About Friends of Bintang Bolong School (FOBBS)

In February 2003, Pat Puddephatt and Janet Jacobs went on holiday to The Gambia. Having done some research about the country before going, they knew that pencils and paper and essential teaching materials were desperately needed by local schools, and so took some supplies with them.

Not wanting to go on an organised trip to visit a local school – as the same schools always benefit – they asked their taxi driver for suggestions as to a school that would really benefit from the supplies. He arranged a meeting with Alhagie Lama Jammeh, a friend from the village where he grew up, who was now the Headmaster of Bintang Bolong Nursery School in Tallinding Medina, Serrekunda. The Headmaster was very grateful for the gifts, and Pat and Janet were introduced to the pupils, staff and members of the local community, who all gave them a warm welcome.

They were so appalled by the conditions and lack of basic facilities and learning materials that they decided, on their return, that they would try to raise some money to help the school. To read more about the conditions at the school at that time click here. With their friend Angelika Fibi, they set up Friends of Bintang Bolong School (FOBBS). In April 2005, FOBBS became a UK registered charity.

Future Plans

It is very encouraging and rewarding to see the new school up and running. However, the school is already oversubscribed and many new prospective pupils are being turned away on a daily basis. It has an excellent reputation – not just because of the facilities, (which are still very basic when compared to European standards) but also because of the excellent teaching staff and the management of the school.

We would therefore like to buy the adjoining piece of land, which will allow the school to expand in time, and cater for the ever-increasing demand for good quality education in the area. The cost of the land is just over £7,500. Due to the laws regarding land purchase in The Gambia, it is not possible to secure the land by offering a deposit and the balance at a later date. Several people who are interested in purchasing the land for housing have approached the landowner, and whilst he is keen to see the school expand and therefore benefit the community, he obviously has to look after his interests. Therefore, this is our main concern at the moment.

Other future plans include:

• Building and stocking a Library – there is a real dearth of good quality English books available, both for children and adults

• Developing a training centre for young women – the government is very keen to encourage young women to learn to gain skills in such areas as beading and weaving for example, to enable them to making a living. These could then be sold in the shop at the school or possibly sold by ourselves in the UK through a ‘fair trade’ arrangement.

However, our main and over-riding concern at the moment is to raise enough money to purchase the land, to allow the school to expand, and accommodate the growing number of children in Tallinding Medina.

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There are so many people we wish to thank for their support (financial, moral, physical and emotional!) during the past four years – too many to name. But, without them, none of this would have been possible. A special mention however, goes to Debbie (PixBytes) who has designed and maintains this website for us.