Travel agents loose in The Gambia…

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Gill Sealey

I have just returned from a wonderful four days in The Gambia with eleven agents where we laughed, enjoyed the glorious sunshine and ate like kings!

The 5am pick up was a little bit early for my liking but as always I was excited about my trip to The Gambia. Besides, by the afternoon I knew I would be lying by the pool so I couldn’t really grumble. Having met the agents at check in we headed for the VIP no 1 lounge at Gatwick, which offers complimentary light breakfasts, drinks and newspapers and is available to our clients as part of the Airport Gold Package. A great way to start the trip.

In less than 6 hours we had landed in Banjul. Once we were through baggage reclaim and had received our complimentary bottle of water and fan, we were well equipped to deal with the heat that hit us as we stepped off the plane! Our driver Baba welcomed us with his big infectious smile and took us to the Sheraton Hotel, our home for the next 3 nights. The afternoon and evening was spent in the hotel relaxing around the pool, enjoying the evening buffet and making the most of the all-inclusive drinks!

Omakan Hotel

Our first hotel trip was the following day to Omakan Hotel, an intimate oasis in the heart of a village. I’ve stayed here before so was able to tell the agents about the wonderful staff and how beautiful it looks at night when the pool, restaurant and surrounding area is lit with 100 tea lights. Such a beautiful little hotel, perfect for those wishing to immerse themselves in the culture and atmosphere.

Next stop was Ngala Lodge. We were greeted by Peter, the owner, who has a love of eccentric art which is reflected throughout the rooms and grounds of the hotel. No two rooms are the same, some even with private Jacuzzis. My personal favourite being the Rolling Stones room!

Coco Ocean took everyone’s breath away. It was white, clean and luxurious with the biggest spa I’ve ever seen! We were all very impressed with the standard of this hotel and the location is perfect, right on the beach. By the end of our visit, we were all dying to be pampered in the spa!

The final hotel visit was the Kairaba Hotel, a 5 grade hotel in the centre of Kololi and very popular with our clients because of its location on the beach and on the ‘strip’ where all the restaurants and bars are.

We spent the rest of the day back at the Sheraton relaxing around the pool before our night out in Kololi. Jojos was our restaurant of choice and as we pulled up outside, the place was illuminated with fairy lights which looked beautiful in the dark. The food was exquisite, lots of fresh fish on the menu which I have to say, is some of the best I’ve ever had. To finish off the night I thought it only fair that I showed the agents one of the places that you can go for a dance so I took them across the road to a bar/nightclub called Aquarius. Admittedly we were the only ones in there but it was low season and it doesn’t really get going until midnight. (In the height of the season you can expect to see more tourists in there). It was probably a good thing that we were the only ones as the dance moves some of us were pulling out of the bag were not the best for public viewing. Still, we had a great night.

Roughing it on the catamaran!

The next day we boarded a catamaran and took a leisurely two hour boat ride down the River Gambia and over to Sitanunku Lodge. The breeze on the boat was like a breath of fresh air compared to the heat on dry land. We enjoyed tea and pastries onboard before arriving at Sitanunku. Having been here before, I am familiar with the breeze that you normally get here, yet when the agents and I visited the temperature was 42 degrees and there was no sign of that breeze. But don’t be put off, this is not usual, it’s only because it’s the end of the rainy season! Give it another couple of weeks and it will be back to more manageable temperatures with a lovely cooling breeze.

Sitanunku is situated on what looks like an island but is in fact a peninsula. There are 5 lodges all with sea views and another 5 being built at present. It’s very remote which makes for a very peaceful and relaxing setting and the boat transfer (usually by speed boat) creates an air of adventure. We had a fabulous lunch here (fresh fish again) and spent a lot of time in the pool soaking up the surroundings whilst trying to stay cool. It’s funny how doing very little can be such hard work. We were all exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel but as cocktails and dinner had been planned in the a la carte restaurant, we didn’t have much time to think about it. The cocktails flowed and the food just kept coming. It was a fantastic evening and the food was exquisite. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t fit it all in, though we gave it a damn good try!

