To help give an insight into the impact that the Jappineh Hospital and new ambulance are having on every day life in rural Gambia, this account of just one day has come in from Kira Dalton: "Last week brought the busiest, and most rewarding day ever for our team. "In the middle of the usual queue of daily patients, word came that a bush taxi (shared public transport) carrying 22 people had overturned on the main road nearby. "The ambulance immediately transported Ansumana and his team there. On assessment there were 12 casualties who required urgent transport to larger hospitals. "The 4 most seriously injured passengers were immediately taken to Soma where they were then stabilised and referred onwards to Banjul RVTH. "The ambulance immediately returned for two more trips with 4 patients each who were taken to Faraffeni APRC Hospital and Soma Major Health Centre respectively. Meanwhile, the walking wounded were treated on site and then transported in various other vehicles, including donkey cart, to Jappineh Health Centre for observation by the remaining staff there. Most were later released. "If our team and the ambulance had not been nearby - it doesn't bear thinking what would have happened to all of these seriously injured people."
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What a celebration! Not only Jappineh people, but most of the surrounding villages were all standing at the main roadside to greet us as we arrived. They then sang, drummed, danced (of course I joined in) all the way to health centre. When we arrived there, many more people were waiting under the canopy for us. After the usual slight delay for prayers, lunch, waiting for the elders and the governor's representative to arrive, the speeches started off around 3 pm. Interspersed with more entertainment, they went on until well after 6 pm. From what I could understand (and some were translated fully for me) everybody is just so, so, very grateful that they finally have an ambulance at Jappineh. It was great to hear, even if the amount of praise was reaching embarassing proportions! As everyone was dispersing and going to look at the ambulance, a donkey cart pulled in. On it was a disabled woman, her wheelchair and 3 relatives. They had come around 5 km from a nearby village. Ansu immediately diagnosed severe anemia, possibly with heart failure and told her family she needed an immediate blood transfusion and to be on oxygen (which we can't do at Jappineh). Imagine the relief of everybody concerned when we told them we could whisk them all off to Soma Hospital by an ambulance which had only just arrived. And when When we phoned the next morning, she was doing fine. So, within a couple of hours of its arrival at Jappineh, the Mel 1 ambulance has already saved a life! To see the full story behind Mel 1, click here. By Alan Dick, Trust Director - see previous posts for first two extracts.
Monday 13th December Our last project visit is Gunjur. The last time I was here, the school was just a shell, quite literally. But what a transformation! The 3 classrooms were a joy to behold and every bit of praise should go to Ali and Kira for all their efforts. We also visited the small onsite clinic, which we created in the grounds of the lower basic school. This facility means so much to me, as it was only possible because of the generosity of my former employees at Greggs in the midlands. It was their kindness on the occasion of my retirement that funded this project. Again we have managed to create a small, yet hugely important resource which is appreciated by all the staff and pupils. Tuesday 14th December Time to say a few fond farewells and reflect on a week which again seems to have flown by. We board the plane and arrive back late at night to be greeted by miserable Birmingham weather (rain and + 2 degrees), but at least it wasn’t snowing! Reflections? Humbling, always. Uplifting, absolutely. Rewarding, definitely. I return, completely reassured, that what we (the African Oyster Trust) are doing, is making a tangible, substantial and positive difference to the lives of many people in the Gambia. Alan J. Dick Trust director Alan Dick has just returned from a visit to our various projects, and kept a comprehensive diary of his trip. Over the Christmas period we will be publishing a few extracts, which will hopefully help give you one man's perspective on the work the Trust is doing in The Gambia. We'll also try to gather and publish some of Alan's photos in the New Year.
