HELPING Gambia

Well done

2008-11-06T17:41:00.003Z

Well done Elinor (on the left) who completed the Great South Run in aid of HELPING.

With her help more children in The Gambia can now look forward to a meal every school day.

Spanish Night

2008-10-11T19:25:00.005+01:00

Friday 10th October, Spanish Night at Hertford Corn Exchange

The Essex Guitar Group and Las Palomas Flamenco Dancers were fantastic and helped raise a grand total of £750 for the children in the Gambia.

Everyone had an enjoyable evening, listening to the music, dancing along with Las Palomas Dancers and eating tapas.

The Dancers gave a workshop and got everyone up dancing, everyone left with a few new dance moves to show their friends!

Thanks must also go to Karen Iles for the tapas which were enjoyed by all and also the staff (especially Chris) of the Corn Exchange who did a great job all night.

Great South Run

2008-09-28T21:05:00.002+01:00

On Sunday 26th October a young lady named Elinor Ross will be taking part in the BUPA Great South Run - 10 miles around Portsmouth.
She will be running for the charity "HELPING" and if anyone would like to sponsor her she and HELPING and the children of The Gambia would be most grateful.
Sponsorship can be paid direct to HELPING through Pay Pal (see our website)

Everyone at HELPING wishes her well in her run and thanks her for her support

Irish night 2008 success

2008-09-27T12:28:00.006+01:00

The annual Irish music night was this year held at a new venue the Shamrock Club in Welwyn Garden City. For the £5 entry there were two fabulous bands plus some traditional Irish dancing and the usual raffle. The event was attended by over 150 people who all had a good time and a few even did some dancing!
The charity managed to raise £1175 which will go to support our projects in The Gambia.

Our thanks go to everyone who supported the event especially the two bands, the dancers and the staff at the Shamrock Club for their hospitality.

We look forward to seeing you all next year!

Irish dancing

Whats on in September and October

2008-08-20T20:29:00.002+01:00

September 20th

Quiz Night
at Stanstead Abbotts Parish Hall
start 7.30pm. £8 each (includes Ploughmans supper)
Tables of up to eight people. Bring your own drinks.

September 26th

Irish Night with music and songs
at the Shamrock Club, The Ridgeway, Welwyn Garden City.
Start 7.30pm. Tickets only £5
For tickets phone 01920 871245 (Margaret Meeks)

October 10th

Spanish Night with the Essex Guitar Group and
Las Palomas Flamenco Dancers.
at Hertford Corn Exchange. 8pm to 11.30pm
Tickets £10 (includes 3 tapas)
for tickets phone 01920 871245 (Margaret Meeks)

All proceeds to help children in The Gambia.

HELPING's 6th Sponsored Walk

2008-07-14T22:41:00.003+01:00

Our 6th Family Sponsored Walk

From the Jolly Fisherman Green, Stanstead Abbotts
along the river to Rye House Park

On Wednesday 30th July 2008 at 3.30pm

drinks and a snack provided at the park

For details and a sponsor form contact Margaret Meeks
Phone 01920 871245 or e-mail helping.admin@tiscali.co.uk

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO HELP CHILDREN IN THE GAMBIA

A great night of Irish music and song.

2008-07-14T22:28:00.004+01:00

Another great night of Irish Music and Song at the Shamrock Club,

Welwyn Garden City. Friday 26th September 2008 at 7.30pm

To apply for tickets at £5 each phone Margaret on 01920 871245

Thank you all

2008-04-27T08:43:00.002+01:00

Thanks to everyone who turned up and made the HELPING Quiz Night such a success. We had 13 teams (around 100 people) playing and two teams managed to dead heat for the first prize.

We raised the grand total of £725 which will give nursery lunches to a lot of children. We also had a donation from Mrs L Roache (who sponsors one of our children), she had been fund raising at Johnson Diversey where she works and she presented HELPING with a cheque for £490. Thank you.

Special thanks to Amanda and John for their hard work in running such an entertaining (and hard) quiz and to Sarah, Lisa and Margaret who organised leaflets and the Ploughmans supper and to the other committee members who helped make this a successful evening.

A note for the future, our next Quiz Night will be on Saturday 20th September 2008, so please keep this date free.

2008-04-21T18:28:00.002+01:00

SALSA PARTY

in aid of "Helping Charity" for children in Gambia

Friday 9th May from 7pm - 'til late
at the Inn on the Square, Barnstaple
Courtesy of Mr Martin Saunders

Something for everyone, from beginners to advanced
no partner required, so no excuses, get down & party!!!

Guest teachers, Internationally acclaimed
Ian Worrell & UKa Teacher, Janetter Waddell

Tickets £8 or £10 on the door
By buying a ticket you will have already fed a child for a month!!
All profits to the "Helping Charity"
for details call sarah 07967893618

2008-04-03T14:31:00.006+01:00

QUIZ NIGHT

Saturday 26th April

Starts at 7.30pm

at Stanstead Abbotts Parish Hall

Teams of up to 8 people,

£7 per person includes a ploughmans supper

Bring your own drink!

