Category: 2023

We originally ordered 300 sets of reusable sanitary pads from China and unfortunately they didn’t despatch / arrive in time for us to take them with us. Fortunately the fabulous team at Earthwise Girls helped us out with an emergency order so that we could take 120 sets with us to give out after our teaching sessions. The Chinese delivery has now arrived, so we unpacked it all, bagged each set...

Sadly, it was time to leave The Gambia.  We boarded the minibus one final time and made our way to Banjul airport.  It was a hot journey and we took in the sights, sounds and smells as we passed through the hustle and bustle of Brikama. Once we'd checked in, we settled down to pass the time whilst we waited for a flight. Some sat in the outside seating area, whilst the rest of us stayed in the...

Today we ran sessions with a group of local teenagers on drug awareness and internet safety. Jemma also replenished all of the Gunjur Project's first aid kits and ran a small training for some of the staff on treating burns. Some of us sorted our leftover resources that we brought and divided them up for the local clinic, maternity clinic, hospital, women's group and general items (bandages,...

Today was a relaxing day. We woke up a bit later than usual and had breakfast. Gunjur Youths for Health visited us at the Gunjur Project Association community hub for sessions about breast checking, sexual health and emergency first response. We gave all the female participants a set of reusable sanitary pads and we presented the group with medical resources for them to use during their work in...

Today was another action packed day in The Gambia! We started off the day visiting Gunjur Senior School. This school was newly built and we enjoyed a tour round by the headteacher. After this we met with the 60 students, who we were delivering our two sessions to. It was great to meet all of the students and educate them on internet safety and drug awareness. In the afternoon we headed to Tanji,...

It was a slow start this morning after last night's entertainment and a power cut in the night. This was our second morning with the Gunjur Girl Guides.  It was brilliant to see them all gathered together in their new uniforms looking very smart. We had a great turn out of girls in their Easter holidays - especially as it’s also Ramadan. Five local leaders brought their Guides from Gunjur and...

Today was a busy day for day three of the trip. We started the day visiting the Girl Guides in a local school. Guides ranging from 9-21 years old travelled to take part in craft and Internet safety sessions. As a group, we had raised enough money for each guide to have a Guide uniform made by the tailor. We were able to present these uniforms to them all today which was really special. The Guides...

Today we ran our first peer education sessions of the trip. For many it was our first experience working with The Gambian communities, and coming away some of us felt quite emotional. Raising awareness of breast cancer is something many of us are hugely passionate about and being able to spread that message among the communities and potentially help save lives was very rewarding. It was also nice...

Finally, after 3 years in the making, we set off for The Gambia!  After a 6.5 hour flight we collected our super heavy luggage from the carousel and made our way to the minibus which was to take us to the Gunjur Project lodge. After a short briefing we had some much needed food and went to bed ready to start our adventure tomorrow.