Team Gambia 2014 Quiz Night

Here's a date for your diary... Friday 20 June 2014 (7.00pm - 10.30pm)... Team Gambia 2014 Quiz Night!

It's a General Knowledge quiz, with an Oscars theme. That does not mean all the questions will be about the Oscars or films, but the evening will have an Oscars "feel" to it.

We are selling tickets now for this event for teams of up to six people. Tickets cost £10 each and the price includes supper. There will be a bar there on the night, but drinks cost extra and raffle/tombola tickets will also be available at an additional cost.

We did a Quiz Night for the 2013 Gambia trip last summer and it was great fun, so do come along and support this event, with all the proceeds going towards the Jemus Jungkung Jammeh Memorial School in The Gambia.

If you are interested in getting tickets, call 0121 704 2581. Students going on this trip can also get tickets (for themselves or family/friends) by seeing Janice Hamilton or her PA Janet Parkes down the Admin corridor in Hampton building (near Main Reception).

Places to visit in The Gambia

When we travel to The Gambia in November, we will be spending a lot of the time at the Jemus Jungkung Jammeh Memorial School, but there will be some free time at the weekend and we will organise some outings for everyone to enjoy.

We can't fit in all of the places below, but this will give you an idea of what we might do:

Bijilo Forest Park - this is a small rainforest nature reserve which is located just south of our hotel. It covers an area of 126 acres and is host to over 133 species of birds such as the Red-necked Falcon, Grey Hornbill, Prinia and various types of Bee-eaters. There are also four primate species that inhabit the park, which are the patas monkey, green vervet monkeys, red colobus and the galagos or bushbabies. The plants present include lilies, wild orchids, salt-tolerant vines, magnificent silk cotton trees, palms and the odd-looking baobab trees (sometimes called the upside down tree).

Vervet monkey

Kachikally Crocodile Pond - Again not far from the hotel, Kachikally is one of the most famous tourist spots in the whole of The Gambia, mostly because it's possible to stroke a two-metre crocodile named Charlie! The pool has about 100 crocodiles of varying sizes and all are well looked after (and more importantly, well fed!), so that they pose no danger to visitors.

 

Albert Market, Banjul - This market is on Liberation Avenue and is the capital's main urban market. It is a bustling market selling vividly designed fabrics, carved wooden masks and fresh produce. All this is laid out within a labyrinth of alleys and hundreds of rickety stalls and purpose built shops. It caters for locals and for the tourists, with crafts and souvenirs available. It is open daily from 8am to 7pm.

Arch 22, Banjul - Arch 22 is a commemorative arch on the road into Banjul. It was built in 1996 to mark the military coup d'etat which brought President Yahya Jammeh to power. A statue of the "unknown soldier" can be seen near the base of the arch; the soldier is carrying a baby in one hand, making the peace sign (V-sign) with the other hand, and has a rifle strapped across his back. The Arch is depicted on the reverse of the 100 dalasi banknote.

River Gambia - Running through the centre of the country is the River Gambia. It is a wide river course at the mouth (near Banjul) and narrows the further inland it goes. It was used by slave traders hundreds of years ago, but is now used by fishermen and as a means of transport. Much further up-river is the River Gambia National Park, which includes a chimpanzee-reintroduction project on an island in the middle of the river. The chimp centre is likely to be too far away for us to visit during this trip.

Abuko Nature Reserve - this is a small topical forest near Banjul. It is home over 290 bird species, including Pied Kingfishers, African paradise flycatcher, many Warbler species, herons, egrets and many more. Monkey species include Vervet monkey, Red Colobus monkey, red Patas and Bush Babies. The other mammals include Ground Squirrel, Savannah Antelopes and Brush Tailed Porcupine.

Did you know?

Did you know that Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa? Its area is just 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 square miles) with a population of 1,882,450 (according to the 15 April 2013 census).

Did you know the capital city of The Gambia is Banjul? It may be the capital, but it is not the biggest city, as Serekunda and Brikama are larger.

Did you know that the official language of The Gambia is English? That may be true, but there are plenty of other languages spoken there too, including Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Serer and Jola.

Do you know the date the country gained independence from the UK? It was 18 February 1965.

Do you know the name of the current President of The Gambia? Its President Yahya Jammeh.

Do you know the currency used in The Gambia? It's the dalasi. One of the first things we will do when we arrive in The Gambia is to exchange our British pounds for Gambian delasi. £1 sterling buys around 60 dalasi (according to January 2014 exchange rate).

Do you know what the weather will be like when we go to The Gambia? The country enjoys virtually uninterrupted sunshine and high daytime temperatures with almost no rainfall from November to June. From July to October the humidity level is high as the tropical sun will be punctuated by short but spectacular rain storms. In other words, pack your shorts!

Do you know how The Gambia makes it's money? The economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism, with peanuts being the biggest crop. About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line (US$1.25 per day).

Do you know what the predominant religion of The Gambia is? Its Islam, which is practised by approximately 90% of the country's population. The majority of Muslims in the Gambia adhere to Sunni laws and traditions.

History & Politics in The Gambia

If we are going to travel to The Gambia, let's find out more about the country. This posting aims to do just that!

The Gambia is situated in West Africa, with an Atlantic sea coast to the west and otherwise is entirely surrounded by Senegal. It is one of Africa's smallest countries and unlike many of its West African neighbours it has enjoyed long spells of stability since gaining independence in 1965.