Always a brilliant night, bring all your friends

To book your table or for more details contact

Margaret on 01920 871245

or email margaretmeeks@tiscali.co.uk

Looking forward to seeing you there!

2008-03-28T11:02:00.002Z

Phyllis' Gambian Experience

Hi Margaret & Chris
I have just spent two weeks in The Gambia with yourselves and have had the experience of seeing what the charity is involved in and visiting my sponsored children. I started of with 3 sponsered children and came home with 4. I cannot stress enough of how much respect i have for you both after seeing first hand how the children of Gambia are benifitting from the HELPING charity.
From day one you made sure that i went to visit my sponsored chidren, starting with Bakoto who had lost along with her family every pocession they had in the world, as their house burnt down. The charity is looking for somewhere for them to live and i am sure that they will over joyed to have somewhere of their own again. Bakoto and her sister Manding came to spend the day with us at the hotel and to have lunch in a restaurant which is something they have never experienced before. The day ended with my sponsoring her sister as well, both girls are very beautiful and doing well at school, i am proud of them both.
Next you took me to Chamin to meet Alieau and his family, but first a visit to the school where we showed teachers and children how to use some of the donated toys, to see their faces light up when something was built made what little bit i try to do worth while. Tried my first Gambian meal which i throughly enjoyed. On to meeting Alieau and his family at their compound who were very pleased to meet me. Although the family like most are poor they remained very cheerful. Alieau was given a box of goodies and the family a bag of rice, had my photo taken with them all which i shall treasure.
My next sponsored child was at Pakau Njogu school. Baba Jarrow although he is only thirteen he is by far the tallest child at the school a very handsome boy who is quite shy. His present and bag of rice was given at their compound. I was invited into the fathers house to meet them all and to have some photos taken with the whole family, this was by far the poorest family compound which made me realise i have to collect what ever i can to help these families.
Other highlights of my trip was going on the ferry which is an experience in itself. Going across the river at Jinack in a canoe holding on for grim death and laughing all the time, the greeting by all the children at the other side is wonderful sight, i loved them all. This is an island that needs so much yet everyone remains so happy. The Nursey when it is fully built will really benifit the whole island a credit to the HELPING charity.
I have really taken to the Gambia and its people, was lucky enough to make lots of friends, cant wait for my next trip to visit even more. My spare bedroom is to be filled with boxes with things that will give some children and their families things that they cannot afford themseves. If i can make just a bit of difference i will be a happy woman.
So Margaret and Chris thank you once again for wonderful 2 weeks but be warned i am thinking of spending 3 weeks out there next year (you are lucky people ha! ha!). I must also thank your team out in the Gambia Sarjor. Karamo and Alhadgi who looked after me so well. Cant wait for my next trip out there.

Phyllis Allen

2008-03-25T15:22:00.006Z

The Opening of Osborne HELPING Nursery

Hi All

As Im sure your aware, Gavin and I got married last August, we asked our friends and family for donations instead of presents to build a nursery school out in The Gambia. Thanks to everyone that gave us a donation we were able to open the Osborne HELPING Nursery in the village of Fass on Thursday 13th March 08. The day was fantastic and our 87 new kids at the nursery each received a free purple school uniform and looked gorgeous. Our teachers and the children at the school would also like to say a big thank you to everyone.

To see some of the photos please click on the link below.
www.flickr.com/photos/helping-gambia/

We are still looking for sponsors for many of the children, one of our teachers, cooks and our helper lady who is responsible for making sure the children have clean water to drink and to maintain good sanitary practice to help prevent any of the children from getting ill. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor please contact Margaret Meeks on 01920 871245 or email margaretmeeks@tiscali.co.uk

Thanks again to everyone for your kind donations.
Lisa and Gavin Osborne x x

A very successful event

2008-02-06T23:34:00.000Z

The Dance Night on the 2nd February was a great success. The band "Mystery Machine" was fantastic and we would highly recommend them, Thank you for some great music. We made the sum of £535 which will go towards meals for our nursery children, sometimes the only meal they get that day.
All this was made possible by the hard work of Mary Millen and her family who organised the whole evening including a great ploughman's supper.
A big THANK YOU to all of the above and also all those who braved a cold night to attend.

Live Band - 2nd Feb 2008

2008-01-11T18:43:00.000Z

Help HELPING feed the Children of The Gambia

Dance the night away to live band

"Mystery Machine"

Saturday 2nd February 2008, 7.30pm till Midnight

at Broxbourne Scout Hut

(behind the highlands restaurant, follow the balloons!)

£7.00 per person, includes a ploughmans supper

Bring your own drink

Tickets only, for tickets

email; helping.admin@tiscali.co.uk

or contact Mary 01799 551072

New Year - New website announcement

2008-01-02T23:29:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all our supporters. We hope that everyone has a prosperous and generous 2008!
It is with great pleasure that HELPING can announce the launch of a new website

www.alexgambiabirdtours.com

Alex is a registered guide in The Gambia and has long been a friend to the charity. HELPING supports the nursery which Alex has set up catering for over 300 children. It is hoped that the website will help his business. Alex is a Gambian, living and operating his business in The Gambia. As such his business supports the local Gambian economy as profits are spent locally. If there were such a thing as fair trade wildlife trips Alex's would be one!

