Two Lindfield students from Oathall Community College recently returned from a school trip to The Gambia. Theo Billson and Ella Tingley were part of the group of 37 led by their teacher, Annie Murray, who spent just over a week based at The Gunjur Project in Gunjur. Here we catch up with them following their return home and find out what the experience was like…
Had you ever been anywhere near West Africa before?
ET: Nope! I’d never been anywhere in Africa before this trip, so it was a very new experience for me.
What surprised you most about The Gambia?
TB: That the children ALL wanted an education and enjoyed learning at school.
ET: One thing that stood out to me was all of the animals everywhere: wherever we went, there were goats, chickens and dogs just wandering around. A couple of times there was even a cow on the football pitch!
What did you learn about life in that part of the world?
ET: Everyone shares everything (even though they have very little); people refer to each other as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ all the time. To them, it doesn’t matter who you are, or what you look like, you’re treated like one of the family.
TB: Yes, me too, it is very community and family orientated.
What similarities did you find to life here in Sussex? Any?
TB: There were plenty of mobile phones being used!
ET: There weren’t many similarities, but I must say that the sense of community is strong both here and there.
What was your accommodation like?
ET: It was lovely! The staff there were incredibly friendly too!
TB: We stayed in rooms of four sharing in the lodge. The accommodation was appropriate for the climate with a swimming pool and mainly outside shaded areas for group activity and eating.
Were you there to ‘work’ in the community? If so, what sort of activities did you get involved in? Which did you enjoy most?
ET: Yes, we helped out in the women’s garden, ran activities for schoolchildren and led sports sessions. We also bought food for some families who were struggling and delivered it to their homes. That was really moving, and we could all tell what a huge difference it would make to their lives.
What was the best recreational activity you did out there?
TB: Playing football with the local children.
ET: For me, probably visiting the market in a nearby town. It was really busy and nothing like I’ve ever seen before!
You both took supplies to give to the local community. What did you take and what difference do you think they will make?
TB: I took over twenty tennis racquets, plus clothing and tennis balls, which were donated by my tennis club. They were given to a local sports committee who were very excited to receive tennis equipment for the first time!
ET: I raised some money and used some of it to buy supplies to take with me. I took a range of things: clothes, books, tea towels and sanitary products, just to name a few! I also gave the headteacher 250 ‘Lindfield Life’ pencils.
Presenting the school in Gunjur with Lindfield Life pencils
What was the most challenging moment of the trip?
TB: The heat! It reached 42 degrees on the last day!
ET: Although this sounds cheesy - probably going home. It was very fulfilling, waking up every morning knowing that I would make people’s lives better that day.
Since returning home, is there one thing that you have personally taken away from your experience in Gunjur?
TB: To be grateful for what I have and realise how privileged I am.
ET: Yes, the people out there don’t have anywhere near as much as we do here, yet they’re still all really happy – especially the children.