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Author: Sallie Grayson

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

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

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”

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

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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Volunteering Across Generations

Volunteering Across Generations

Written by Musufing Ceesay At People and Places, we celebrate and highlight the experience and wisdom that all our volunteers bring to community partnerships around the world. The diversity of our volunteers and their openness to expand their skills to a responsible volunteering framework, is even more inspiring. This has undoubtedly had a positive and lasting influence on our partner projects. We ask for experience, knowledge and skills that match the needs of our partner projects, that doesn’t specify an…

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Be careful what you share on social media

Be careful what you share on social media

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

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

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

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

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

Honouring Mike McHugo of Education for All

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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Our next online social – February 7th 2026 –

Our next online social – February 7th 2026 –

Don’t miss out! Our socials are popular events and we’d love to see you there, whether you are a previous volunteer catching up with old friends, a new volunteer looking forward to their placement or just thinking about possibly volunteering in the future. Our online events mean that people can join from around the world – our local partners will be there even though they are in different countries in very different time zones. Volunteers in the middle of their…

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Can volunteer travel be meaningful and ethical?

Can volunteer travel be meaningful and ethical?

We passionately believe it can be. “We know that the overwhelming majority of volunteers want to ‘do good’​, and despite what some negative press stories may suggest, our experience shows that volunteers can and will make a difference.  It is a small difference – but well managed programmes make sure that difference is part of a greater whole.  Just be sure you take the time to find the right programme to match your skills, and help us build the shared…

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Meet some of the women supported by No Woman Left Behind in The Gambia and learn how you can help

Meet some of the women supported by No Woman Left Behind in The Gambia and learn how you can help

Here are some profiles of just a few of the women who have been supported by the No Woman left behind programme – at the end of the biogs you can learn about the support from the most recent volunteer Nicky and how you could help if you wish… Yama Jobe In 2022, Yama completed the twelve-month programme for Culinary Art (Cookery, Pastry & Food Processing) Level 1 at the Institute of Travel & Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG). She…

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