See if you can recognise the layout of Alex's site!

Coast-to-coast sponsored cycle

2007-11-08T21:12:00.000Z

A big thanks and well done to Lisa Smith and Maryrose Brennan from GSK.
They successfully completed the Tynemouth to Whitehaven bike ride recently and raised a whopping £900 for the charity. Every penny will go towards helping people in The Gambia and a large sum such as £900 will go a long way.
Thanks again.
Land's End to John O'Groats next year ladies?

Irish night success

2007-11-03T12:26:00.000Z

Despite stiff competition from numerous firework displays there was a good size crowd at the annual Irish music night at Hertford cricket club.
The charity managed to raise over £250.

Our thanks go to everyone who supported the event especially the band - who were brilliant as usual and the bar staff.

We look forward to seeing you all next year!

Photos from our visit to The Gambia in October 2007

2007-11-01T20:19:00.001Z

Hi All

We have just returned from The Gambia after another fun filled trip. While we were there we had the opening ceremony for Oakes Helping nursery at Chamin and went to see the progress of the building work for the new Osborne Helping Nursery at Yassa. To see some of the photos please follow the link below;
www.flickr.com/photos/helping-gambia/

Many Thanks for your continued support for HELPING, without your support the building of these nurseries would not be possible.

Thanks
HELPING and the children in The Gambia

To all our supporters

2007-10-21T22:02:00.000+01:00

Christmas is coming and if you are buying presents etc online please don't forget to do it through The Giving Machine (www.thegivingmachine.co.uk)

Buying through The Giving Machine means that the company gives a % to HELPING at no cost to you.

To those of you already registered with The Giving Machine, thank you. to every one else please look at their site and sign in, its free and will help us to help children in The Gambia.

Another Great Irish Night

2007-10-21T21:34:00.000+01:00

Another Great Irish Night
to raise money for HELPING

on Friday 2nd November 2007
from 7.30pm till late
at Hertford Cricket Club
(Mangrove Rd, next turning after
Simon Balle School)

Tickets £5. Bar. Raffle.

For more information contact
Mary Brady on 01992 421097

All proceeds to help children
in The Gambia

Registered Charity No 1098642

Our 5th Annual Childrens walk

2007-08-20T14:06:00.000+01:00

Photo by kind permission of Hertfordshire Mercury

This years walk went off well despite the uncertain weather, we had lots of children and adults and one sponsored dog. The amount raised this year is approximately £400 (some sponsorships still to come in)

Everyone enjoyed the walk and the children had a good time at the playground and everyone had a snack and a drink, including the dog.

We would like to thank all those who turned up and walked and also the Mercury for the photo and article which they printed.

We look forward to meeting you all again on next years walk.

Wedding gift for The Gambia

2007-08-01T10:41:00.000+01:00

Lisa Meeks and Gavin Osborne from Ware, members of helping, will be getting married on August 4th and instead of presents have asked guests to donate to help build a nursery at a village called Fass..

The village elders and community have given them a piece of land, the villagers will do the building and they hope to build a two classroom nursery complete with toilets at a cost of approx £8000.

The nursery will be called The Osborne Helping nursery and they are hoping to be able to sponsor teachers and children as well.

The picture shows Lisa and Gavin with the teachers and some of the children outside the derelict building they are using at present.

Riverside Festival success

2007-06-25T23:16:00.000+01:00

Despite the recent unpredictable weather the annual Stanstead Abbotts Riverside Festival was well attended. We had a prime spot for our stall and were busy right up until the end. We managed to raise over £400, gain some sponsorship for our school pupils as well as getting some interest from a local Scout group in twinning with a Gambian group.
Thanks to everyone who supported us.

The next event is the stall at the Ware Week Festival on 7th July, hopefully we'll see you there!

(See below for further upcoming dates)

NEW Campaign - Free nursery school dinners

2007-05-26T10:43:00.000+01:00

In the nurseries in The Gambia it costs two Gambian Dalasi for a child to have a school dinner. This is the equivalent to four pence. Yes, that's right. Four pence will feed a child at nursery school for one day.
The children who are sponsored by HELPING at nursery get their dinners paid for. Those with sufficient funds can buy their own. Others go without. Some may not have had a breakfast and may struggle for a meal when they get home from nursery. HELPING aims to provide meals for all children at HELPING supported nurseries.

HELPING's new initiative is to ask people to donate £1. £1 will feed a child for an entire month.
Of course larger donations are welcome too. £12 guarantees that a child will be able to eat for an entire year.