Back to school in The Gambia

Our final day in The Gambia and despite a black cloud looming, we managed to escape the rain. I took the agents to a local school to meet the children and take some gifts. I’ve visited several schools in The Gambia and I always find it quite emotional seeing all the children and how different things are for them in The Gambia compared to the UK. Though one thing is for sure, they look so happy which in many ways makes me even more emotional!<

After a quick stop at a craft market and some serious haggling it was time to go back to the hotel to pack and head off to the airport. Our trip was only 3 nights yet it felt like we were away for a lot longer. Perhaps that had something to do with the GMT, ‘Gambia Maybe Time’ and my body had adjusted to the laid back Gambian pace of life?

Help blind children in The Gambia receive an education

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

The Gambia Experience and their School Development Fund supports the international charity Sightsavers vision.

“Our vision is of a world where no-one is blind from avoidable causes, and where visually impaired people participate equally in society.”

Sightsavers supports the principle of inclusive education which is now accepted as the preferred approach to education. It is about the system adjusting to fit the child. It is broader than just formal schooling as it also involves making changes in the home and the community. It acknowledges that all children can learn and enables education structures to adapt to meet the needs of all children, so visually impaired children and sighted children can study alongside each other.

The Bakoteh Upper Basic School was established in 1999 near Serrakunda, the largest town in The Gambia, and has over 2,000 pupils. Sightsavers has asked the School Development Fund to assist the school in two ways. Firstly, to fund the building of 14 ramps into the classrooms enabling the visually impaired children that attend the school easier access to the classrooms and secondly to fund a vegetable garden including the fencing, tools and seeds. This will benefit all the children at the school enhancing their studies of agricultural science.

The total cost of these two projects is £2,280.

The School Development Fund team were only to please to support these projects and hope to work or further projects with Sightsavers in The Gambia in the future. Once the funds have been raised they will be paid directly to the schools, as with any other of the SDF projects, and you can rest assured that no part of funds will be lost in administration costs.

You can help us raise the funds for these important projects by way of a one off donation through the SDF website or a monthly donation by standing order (please email sdf@gambia.co.uk or call us on 0845 330 2060 for details).

Making a difference

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

Gambia Experience Staff raising money to help school

Kevin, IT Manager at The Gambia Experience, and his wife Rachel, recently returned from a holiday in The Gambia. While there they visited a couple of schools and although they were shocked by lack of resources they were greatly impressed by the teachers and pupils, in particular at Kitty Upper Basic School.

Gambia Experience staff are holding a ‘Back to school’ fund-raising day on Friday 20^th May. The school has recently built an urgently needed new classroom but does not have enough money to finish it and has applied to our School Development Fund for assistance. We hope to raise enough money to finish the roof of the new classroom before the rainy season in June. If you would like to make a donation to this or similar projects you can do so through our School Development Fund website.

Kitty Upper Basic School does not have enough money to complete the roof of the new Home Economics classroom before the rainy season starts next month. Classes are currently held outdoors.

School Partnerships

Below, Kevin’s wife, Rachel (who is a teacher in a comparative school in the UK) explains why she is so determined to make a difference.

You can’t help but be impressed by seeing four classes of students voluntarily in school revising and practicing for their final exams during the Easter holidays.

All listening attentively to their teacher no matter how dull the content of the lesson, all concerned that they must pass their exams as it will ensure them a better future and all looking like they couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy the rest of their holiday, now you don’t get that in the UK.

Students at Kitty studying hard for their forthcoming exams

You also don’t get students facing the reality a Gambian student faces each day; that school costs, your classroom is a brown block bricked room with tables and chairs, a blackboard, a few student drawn posters, a corrugated iron roof and that’s about it. No textbooks, no interactive whiteboard, no laptops, no net books, no DVD’s or video’s, this is education literally at the chalk face. The playground is just a dirt area, with little recognisable as play equipment on it, hopes are held to flatten an outlying piece of land to create a football field. What a stark contrast to the sprung floor gymnasium, swimming pool and sports hall at the sports college where I teach.

