children assisted by HELPING through the sponsorship programme.  His sponsor paid his education fees through primary and secondary school.  Babacarr followed this with an accountancy course at the Gambian Technical Training Institute (GTTI) in the capital, Banjul.

Babacarr was among a handful of the best students selected for a month's work experience at the Institute itself and performed so well that he was given a full time job there.  

He is now proud to wear a suit to work and to have a computer at his desk.  His ambition is to own a laptop! 

Babacarr has a twin brother and as children, one brother was brought up by their mother, the other by their grandmother.  Thanks to Babacarr's success, he is now able to support both his mother and grandmother and is paying for his brother's education.

SUCCESS STORIES

HOW HELPING CREATES SUCCESS STORIES AND CHANGES LIVES

HELPING supporters already know that the education system in Gambia is very different to that of the UK.  Education is not free and therefore beyond the means of the poorest families.  Many families can only afford to send one of their children to school and have to make a decision about which child has that privilege.  If a family falls on hard times, their child may well have to leave school because the fees are unaffordable.  This situation may last for several years before the family has the resources to send their child back to school to continue their education where they left off.  Other families may be unable to send a child to school at what we would consider the 'usual' age.  They often have to wait until their finances improve, so a student may not begin their education until they are much older, possibly in their teens or twenties.

In addition, teaching is done in English although a child may find themselves returning home at the end of the school day to a family where nobody else speaks the language!  Imagine how much harder it is to learn in a second language.  Imagine trying to study when there is nobody at home who can help with your homework.  

UK visitors met some of the young people whose lives have been changed by educational sponsorship

In the UK, children progress through the school year groups regardless of the amount of progress they have made during the academic year.  This is not the case in Gambia - progression depends on achievement.  A child may have to repeat the same year of learning more than once until they reach the accepted standard.

For all these reasons, it is normal to find students of very different ages studying together in the same classroom.  It may take many more years to complete their schooling, compared with the UK. 

However, education is so valued in Gambia that, given the chance, young people will wait as long as necessary for the chance to begin, continue or complete their schooling.

In the next few Posts, we will be highlighting some of the success stories which HELPING has had a hand in.  Thanks to sponsors who paid students' school fees, we are now seeing successful young people who have been sponsored through HELPING and are working in well paid professional roles.  These young people are finding themselves in a position to support their families and pay for their siblings to be educated too.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ....

The following fundraisers are in the pipeline. Please book early for the Quiz Night, Posh Tea and Ceilidh to avoid disappointment.

Quiz Night - Saturday 27th April, Parish Hall, Stanstead Abbotts. 

MayDay Celebrations, Standon, 6th May.

May Fair, Hoddesdon, 11thMay.

Posh Tea, May 18th ( the last one was very popular).

Ceilidh evening 22nd June, Hertford Carnival Sunday, June 23rd . 

Stall at 3rd Ware Scouts Tea in the Scout Hut, Broadsmeads, Ware, on Saturday, 20th July

HELPING church Lunch Thursday, 1st August at St Andrews Church, Stanstead Abbotts.

For details and to book tickets, please contact

Margaret Meeks on 01920 871245

Or email margaretmeeks@tiscali.co.uk

KILIMANJARO CLIMB TO SUPPORT 'HELPING'

Children's nurse Charlotte Taylor will climb Mount Kilimanjaro this summer to raise money for HELPING.

Twenty-eight year old Charlotte wants the cash she raises to be directed into HELPING's Medical Fund to help provide facilities, equipment and supplies and pay for medical treatments.  

Charlotte, who lives in Balham, south-west London, has worked at the Evelina Children's Hospital, part of Guys and St Thomas' in the capital, for five years.  

"At work I am lucky enough to have the provisions to provide care and treatment to many sick children. I would like to raise money for children and their families that do not have the equipment/ supplies/ facilities to receive the healthcare we often take for granted," she explains. 

"My mum sponsors a teacher through HELPING and is always telling me about the great things HELPING has achieved so it was an easy decision to raise money for the charity. Now I just have to climb the mountain!"

Charlotte grew up in Stanstead Abbotts close to where HELPING's founders Chris and Margaret Meeks still live and she has known Margaret since she was three years old.  She attended St Andrew's Primary School in the village.  Margaret was delighted to receive a phone call from her recently to ask if she could donate the proceeds from her climb to HELPING.  

Climbing Kilimanjaro holds many challenges including the varied terrain beginning with bushland, through rain forest, heath and desert to the icy rock summit at 5895m.  Charlotte leaves for Tanzania on July 8th ready to begin the climb on the 10th.  The trek is expected to take six days.  Charlotte has never attempted anything similar before and her training regime includes general fitness such as running and swimming twice a week. 

"I am taking every opportunity to wear my walking boots in, including shopping on Oxford St in them!", she says. 

A fundraising page has been set up on Just Giving to make sponsoring Charlotte a very straightforward procedure.  If you would like to support Charlotte's climb and make a donation towards the HELPING Medical Fund, please click on the following link.  If you have any difficulty, please copy and paste the URL into your browser.

http://www.justgiving.com/charlotte-taylor16