Click HERE to download a donation form (in Microsoft Word format)

Music night success - Thanks

2007-05-20T20:23:00.000+01:00

THE BOB VILLIANS and Green Onions Soundsystem evening on 11th May was a huge success and raised £1054 for the charity.
Thanks for everyone who came along and enjoyed the evening and immense thanks to the band and Dave Crabtree for their efforts too.

Keep checking the website to see how the money is used to support our projects and for future events.

Mary's Gambia Experience - Her Diary

2007-05-05T22:24:00.000+01:00

Wednesday March 7th

I left Gatwick airport of on my trip to Gambia, Margaret and Chris met me at Banjul airport. The first impression was, it's hot! Margaret and Chris then took me to my hotel, the Mansea Beach Hotel, Kololi, time to unpack and have a quick dip in the pool. A quick change into shorts and t-shirt, this is the life. Margaret and Chris met me later and we went for a meal at Ali Baba's. Margaret asked me how I wanted to spend the week. I said I was keen to see as many of the nurseries as possible and help out in any way I can. We couldn't do much at the moment as we were waiting for the shipment to be released from the docks. Margaret and Chris were staying at a hotel near mine called Sarge's. It had been a long day travelling, so, back to the hotel for an early night. My hotel was down a dark dirt track so Alex, one of the Gambian Helping workers took me back in the car.

Thursday March 8th

Not a bad night's sleep, down for some breakfast, There was a good choice, fruit, cereals, bread,jam, marmalade,eggs,sausages and fruit juices. Tea and coffee was served. I settled for a light breakfast as, oh dear, my tummy wasn't feeling that good. Margaret and Chris met me at 10.00 and we went for a walk along the beach. There I met Ebu, a fisherman friend. We carried on walking to another hotel, the Senegambia, where at 11.30 they feed the vultures. We watched vultures being fed and were just off to the monkey park when Margaret got a phone call. The shipment we had been waiting for at the docks had been released and was ready to be unloaded. Alex and Sarjor met us and took us to Sarjor's mum and dad's compound where the static container is. By now it was about one 0'clock and about 38 degrees. There were 191 boxes in all, some gifts from sponsor families, some boxes with clothes, books,toys,paper,pens, all the things people had donated. The task was to sort all the boxes into the nurseries and stack them in the container with the ones we wanted first at the front, easy! This was where I could help. After moving loads of boxes (actually about 4) I had to sit down. It was so hot that I just didn't have any energy. As the saying goes, the mind was willing but the body wasn't able. I moved a couple more and sat down again. How embarrassing! By this time we hadn't had any lunch and the water was running out so Sarjors sister got some water. Margaret, Chris and the boys kept at it andwe finished about 5. We went back to Sarge's, freshened up and went for something to eat at Ali Baba's (we always ate there as the food was good) We bought a bag of peanuts from a woman (who had them in a dish balanced on her head) as tomorrow we were going to the monkey park, Then back to Sarge's Hotel to see some local people dancing.

Friday March 9TH

My tummy hadn't been very good in the night, so I only had a piece of bread for breakfast. Margaret and Chris were meeting me again to go to the monkey park, well it's not really a park, it's a bit of a forest where wild monkeys live. As we walked along the beach we met a bumster, this is someone who hasn't got a job but will act as a guide to get a few dalasies (the currency in The Gambia) so that he can get breakfast. The monkeys were amazing, although they are wild they were so gentle when they took a peanut from you. There I was in amongst the monkeys, having a great time when, oh dear, my tummy started playing up again, so it was a quick dash back to the hotel, Margaret gave me some imodium tablets and I spent the rest of the day sipping water and keeping close to the amenities.

Saturday March 10th

Margaret and Chris had been invited to attend a ceromony at the football stadium involving all the local nurseries. I was supposed to go with them but as my tummy was still playing up I though it better not to go. I heard later from Margaret thet I made a good choice. They sat out in the heat for three hours waiting for the dignitaries to arrive before the ceremony could begin. In all that time the children were kept out in the blazing sun with no shade, poor things. Still, Margaret and Chris said they wouldn't have missed it. We arranged to meet at 2.45 to go to two local compounds to visit some sponsored children. Alhagie another Gambian worker came with us. We stopped off to buy 50 kilo bags of rice. Each child gets a bag of rice for the compound to share and a mosquito net. This was my first experience of how these people live. They had a little bit of furniture but not much else. There are chickens running around where the children play and there was an open sewer right next to the water tap, but they were very pleased to see us and made us very welcome. After this we went to Sarjor's mum and dads to load up the car for our trip to Jenoi, the nursery where my little girl and my sisters little girl live. Jenoi is out in the bush and takes nearly a day to get there so we will be staying overnight at a place called Tendaba. My tummy was still a bit "iffy" so I took a couple more tablets. As I didn't want any dinner I went back to my hotel for an early night, it was disco night again so I had to wait for it to finish before I could get any sleep.

