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Tag: Gambia

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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One resource, double the impact

One resource, double the impact

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

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

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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What I love about being a people and places local partner

What I love about being a people and places local partner

Written by Fatou Hydara, people and places local partner in The Gambia To tell you a little about myself, my name is Fatou Hydara, I was born in Essau village in the North Bank region of The Gambia, completed my primary education at Essau Lower Basic School then went on to Berending Upper Basic School, 10km from her home, completed high school at Essau senior secondary school. Throughout my education I undertook extra-curricular activities, including awareness-raising groups including peer health…

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Meaningful ICT for children – any ideas?

Meaningful ICT for children – any ideas?

Here’s an interesting challenge for you.  We all know that the ability to use IT is becoming an essential skill in the modern world.  Children learn to use technology from an early age and in the UK and across Europe and North America it is seen as an essential tool for learning.  But how to teach IT to children where IT equipment is not readily available?  This is the problem facing Mary’s Little Lambs, the primary school in The Gambia…

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Thank you, Zoe, for our wonderful new library!

Thank you, Zoe, for our wonderful new library!

Zoe has volunteered at Mary’s Little Lambs (MLL) in The Gambia twice before, in December 2023 and May 2024, with a focus on helping improve literacy.  Recognising that it would be so much easier to encourage a love of reading if the school had a proper library, she proposed going back for a third placement with the aim of establishing a library and teaching children and teachers how to use if effectively.  The first thing was to arrange talks with…

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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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Well deserved recognition for our partners in The Gambia

Well deserved recognition for our partners in The Gambia

When we started people and places – 20 years ago – we decided that we wanted to work with people who were already doing amazing work in their communities. Our partners in The Gambia represent this perfectly. Their lifelong commitment to empowerment through tourism has been recognised again as winners of the African Travel 100 Global Leaders Award. Congratulations Dr Adama Bah and Sheik Tejan Nyang – we are blessed to work with you Adama Bah in this interview shares his…

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The Year That Changed My Life – thanks to people and places!

The Year That Changed My Life – thanks to people and places!

by volunteer Zoe File In July 2023, I walked away from a secure and much-loved job as a primary school teacher to pursue a long-cherished dream of working as a volunteer teacher overseas. For years this had been nothing more than a pipe-dream, but at the age of fifty-five it finally felt that the time was right. I was motivated by two things – the opportunity to cash in a small pension which would fund a year out of full-time…

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A placement with the potential to genuinely save lives

A placement with the potential to genuinely save lives

Very few children in The Gambia know how to swim, despite the fact that the majority of people live close to the coast or the river.  Traditionally they are taught to fear the water, rather than how to stay safe in and near it.  Last year we heard of the death by drowning of Robert Jarjue, one of the first children to enrol at Mary’s Little Lambs School.  He was a clever and joyous child with a bright future. Aged…

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