By James Holden, African Oyster Trust Founder
Written 16th January 2009

The opening of the new clinic at Gunjur was a heartwarming occasion in every possible respect. I saw for the first time a new nursery school developed by two amazing women – Kira Dalton and Ali Calvert – and inspired by the astonishing bravery of a young Gambia girl called Mariama Mae. Mariama is severely disabled, and very unusually for the Gambia she has been able to attend school just like the rest of the children. Sadly many Gambians still regard disability as a kind of judgement for generational sin so they are just left to lie around the compounds, their lives lived in unknowing darkness. Not Mariama – thanks to the efforts of Kira and Ali I saw her sitting in the classroom learning to read, write and work with numbers just like the others.

And then there was the clinic itself, an initiative sparked by the generosity of employees of Greggs of the Midlands. Their managing director Alan Dick retired recently after many years at the helm, and instead of a gold watch he asked for any donations to go towards establishing and stocking the new clinic. The response was amazing, and I was able not only to see two well appointed rooms including a sick bay, by also helped to stock a medicine cabinet brimful with the medicines I referred to earlier.

It being Gambia, there was of course a formal opening ceremony too. Local dignitaries including the Alkalo and the chief were there, resplendent in their bright flowing robes. Your correspondent looked colourful too, having invested a tenner in a Gambian suit. I thought it looked really fine, and certainly all the dinner ladies seemed to approve!

I’d feared long and tedious speeches, but there weren’t any at all. They were short and pertinent. They thanked Kira and Ali for all they’d done, said what a huge difference it would make to the well-being of the children, and asked me to sketch out what the Greggs of the Midlands logo looked like so they could make a sign to hang above the entrance. Kira cut a pink ribbon and that was it. The first first-aid at Gunjur Lower Basic School since the British built the place in 1950. It felt good.

This is the second of three updates from James' recent trip to The Gambia (third part to follow soon, click here or scroll down to read the first part).

By James Holden, African Oyster Trust Founder
Written 12th January 2009

Tomorrow we’ll be opening a clinic near the town of Gunjur – a reasonable sized town deep in the south of The Gambia near to the border with the Casamance region of Senegal. It’s not safe to go across the border into Casamance just now. As any Gambian will tell you, there are murderous rebels at large demanding independence from Dakar control. Travel a bit further south of Gunjur to Kartong and you have to pass through a miliarty checkpoint whiles a teenager waves a rifle in your face while smiling and asking ‘how is de day?’. That’s the Gambia all over – a place of sweet and sour irony that somehow manages to make you smile despite everything.

The clinic will cater from well over 1,500 children and it’s the first one they’ll ever have had. It’ll be stocked with paracetemol, basic malarial and ringworm treatment drugs, disinfectant cream, bandages and plasters. That will be pretty much all the medical care that most of the children will ever get. Even if they are really sick there won’t be that much more help available, not unless they are incredibly lucky and find someone to sponsor them – usually kind-hearted tourist.

They’re happy enough playing in the sun and their dusty school yard, but about half of them won’t make it beyond their teenage years, and every woman loses one or more children to a preventable illness or accident of one kind or another. It’s salutary, and when I first came here I just couldn’t get my head around it all. I still can’t at times.

Note: We will be publishing further extracts from James' trip diary over the coming weeks. For more information on our work in Gunjur, click here.

By Marc Sanderson, Volunteer

We've just posted some new pictures of the Mariama Nursery School project in Gunjur - click here for details on the project, or here to go straight to the photo gallery.

The photos show exactly what the team in Gunjur took on (I think derelict is a pretty fair word), and what a fantastic job they've done in creating a brand new nursery school there.

On the subject of photos, we've also added a new photo viewing facility throughout the site, so any photo you click on will now be displayed in full size. I hope it helps you get a better feel for the projects and the people involved.

And finally, the more observant among you may notice a slightly changed look to the website. New menus and a wider format mean we'll be able to squeeze in even more news over the coming months, so please do keep coming back (or why not sign up to the news feed / RSS feed - if you want to know more about this, the BBC has a great introduction to the subject - click here).

By Alan Dick, Volunteer and Fundraiser

"Hmmm...... the Gambia......yes, somewhere in West Africa," I thought to myself when, back in 2007, I first had discussions with James Holden about the African Oyster Trust to which I wanted to contribute in some way. So first task was to find out exactly where it is as I had agreed to go out with James in order to familiarise myself with the country, its issues and of course the work of the AOT.

Geographically, I was surprised by its smallness, shape and the fact that it is surrounded on three sides by Senegal - but this was nothing compared to the experiences that were to unfold during a week in 2008.

And so it was that in early March I became a member of a party of four that set out to the Gambia - in the shape of Kira Dalton, our unofficial chaperone and, in my view, a true 'Mother Theresa' figure of the Gambia; James and his son Alex, who wanted to experience an African culture, before embarking upon a rugby coaching spell in South Africa, later in the year. 

After a brief period of acclimatisation, our first port of call was the Kunta Kinteh nursery school in Serekunda - a remarkable achievement in such a relatively short period of time by Kira, the AOT and the indigenous few.What a welcome we received  - the smiling faces, the classroom singing , the joyous delight at receiving 'minties' (sweeties - a real luxury) and the eagerness to have their pictures taken in order for them to see themselves on the camera screen (one of the many things we take for granted, yet never experienced by the majority of gambians).

However , the real highlight for me was the trip to Gunjur  in the Southern part of gambia to see the nursery school that was being created from derelict buildings on the site of the present primary school.The project had been conceived and started by a lady called Ali Calvert and I was only too happy to assist with the funding of  this project in order to help bring it to fruition - hot off the press, the 'clerk of works' (the redoubtable Kira) has reported excellent progress.In the fullness of time, the AOT would also like to provide first aid facilities at this school, and hopefully this will be funded by the recent generosity of the Greggs of the Midlands employees.

My week in the Gambia also afforded me the time to experience other aspects of the country, most notable of which was our trip up river to Juffureh ( the village brought to fame by Alex Haley's novel Roots) - this visit left me with mixed emotions as the abject poverty of the villagers was only too apparent and you left with the feeling that any financial  benefit from the marketing of this attraction did not actually find its way into the pockets of those that most needed it.Given the plethora of bird-watching opportunities that exist in the Gambia, James did also try to turn me into an ornithologist - he failed to do so, but at least I can now tell the difference between a violet turaco and a purple glossy starling !!

Overall it unquestionably was the individual cameos and fleeting images that created the most impactful and lasting impressions - a game of draughts with Mr. Faye and his friends ; a game of cards with the local yougsters ( they now know how to play snap !!) ; Kira kitting out a toddler with some 'new' clothes; Omar's great pride in the rebuilding of his 'home', the original having  been destroyed by termites(!) ; having green tea with omar's family- they have virtually nothing but what they do have, they are prepared to share - a truly humbling experience.

Would I go back ? Probably at some stage in the future, primarily to see the progress being made by the AOT, but equally importantly, as a sense check, just to remind me that, despite the present woes and tribulations of the credit crunch, high fuel inflation etc., just how lucky we really all are in the Western world.