Sunday March 11th

An early start, Alhagie was driving so we had to pick up Sarjor and Karamo, who were coming with us but everything is in Gambian time so when we did meet them we had to wait for them to have breakfast. When Margaret and Chris came to my ladies club to tell us about their work in The Gambia they said that the road to Jenoi was difficult, what an understatement, it was a red dusty dirt track with huge holes in it. As the road was so bad, often you didn't want to ride on it so we were driving along half on, half off, which meant a lot of the time I was either rubbing along Chris's legs or sitting on Margarets lap. We just had to laugh about it. After hours of driving we decided to stop for a break,big mistake, the car was making a terible noise so we got the local mechanic to have a look. After an hour and a half and a lot of banging with a big hammer we found out he was only the man who repaired tyres, the real mechanic lived at the other end of the village. At this point my tummy started, I needed the loo BADLY. Karamo took us to the police station ( a hut with one man in a uniform drinking happy juice) he waved his hand round to the back of the station where we saw a small building, No that wasn't it, a bit further on I saw a 3foot high raffia fence in a circle. The penny dropped, it was a squat toilet Margaret had told me about. I offered Margaret to go first but she insisted I did, I wonder why? Basically it was a hole in the ground and you had to hope your aim was good. I suddenly realised I hadn't any paper or tissues, neither had Margaret, thats OK, I'm in the bush I'll use a leaf. I picked up a leaf only for it to disintergrate in my hand, it was so hot everything was dried up. Oh well. drip dry. Afterwards Margaret said she wished she had had a camera to take a picture of the look on my face when I saw the toilet. After three hours we were back on the road and arrived at Jenoi at 5.15. The whole village greeted us, they had been waiting all day in the blazing sun, they all sang out "wecome, welcome" clapping their hands and banging drums. I was so overwelmed I couldn't speak. The HELPING charity has had a well built in the village, so we had a look at that The villagers are so pleased with it, even though the water is a bit brown. One of the elders led us to a classroom as they had prepared a meal for us and insisted we eat first. It was chicken stew on a bed of rice. I'm vegetarian! They gave us a couple of spoons as they use their hands, so as not to offend I managed to eat a little rice, then it hit me,they must have killed one of the chickens to provide us with a meal, I felt so bad even though I wasn't eating it. Afterwards we unloaded the car and started to call out the sponsored childrens names and give out the presents, mosquito nets and rice. There are two teachers at Jenoi a lady and a man, they each received the same. Then my sisters little girl was called, I went to meet her and her mother came frward and threw something like a poncho over my head as a present. I was so pleased to receive it. I got Sarjor to explain I would give it to my sister on my return to England. Then I met my little girl, Mariama, such a pretty little girl. Her mother came up and I gave her a kiss on each cheek, she giggled at this and so did all the other women, then I noticed she had a baby tied on her back, next time I send a parcel I'll put something in for the baby. As we were three hours late arriving I didn't get the chance to visit Mariamas compound but I did get to say goodbye before we had to leave. Everyne at Jenoi made us feel welcome and even though they didn't speak much English they all said thank you. I wished I could have spent more time at Jenoi but we still had a two hour journey to get to Tendaba. We arrived at Tendaba at 9 pm. My tummy was quite bad, as we went to book in I spotted a block of English toilets, I dropped everything and ran. Margaret came with me to my hut where I was staying the night and checked the toilet, yes it was an English one, I just kept saying "thank you, thank you" You can't imagine how grateful you are for simple things that we take for granted at home. I took a shower, washed my hair and went to dry myself, only to there was all red on the towel, the dust gets into your skin so much, I had to take another shower. I took more pills and went to bed.

Monday March 12th

A good nights sleep, only up a couple of times, a piece of bread for breakfast than off on the journey back to Kololi. We had to stop off at the same village as yesterday as we had lost grease from the front wheel. Another couple of hours and we were back on the road. Margaret had been given hundreds of pens so on the way back we passed them out of the window to the children, they loved them. We arrived back at Kololi late afternoon, I was dropped of at my hotel and ordered toast. I thought it strange that the tablets Margaret had given me didn't seem to be wrking, Oh well, I'll take some more. Margaret and Chris were going to Sarjor's mum and dad's to load up the car ready for tomorrow. They met up with me later and we visited the local craft market before the evening meal, then off to bed as we are visiting another school tomorrow, Pakau Njogu. Its another early start as we have to go on the ferry, we are meeting up with Maggie who sponsors a boy there. My tummy still wasn't right so I thought I'd better take another tablet. This time I looked at the packet, instead of taking the imodium tablets Margaret had given me I'd been taking Paracetamol. I phoned Margaret and confessed but said I hadn't had a headache. African dance at the hotel tonight.

