people and places – responsible volunteering – matching your skills to community needs

New Partnership to Strengthen Volunteering and Sustainable Tourism Along the Ninki-Nanka Trail in The Gambia

16 June, 2026 Sallie Grayson

Written by Dr Adama Bah The Ninki-Nanka Encounters Foundation-NNEF (https://ninkinanka.foundation/) is a Gambian charitable organisation dedicated to bringing people together to support the responsible development of the Ninki-Nanka Trail, a community-based tourism initiative along the River Gambia. The Trail seeks to unlock the region’s rich natural, cultural, and historical assets in ways that generate sustainable benefits for local communities while protecting the environment and preserving cultural heritage. The Foundation was co-founded by local tourism pioneer Adama Bah and works closely…

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“If we want to see confident, future-facing teachers in our schools, we need to ensure that they are not isolated in that journey”

16 June, 2026 Sallie Grayson

The article below is from our partners in South Africa If you believe you could help in their work learn more here Through practical workshops and real-time classroom engagement across our forty-two partner schools, we work alongside teachers to build essential digital skills and integrate technology into their classrooms. If we want to shift education in a meaningful and lasting way, we’ve learned that we cannot focus only on the learners who come through our programmes. We also need to…

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One resource, double the impact

16 June, 2026 Dianne Ashman

Back in 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic, a great partnership developed between one of our volunteers, Joanne, and Lisong, principal of Mary’s Little Lambs nursery and lower basic school in The Gambia. Joanne owned and ran a nursery school in the UK and was involved in training nursery-school teachers, and the original plan was for her to go to The Gambia and work with Lisong to run training sessions for nursery teachers there. However the pandemic intervened…

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Be careful what you share on social media

16 June, 2026 Sallie Grayson

This is a cautionary tale. I (Dianne) was sent a video via social media by someone who works at one of the projects we support. The film showed shocking scenes of violence towards children. It was sent to me with the best of intentions by someone with whom I have had conversations about positive ways of disciplining children in a country where corporal punishment towards children (though not extreme violence) is still common practice. The film did not originate in…

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Morocco – a new project and old friends

3 March, 2026 Dianne Ashman

Last October Mariama and I spent a busy week in Morocco. We were there to meet potential new partners for people and places in the village of Amlougui, to visit Education for All who we have been working with for many years, and so that I could introduce Mariama to the people we work with in Morocco and take her to see the projects in action. Our first stop was at the village of Amlougui, where we stayed for three…

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It would be irresponsible – the very thing we strive not to be! – to fail to plan for the future.

3 March, 2026 Sallie Grayson

Next year we will celebrate 20 years since we placed our first volunteer. – working with them to use their skills to help communities around the world build the future they want for themselves. A heartfelt thankyou to every volunteer who has helped us achieve that goal. When Harold, Kate and Sallie started people and places they chose to make people and places a social enterprise – run for the benefit of the projects we work with not shareholders. Our…

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Siem Reap is still the same…stunning peaceful and a vibrant culture

3 March, 2026 Sallie Grayson

As many of you will be aware there has been unrest on the Thai Cambodian border – but Siem Reap is safe and we are confidently sending volunteers as I type this. This from our partners “We are pleased and relieved to confirm that the ceasefire agreed between Cambodia and Thailand on the 27th of December is still in place. A key Cambodian demand was the release of 18 soldiers who’d been detained since July. These were returned on the…

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Honouring Mike McHugo of Education for All

3 March, 2026 Sallie Grayson

Sallie first met Mike in 2009 and we just knew we could work together. Mike is now stepping down from day to day trustee work – here’s the announcement from Education for All – we want to say a huge thankyou to Mike and wish him well in his new role. After many years of service as Chair and as a Trustee, of Education for All Mike is stepping down from the Board – a shift that recognises both EFAM’s…

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‘Both professionally fulfilling and personally enriching’ – Shiobhan’s volunteer story

3 March, 2026 Dianne Ashman

This report was written by volunteer Siobhan about her placement in The Gambia. The first question I am always asked is why? I wanted to share my skills and experience in a school and country where that type of support was genuinely needed, somewhere I could help in a small but meaningful way. I spent a long time looking for the most appropriate placement, as many opportunities focused on teaching English or doing crafts. There was lots of correspondence before…

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