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“Reassuring, informative…part of a special club” – good reasons to come to our next volunteer meeting

“Reassuring, informative…part of a special club” – good reasons to come to our next volunteer meeting

Our November social is filling up – if you would like to come please let us know ASAP “I just wanted to drop you a line to thankyou for arranging the volunteer on line meetings. The first meeting I attended was before I volunteered with you and I found it so reassuring to be able to hear from previous volunteers and local partners before I travelled. A few months after my return I attended another meeting and it was great…

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Sallie volunteers for three weeks with our adult education and women’s empowerment programmes

Sallie volunteers for three weeks with our adult education and women’s empowerment programmes

I love my volunteer work for people and places – it is so rewarding to see the progress the programmes we work with make through working with our volunteers. BUT I love to volunteer directly with the projects too – time constraints mean I can’t do it as often as I’d wish but I managed to find three weeks earlier this year to work with the adult education and women’s empowerment projects we work with in The Gambia. My skills…

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The best placements are when one friend introduces another

The best placements are when one friend introduces another

In November 2022 volunteer Zara went to Cambodia to volunteer at Treak Community Centre. Zara works in the publishing industry so her placement focused on reading – the activities she did were based on instilling a love of books in the children and she ran a parents’ workshop on helping your child to read at home. On her return to the UK Zara talked to her friend Aimee, who also works in the publishing industry, about what she had been…

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Urgent request – we need a volunteer who can teach children to swim

Urgent request – we need a volunteer who can teach children to swim

This is one of our favourite photos on our website (taken in 2013). The little boy looking at the book is named Robert – he attended Mary’s Little Lambs School until he was 11 years old and those of you who have volunteered there may remember him – I know Yvonne (the volunteer reading the story to him) does. Recently we heard that Robert has tragically died, along with four of his friends. They drowned. Culturally children in The Gambia…

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Volunteer Paul explains the importance of doing your research for an ethical volunteer organisation

Volunteer Paul explains the importance of doing your research for an ethical volunteer organisation

My goal in coming to The Gambia was to contribute altruistically to a legitimate cause with a reliable organization. After years of long hours and stressful grafting as a chef and consultant in fast paced kitchens, I felt it was time to step aside for a little while and try to decompress. I’ve always had a keen interest in politics, international development, and travel. In recent years I’ve started volunteering in London and found it extremely rewarding. With those things…

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Remember – e-volunteer programme – still a 50% reduction!

Remember – e-volunteer programme – still a 50% reduction!

It’s fantastic that our volunteers can travel again but this doesn’t suit everyone. We set up our e-volunteering programme during COVID – supporting our programmes without travelling. This can be done in the Gambia, Cambodia and Morocco. We can match a range of volunteer skills to local needs for online volunteering, exactly as for volunteering in-country. Watch this short video to hear how Linda used her business and finance skills to support women from No Woman Left Behind, a women’s…

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Volunteer artist creates beauty at Treak Community Centre

Volunteer artist creates beauty at Treak Community Centre

Denise (an artist who creates stunning murals) volunteered at Treak in March – she has certainly left her mark. Working with local staff and children she has created beautiful murals to enhance the surroundings which can also be used to enhance the curriculum. So think outside the box – you don’t have to be a teacher to do valuable work at this school. Read on to see what she says. ‘Spending one glorious month in Cambodia creating murals was one…

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Treak’s social enterprise growing in leaps and bounds with the help of volunteers

Treak’s social enterprise growing in leaps and bounds with the help of volunteers

An update from Sallie. When I was in Cambodia in November I reported on the launch of a new social enterprise to support Treak community. Wow what Salin has achieved in just 6 months! Volunteers have helped her with product design, website design, costings and marketing. Treak Creations now has a website – and is selling in Cambodia to locals and travellers. My favourite item is the school uniform – for just $15 we can buy a school uniform for…

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We catch up with our SA local partner, but in the UK for a change

We catch up with our SA local partner, but in the UK for a change

Our South Africa partner, Kate from Good Work Foundation, was recently in the UK, speaking at a conference and catching up with family and friends. This was too good an opportunity to miss – a chance to meet up with one of our local partners without having to get on a plane! So we chose a point not too difficult for any of us to reach by train or road and Sallie and I met Kate for a late breakfast….

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How far you’ve come in 15 years! – happy birthday to the Institute of Tourism in the Gambia

How far you’ve come in 15 years! – happy birthday to the Institute of Tourism in the Gambia

written by Sallie When I first met Adama 20 years ago ITTOG (The Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia), a college to train Gambians to enable them to access well paid jobs in the tourist industry, was his dream – to give Gambian youth the skills they needed to compete for jobs mostly held by non Gambians in the all important tourism industry -responsible tourism. ITTOG started simply using course content shared with them by Nottingham University. Then…

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