Tuesday March 13th

6.30.am a little breakfast then off to pick up Maggie and get the ferry. It was arranged that Alhagie was meeting us at the ferry but when we got there, no Alhagie. The 8 am ferry came and went, still no Alhagie. It was decided we would go over as foot passengers, hire a taxi and just take the rice. We got on the 9 am ferry, that was an experience, the Gambian people carry everything on their heads, so you may see people with mattresses, food, all sorts of things balancing on their heads. They bring goats and chickens with them, they all run on to the ferry trying to get a seat, it's quite a sight. The journey took about 45 minutes. When we docked and got off the ferry, guess what? Alhajie was there with the car. He had got the 7 am ferry over but hadn't got the mobile phone from Alex. We bought the rice, 1 1/2 tons of it and set off for Pakau Njogu. There are a lot more children sponsored here so while Margaret and Chris were sorting everything out I had a chance to talk to the local children and their mothers. They don't speak much English but we got by with a form of sign language, each time the mothers showed me their babies they would burst out crying, the mothers thought this really funny. It was yet another hot day so we sat under a mango tree for shade. Maggie met her sponsored boy and gave him her gifts. Once everything was given out we visited the compound where Maggie's boy lived, it was very different to the one I'd seen at Kololi, the hut hadn't any furniture, there was a straw mattress on the floor which the mum and dad had, the little boy slept on a piece of material. There was a piece of string with a few clothes hanging up and that was it. The rest of the people who live in the compound had gathered outside under a Mango tree, they were all pleased to see us. We got in the car and set off for the ferry, well you know when you look at someone and they look at you in a funny way, thats how Margaret looked, what's going on? then I heard a clucking. Sitting in the back of the car was a chicken with it's feet tied together! Margaret assured me everything was OK, Sarjor had done a favour for someone in the vilage and they had given him the chicken. I asked what Sarjor had intended to do with the chicken and was told that his daughter loved eggs so I wasn't to worry about the chickens fate. We got to the ferry in time for the 4 pm ferry, that is all except Alhagie, he stayed with the car which had to queue, we went on a foot passengers. We found out later that Alhagie didn't get on until the last ferry at 11pm. The chicken came on the ferry with us and settled down on the floor, it wasn't until we were about to get off when I said to Margaret "I don't think the chicken is very well", it had it's eyes closed and I wasn't sure it was still alive, I had visions of doing CPR on it but I gave it a poke and it woke up,thank goodness.
Back to the hotel, a quick freshen up and off to Ali Baba's for dinner. Now I was taking the right tablets I thought I'd go mad and have something to eat. Back to Sarge's Hotel to watch the dancers then back to my hotel. We weren't going anywhere tomorrow so I didn't need to get up early, guess what, nothing going on tonight, typical.

Wednesday March 14th

I'm going home today so I have the morning to myself. My tummy's feeling better so I'm off for some breakfast. Then, at last, lounging around the pool reading my book and going for a dip. Youv'e guessed it, it's cloudy and windy, still that didn't last long, it was soon sunny and time for me to catch the coach back to Banjul airport. As I waved Margaret and Chris goodbye and thanked them for everything I had time to reflect on everything I'd done and seen. What a week and what an experience, the people I'd met, the places I'd been, the different birds,the heat, the roads and not forgetting the toilets. Oh how I was looking forward to seeing my English toilet, I'd even told Margaret I was going to give it an extra clean.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about my time in The Gambia, I hope it hasn't put you off going but has enthused some of you. If you like me are thinking of going to see it for yourselves, I can assure you you will have a Gambia experience you wont forget.

Regards Mary.

To all our supporters

2007-04-24T22:03:00.000+01:00

HELPING have just signed up to a new online fundraising website
www.thegivingmachine.co.uk

If you shop online, for every purchase you make the online store will give a percentage to HELPING and the best thing of all is it costs you absolutely nothing.

You can shop from a huge range of online stores including Tesco, Play.com, Ebay, Next.com,Dell, PC World, John Lewis, Amazon and many many more.

All you have to do is go into the website www.thegivingmachine.co.uk, it takes less than a minute to register your e-mail address and your name - they take no bank details or addresses so it is totally safe. When you select your beneficiary choose HELPING and type 100% in the box.

Once you have registered the first time all you need do is anytime you shop online enter the online shop you wish to purchase from through the giving machine website. If you go direct to the online shop ie Ebay without entering it through the www.thegivingmachine.co.uk website the charity will not receive anything.

So get shopping online today via the giving machine website and start Giving.

Many Thanks

HELPING

Chris and Margaret's Gambian Experience!

2007-03-25T18:21:00.000+01:00

Hi All
Well we arrived safely. The heat hits you as the plane door opens. We think it is hotter than last year at this time. Sarjor arrived at the hotel to meet us and discuss our agenda. It looks like we are in for a very busy time.

