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 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).