Gambia volunteer project: Nursery school support
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Basic information
Country: The Gambia
Price: £1295 (4 weeks) based on bed and breakfast in a small hotel whose owners are huge supporters of the volunteer programme and have been recognised internationally for their responsible tourism practises. Additional weeks are priced at a sliding reducing rate.
Description: Share your nursery and creative learning skills at Bijilo Nursery School. Work with local teachers in their school to help them give their children the best start possible.
Country: The Gambia
Price: £1295 (4 weeks) based on bed and breakfast in a small hotel whose owners are huge supporters of the volunteer programme and have been recognised internationally for their responsible tourism practises. Additional weeks are priced at a sliding reducing rate.
Description: Share your nursery and creative learning skills at Bijilo Nursery School. Work with local teachers in their school to help them give their children the best start possible.
Included: accommodation and breakfast, airport transfers, full local orientation, city tour, social event, weekend hike, local SIM card, project & placement liaison. Your project donation will be used for the purchase of essential equipment and teaching aids. Previous donations have been used to purchase training equipment.
How your money is spent based on 4 weeks
£630- direct costs in The Gambia (airport transfers, accommodation, orientation, information packs, daily transport to GIG)
£250 - project management & supervision in The Gambia
£200 - project donation in The Gambia
£215 - recruitment, matching & project development in UK
Not included: flights, insurance, visa costs, personal expenses such as phone calls, medical expenses, etc..
For meals (other than breakfast), an allowance of £10 to £20 per day will be more than sufficient.
How your money is spent based on 4 weeks
£630- direct costs in The Gambia (airport transfers, accommodation, orientation, information packs, daily transport to GIG)
£250 - project management & supervision in The Gambia
£200 - project donation in The Gambia
£215 - recruitment, matching & project development in UK
Not included: flights, insurance, visa costs, personal expenses such as phone calls, medical expenses, etc..
For meals (other than breakfast), an allowance of £10 to £20 per day will be more than sufficient.
What will I be doing on this project?
Based on your skills, you will work with local teachers in their school to help them give their children the best start possible. The principal Mr Carrjobe would welcome the following skills and volunteer input:
Based on your skills, you will work with local teachers in their school to help them give their children the best start possible. The principal Mr Carrjobe would welcome the following skills and volunteer input:
- ECD professionals
- nursery and pre school classroom assistants
- TEFL experts
- creative play development
- child counsellors
- arts and crafts teachers
- classroom management
- child nutritionists
- sharing ideas with local teachers about maximising available free resources and low cost items would be invaluable.
- education administrators
I’ve seen a few classrooms now with the odd thing obviously donated by well-meaning visitors from abroad – the odd reading book or coloured poster, and they always look at though they are just put on one side or sellotaped to the wall and never looked at, for example alphabet friezes with half the sections missing. I’m coming to realise that donating things is a waste of money, the important thing is to raise the quality of teachers." Dianne, volunteer 2009
What is this project all about?
Nursery schooling in The Gambia covers a higher age range than in the UK as children don't start school until they are seven or nearly eight years old, and Gambian pre-schools therefore care for children between the ages of 2 to 8.
Facilities vary greatly - from good to barely non-existent. Some schools have links or sponsors from overseas who provide equipment and maybe send visitors to provide occasional training. Many others have as many as 60 to a class, with only one member of staff and when he or she is absent, they just have to double up with another class as there is no supply teaching facility available. There is little or nothing in the way of equipment apart from a few pencils and chalk. Most of the learning is by rote and some classroom walls are completely bare. At the moment, nursery teachers who have completed the only ECD course at Gambia College are paid as unqualified teachers, earning only 750 dalasi a month, which is about £22.
The Gambian government has identified ECD as a priority and is committed to providing pre-school places to all Gambian children. Early Childhood Development professionals are practically non - existant in The Gambia and this project together with support for the teacher training programme seeks to strengthen this initiative with skilled volunteers.
There are no educational equipment suppliers, early learning centres or large toy shops in The Gambia. Basic items like sugar paper and paper fasteners (attaches-parisiennes) are impossible to find. Children have so little opportunity for learning through play.
Pre-schools are currently not government funded and school fees are 100 Dalasi (about £2.80) per term per child in most village schools - so there is precious little to spend on equipment. Where there are resources there is often little knowledge as to how to use them creatively.
Mr Carrjobe already has a close relationship with the nascant ECD teacher training programme, has undergone some training himself and is very keen to develop best practice. Bijilo School has over 300 pupils between the ages of 3 and 7. There are six teachers and class sizes can be as high as 60.
A previous volunteer has helped to develop a rescource library and therefore the school does have a few resources for the classrooms - but not enough and they are jealously guarded because there are not the funds to replace them.
Bijilo is close to the tourist beaches of The Gambia but most of the children attending come from families living below the poverty line. The school has a government feeding programme but there is rarely enough food to feed all the children and in this light the school have started their own vegetable garden.
Because the volunteer programme is working with The Department of Education on the teacher training programme, whilst you are working with the children and teachers of Bijilo School you will also be contributing to the development of a sustainable education programme for The Gambia's youngest and most vulnerable children.
Nursery schooling in The Gambia covers a higher age range than in the UK as children don't start school until they are seven or nearly eight years old, and Gambian pre-schools therefore care for children between the ages of 2 to 8.