Week 1

Went to Brikama with Alex to see the two doctors we meet in October and look round the clinic to see the changes that they have made.
Later on we went to see Mr Fatty about the new Art centre we are going to build in remembrance of Helen Crabtree.
Binta Ceesay and Sundeh Sarr two of our sponsor children came to the hotel to see us and we paid Sundeh’s internal exam fee’s.
Chris fell ill and was in bed for a couple of days but we managed to get some antibiotic and it sorted him out.
Margaret met Barbara, one of our sponsors and they had a meal and discussed going to Fass on Wednesday to meet the child she sponsors.
Wednesday we left the hotel at 7am, picked up Barbara and two other tourists (David and Rhona) who had asked if they could come along with us. We caught the 8am ferry, a new experience for Barbara and crossed over to Barra where we picked up a landrover and drove up to Fass School. When we arrived we found the scouts and nursery children there to greet us. We went round the nursery, gave out some gifts of stationary donated by Mr and Mrs Gacia, checked on the progress of the wall, talked to the children and Barbara met her sponsor child Yahya Bob and visited his compound which was quite an emotional experience for her, she also decided to sponsor another child as did David and Rhona. We had lunch at Fass, Gambian style and then left to visit the new nursery being built at Chamin (to be called Oakes Helping Nursery). The roof is now on and it is looking good. Everyone agreed that they had had an enjoyable and interesting day

Pakau Njogu and Jinack

2006-11-10T15:41:00.000Z

On Tuesday we visited our school at Pakau Njogu, The ferry crossing was rough but we were accompanied by dolphins swimming close to the ferry. We had hired a lorry to take all the boxes of Shoe Boxes which had been donated and made up by friends, schools, cubs and scouts, 350 in all. We had a bumpy journey along narrow tracks and at one point we had to be dug out of the soft sand but we made it. The children and teachers were pleased to see us and the children were over the moon with their presents. We paid the sponsored childrens fees and gave the parents the money for uniforms etc and then sat down under the tree for a meal of fish yassa and rice shared by all the children and villagers.
The journey back was uneventful until we reached the ferry where we had a four hour wait for a ferry and arrived back at the hotel at 9.30pm tired and dusty but very happy with the days events. We had a quick shower and fell into bed without even bothering with a meal.

Thursday it was off to Jinack Island to visit the nursery, this time we used Alex's 4x4 as the track can be very bad at this time of year. Arrived at the crossing to the island and all waded out and got into the little pirogue, this time none of us fell in, We joined the teachers and watched them with their classes, they appear to have learned a lot from the course we sent them on and can't wait to go again in the next holiday. The rains have taken their toll on the nursery building, there are cracks in the walls and the roof is looking more than a little sick.
We paid for the sopnsored childrens shoes and meals but as the teachers are sponsored and we supply equipment there are no nursery fees ( to make up for this we are going to give the teachers a bag of rice as well as the children in March).

Chamin Ladies Group.

2006-11-05T13:00:00.000Z

Today we visited the ladies of Chamin Village. We had lent them some money a year ago to start up small a small buisness and we were keen to see how they had progressed. Things are going well and the ladies have said that they will be able to repay in full by next October as agreed.
We have ordered some table cloths to bring back with us to sell at the Dickensian Evening in Ware and the profits will help to pay off some of the loan. The ladies treated us to a very nice meal of chicken domada and rice which we ate in the shade of the mango tree.

Jenoi and Keneba

2006-11-02T21:51:00.000Z

On Tuesday we left the hotel just after 7am made the journey to Banjul in time for the ferry at 8, it was packed as usual and late,from the ferry we drove to Farafennie and then on to another ferry and a short journey to Jenoi Nursery, just a short drive, only seven hours over some very rough roads.
We had a great couple of hours paying the sponsored childrens fees etc and giving out boxes of clothes and sorting out the details for digging the well. we then went to Karamo's compound for a meal of rice and vegetables and then set off for Tendaba where we were spending the night, this is where the roads got really bad and it took until 8pm before we arrived, tired and covered in red dust, luckily Tendaba camp has showers, well a slow drip but we managed to look almost respectable for a meal of coconut soup, chicken yassa ( chicken with bones in an onion sauce) and fresh water melon, then an early night ready for a quick start after a breakfast of bread, cheese and a boiled egg + many cups of coffee.
We left Tendaba at 7.30am and what should have been a one hour drive turned into nearly three hours because of the state of the roads which had been washed away in places. We arrived at Keneba to find that the school had decided to have a day off so we had to go round the village, find the head mistress and get the sponsored children and their parents to the school where we paid the fees and gave the parents money for uniforms, shoes and meals.
We left Keneba at 11am and found that the main road had completely vanished and we were driving over some of the roughest ground we had ever seen some of the potholes were nearly as deep as the car and I hate to think what state the suspension was in by the end of the journey.
We finaly arrived back at our hotel just after 5pm, tired and dirty, had a quick shower a meal and were in bed by 9.30.

A day to remember

2006-10-29T20:35:00.000Z

Today we had what may be our last day off this trip so we decided to go birdwatching.
We went out with our friend Alex Drammeh and what a day we had. At 8am we started round Kotu Creek and by 10am we had seen 55 species, from Kotu to Tanji where we increased our total to 75 including an Osprey catching fish amongst the boats. From there we drove down to the Senegal border and wandered round the pools and along the beach bringing our total to 92, we were hoping to reach the 100 mark so drove to Footsteps Eco Lodge where over a cool drink we brought our total up to 101.
If anyone is thinking of coming to The Gambia for bird watching Alex is your man, not only will he find birds for you but he also knows the places of interest for the not so keen (wives ?). He has a comfortable vehicle, will take you where ever you would like to go and is a very good friend to the charity. He can be reached by e-mail at drammehalhagie@yahoo.co.uk or by phone on (220) 9800518.
Give him a call we are sure you will not be disappointed.