Merry Christmas, with a special and huge 'thank you' to all of our supporters for everything you have been able to do in 2010. Weds 8th December Straight into our hectic schedule with a visit to Kunta Kinteh nursery school. Although it has now been opened for 4 years, it still looks in pristine condition and thus bears great testimony to Fanding and Kira. Onwards to our newest project, the Hilary Emery Nursery School, which started in September of this year, and indeed was the raison d’etre for Steve visiting the Gambia i.e. to formally open the school. (His wife tragically died in December 2009 and it was her wish and indeed that of Steve, his family and friends,that any money raised in her memory, should go to the African Oyster Trust.) The school looked superb – right from the colourful name on the perimeter compound wall, to the wonderfully decorated classrooms and the Hilary Emery t-shirts, adorned by all the children. It was quite an emotional occasion (a real ‘quivering lip’ job!), but Steve was brilliant, said a few words at the opening ceremony and then proceeded, with gusto, to impress everybody with his version of African dancing! Most importantly, everybody we spoke to was so grateful to Kira, Steve, and the AOT for transforming their facilities and their lives! (More diary updates from Alan to follow after Christmas...) Report by Trust supporters Nick and Lynn Torry We were delighted to see the report in the Gambia Daily Observer about Kira handing over thousands of dalasis’ worth of medical supplies to the Community Health Centre in Jappineh. It brought back happy memories of our visit to the Centre in January with Kira and James when they laid the foundation stones for the compound walls of the Centre. Hundreds of newly made bricks were ready for the ceremony at which the Imam of Jappineh and James made moving speeches on this auspicious occasion. The previous day we had made a memorable nine hour journey by boat from Bintang Bolong to Soma with Kira and James, and that morning we had travelled by taxi to Jappineh, and met the elders of the village, who had received books and mathematical equipment for the school provided by the African Oyster Trust. We had seen the excitement of the children in the Baduma Nursery School when Fanding had presented them each with a cuddly toy provided by the Trust. Later in the afternoon we were privileged to attend a meeting of the Jappineh Youth Development Committee, when they outlined their ambitious vision for the Community Health Centre. During our fortnight’s visit to The Gambia we also visited the two other projects supported by the African Oyster Trust: the Kuntah Kinteh Nursery School in Serekunda and Mariama’s Nursery School in Gunjur. We really enjoyed visiting the Kuntah Kinteh Nursery School. It was such a happy place. We watched the tasty, nutritious meal of fish and rice being prepared on the premises and helped serve the meal to the eager children in their classrooms – after they had first washed their hands carefully. In the clean, shady, well-equipped classrooms the children worked purposefully and quietly and were keen to share their work with us. In the playground they shared the play equipment well and were learning gradually to take turns in having a go on the slide. It was noticeable how much respect and affection Kira inspired both in the children and in the teaching and ancillary staff. The whole school is a credit to Kira and Fanding for founding it and to the Oyster Trust for funding it so well. Let’s hope the extra classroom will be ready soon. James had prepared himself well for the visit to Gunjur School. We had walked into the village from the Footsteps Ecolodge with him the day before, when he chose some pieces of material from the local shops, which a local tailor made into suits in the local style overnight. He then looked appropriately smart for the ceremony which took place when Kira cut the tape across the door leading into the school’s clinic, which she had recently stocked with medical supplies for the trained medical staff to use for any of the 2000 children in the school who needed them. We enjoyed visiting Mariama’s Nursery School and also some of the classrooms in the main school, particularly the one where Mariama, now ten years old, was being taught. We had never been to The Gambia before and it turned out to be a wonderfully interesting, enjoyable visit. Everyone we met was cheerful and helpful and always made us feel welcome. For James’ sake we did manage a bit of bird-watching too, exploring our local ‘patch’ at Gunjur thoroughly and even braving the shallow waters of the Allelein River in a pirang. Thank you James and Kira for welcoming us to your magnificent projects and long may the children who benefit from your efforts continue to prosper. We are delighted to report that the nursery school in Talinding opened on time in September, and is already proving a huge hit with children and teachers alike. Under its new name of the Hilary Emery Nursery School, all three classrooms are open, albeit with more equipment and furniture to follow. The playground outside is an absolutely massive improvement on what was available to the children before, giving them somewhere safe to play and condusive to learn. A huge thanks to everyone who helped with work on this project - more details on the supporters and the background of this project can he found on the main HENS page here. Pictured is of course our own Kira Dalton with some of the children as the new school opened. There's been plenty of progress to report over the last month on our newest project at Talinding. The roof is already nearly done, the doors and windows are in, toilets are built and all of the classrooms have been plastered. To find out why this project is so important to the children of Talingding, click here. To make a donation and support this work, click here. By Katy, a supporter