Facilities vary greatly - from good to barely non-existent. Some schools have links or sponsors from overseas who provide equipment and maybe send visitors to provide occasional training. Many others have as many as 60 to a class, with only one member of staff and when he or she is absent, they just have to double up with another class as there is no supply teaching facility available. There is little or nothing in the way of equipment apart from a few pencils and chalk. Most of the learning is by rote and some classroom walls are completely bare. At the moment, nursery teachers who have completed the only ECD course at Gambia College are paid as unqualified teachers, earning only 750 dalasi a month, which is about £22.
The Gambian government has identified ECD as a priority and is committed to providing pre-school places to all Gambian children. Early Childhood Development professionals are practically non - existant in The Gambia and this project together with support for the teacher training programme seeks to strengthen this initiative with skilled volunteers.
There are no educational equipment suppliers, early learning centres or large toy shops in The Gambia. Basic items like sugar paper and paper fasteners (attaches-parisiennes) are impossible to find. Children have so little opportunity for learning through play.
Pre-schools are currently not government funded and school fees are 100 Dalasi (about £2.80) per term per child in most village schools - so there is precious little to spend on equipment. Where there are resources there is often little knowledge as to how to use them creatively.
Mr Carrjobe already has a close relationship with the nascant ECD teacher training programme, has undergone some training himself and is very keen to develop best practice. Bijilo School has over 300 pupils between the ages of 3 and 7. There are six teachers and class sizes can be as high as 60.
A previous volunteer has helped to develop a rescource library and therefore the school does have a few resources for the classrooms - but not enough and they are jealously guarded because there are not the funds to replace them.
Bijilo is close to the tourist beaches of The Gambia but most of the children attending come from families living below the poverty line. The school has a government feeding programme but there is rarely enough food to feed all the children and in this light the school have started their own vegetable garden.
Because the volunteer programme is working with The Department of Education on the teacher training programme, whilst you are working with the children and teachers of Bijilo School you will also be contributing to the development of a sustainable education programme for The Gambia's youngest and most vulnerable children.
How does this project make a difference?
Giving back to the destination
80% of your fee reaches the host country! Each project is costed individually, you can find the details at the top of this page. the project will show not only how your money is spent, but also where it is spent – which is perhaps even more important. This project assumes that you want the vast majority of your money to be spent with your hosts, not in the UK!
Furthermore, we give you the opportunity to give straight back to community projects in the destination through our partner, TravelPledge. This means that whatever you wish to donate to specific projects in the destination will go directly there.
Teaching students, teaching teachers
Early childhood care and development has become part of the basic education title in The Gambia, given the importance of the early years development for children. The education policy (2004-2015) acknowledges the importance of these early years, and the department of state for education has developed linkages with other governments, NGOs and local authorities and local communities to promote an integrated approach to ECD. Since ECD is largely provided by the private sector, affordability becomes an issue and poses a major constraint for poor households. The problem becomes more pronounced in the rural areas where poverty is more acute and where the traditional practice of leaving children in the care of siblings or grandparents, or having children accompanying their mothers to the farm or other work places still remains the dominant practice for early childhood care.
You will be helping the programme develop through teaching the skills that you have to offer to Gambian teachers and educators. This will allow the sustainability of the project, but will also provide opportunities for educators to learn skills they would not normally have the possibility to learn subsequently benefiting the children that they teach.
Empowerement
You will work effectively for local communities, this project works with local people – they work in full and open partnership with responsible and professional teams who have close links to their own communities. You will be working with local people not replacing local labour to help them build the future they want for themselves.
Where is it?
Giving back to the destination
80% of your fee reaches the host country! Each project is costed individually, you can find the details at the top of this page. the project will show not only how your money is spent, but also where it is spent – which is perhaps even more important. This project assumes that you want the vast majority of your money to be spent with your hosts, not in the UK!
Furthermore, we give you the opportunity to give straight back to community projects in the destination through our partner, TravelPledge. This means that whatever you wish to donate to specific projects in the destination will go directly there.
Teaching students, teaching teachers
Early childhood care and development has become part of the basic education title in The Gambia, given the importance of the early years development for children. The education policy (2004-2015) acknowledges the importance of these early years, and the department of state for education has developed linkages with other governments, NGOs and local authorities and local communities to promote an integrated approach to ECD. Since ECD is largely provided by the private sector, affordability becomes an issue and poses a major constraint for poor households. The problem becomes more pronounced in the rural areas where poverty is more acute and where the traditional practice of leaving children in the care of siblings or grandparents, or having children accompanying their mothers to the farm or other work places still remains the dominant practice for early childhood care.
You will be helping the programme develop through teaching the skills that you have to offer to Gambian teachers and educators. This will allow the sustainability of the project, but will also provide opportunities for educators to learn skills they would not normally have the possibility to learn subsequently benefiting the children that they teach.
Empowerement
You will work effectively for local communities, this project works with local people – they work in full and open partnership with responsible and professional teams who have close links to their own communities. You will be working with local people not replacing local labour to help them build the future they want for themselves.
Where is it?
Click here to enquire about or book this holiday!
To view other Gambia Responsible Tourism projects, click here
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