The water for the school comes from a well just outside the school’s gates, critical for watering the student’s banana trees – a project which enables each student to produce bananas for sale to raise their school fees or for eating at home, if the 150 dalasi a year isn’t impossible to pay by the family.

So similar when it comes to curriculum; Maths, English, French, Science, Home Economics, all feature highly and yet so different when it comes to the facilities that the schools have to offer.

You can’t also help but be overwhelmed about how little it would cost to make things that bit easier for the students and staff who work in a Gambian school, you’re not talking multi-million pound projects, needing the assistance of the Lottery or Sports England as seems to be the case in the UK, but the funds to complete the new roof of almost constructed Home Economics Room.

It’s made me think…how to help, how to get my students back in the UK to understand the differences between life in England and life in the Gambia, how to inspire them to want to find out more and do more. So much to gain from a real partnership with a school in the Gambia, ours being Kitty Upper Basic school. The link has been established, headteacher met, school briefly visited, now time to introduce the school to the students where I work, who knows what their response will be, I hope one of interest, possibility and a desire to get involved.

Meanwhile any help with the project much appreciated! Rachel Burton

To make a donation or find out more about School Partnerships please visit our School Development Fund website.

UPDATE: Photographs of the ‘Back to School’ day are now on Facebook

A short film about people helping other people

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Kathryn Burrington

You can imagine my delight when, on a chilly morning between Christmas and New Year in a very quiet office, I received an email from The Gambia Experience clients Lou Hamilton and Paul Lang saying that they would like to make a short film about responsible tourism, The Gambia Experience’s School Development Fund and Nyodema.

Lou and Paul were going on holiday to The Gambia and as professional film makers wanted to use their skills to ‘give something back’. As luck would have it I too was going to The Gambia on the very same flight and offered to show them around some schools. Just to explain: as well as working for The Gambia Experience as a graphic designer, I am part of the UK team for the School Development Fund and chairman of a community group called Nyodema (meaning ‘helping each other’ in Mandinka).

Here is the result of a wonderful week. I found it fascinating being involved in this project and would like to say a huge thank you to Lou, Paul, Ali and everyone who helped in the making of this film – a wonderful way to show people in the UK how they are making a difference to the lives of people in one of the world’s poorest countries.

For more information please follow these links:
Lou Hamilton/Createlab
The School Development Fund
Nyodema
Karmic Angels
Chris Diallo/Hands on Skin

Gambia: News from resort

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Joyce

Our resort manager Joyce Stavroulakis has lived and worked in The Gambia for 25 years and will be a familiar face to most people who have visited the country. Here, in a new feature for the blog, she gives us some views from the ground, and keeps us up to date with what is happening in resort. We shall leave you in her capable hands…

The Gambia Experience resort team

2010 was a difficult time for the travel industry, but The Gambia has been working hard to continue attracting holidaymakers as so many people here rely on tourism for their income. Luckily there are many travellers that love the country and keep returning time after time, I can understand why – I came and never went home. Let’s hope 2011 is a good year!

Right now the country is gearing up for the forthcoming Roots International Festival, the 10^th of these biennial events which celebrates the culture and history of The Gambia and attracts people from around the world who are keen to trace their African heritage and learn more about the region and its past. This year the 7-day festival will take place between 4^th and 10^th February and the programme includes a music concert, carnival, a trip to the ruins of the British slave trade fortress on James Island, film night and more. There are still places so if you’re interested in finding out more and attending the event visit www.rootsgambia.gm.

Last year the traditional Gambian cookery course we offered with Ida Njie proved really popular with guests and in 2011 we’ll be offering “Come dine with Ida” where you can enjoy a home-cooked African buffet at home with Ida and her family, plus get the chance to learn more about life in The Gambia.

There’s also a new lodge on the north bank called Sitanunku which will welcome its first guests this month, it’s particularly aimed at birdwatchers and anglers but anyone wanting to experience rural Africa might be interested. What else is new? Well, the smoking ban has finally hit The Gambia and there is now no smoking in public places, only in designated areas – it seems to be popular with diners in the restaurants. One thing that hasn’t changed is the weather, today it’s 31 degrees!