What a pleasure it was to visit The Gambia for the first time, primarily to see the Mariama Mae Pre-School in Gunjur. In a corner of what we would call a very large primary school, within the branches of two Baoba trees, lay a Gambia pre-school. You can see that this pre-school has been carefully planned and resourced with Gambian children aged four to seven years in mind. There are two buildings. The first is divided into class one and class two, and also includes an office and two storage rooms. Class three for the older children is in a separate building across the yard. In between is a building decorated with colour paintings of flowers and containing two porcelain toilets. The classrooms are situated on a perfect sized plot which allows the children freedom at play time; it has shade from a mango tree and a raised seating area around which is a mosaic of broken tiles for decoration. New to the playground is a large sand pit, a guaranteed hit with children world wide. On entering the preschool I find the atmosphere welcoming, and notice the 'preschool buzz' straight away. I feel happy here and I can tell that the children are happy to be at school. They have the correct attitude to assist learning through play and discovery. Work and projects decorate the rooms from all angles. The resources in the classroom have been carefully chosen and reflect their nationality. Book shelves with reading schemes focused around African life and story books about African animals and people. The principle teacher is a friendly, warm and approachable lady who has chosen her team well and seems to effortlessly run the school in a calm manner. Congratulations to everybody involved in making Mariama Mae Pre-School such a wonderful example of a Gambian pre-school. I am sure this school, if not already, will become a model for other developing pre-schools in The Gambia, and I am privelleged to have seen it in action and I am happy to support this school. By Alan Dick Just in time for Christmas, a consignment of boxes arrved in the Gambia marked for the attention of Kira Dalton. They contained a whole load of 'goodies' which were the result of generous donations of clothes, books and so on from various people and organisations. Photo One: Birmingham City Football Club kindly donated football strips, tracksuits and training gear. Expect a Banjul branch of the Birmingham City Supporters Club to open soon! Photos Two and Three (right and below): Children of Bothwell Primary School near Glasgow, and Berkswell Primary School near Coventry rallied round last year to support young Gambian children less fortunate than themselves, by donating t-shirts and football strips. All were greatly appreciated as you can see right and below. Photo Four (below): Last year, Eleanor Elcock, a student from Lichfield and former part-time worker at Woolworths, managed to persuade her local store, prior to its final closure, to donate childrens clothes and gym shoes to the African Oyster Trust. The photo shows just some of the many happy recipients. By Kira Dalton
On arrival at Jappineh Clinic last Friday, a young woman had just been admitted who had been gored by a bull and brought in by donkey cart (this was certainly not a minor wound - it had entered her left buttock, perforated her intestine and come out the front). The three trainee Dutch doctors who were fortunately visiting with me immediately set to helping Anmsumana putting her on a drip and pumping her full of antibiotics and fluids as she was losing a lot of blood. As she clearly would need surgery, we then commandeered a rental car and driver and sent her, her newborn baby and mother - acccompanied by two of the doctors, to Soma. They were met by an ambulance which transferred her to Farafenni hospital. The Dutch doctor's did not rate her chances as very good. We later learned she had been transferred to Banjul for surgery since Farafeni could not cope and had no blood supplies. Today the Dutch doctor's report that she is recovering well at RVTH. If ever there were a case of extremely good luck this must be it. Also, it justifies exactly why we need an ambulance. Had we not all been there, she would never have made it by donkey cart! |
News DiaryThe News Diary is a regular account of all that is happening at The African Oyster Trust. Please pop back for regular updates, follow us on Twitter or sign up for our RSS feed to have the latest news sent straight to your computer! AuthorsThe news diary is written by a number of people close to the work of the African Oyster Trust, including founder James Holden, his co-directors, trustees and volunteers. Archives
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