Supporting education, health, and opportunity for Gambian children and families
Welcome to Gambians in Need
Helping Gambian children thrive through education and practical support
Twenty three years ago we went for a week’s holiday in the sun and on recommendation we chose The Gambia. We loved the country and its people and have been back nearly every year since. During our first stay at Bakotu Hotel we became very friendly with one of the staff called Amie and she told us she had a daughter who was at school a long way from Serrekunda where she lived with her husband Njobo. The first thing we did was to sponsor her daughter, Awah, so she could live with her parents. Amie said to us let’s talk to Simon who also worked at Bakotu and also ran a nursery school. The result was we asked Simon if we could visit the school. When we arrived we were greeted in the office. A bench under a tree! The school was in a bad state and we learned that the teachers were not being paid on time, they were behind with the rent and many of the parents found it hard to pay school fees.
‘We did not go on holiday to find a mission but when we met the Gambian people and saw their many needs we could not walk away’
Changing lives through education, care, and community in The Gambia
We decided we must do something about this and in January 2007 we formed the charity ‘Gambians in Need’. I ran the charity with my wife, Elizabeth, until sadly she died in November 2022. I now run with my daughter, Louise, who has been out to The Gambia twice. Our first aim was to sponsor the children so they had free education, get the rent up to date and make sure the teacher were being paid properly. We started selling plants and holding coffee mornings and as word spread of what we were doing we now get donations from people, the church etc.