News from The Gambia

2006-10-27T15:49:00.000+01:00

Hello All, We have had a buisy first two weeks here, Last week we visited Fass school and Nursery. The nursery is looking good, some of the tables and chairs from Bonner School are in place and the other equipment delivered and being used, the children look very smart in their new green check uniforms.
From Fass we went on to Chamin with the Massey family ( whose son Michael raised some of the money for this project) to see how the new nursery is coming along. What a surprise, we now have two classrooms and an office built up to roof level and partly rendered. We hope Nigel Oakes who donated the money to get this project started will approve.
We spent a day going round the schools where we only have one or two children sponsored, this should have been a straightforward day but being The Gambia nothing goes to plan, we arrived at Banjulinding school only to find that Ida had transferred to Brikama so we had to spend more time trying to find her new school but in the end we got round most of them.

On sunday we visited Jinack Island with the Massey family again, they sponsor two children here and had presents for them and their families. The day started badly when the ferry was late, our driver on the north bank was ill with malaria and we had to find another Land Rover but in the end we arrived safely. We had a big surprise as we got into the boat for the crossing to the Island, all the children arrived on the beach in their new red check uniforms and sang to us as we were rowed over. We spent time with the sponsored children and their families and then visited the nursery and talked with the teachers who we had sent to college during the holidays. They have learned a lot and are keen to show us their new found knowledge when we return later.
On the return journey we had a puncture, Philip Massey who is a mechanic helped change the wheel and we were soon back on what is called the road.

We have been making enquiries about the art room to be built in Helen's memory and things are looking positive (more news later).

Sorry no photos but someone (me) forgot to pack the lead for the camera but we will be adding them when we return.
We are going on a two day trip to Keneba and Jenoi next week and also visiting Wansbrough Nursery so will up date you soon.

In Memory

2006-09-02T22:13:00.000+01:00

Everyone at HELPING was very sad to hear of Helen's death and all send their sympathy to her family and friends.

Helen should have been going to The Gambia in October to help in one of the nurseries. We were looking forward to spending time with her, teaching the children and introducing them to Art. As well as being a teacher she was also a talented artist.

But it was not to be.

Her husband, David and the family have decided to build an Art Room in her memory at one of HELPING's schools. This will benefit many children who otherwise would not get the pleasure and fun of self expression that Art can give.

Moving the school furniture donated by Bonner Junior School.

2006-08-13T21:07:00.000+01:00

Earlier this year we were contacted by the Bonner Junior school who were moving into a new school and had some furniture to dispose of. We gladly accepted their offer and on 25th of july with the help of JFM Moving services, who gave their service for free we moved two lorry loads of furniture to the shippers.
We had approximately 200 tables, 400 chairs and a large number of cupboards, drawer units, bookcases and filing cabinets, these along with 193 boxes of school equipment and clothing which had also been donated filled almost two 20 foot containers.
The first of these containers has left and should arrive in Banjul next week, the second will leave on 20 August and should arrive around the 3rd September.
We would like to thank the shippers, Robert Claire and Co Ltd for all their assistance, also one of our friends who donated a large amount of the shipping costs and our committee member David Robinson, without whose hard work we would never have managed to organise the whole project.
This furniture will be enough to furnish most of the nurseries we work with and also the ones at present under construction.

2006-08-13T20:10:00.000+01:00

Our 4th childrens walk went well with 34 children attending. The weather was kind to us this year, no rain!
Our walk starts at Stanstead Abbotts and goes along the river bank to Rye House (about two miles) where we have a picnic and the children can play in the playground.
To date this years walk has raised £510 with a few more sponsorships to come in.
Thank you to all who took part and we hope to see you again next year.
photo by permission of Hertford and Broxbourne Mercury

HELPING Gambia

Sponsored Cycle ride.

Well done

Spanish Night

Great South Run

Irish night 2008 success

Whats on in September and October

Sponsored Dance - a - thon

HELPING's 6th Sponsored Walk

A great night of Irish music and song.

Thank you all

A very successful event

Live Band - 2nd Feb 2008

New Year - New website announcement

Coast-to-coast sponsored cycle

Irish night success

Photos from our visit to The Gambia in October 2007

To all our supporters

Another Great Irish Night

Our 5th Annual Childrens walk

Wedding gift for The Gambia

Riverside Festival success

NEW Campaign - Free nursery school dinners

Music night success - Thanks

Mary's Gambia Experience - Her Diary

To all our supporters

Chris and Margaret's Gambian Experience!

Pakau Njogu and Jinack

Chamin Ladies Group.

Jenoi and Keneba

A day to remember

News from The Gambia

In Memory

Moving the school furniture donated by Bonner Junior School.