A School for Brikamanding

In The Gambia's Lower River Region, south of the Kiang West National Park and between the Bintong Bolong and the River Gambia, lie three villages: Kuli Kunda, Jamaru, and Brikamanding.

Kuli Kunda has a school that goes up to grade 6, to whom the children of Jamaru can walk the 2 km each day.  But of the 53 school-aged children in Brikamanding, only 8 are in school.  4 km (2-1/2 miles each way) is just too far for a child of 5 or 6 to walk to and from school, ...and so most never do.

Further up country, in the Fulladu West District of the Central River Region, 907 students are now in schools built by hand by their communities with materials supplied by GambiaRising's donors. That's 11% of the children in grades 1 to 6 in Fulladu West.  Might Brikamanding do the same,  our Coordinator asked.  "Talk with the community first," we replied.  So Coordinator Alieu Gaye, who is a teacher at the Kuli Kunda school, called a meeting. The alkalo (village chief) was enthusiastic.  So was the community.  They would happily do the work to build a school, and they would send their children if such a school was available.

The alkalo worked with Alieu to write a letter to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.  

Alieu has since met with the Regional Director and the Ministry's Cluster Monitor.  The village meets the government's guideline of providing a school for every child within 3 km of their home.  But while they wait for formal approval, one factor looms: the seasonal rainy season is July to September, and making mud bricks is time consuming but impossible to do in the rain!  So they'd like to get started as soon as they know that the cement and roofing materials to protect the walls will be available when those rains come.  

We hope you will join us and help this community provide the school that their children deserve.