 

Before getting independence, Gambia was ruled by a number of other powers. Back in the 5th - 11th centuries, it was the Empire of Ghana; from the 13th - 15th centuries the Empire of Mali controlled Gambia; and then in the mid-1400s the Europeans took control. First it was the Portuguese that landed, controlling trade along the west coast of Africa. Baltic Germans came during the 1650s, before being displaced by the British, who were themselves under constant threat from French ships, pirates and African kings.

The British controlled the Gambia River, and as such controlled the movement of ships for many years. Bathurst, as they named what is now called Banjul was a focus for the salve trade in those days. Their influence extended further upstream until the 1820s, when the territory was declared a British protectorate ruled from Sierra Leone. In 1888 Gambia became a crown colony, by which time the surrounding territory of Senegal had fallen into French custody.

Gambia became self-governing in 1963, although it was not until 1965 that true independence was achieved and Gambia officially became "The Gambia”. David Jawara, leader of the People’s Progressive Party, then became Prime Minister Dawda Jawara.

Today, the country is governed by President Yahya Jammeh, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has ruled ever since. While President Jammeh's governance has led to political stability, that does not mean there is prosperity. Despite the presence of the River Gambia, which runs through the middle of the country, only one-sixth of the land is arable and poor soil quality has led to the predominance of just one crop - peanuts. This has made The Gambia heavily dependent on peanut exports - and is a hostage to fluctuations in the production and world prices of the crop.

Tourism is an important source of income, as is the money sent home by Gambians living abroad. Most visitors are drawn to the resorts that occupy a stretch of the Atlantic coast, including the Kombo Beach Hotel resort, where we will be staying.

The country has a population of 1,925,527 (according to most recent data). According to the last census (in 2003), the ethnic make-up of the country is 99% African, consisting of 42% Mandinka, 18% Fula, 16% Wolof, 10% Jola, 9th Serahuli and 4% other. English is the official language of the country, but the other widely spoken languages are Mandinka, Wolof and Fula. We'll explore some useful phrases in Mandinka and Wolof in a future blog posting. As for religion, the country is 90% Muslim and 8% Christian.

That’s just a bit of background to The Gambia. Look out for more interesting facts about the country in the coming weeks and months.

Fundraising Boosted By Easter Bake-off

The College's fundraising campaign for Team Gambia 2014 has received a boost today, all thanks to staff eating cake!

Term has ended for students and the last two days of term for staff are set aside for interviewing prospective students for next year, staff training and an Easter Bake-off. Staff were challenged to get baking and produce cakes with an Easter theme to be judged by a panel of experts.

Those experts - the Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood of this story - were five of the students going on the Gambia trip this year. A big thank you goes to Maggie Brina, Lauren Davis, Rea Huggins, Mia King and Hope Rowe-Hartman for coming into the College especially. They had a difficult task, because they had to taste all the cakes! A tough job indeed, but somebody had to do it! Here are some photos of some of the cakes they were testing.

The students selected an Easter Bunny cake (see below) as the winner, judging on a mixture of the way it was decorated, but also how it tasted!

These cakes were all sold off to staff during a break from interviewing for £1 per slice, along with tea and coffee. Staff also bought raffle tickets for a chance to win a host of goodies including bottles of wine, Easter eggs, books, DVDs and toiletries.

Thanks to the great generosity of staff, we have raised £271.04 for the Jemus Jumgkung Jammeh Memorial School in The Gambia. This will boost the College's contribution to this wonderful project run by Hamstead Hall School and we have lots more planned too.

Fundraising Gets Off To A Great Start!

Students Alex Atkins and Lucy Buckle have got their fundraising campaign off to a brilliant start, thanks to a Bake Sale last Friday. Both girls got baking and made enormous quantities of cakes and cupcakes, which they sold to staff and students in the Refectory at a cost of 50p each. I sampled them myself, so I can voucher for how yummy they were!

Each student has a target to raise £400 each and Alex and Lucy have made a great start towards that target, raising just under £145 from this one bake sale alone. Brilliant effort, girls!

The pair have plans to hold another Bake Sale later in the year and are also planning to hold an evening fundraiser at College. This event will be based on the TV show "Take Me Out", a dating show presented by Paddy McGuiness. The girls are still in the planning phase at the moment, but it promises to be a lot of fun.

Other student fundraising ideas so far include sponsored cycle rides, talent shows and even a sponsored sky dive... watch this space!

Kombo Beach Hotel

Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be providing more information not just about the Jemus Jungkung Jammeh Memorial School and our fundraising, but also about the country of Gambia. We thought we'd start with some information about where we are going to be staying in The Gambia.

Our hotel is called Kombo Beach Hotel and is on the Atlantic coast, a short drive from the capital of Banjul. By Gambian standards he is a luxurious resort and staff and students will certainly find it a culture shock to go from this comfortable hotel to the poverty in and around the school.

Students will be sharing twin rooms at the hotel with air conditioning and a balcony or terrace. The hotel is right on the beach (as the name would suggest) and there is a pool too, so after a day's work at the school, there will be time for students to chill out and relax.

There are restaurants at the hotel, but there are also restaurants close by, so there is no shortage of places to eat in the evening and we will almost certainly visit a few different places over the course of our week in The Gambia. There will be western food, but perhaps some students might be brave enough to try some traditional Gambian dishes too?

Look out for more information about this trip and about the country of The Gambia in the coming weeks.