Jersey Sohm Friendship
JAC reg 302
WHO ARE WE
We are a charity that deals with projects in The Gambia, mainly Sohm Village but also in other villages in the surrounding area. Our aims are to improve the quality of life and standard of living for the ordinary village person. Our main priorities are Education, Health and Hygiene and Fresh Water Supplies
THE AREA
Sohm Village is in The Gambia about 30 miles inland with a population of approx 3000 people. It is a very poor farming area and they can only grow groundnuts, a little rice and couscous They are a very proud people and are desperate to work but there are no opportunities except in the larger towns so families are split when the men have to live away to find jobs.
OUR BACKGROUND
In 2004 an overseas aid team of twelve, including myself, Sue Macdonald and my charity partner Nikki Nicholson went to build a Skills Centre in Sohm Village, The Gambia.
We were all so taken by the charm of the people but so saddened by the conditions in which they were living that we felt we would like to help. So we used the funds we had raised as a team to make improvements to the village facilities.
When we had all agreed what was needed, Nikki and I decided to return the following year to organise the projects.
THE SICK BAY 2005
Nikki and I returned to Sohm to carry out our plans for this project where we received full support from the District Chief, and the village head man the Alkalo. We also received plenty of help from the village people themselves. As for the actual physical work we had so many volunteers that at time there was no room to move. The old building was replastered and painted, the roof timbers were sprayed to prevent termites, the floor was skimmed and painted so it would be easier to keep clean and finally we employed a welder to make shutters for the windows to keep the dust out.
We also made two bed frames, for which we bought mattresses.
The final touch was filling a cabinet with First Aid equipment, which had been donated to us before we left Jersey.
SOHM PRIMARY SCHOOL 2006
Back we go again but with a lot more to do and organise this time. We had already arranged for 2 separate estimates to be prepared so we could compare prices of materials and labour on our arrival in Sohm.
With prices agreed, we travelled to a neighbouring town, accompanied by members of the Village Development Committee and some of the workforce, to buy materials.
With the materials bought we then arranged for delivery to the village in true Gambian style (GMT = Gambian Maybe Time)
Once again the locals came out in force to unload everything from spades and wheelbarrows to bags of cement and corrugate sheets for the roof.
The very next day, people from the village arrived early, excited and ready to get started.
Obviously due to the size of this project it was not finished but when we returned in March 2007 the school was completed and open for business as usual.
We were also impressed to see that any surplus materials had been stored away ready for the next project which was to be the total building of a new Maternity Clinic.
MATERNITY CLINIC 2007
For this project we had originally planned to renovate the existing building but unfortunately the basic structure was no longer sound so The village Alkalo donated a plot of land on which to build a new clinic and the village provided a basic workforce, which consisted of local people and people from surrounding villages as the clinic would be used by them all. Qualified tradesmen to whom we pay a wage are supervising the work and when we arrived back in Sohm in Feb 2008, we were very impressed with the progress that had been made on the project bearing in mind that 5 months of the year is lost to the rainy season. Two of the buildings were almost complete, just waiting for the next lot of money to buy the roofing materials. The waiting room and the toilet / sanitation blocks are the most expensive part of the project as it is important to have access to clean water and high levels of hygiene for delivery rooms for birthing mothers.
FUTURE PLANS
In the future we are hoping to assist with a feeding programme in Sohm Primary School.
Our aim is to refurbish the dining block, which can double as a community hall for the village, and to build a new kitchen block, separate from the main hall.
We also plan to build a block work fence around the school garden so that the children can be encouraged to grow their own food which will be cooked by the women of the village. We all appreciate that education is a priority to these people but some of these children can go days without a decent meal so If we can raise the money this project will ensure that each child will receive at least one meal a day.
The task ahead of us now is to raise a major amount of funds. Between ourselves and friends we sponsor 10 children from the village through full time education.
All monies raised goes directly into the project because Nikki and I pay for our own flights and living expenses whenever we visit The Gambia.
Contact Ian MacDonald 07797 741050
E-mail ianmac@jerseymail.co.uk